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Oregon Basketball: Way-too-early starting 5 projections for 2021-22

By Connor Muldowney

Mar 22, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Will Richardson (right) and forward Eric Williams Jr. (50) react after a play against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Will Richardson (right) and forward Eric Williams Jr. (50) react after a play against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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For the first time since October, we have no Oregon basketball to look forward to. The Ducks just lost to USC in the Sweet 16 before the Trojans went on to get swallowed up by Gonzaga in the Elite Eight. There’s one Pac-12 team in the Final Four and it’s — surprisingly — UCLA, the First Four team from the conference.

The conference’s regular season champs (Oregon, USC) and tournament champion (Oregon State) all made solid runs, but it’s the team that lost four consecutive games to end the regular season that made the Final Four. Who would have thought?

Oregon heads into the offseason with plenty of question marks, including who will start when the Ducks take the court again next season?

Gone are Chris Duarte, LG Figueroa and Eugene Omoruyi, at least, but there are a good number of returning pieces who could help the Ducks make another run at a Pac-12 title in 2021-22.

What might the starting five look like next season?

Former Michigan State commit Jalen Terry had a relatively quiet freshman season with the Ducks but now that Chris Duarte is gone, he’s due to get more minutes.

The soon-to-be second-year point guard didn’t play a ton but he did get to learn behind a couple of solid guards. He got to watch as Duarte and Will Richardson led the Ducks to the Pac-12 regular season title. They will need someone to step up to run the backcourt with Richardson in 2021-22 and that should be the perfect opportunity for him to rise to the occasion.

The former top-100 recruit is extremely athletic and should be an important piece on the roster next season.

Standing 5-11, 165 pounds, he’s not the biggest guy on the court so he should play more point guard but if he has to split the ball-handling duties with Richardson, that would still work.

Terry averaged 2.9 points and 1.1 assists while shooting 39 percent from 3-point range and 39 percent from the floor as a true freshman. Expect all of those numbers to improve in year two.

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