Oregon Basketball: Ducks Have Work To Do As 2020 Season Approaches
Oregon Basketball opens the season next month amid the coronavirus pandemic and preparation looks very different.
Last month the NCAA announced that college basketball would be able to move forward amid the coronavirus pandemic and teams have been scrambling in more ways than one to make it happen. Oregon Basketball is preparing as best they can along with other teams throughout the country.
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On Friday, Head Coach Dana Altman met with the media to discuss the upcoming season and said there is work to be done in the coming weeks. For one, it has been tough since school has not been in session for quite a while and usual summer workouts did not happen, “Our summer workouts, we didn’t’ get anything done….I feel like we’re behind positioning wise along with skill development.”
The usual strength and conditioning that leads up to a season has not had a chance to transpire given the circumstances. Team workouts together have been limited, if at all. Players have been left to individual workouts, but Altman says he sees some positive strides especially with his seniors, “Guys wanna get better. To get better they know they have to get in the gym. Our guys have all been really good about that. We couldn’t (really) do that this year. No one was here.”
The Pac-12 has laid out the plan for scheduling for in-conference games with teams playing 20 games this season, but the big question is about non-conference. It is still being worked out who Oregon will face in a 7 game slate. Altman was not able to say much about who but was able to answer why it is taking time to sort out, “We’re waiting for contracts. We have not received contracts back. With all the question marks concerning testing…..wording in the contracts has to be specific (when it comes to testing)…details have to be worked out before those contracts are signed.”
We do know that the Oregon Ducks will face two Pac-12 teams before Christmas with both Washington and UCLA on the calendar as it currently stands.
Chris Duarte and Will Richardson lead a team with some new talent and experience. Eugene Omoruyi will see the floor after sitting out last season due to transfer rules. N’Faly Dante also returns along with some new faces in Freshman Jalen Terry, along with Transfers LJ Figueroa and Amauri Hardy.
Quotes obtained during Zoom Interview with Head Coach Dana Altman