Altman Nearing 600th Career Win

EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon men's basketball coach Dana Altman is sitting on the cusp of history.

Entering the Ducks' game against Alabama State in Matthew Knight Arena on Friday (8 p.m. Pac-12 Network), Altman is sitting at 599 career head coaching wins. Only 33 other coaches, including nine active coaches, have reached this milestone at the Division I level, placing Altman among the greats.

Despite being poised to cross such a distinguished threshold, Altman – as is his nature – is making every effort to deflect attention away from himself and back to his teams.

"You do reflect just a little bit," Altman said. "But I have had really good guys to work with for a really long time."

When asked to speak about his accomplishments, Altman usually takes a modest tone and makes little eye contact; you might get a chuckle out of him, if you are lucky. He boasts about his players and how fortunate he has been in that respect, but rarely focuses on himself.

Altman received his first Division I head coaching job at Marshall University during the 1989-90 season. His first win was an 81-74 defeat over Army, in a tournament at the University of Virginia.

"I remember being really nervous," Altman said. "I was really excited to play that first game at the University of Virginia … It was an exciting time. I was anxious and excited about the opportunity."

Regardless of the nerves Altman felt, his first win seemed to foreshadow the success he would encounter over the course of his career.

Altman coached one season at Marshall before moving on to coach at Kansas State (1990-94), where he received his first NCAA Tournament berth. His next 16 seasons were spent at Creighton (1994-2010), where Altman was a finalist for the Naismith National College Coach of the Year Award and had seven NCAA Tournament appearances. After his success with the Bluejays, he landed at Oregon.

Since arriving in Eugene, Altman has been one of the most successful coaches in UO basketball history. Under Altman, the 2016-17 Oregon basketball team hit No. 4 in the Associated Press top 25 – the highest national ranking the program has seen. Altman has coached the Ducks to five NCAA Tournament appearances in seven years, including their first Final Four appearance since 1939.

The accumulation of success at Creighton and Oregon makes Altman one of only six active Division I NCAA coaches with 20 consecutive winning seasons.

The impactful relationships that Altman develops with his players contribute immensely to the success he has experienced. Altman knows how to interact with his players in a way that resonates with them.

"Everybody is different," Altman said. "That's one thing I've learned over a long, long time is that guys are different. You can't have the same recipe for every guy."

Altman puts forward this kind of effort to help his players develop as individuals both on and off the court – a quality that has allowed Altman to recruit highly touted athletes who buy into his coaching philosophy.

This was the No. 1 reason five-star freshman Troy Brown decided to be a Duck.

"He's not the type of coach that just sees us as basketball players," Brown said. "He wants us to be good young men off the court. That was a huge thing for me making my decision. … I have another side of my life that I live that isn't basketball, and for him to respect that and want to better me just really helps me a lot."

Brown isn't the only one who feels this way. Ask almost any other person – player or coach – who Altman has worked with over the course of his career, and they will tell you the same thing.

Approaching 600 wins can be attributed to more than the statistics recorded after games. Altman's ability to connect with those around him allows him to create a competitive environment that values selflessness and discipline.

"Add all those things up," said assistant coach Kevin McKenna, who has worked with Altman at both Creighton and Oregon, "and that's probably the biggest reason why he has had a lot of success winning."

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Players Mentioned

Troy Brown

University of Oregon Athletics