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'A chip on our shoulder': Oregon men's basketball prepares for final season in Pac-12

Chris Hansen, Eugene Register-Guard
·4 min read
Oregon head coach Dana Altman talks to his team as the Oregon Ducks host the California Golden Bears March 2 at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene.
Oregon head coach Dana Altman talks to his team as the Oregon Ducks host the California Golden Bears March 2 at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene.

Oregon will open its men’s basketball season with one member of its heralded freshmen class on the sideline.

Mookie Cook, a 6-foot-7, 200-pound, 5-star forward from Portland, recently underwent surgery on his ankle and will not be available until the start of the new calendar year, coach Dana Altman said Wednesday during his appearance at Pac-12 media day in Las Vegas.

Cook, a 2023 McDonald’s all-American and a member of the Jordan Brand national team, injured his ankle over the summer while playing in an all-star tournament.

“He's going to be out until December, maybe early January,” Altman said. “The other 11 guys, if they're healthy, I think our depth is pretty good.”

The Ducks will find out soon enough. The season begins back in Las Vegas at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 6 with a game against Georgia in a Hall of Fame Series game at T-Mobile Arena.

Oregon guard Jermaine Couisnard drives toward the basket under coverage from USC guard Kobe Johnson as the Oregon Ducks host the Southern California Trojans Feb. 9, at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene.
Oregon guard Jermaine Couisnard drives toward the basket under coverage from USC guard Kobe Johnson as the Oregon Ducks host the Southern California Trojans Feb. 9, at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene.

The Ducks return five players — centers N’Faly Dante and Nate Bittle, and guards Jermaine Couisnard, Keeshawn Barthelemy, Brennan Rigsby — from last season’s 21-15 team that didn’t make the NCAA Tournament but advanced to the third round of the National Invitation Tournament before losing to Wisconsin.

Seven newcomers join them, including four transfers.

The Ducks have been on the practice court for two weeks preparing for the start of the season.

“I feel like we all have been playing with a chip on our shoulder,” Couisnard said Wednesday. “Just attacking the off-season how we're supposed to prepare every day.”

Oregon Ducks come in at No. 4 in Pac-12 preseason poll

Oregon was fourth in the Pac-12 media preseason poll announced Wednesday, coming in behind No. 1 Arizona, No. 2 Southern California and No. 3 UCLA. Oregon State received the fewest votes to finish at No. 12.

Fifth-year senior center Dante was a Pac-12 preseason media first-team all-conference selection and freshman Kwame Evans Jr. was named honorable mention.

Dante is coming off a season in which he was named first-team all-conference and led the Ducks in points (13.5 per game), rebounds (8.2), blocks (1.4) and field goal percentage (64.2%).

Oregon center N'Faly Dante dunks the ball as the Oregon Ducks take on the Oregon State Beavers at Gill Coliseum Feb. 25 in Corvallis.
Oregon center N'Faly Dante dunks the ball as the Oregon Ducks take on the Oregon State Beavers at Gill Coliseum Feb. 25 in Corvallis.

Evans, a 6-9, 200-pound, five-star forward from Baltimore, was also a 2023 McDonald’s all-American and a member of the Jordan Brand national team.

Oregon’s third freshman is four-star point guard Jackson Shelstad from West Linn.

“Jackson’s getting there every day,” Altman said earlier this month. “He's been competing very hard. Really just got a quick, quick first step. Just picking up the game and picking up the way we want to play. He's worked really hard. He's really coachable. So he's done a great job.”

Dana Altman wants to keep Oregon State on schedule

Wednesday’s event marked the last men’s basketball media day for the Pac-12 and Oregon.

Next year, the Ducks will be at the Big Ten media day event alongside Michigan, Purdue, Indiana and Michigan State.

Altman, now in his 14th season at Oregon and the dean of Pac-12 coaches, lamented the downfall of the conference.

“I've always really liked the league,” he said. “I thought it was really competitive. Even in years that people said our league was down, I don't think it was. So from my perspective, I'm disappointed. I'm excited at the same time because now we've got new challenges ahead of us, and that keeps you going.”

Altman said he would like to keep some familiar opponents on the schedule, including — and especially — Oregon State. He said he has spoken with Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle and that playing once each season is important to both programs.

“It's good for basketball in the state, it’s good for our fans,” Altman said. “Wayne and I have discussed it, and we want to play. So unless the higher-ups tell us we're not, we're going to play.”

Pac-12 preseason media poll

(First-place votes in parenthesis)

1, Arizona (18), 303 points. 2, Southern California (4), 264. 3, UCLA (4), 249. 4, Oregon, 228. 5, Colorado, 210. 6, Arizona State, 148. 7, Utah, 139. 8, Stanford, 131. 9, Washington, 108. 10, Washington State, 94. 11, California, 67. 12, Oregon State, 42.

Pac-12 preseason media all-conference teams

First team — N’Faly Dante, C, Oregon; Oumar Ballo, C, Arizona; Adem Bona, F/C, UCLA; Kelon Brooks Jr., F, Washington; Branden Carlson, C, Utah; Isaiah Collier, G, USC; Tristan da Silva, F, Colorado; Boogie Ellis, G, USC; Spencer Jones, F, Stanford; KJ Simpson, G, Colorado.

Second team — Fardaws Aimaq, F, California; Kylan Boswell, G, Arizona; Kobe Johnson, G, USC; Caleb Love, G, Arizona; Jordan Pope, G, Oregon State.

Honorable mention — Kwame Evans Jr., Oregon; Pelle Larsson, Arizona; Aday Mara, UCLA; Cody Williams, Colorado.

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Ducks basketball freshman Mookie Cook has ankle surgery