Though Dana Altman has done this more than twenty times, AP voters left the Ducks off the preseason basketball poll, proving once again that writers are slow learners.
The survey at Big Ten Media Day had the Ducks picked to finish fifth in the 18-team Big Ten, which sounds more like it. Altman has his Big Three of Nate Bittle, Jackson Shelstad and Kwame Evans back, though Shelstad will miss a few games with a broken hand.
Altman didn't stand pat with his two leading scorers and most dynamic long defender and rebounder. He attacked the portal and international recruiting, pulling in long range shooter Wei Lin from the Nanking Monkey Kings, savvy 6-5 combo guard Takai Simpkins of Elon, a 16.4-points-a-game scorer and all-conference player in the Coastal Athletic Association.
The 67-year-old head coach has won 17 conference and conference tournament championships, been a coach of the year in four different leagues, and this season he may have more chess pieces than he's ever had.
He plucked 6-10 forward Efe Vatan from Istanbul, Turkey. He picked up 6-9 forward Sean Stewart from Duke and 6-11 center Ege Demir from Nigeria and the Turkish Basketball Super League, plus 6-7 forward Devon Pryor from Texas.
BREAKING: Preseason College Basketball AP Poll🏀https://t.co/pQTPvw4sEm pic.twitter.com/ovodzbD9dE
— On3 (@On3sports) October 13, 2025
Altman with a roster full of depth, length and athleticism is a very dangerous man. The Ducks begin their season October 24 with a home game against Utah at 7:00 p.m. PT in Matthew Knight Arena, TV on Big Ten+.
Though it may take a few games to come together and sort out the roles on an intriguing squad, the former Creighton head coach is about to cook. AP voters are bound to be a little embarrassed at how talented the Ducks are.