Getting to know Kelly Graves’ Oregon Ducks ahead of the 2023 season tip-off
The Oregon Ducks women’s basketball program might still be haunted by that 2020 season when a national championship was in their grasp before the pandemic hit.
Kelly Graves has brought in great recruiting classes since but hasn’t been able to find the same success he enjoyed when Sabrina Ionescu was playing. Oregon might still be a year or two away from seriously contending to make a deep run in March, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make some noise in the meantime.
In the last season of the Pac-12, the conference schedule is a huge gauntlet and the Ducks will have to maneuver their way through. The talent is there to beat anybody. The big question surrounding this team is how quickly they develop chemistry and put it to good use on the floor.
Oregon has three tremendous sophomores and they have a Top 5 recruiting class to play with. If the Ducks gel as a team, they will finish a lot higher than predicted.
Key Returners
Chance Gray: 2022-23 (10.3 ppg, 2.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 33 percent 3-ptrs)
Phillipina Kyei: 2022-23 (7.0 ppg, 10.7 rebounds, 54 percent FG)
Grace VanSlooten: 2022-23 (13.2 ppg, 5.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists)
The Ducks were hurt by departures via the transfers had have just three key returners for the 2023-24 season. Although a healthy and improved 6-foot-7 Kennedy Basham will make a formidable inside game alongside the 6-8 Kyei. Not many teams have that kind of height. But Basham needs to stay healthy as she played in just 16 of the 35 games last season.
Oregon also expects Gray and VanSlooten to make significant improvements after a full off-season in the program. VanSlooten was a Pac-12 Honorable Mention and was on the All-Freshman Team. Gray was also on the All-Freshman Team, but she is capable of a lot more and she needs to put that on display if the Ducks want to play in March Madness.
Key Departures
Endyia Rogers (Transfer to Texas A&M): 15.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.9 assists
Te-Hina Paopao (Transfer to South Carolina): 13.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.3 assists, 42 percent 3-ptrs
Sedona Prince (Transfer to TCU): Missed 2022-23 season due to injury
Taya Hanson (Graduation): 6.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 38 percent 3-ptrs
Ahlise Hurst (Graduation): 4.8 ppg, 87 percent FT, 30 percent FG
Taylor Hosendove (Graduation): 2.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 57 percent FG
Players leaving a program via the transfer portal is commonplace now in college basketball, but it was still quite shocking to see Paopao leave. She had three good seasons as a Duck, however, it seemed as if she never reached her full potential.
Rogers tested the WNBA waters and after it was decided she would return to college, it was assumed she would return to Eugene. But she will instead go to Texas A&M for her final season. It’s a shame because Rogers was really good at Oregon as she was a First-Team All-Pac-12 player in each of her two seasons as a Duck.
Coach Kelly Graves will be hard-pressed to replace those players’ production on the floor.
Key Additions
Sofia Bell: The 6-1 freshman out of Portland was the No. 26 player in the country, according to espnW and was a McDonald’s All-American.
Priscilla Williams: The redshirt sophomore is a transfer from South Florida. The 6-2 guard is also a former five-star recruit where she averaged 30 points a game in Katy, Texas.
Sarah Rambus: The 6-3 guard from Flint, Mich. was ranked No. 66 overall in the nation in the Class of 2022 in the espnW top 100 and was a four-star recruit according to ESPN. She shot 49.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent on 57 3-point attempts as a junior.
Bella Hamel: The 5-9 guard from Hillsboro was the NWAC Player of the Year at Lane Community College. In her 73 career games at LCC (all starts), she scored 1,204 points (16.5 per game) at a 43.8 percent clip while hauling in 885 rebounds (12.1 per game), dished out 211 assists (2.9 per game) and grabb206ed steals (2.8 per game).
Media said what?
It’s unusual to see Oregon women’s basketball be picked so low, but the media that covers the Pac-12 must have some serious questions to need to be answered by the Ducks.
Kelly Graves’ squad has had a lot of turnover and that’s probably the main reason why they were picked to finish eighth. It also shows how deep this conference is and more than half of the league could play in the NCAA tournament in March.
This is how the media sees how the 2023-24 Pac-12 will shake out.
Utah (7 first place votes)
UCLA (3 first place votes)
Stanford (2 first place votes)
Colorado
USC
Arizona
Oregon
Washington
Arizona State
Big games
at Grand Canyon, Nov. 16 – Oregon’s first true road game is against the defending regular season WAC champions. The Lopes were 21-10 last year, but lost in the WAC tournament and was not invited to the NCAA tournament.
at Baylor, Dec. 3 – The Bears finished 20-13 last season and was ousted out of the NCAA tourney in the second round to UConn.
Oklahoma State, Dec. 21 (Trailblazer Classic, St. George, Utah) – The Cowgirls finished 21-12 last season and lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Miami (FL) 62-61.
at Oregon State, Dec. 31 – The Ducks and Beavers have their first of at least two meetings in Corvallis in the last Pac-12 season. Assuming these teams play each other after this season, they will be non-conference affairs.
at Stanford, Jan. 19 – The Ducks travel to Palo Alto to face the Cardinal in what could be their last trip to The Farm in the foreseeable future.
Utah, Jan. 26 – The Utes have taken over the conference, a league once ruled by the Cardinal and Ducks. They make their trip to Eugene to end the month.
Oregon State, Feb. 4 – The Ducks and Beavers inside Matthew Knight Arena is always a must-watch.
at Utah. Feb. 11 – Oregon takes a swing at the preseason conference favorites on the road.
Stanford, March 2 – In what could be a huge game, the Cardinal make their last trip to Eugene for the regular season season finale.
Last Season
It was a rebuilding season for the Ducks as they introduced a brand new recruiting class that played significant minutes. The new freshman showed flashes of brilliance, but at the same time, they saw some freshman moments as well. Overall, Oregon finished 20-15 with the season ending with a loss to Washington in the Great 8 of the WNIT.
Overall predictions
The three returning sophomores should have a jump in numbers and become the leaders of a team that has a lot of newcomers and need to gel quickly.
The non-conference schedule is manageable with a few tough games sprinkle in to get the team ready for what should be a grueling Pac-12 schedule. This league is the best conference in the country and the Ducks will have to navigate the Pac-12 as best they can.
Oregon was picked to finish eighth and considering all the newcomers, it’s understandable, but the overall talent says the Ducks are a lot better than an eighth place team. Some big non-conference wins, especially on the road would go a long way for their confidence.
The Ducks have the talent to go to the NCAA tournament and they’ll be a bubble team and will be invited due to the strength of schedule. Oregon will most likely receive an 8, 9 or 10-seed.
