Greg McDermott has experienced all of the potential awkward moments that a first year coach could ever think of in his first season on the Hilltop. He coached against Northern Iowa, his alma mater, three times, including in the Arch Madness quarterfinals, this after his son denounced UNI for Creighton — and then was named first team All-Valley as a freshman.
Earlier in the season, the Bluejays and McDermott played in a multi-team event featuring Iowa State. McDermott was the coach who set it up … while he was with the Cyclones.
Now, the ultimate in awkward situations arises, if not for Coach Mac then surely for Bluejay fans. A little less than a year since he took off for greener (and yellower) pastures, Dana Altman returns to Omaha to coach his Oregon Ducks against Creighton.
These two teams begin a best-of-three series in Omaha Monday night. To help us get a feel of the Oregon side of things, John Hunt from the Oregonian gives us some insight into what Altman has already done to transform the Ducks and the game one matchup in Omaha.
White & Blue Review: One season into Dana Altman’s Oregon career, how are the basketball boosters feeling about the direction of the program?
John Hunt: Nearly everyone is delighted. The phrase “playing with house money” has been heard often, as the Ducks already overachieved to everyone’s satisfaction even before the two wins in the Pac-10 Tournament and the run in the CBI. The feeling is that Altman has done a whole lot with a little, especially after the turmoil of the long coaching search and ensuing transfers. Fans are very pleased at the new emphasis on fundamental play and team basketball.
WBR: Coach Altman had to piece together a roster for this season. What have been some of the struggles with that this season?
JH: The biggest struggle has been losing Jeremy Jacob for basically the entire season. A 6-foot-8 forward with a very nice shooting touch, Jacob was arguably Oregon’s best player and missed a lot of time after knee surgery and was ineffective when he did play. That left Altman’s team very thin in the frontcourt.
This was after the Ducks lost several players to transfer and their big man, Michael Dunigan, to an Israeli pro contract. They were down to eight scholarship players, and there was legitimate concern that they couldn’t be competitive this season. Altman snagged former Nebraska guard Jay-R Strowbridge, which appeared to be a desperation move, but it was one that helped greatly, especially in the middle of the season.
WBR: Who has been the biggest surprise this season?
JH: You have to say Joevan Catron has been a big surprise, even though he is their senior leader. He was awarded an extra year of eligibility this season, but most of us assumed back problems would still plague him. Altman runs his same offense, but it’s very much centered on getting ball inside to Catron, who is a whirling bull on the low block. That makes everything else work, with the dribble penetration and the good-enough 3-point shooting.
WBR: What is E.J. Singler’s ceiling? He’s ending the season on quite a tear. What are those around the program saying about what his upperclassmen years may look like in Eugene?
JH: Usually high-ceiling guys are those with great height or athleticism, and Singler has neither. But he is a very effective player. He is very smart at finding his shot, and he gets big rebounds. He will never be his brother, but if he hits the weights some more this offseason, he’ll be that much more effective. Obviously, his basketball IQ is quite high, and having that kind of guy as an upperclassman leader is a really good thing.
WBR: Who will be the Oregon player to stop during this series?
JH: Stopping Catron is important, but keeping point guard Malcolm Armstead out of the lane is just as important. When the Ducks have been successful, Armstead has been able to beat defenders off the dribble, and he is a great steals guy on the other end, too. Singler is also a guy who can get hot and hurt you.
WBR: What kind of weaknesses can Creighton exploit?
JH: Size. Creighton’s big guys could have their way inside, but they will have to contend with some pretty good help and rotations by Oregon’s defense. The Jays big guys will have to be decisive with their moves, and they will have to stay out of foul trouble on the other end, trying to contend with Catron’s inside energy.
WBR: Creighton fans are pretty surprised that they will get to face Altman’s Ducks so soon. Did Altman and his staff realize that by being a part of this tournament that this might happen or did they just want to play more basketball?
JH: They wanted to play more basketball — they certainly didn’t want to play Creighton. The thinking was that, with a first-year coach and some relatively good health and with finishing the season on an uptick, then the Ducks would benefit from playing in a lower-tier tournament. Altman said that a big factor was simply that Catron wanted to play — the senior didn’t want to take off his jersey.
WBR: What does the Ducks’ incoming recruiting class look like?
JH: It’s a very good class, with a solid 6-9 guy (Austin Kuemper) who has been compared to Dave Cowens. The jewel of the class is Jabari Brown, a big (6-5), athletic two-guard who can really shoot. Brett Kingma is a smallish combo guard who can shoot lights out and really looks like a player. Oregon also has a transfer from Minnesota (Devoe Joseph), who can create shots and also a JC transfer who has size and hops named Carlos Emory.
WBR: Oregon fans have seemed to embrace the CBI by having the largest crowds in the tournament. What is the culture like out there with the fanbase? Is basketball important, or is it more focused on the football program? What is your feeling about the CBI?
JH: Duck fans have turned out pretty well for the CBI, averaging 5,300. The crowds have been more appreciative than raucous, and many are happy to experience the Ducks’ new Matthew Knight Arena, a $227 million building the team moved into in January.
Many fans at Oregon are kind of waking up to basketball, which has gone through a few years of ugliness since the Elite Eight appearance in 2007. It won’t replace football, no matter how well Altman does, but it can definitely have one of the better fan bases in the Pac-12 — only Arizona has what you’d call a rabid following.
My feeling? I was kind of looking forward to a couple of days off before spring football practice, and I won’t get that. But it’s been fun, especially with this story line to end it.
WBR: What is your final prediction? What will Oregon need to do to steal the first win in Omaha?
JH: I’d say Creighton wins Monday, and the Ducks win the last two for the title — why go against the home team in this tournament? For the Ducks to win the opener, they have to have a hot hand from 3-point range and play at a higher energy level than Creighton. If both teams play with the same energy, then the Jays should win.