Looking Back at the 2014-15 Season
THE STARTING FIVE
1 - Winners of the very first NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship (1939), Oregon is one of just nine teams nationally to win a game in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments. The other teams on that list are Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, San Diego State and Wichita State.
2 - Historical firsts: Oregon accumulated an impressive list of program milestones during the 2014-15 season, the most noteworthy of which may have been earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season. The Ducks had previously played in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments four different times, but never hit the trifecta until this year. In addition to the third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, other high water marks for the program included:
* Most Wins, 5-season period (123)
* Most Wins, 4-season period (102)
* Most Wins, 3-season period (78)
* First time reaching 100 wins in 4 years
* First time with 5 consecutive 20-win seasons
* Team record 157 blocked shots
* Individual record 745 points (Joseph Young; ties Terrell Brandon)
* Individual record .925 free throw percentage (Joseph Young)
* Individual record 94 blocks (Jordan Bell)
* UO 2-year record 1,388 points (Joseph Young)
* Pac-12 and UO career record .900 free throw percentage (Joseph Young)
3 - Joseph Young had a season unlike any other in school history. He tied Terrell Brandon’s school record with 745 points on the way to being named Pac-12 Player of the Year, all-Pac-12 first team, Pac-12 all-tournament team and all-America. He set the Pac-12 and UO career record for free throw percentage (.900), and also established the UO season mark (.925). He became the Ducks’ career leader in NCAA Tournament scoring (105) and his 74 points in the Pac-12 Tournament were the third-most in that event’s history. His two-year scoring total of 1,388 points is also the most in school history. He finished ninth nationally at 20.7 points per game, becoming the first Duck to lead the league in scoring since Aaron Brooks in 2007.
4 - Oregon’s freshmen accounted for 32 percent of the team’s scoring (24.2 points per game), 42 percent of the total rebounds (15.1 rpg), 49 percent of the assists (6.9 apg) and 77 percent of the blocked shots (3.4 bpg). Dillon Brooks was the No. 3 freshman scorer in the Pac-12 (11.5 ppg).
5 - Head coach Dana Altman now has 18 consecutive winning seasons as a head coach (13 at Creighton, 5 at Oregon). Only six other active coaches in Division I can stake that claim; a veritable coaching pantheon including Mike Krzyzewski, Tom Izzo, Roy Williams, Bill Self, Jim Boeheim and Stew Morrill (Utah State).
RPI ROCKET
After losing to Ole Miss on Dec. 8, Oregon’s RPI was 161. Entering Pac-12 play, it was 114. After getting swept in Washington in mid-January to fall to 12-6, it was 92. But after ripping off 11 wins in its final 13 regular season games, including a run to the Pac-12 Tournament Championship game, the Ducks’ RPI stood at No. 26, and had a final postseason RPI of 27.
LOOKING AHEAD, DUCKS RETURN DEPTH FOR 2015-16
Oregon is slated to return eight scholarship players for the 2015-16 season: seniors Dwayne Benjamin, Elgin Cook and Michael Chandler, and sophomores Jordan Bell, Casey Benson, Dillon Brooks, Ahmaad Rorie and Roman Sorkin. The Ducks have also two freshmen signed for next season, 6-9 forward Trevor Manuel, and 6-0 guard Kendall Small. Oregon may add more players when the spring signing period begins on April 15. The Ducks also return four walk-ons. A quick look at the 2015-16 roster as it currently stands:
Seniors: Dwayne Benjamin (F), Michael Chandler (C), *Elgin Cook (F), *w-Max Heller (G)
Juniors: w-Theo Friedman (G), w-Charlie Noebel (G)
Sophomores: Jordan Bell (F), Casey Benson (PG), Dillon Brooks (F), Ahmaad Rorie (G), Roman Sorkin (F)
Freshmen: *w-Hayden Coppedge (G), Trevor Manuel (F), Kendall Small (G)
* - has utilized redshirt season
w - walk-on
“DF” PATCHES
Oregon wore patches with the letters “DF” on its uniforms in honor of former University President Dave Frohnmayer, who passed away on March 9 of prostate cancer. Frohnmayer, widely considered one of the best Presidents in school history, led the University for 15 years from 1994-2009, and was Oregon’s state attorney general prior to that from 1981-91.
700 CLUB
Joseph Young became just the second Duck to score 700 points in a season, and he matched Terrell Brandon for the school record at 745 on his final bucket against Wisconsin.
ALTMAN, YOUNG, COOK, BROOKS, BELL HONORED BY PAC-12
In a vote of conference coaches, senior guard Joseph Young was named the 2014-15 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Player of the Year and the all-Pac-12 first team, while Dana Altman was named the Pac-12 John R. Wooden Coach of the Year. Junior forward Elgin Cook was named to the all-Pac-12 second team, while two Ducks were selected for the all-freshman team, forwards Jordan Bell and Dillon Brooks. Bell was also chosen for the all-defensive team. Arizona forward Stanley Johnson was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Oregon State junior guard Gary Payton II was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Washington State sophomore forward Josh Hawkinson was the Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year.
PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Young is Oregon’s fourth Player of the Year, joining the likes of former Duck guards Ron Lee (1975-76), Terrell Brandon 1990-91), and Luke Ridnour (2002-03) with his honor. The senior guard from Houston, Texas, led the Pac-12 averaging 20.7 points per game, while also netting 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per outing. He also paced the Pac-12 at the free-throw line at a school record 92.5 percent.
PAC-12 JOHN R. WOODEN COACH OF THE YEAR: Altman guided Oregon to a tie for a second-place finish in the Pac-12 race after being picked to finish eighth by the media in the annual preseason Pac-12 Men’s Basketball poll. Oregon posted a record of 26-10 overall and 13-5 in the Pac-12. Under Altman, the Ducks have posted 20 or more wins in a school-record five consecutive seasons. It’s the second time in three seasons that Altman has been honored as the league’s Coach of the Year, and the fourth time an Oregon coach has earned the distinction – Altman (2015, 2013), Ernie Kent (2002), and Dick Harter (1977).
COOK, BELL, BROOKS HONORED: Cook, from Milwaukee, Wis., earned his first all-Pac-12 second-team honors. He was Oregon’s second-leading scorer at 13.0 points per game, grabbed 5.2 rebounds per game and shot 52.0 percent from the floor. Bell was named to both the All-Freshman and All-Defensive team after leading the Pac-12 with 94 blocked shots, which is the UO school record as well as the second-most blocks by a freshman in league history. He was Oregon’s leading rebounder at 6.1 per game. Brooks was an All-Freshman selection as the team’s third-leading scorer at 11.5 points per game and grabbed 4.9 rebounds per contest.
HONORS COME IN FOR YOUNG YOUNG
Joseph Young picked up his first All-America nod of the year when he was singled out as a third team selection by the Sporting News. He was an All-America honorable mention choice by the Associated Press. He is also one of 16 players nationally named to the Jerry West Award finalist list, and was named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50.
TOURNAMENTS FOR THE AGES FOR YOUNG
Joseph Young scored 74 points during Oregon’s three-game run in the Pac-12 Tournament, which was the third-highest total in tournament history. Only UCLA’s Reggie Miller (83) and California’s Leon Powe (80) have scored more in the league tourney. He then became Oregon’s career leading scorer in NCAA Tournament games, netting 105 in his four NCAA outings as a Duck.
VICTORY OVER DUCKS BODES WELL IN NCAA
In the last eight years, Oregon’s NCAA Tournament losses have come to four Final Four teams, including two eventual national champions. The run began with an Elite Eight loss to 2007 national champ Florida, and also includes losses to Mississippi State (2008), national champion Louisville (2013), Final Four team Wisconsin (2014) and national runner-up Wisconsin (2015).
TRENDS
It’s an obvious stat, but Oregon was 23-1 when shooting better from the field than the opponent, and 3-9 when being outshot. The only loss for the Ducks when shooting better than the opposition was to Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament. More telling is that the Ducks were undefeated (17-0) when holding the opposition below 70 points.
18 CONSECUTIVE WINNING SEASONS
Dana Altman is one of just seven active head coaches in NCAA Division I that has posted a winning record for 18 consecutive seasons. For Altman, that streak runs from the 1997-98 season to present, and covers his final 13 seasons at Creighton and his first five in Eugene.
FINISHING STRONG
Under Coach Dana Altman, Oregon has a 31-14 record (.689) during the second half of Pac-12 play. That breaks down to 4-5 in 2011, 7-2 in 2012, 5-4 in 2013, 7-2 in 2014 and 8-1 in 2015. Only Arizona (34) and UCLA (32) had won more over the last five seasons.
DUCKS SWAT SHOTS AT RECORD PACE
Led by Jordan Bell’s school record 94 blocks, the Ducks set the UO team season record for blocked shots. The Ducks had 157 on the season, 11 more than the prior mark of 146 in 2012-13. Nov. 30 versus Portland State, the Ducks set school and Matthew Knight Arena records with 12 blocks, as Bell swatted six.
BELL’S BLOCK PARTY
Freshman Jordan Bell accumulated blocks on an historic level. It took him just 17 games to break the UO season record. With 94 on the year, he’s already second on the UO career list. At 2.7 blocks per game, he ranked 18th nationally. The 94 blocks is also the second-highest season total ever by a freshman in the Pac-12. During the Jan. 10 contest versus Arizona State, Bell tied the UO single-game record with eight blocks, matching the mark originally set by Blair Rasmussen on Dec. 27, 1984, versus Davidson.
ROOKIES TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
Freshman Casey Benson had an impressive assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.13-to-1. That would have been among the Pac-12 leaders if he would have met the minimum 3.0 assists per game. Another freshman, Ahmaad Rorie, was second on the squad with a 1.83 A/TO. In Pac-12 games, the two freshmen point guards combined for 65 assists and just 22 turnovers.
FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTORS
Oregon’s freshmen accounted for 32 percent of the team’s scoring (24.2 points per game), 42 percent of the total rebounds (15.1 rpg), 49 percent of the assists (6.9 apg) and 77 percent of the blocked shots (3.4 bpg). Dillon Brooks was the No. 3 freshman scorer in the Pac-12 (11.5 ppg). He scored a career-high 24 points Dec. 13 versus Illinois. Additionally, after averaging 14.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the two contests played in Brooklyn, he was named to the Progressive Legends Classic all-tournament team.
