It's a frenzied race for signings as the Final Four begins. Not only is there a fierce competition for players, but there's also a looming deadline: On Monday, compensation agreements become subject to more stringent rules that prohibit booster collective pay.
Oregon is in a five-way competition for a big prize, 6-10 forward Austin Rapp of the Portland Pilots and Melbourne, Australia's South East Phoenix of the country's National Basketball League. He visited the Ducks on Wednesday, announcing a final five of Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Clemson and Oregon the day before.
Rapp was West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year this season, six times named Heluva Good Dip WCC Freshman of the Week. For the season he averaged 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists on 39.7 percent shooting with 1.5 blocks per game.
The shooting is a little misleading. Rapp's an 82% foul shooter, so his rotation on the ball is sound. In the Pilot offense the big man (6-10, 230) is called on to take a preponderance of his shots from three-point range, where he connects on 35.2 percent. As the season wound down against Pepperdine he took 13 of 15 shots from three, against San Diego, 12 of 15.
He scored 16 and 18 points in those games, so he was effective. As an international player he's been exposed to top competition in Asia and Europe, winning a championship in the U16 Nationals in his native country, competing against pros in the NBL. He's played games against teams from Slovenia, Serbia, Argentina and Qatar.
Dana Altman is widely regarded as a great coach, but you can't teach size. A versatile and athletic big man could be the building block he needs to get Oregon's transfer portal recruiting out of its doldrums.
The clock is ticking, not only on NIL deals but on carving out a place in a superheated market. Right now the Ducks have just seven scholarship players.
Another delightful tidbit in his bio is that Rapp is a Beaver killer. He scored a season-high 24 points against OSU in February.
6’10 Portland Freshman Austin Rapp is one of the best shooters in the Transfer Portal.
— KJ (@KJ__Hoops) March 21, 2025
Rapp had a very good season for Portland where he averaged 14/7/3 and shot 35% from three on 8 attempts a game
Rapp was one of the best movement shooters in the country at 6’10 and is also a… pic.twitter.com/OloVzahGFr