Oregon Ducks Basketball: Will More Experience Equal More Wins?

Returning Players

The Ducks return the top nine scorers from last season with only two returning players being seniors next season.

Tajuan Porter – G - PTS15.4; REB2.5; AST1.8

Garrett Sim – G - PTS6.8; REB1.7; AST2.0

Kamyron Brown – G - PTS4.5; REB1.6; AST2.2

Matthew Humphrey – G - PTS4.4; REB1.5; AST0.8

Teondre Williams – G - PTS2.6; REB0.9; AST0.2

LeKendric Longmire – G - PTS9.9; REB3.7; AST0.8

Drew Wiley – F - PTS4.2; REB1.3; AST0.4

Joevan Catron – F - PTS7.2; REB6.6; AST2.3

Michael Dunnigan – C - PTS8.4; REB4.6; AST0.5

Josh Crittle – F/C - PTS3.6; REB3.3; AST0.4

Players Lost

One huge positive with the coming of next year is that the Ducks return all their starters and the six true freshmen this year will have another year in the system under their belt.

Churchill Odia – Although Churchill wasn’t a big scorer, he was a great at distributing the ball and was a great team player. He could play anything from point guard to power forward and always seemed to make good decisions on the floor.

He averaged 3.2 points per game this past season. I always wondered what his role would have been with the team if he had been on the team for four years and found a more prominent role in the rotation.

Frantz Dorsanvil – Frantz faced everything from missing a year with problems trying to get a student visa to injuries that hampered him much of the past two seasons. I feel he could have been a good role player, as he was a big and athletic big man. He had limited post moves from what I saw, but good enough to score some points of the bench.

Incoming Players

Jamil Wilson – Anytime Oregon beats out Michigan State and Texas for a recruit it is safe to assume he should be a great player. Jamil is a very athletic wing player that will bring an immediate scoring boost to the Ducks. I think he can play multiple positions and has the ability to start, but I think he will be one of the first off the bench.

E.J Singler – It is always nice to see a player from Oregon stick around and play for the Ducks. E.J. averaged over 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. I think E.J. will have to battle for playing time as there will be a few other wing players with more experience in front of him. Has a similar game to his brother Kyle at Duke and should be a good player for the Ducks over the next few years.

Jeremy Jacob – The former Louisiana Player Of he Year spent one injury filled season at Georgia and then attended one year of Hargrave Military Academy. I think Jeremy will be a surprise to many Duck fans, as he is not as well known as the other to signees. I think he will provide good energy off the bench and will be another athletic big guy to cause problems for opposing defenses.

Coaching

Duck fans are split on whether Ernie Kent should be brought back for another season with Oregon. I believe he will and I think he deserves the chance to do so. With six freshman that got most of the playing time, I think fans had too high of expectations for the previous good recruiting class (Remember the 2004-2005 season?). I think once the players feel more comfortable in the system and gain another offseason of workouts, they can really make a huge improvement.

Development

The development of the returning players is the most important factor going into next season. Can this year's freshmen start becoming reliable scorers every game? Will this year's juniors step up as leaders on the court and in the offseason?

The team will come together through the summer and will be much improved next season. Each freshmen this season has shown flashes of playing very well, but like most freshmen, they have made a lot of mistakes. I am confident the players will work hard in the offseason and will prove to be a much more confident and consistent team.

Prediction

Next season's full schedule has not been announced, so I will look at how I feel the Ducks will fare in the Pac-10 in 2009 and 2010.

USC could be a dangerous team next year if no players leave for the NBA. As much as I don’t want it to be true, Oregon State will be a better team with the second year under coach Robinson. Arizona State loses Pendergraph and most likely Harden, so they will struggle next season.

Arizona will also probably struggle with the likely loss of Hill and Budinger to the NBA. Washington State loses a couple key players and may face a down season. Washington definitely will face early season problems after losing Brockman and Dentmon. Stanford loses Goods, Johnson, and Hill, so next year they should be in rebuilding mode.

Cal looks to be the most dangerous team in the Pac-10 with all players from this season returning. While UCLA loses Shipp, Aboya, and Collison, UCLA may not be fighting for the Pac-10 title, but they always have talented players waiting on the roster.

Realistically, I feel the Ducks can get around seven wins in the Pac-10 and could get as many as 10 and have a chance to make the tournament. The Pac-10 will be strong again next year and unless teams lose a ton of players to the NBA, the Ducks will have to show a lot of growth to make it back to the top of the Pac-10.