It felt like it was getting pretty close to hitting the eject button in Eugene as the Oregon Ducks and head coach Dana Altman watched player after player walk out the door and enter the transfer portal.
Yet, even with eight players leaving the program in search of a new team to call home, Altman managed to not only keep his job but also rebuild his depth chart in an admirable fashion.
When it comes to the number of players leaving and joining the Ducks, Altman is dead even, seeing eight players leave and adding eight players to his roster from the portal.
Now, for a more accurate comparison, how do the exits and additions compare when it comes to their ratings and rankings as transfers?
Oregon basketball transfer portal exits
- Jackson Shelstad, four-star point guard, 95.0 overall rating, to Louisville
- Kwame Evans Jr., four-star power forward, 94.0 overall rating, to Villanova
- Jamari Phillips, three-star shooting guard, 93.0 overall rating, to Washington State
- JJ Frakes, three-star shooting guard, 88.0 overall rating, to Buffalo
- Devon Pryor, three-star small forward, 88.0 overall rating, to Texas-RGV
- Dezdrick Lindsay, three-star small forward, 87.0 overall rating, to Kansas State
- Efe Vatan, zero stars, no rating, no commitment
- Ege Demir, zero stars, no rating, no commitment
Starting point guard Jackson Shelstad and starting power forward Kwame Evans Jr. were undeniably the biggest losses of Altman's offseason, and were the only four-star rated former Ducks in the transfer portal.
Players like Efe Vatan and Ege Demir, who saw little to no playing time in Eugene, were losses but not of any substantial weight.
The other four departures were also undeniably losses, but once again, they were much easier to make up for than the absences of Shelstad and Evans from the lineup.
All ratings are based on the transfer portal grades provided by 247Sports.
Oregon basketball transfer portal additions
- Tyrone Riley, four-star small forward, 92.0 overall rating, from San Francisco
- Dwayne Aristode, four-star small forward, 92.0 overall rating, from Arizona
- Jasper Johnson, four-star combo guard, 90.0 overall rating, from Kentucky
- Taylor Bol Bowen, four-star power forward, 90.0 overall rating, from Alabama
- Andrew Meadow, three-star power forward, 89.0 overall rating, from Boise State
- Fred Payne, three-star point guard, 89.0 overall rating, from Boston College
- Jerry Easter II, three-star shooting guard, 87.0 overall rating, from USC
- Pharaoh Compton, three-star power forward, 87.0 overall rating, from San Diego State
While none of Altman's additions from the portal reached the same caliber as Shelstad and Evans, the overall incoming portal class is rated more highly than Oregon's outgoing group.
The outgoing class, with two players not earning any stars or a high enough rating, earned a 68.125 average rating. The incoming class? A whopping 89.556 average rating. Significantly higher.
Also read: Dana Altman subtly throws shade at Dan Lanning over NIL funds
Only time will tell if Altman's new cobbled-together roster can mesh well together and actually play as well on the court as they were rated on the portal. However, Altman deserves a round of applause, or at least a pat on the back, for his performance in the transfer portal this year.
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