'Gritty' and 'scrappy': Oregon Ducks women's basketball talks focus for 2023-24 season

Oregon’s women’s basketball coach Kelly Graves and sophomores Chance Gray and Grace VanSlooten talked about plans for the upcoming season at the Pac-12's final Media Day, with the Ducks looking to be more “gritty" and "scrappy."

Before the trio and other coaches and players from the conference talked to members of the media and Pac-12 Networks, the conference announced the Ducks were picked to finish eighth in both the preseason coaches and media polls Tuesday morning.

Utah was tabbed to finish first in both polls.

Along with the preseason polls, the conference announced the preseason all-conference team, with just VanSlooten recognized from Oregon.

Oregon's Kelly Graves entering 10th season with Ducks

Graves, entering his 10th season at the helm in Eugene, took the podium first and outlined the Ducks’ aspirations for 2023-24.

“I really like my team,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of new faces, but we’ve got a nice blend of some experienced transfers coming in that I think will really help, especially at the point guard spot, and some really talented young kids. We’re excited. I think we’re a bit more like the teams I like to coach, a bit blue-collar, really competitive, and in the past that’s done well for us.”

Though the Ducks will feature many new players via the transfer portal or their recruiting class, the team will be led by a pair of sophomores in VanSlooten and Gray that are setting the tone defensively for a team built a bit differently than Graves has normally coached.

Graves admitted he has been more of an offensive coach in his many years at Oregon and before that Gonzaga, but that his team this year has been more focused on the other end of the floor.

“I think part of that is we may not be quite as talented offensively as we’ve been in the past,” he said. “I think we don’t have a ton of great scorers so we’re going to have to maybe win more games in the 60s and 70s than we’ve done in the past. But, you know, we want to get out and run.”

Ducks hoping to build as season goes on

In VanSlooten and Gray, along with a number of transfers and freshmen that have the length and size to disrupt, the Ducks are hoping to build as the season goes on.

An All-Pac-12 honorable mention and All-Freshman Team selection last season, the 6-foot-3 VanSlooten will lead the charge for the Ducks at forward, with Gray leading on the perimeter and 6-foot-8 center Phillipina Kyei taking on rim-protecting duties.

Graves was complimentary of all three as building blocks for Oregon this season.

“We’ve got a great weapon inside in Phillipina Kyei, she’s made great improvement,” Graves said of the junior from Alberta. “People forget she’s only played basketball for four years, she’s going to be a real focal point for us. I think she has a chance to be one of the best centers in the conference, and if you’re one of the best centers in the Pac-12 conference, you’re one of the best centers in the country.”

Last season as a sophomore, Kyei finished second in the Pac-12 in rebounding, hauling in 10.7 boards per game while scoring seven points a game on 54.1% shooting from the field.

Despite dealing with injuries throughout the year, VanSlooten averaged 13.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists as a freshman, ranking second on the team in scoring. Gray started every game for the Ducks last year and was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and was an honorable mention All-Defense pick.

“Last year we saw Chance have some great games, now we just need to see her have great games consistently, and I think she will,” Graves said. “She really sets the tone in practice, she’s a tough, tough competitor. She comes every day and it’s all about business for her. That’s what I love about her and Grace, they’ve set a really nice tone.”

'We're going to go out and fly hard'

The team has followed suit with Graves’ defensive goals. Earlier in the offseason the Ducks broke off into groups and had to come up with a few things they wanted the team to be this season, and the words that kept coming up were “gritty” and “scrappy.”

“We’re really trying to integrate that,” VanSlooten said. “We want to be a team that flies around and makes everyone feel pressured. We’re going to punch them first, we’re going to go out and fly hard, play scrappy and see where that takes us.”

Gray added having more depth on this year's team and more bodies to throw at opponents will help win those games in the 60s and 70s.

“Playing a bit more fast-paced and getting up and into teams is what I like to do as well,” she said. “It’s good to have more people around us that enjoy doing that. I think it’ll be great and we have to embrace what we have to do to win games.”

The Ducks open their 2023-24 campaign with an exhibition at Matthew Knight Arena against Southern Oregon Oct. 29, and officially start their season against Northern Arizona on Nov. 6.

Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on Twitter @AlecDietz.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Ducks women's basketball talks focus for 2023-24 season