Quick Cohesion Sought As Practice Opens For Men's Hoops
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Early Friday afternoon, Mike Mennenga bounced onto the court in Matthew Knight Arena, a visible pep in his step.
"Here we go, fellas, here we go," the new UO men's basketball assistant coach said as players warmed up at both baskets.
Like Mennenga — a recent addition to head coach Dana Altman's staff — new faces abound on the roster, too. The process of preparing that group for the 2014-15 season began in earnest Friday, the first official practice of the season for Oregon.
The Ducks are coming off an NCAA Tournament third-round appearance, but are moving on with just three returning scholarship players after a wave of departures this past offseason.
"You start the season with a picture in your mind of what you want the season to be; a lot of times, injuries or player development changes that picture," Altman said. "But this is one where the picture is unclear. We've got a lot of new guys, and some inexperience. So we've got some challenges ahead."
The face of the team, when the Ducks open the exhibition season Nov. 4 against Northwest Christian and the regular season 10 days later against Coppin State, will be senior guard Joseph Young, Oregon's leading scorer last season at 18.9 points per game. How the rest of the rotation takes shape around Young remains to be seen.
Some of that is due to health — senior guard Jalil Abdul-Bassit and junior post Michael Chandler, a JC transfer, have been battling injuries that hampered their preparations for the start of practice, Altman said. And the Ducks are young — of the team's nine scholarship players, six are new faces, and four of those are freshmen.
"I do like our talent level; I think we've got some guys that are going to be awfully good players," Altman said. "The adjustment to Division-I basketball is going to have to happen very quickly for them. It'll be hopefully a quick adjustment, because they're going to have to step on the floor and be ready to play."
The freshman class includes some highly touted recruits in guards Casey Benson and Ahmaad Rorie, and forwards Jordan Bell and Dillon Brooks. Benson and Rorie could be in line to man the point, with Young also handling the ball at times, given the graduation of senior point guard Johnathan Loyd and the dismissal of Dominic Artis.
Brooks stands 6-foot-5, and Bell is 6-7, putting them on the tall end of a roster that tops out with the 6-10 Chandler, the only Duck bigger than 6-7. Chandler is joined on the front line by returning junior Elgin Cook and another JC transfer, Dwayne Benjamin, along with the freshmen.
Based on the team's lack of size, Altman said, "I don't think we'll play traditionally; I don't think we can. I think we'll play faster and maybe smaller at times than we have previously, try different things, play guys out of position.
"They're all going to have to play big. They're all going to have to rebound. They're all going to have to take pride defensively, being tough and getting stops."
Altman said Brooks, a four-star recruit from Ontario, Canada, could be asked to play both on the wing and down low. Cook has the skills to do so, as well.
"I don't think we want to get any of our guys too locked in to, 'what (position) am I?'" Altman said. "A player plays. He can play a number of spots. We've got guys that can do that.
Because of our lack of size, I think those guys will be asked to play a number of different roles."
The four-man freshman class "came here for a purpose," Altman said, and has proven to be a group of gym rats so far. The opportunity for playing time is clear, and Altman said the newcomers have been putting in work to best take advantage of that.
The freshmen should get plenty of time to shine in practice should injuries to Abdul-Bassit and Chandler linger. Abdul-Bassit, a slick-shooting guard, was hampered by injury last season as well, giving him scant opportunities in the last year to demonstrate any consistency.
Chandler, meanwhile, has been dealing with knee problems. His return to health would seem to be critical for a team otherwise lacking in size.
"Right now we're just trying to get him healthy," Altman said. "He does give us a presence inside, at 6-10, 240 (pounds), and he does have a nice touch around the basket. He gives us a player who can get us a basket inside, and I hope can protect the rim. But first he's got to get healthy."
