Oregon Ducks

NCAA Division: Division I

Conference: Pac-12

Past Conferences:  Pac-10, Pac-8, AAWU, PCC, Ind

City: Eugene, Oregon

Stadium: Matthew Knight Arena

NCAA Tournaments: 1939, 1945, 1960, 1961, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021

Championships:

         National Championships: 1

       Conference Titles: 5

Team History

During its inception, the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball program became an intercollegiate program. It would take at least four years until the program won its first game. It would take over nearly three decades until the school gained some national recognition as a member of the  Pacific Coast Conference.

After William Reinhart left the university in 1935, Howard Hobson, an alumnus of the university, became the head coach and built on years of work. His coaching tactics, like his fast-break offense, were considered to be ahead of their time, and the method proved to work. Odds were the highest, as no other school was able to match up against the potent offensive schemes. The squad would continue to show the team’s dominance from start to finish.

A sports editor named L. Gregory coined the phrase “Tall Firs” to describe the Oregon players because they were taller than other teams. The strategy worked to perfection; they would claim the North Division title in the conference and win its first NCAA national championship trophy that year.

During the 1944–45 season, John Warren served as head coach during Howard Hobson’s absence. During his absence, the team would reach the Elite 8 before failing the Arkansas Razorbacks; however, they would escape with a narrow victory in their Regional 3rd Place against the Utah Utes.

The Ducks would go through a tough 15-year period since the game of basketball constantly was changing. The school would not make it to the national stage until the 1960 season, with Steve Belko calling the shots. Stan Love (Kevin Love’s father,) a gifted shooter and rebounder, was the star of the team. This squad would reach the Elite 8 before getting outplayed by the California Bears. The following year, the Ducks would lose to the USC Trojans in the opening round.

Oregon’s program achieved some consistency under head coach Dick Harter in 1971. Harter’s Kamikaze Kids continued to play hard, diving for loose balls, and giving the opposing offense some trouble. As soon as he left, the once-strong program began to struggle for the majority of the next four decades.

Oregon would make a much-needed return to the biggest stage in 1995 but was immediately upset in the opening round by the Texas Longhorns. Ernie Kent, who was one of Harter’s Kamikaze Kids, would take over once coach Jerry Green left.

The 1999-00 team was ranked as high as the 23rd-best team in the nation. Unfortunately, history would repeat itself when they lost in a heartbreaking overtime loss against the Seton Hall Pirates in the first round.

From the 2000s On

Having recorded a .500 regular season record the previous season, the tide would finally turn in their favor in 2002 when they finished as the 11th-best team in the country. They would reach the Elite 8 before getting outplayed by the Big 12 champs, also known as the Kansas Jayhawks.

The year 2003 would end quickly, as the Ducks lost in the first round. The Ducks would get the opportunity to prove their doubters wrong in 2007 when they reached the Elite 8.

There was a lot of interest in Oregon’s Class of 2007 high school stars Kevin Love and Kyle Singler, widely regarded as the best high school players ever to come out of the state. Due to the allegations surrounding coach Kent, Love chose to attend UCLA, while Singler chose Duke.

In 2010, Dana Altman was introduced as head coach after Kent was let go due to poor results at the end of his tenure. Until 2016, the highest peak was a Sweet 16 and a few second-round appearances, but the best was yet to come: they managed to reach the Elite 8 in 2016 as the one-seed in the West before losing to the Oklahoma Sooners.

As a third-seeded team in the Midwest region, the Ducks were determined to shock the world with quite a roster of future NBA players that featured players like Dillon Brooks, Chris Boucher, and Payton Pritchard. There were a few others who had stints in the NBA. They would reach the Final Four before falling to the eventual Tournament champs North Carolina Tar Heels.

The Oregon team stats showed that the team was determined to make some noise in the Tournament. The years 2019 and 2021 would have similar results, since the team would make it up to the Sweet 16. Dana Altman will enter his 12th season with the program and has solid NCAAB odds to make it to the NCAA Tournament once again.

All-Time Records

• Points Scored

  • Ron Lee 2,085

  • Luke Jackson 1,970

  • Anthony Taylor 1,939

• Rebounds

  • Greg Ballard 1,119

  • Maarty Leunen 903

  • Stan Love 818

• Assists

  • Payton Pritchard 659

  • Kenya Wilkins 614

  • Ron Lee 543

• Steals

  • Kenya Wilkins 213

  • Payton Pritchard 211

  • Luke Jackson 160

FAQs

1. What Is the Highest Win Total in Program History?

The 2016 season had the highest winning total in the program’s history. The team went 33-6 because the squad was the ninth-best team in the country. The school would lose in the Final Four.

2. Who Is the Winningest Coach in Program History?

Dana Altman is the winningest coach in the program’s history with over 300 wins. The number will continue to increase with his 12th season with the school.

3. Who Is the Greatest Player in Program History?

Dillon Brooks is arguably the greatest player in the program’s history, in spite of there being quite a few options to choose from. He was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 45th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and was immediately traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. He has been a key contributor to the up-and-coming team led by Ja Morant.