MicroBurst61

Man o man what a tale of two halves. First ten minutes I was concerned at another sub 20% FG shooting and started to wonder if this was going to turn ugly, fast. But, as this team has done before all year, they refocused, rotated personnel, and actually Nailed their FREEthrows to make it a two possession game by halftime. Don't know what happened in that Duck locker room over the break but the second half was the best half of basketball this team has played all year. Ball movement, isolating the "hot hand", shot selection, tenacious defense, and great complimentary player rotation throughout. They seemed "Comfortable" and in control the entire second half. Now if this team can take that second half and apply it to all the remaining halves the rest of this season, then we will truly have a tourney team with Sweet Sixteen potential. But let me not get ahead of where we currently are. We have a HUGE game on Saturday afternoon for out right first place in the conference. And thanks to "lil bros" step back three as time expired last night that Arizona team now faces its own Must Win at Matt Knight arena on Saturday. Should be a freakin' war! Go Ducks!

With a schedule like that and a twelve team playoff next year; that is how you get into those playoffs with three losses vs two. (Not! that I'm saying OBD will lose that many) A "lighter" schedule would preclude that. Injuries to key personnel, especially down the stretch, is more of a concern for me running through that gauntlet. A major concern ten years ago but with the depth we have/are developing, hopefully will minimize any impacts of said injuries. Now if the selection committee will start rewarding conferences playing 9 conference games and penalize the "one" playing 8 conference games, then losses incurred, regardless of strength of schedule, will be on a more even playing field going into the post season selections. But WE all know that conference has had their "dirty lil thumbs" on the scale of college football since the beginning of the BCS era through today. So I won't be holding my breathe. Lanning and company are just going to have to "prove out" and show that they TRULY are elite and master roster builders. They do that and we are in for some outstanding football, year in and year out in the "new" B1G, regardless of each years strength of schedule. Can't wait to find out! Go Ducks!

Well here we go! Two must win games at home and a team that needs to play as a cohesive unit, tenacious on defense and smart open looks on offense. NOW is the time to put it all together and make a run at the final regular season PAC12 BB title. This Young team certainly has the talent and seem to be buying what Altman is selling but you have to put it out on the court, consistently, to become a champion. I feel these two home games will dictate how the course of the rest of the season will go and I so want to have 🦆🏀 competing at their highest level and be the chased, rather than the chaser. Either way it should be some interesting and entertaining games this week. Let's hope it goes the way the Ducks need it to go. It is All in their court. Let's go Ducks. Make that statement to the PAC and the tourney committee. 🦆👍😎

Baltimore. Elite Defense at home with Lamar Jackson doing well....Lamar Jackson. Really want to see a San Francisco/Baltimore SuperBowl Rematch. Besides Kansas City will be back in the SuperBowl next year (IF ⚡'s aren't reborn under a new coaching regime) with their new "superstar" rookie receiver and Mahones new Favorite target. Tony Franklin. Oh Yeah! 😎

Probably more like three babies and an adolescent, soon to be a young adult! 😁

And people were Actually buying into the narrative last year that the B1G wasn't interested in adding Oregon because of...."viewership numbers and demographics". Yeah Right! Oregon has successfully established itself as a National Brand with a huge following throughout the nation, and yes, even internationally, and the execs in the B1G...knew that! Oregon fans won't have to travel quite as well because you could probably find "Duck" fans throughout the geographic footprint of the new B1G to cheer on our team. I am not completely sure of how this came to be. Maybe it was the high octane offense that not only entertained but fundamentally changed the college game from "3downs and a cloud of dust". Maybe the atmosphere and sheer fan volume on gameday in the "biggest lil" stadium west of the Rockies. Perhaps the classic "underdog" story attempting to write it's final, destined, climax of a Natty? Or, maybe, it is the Duck, as a mascot and identifiable icon, that draws people from all over to follow and cheer for OBD'S. Whatever the reasons OBD will continue to be a huge viewership draw in the new college landscape. I can only see those numbers increasing with elimination of most "east coast bias" since OBD will soon become the talk of the B1G conference (arent they are already); as the Ducks, rudely, establish themselves as a "top duck" in the pecking order of the B1G. The Oregon Ducks...Rock!...Rock. That isn't changing anytime soon. Go Quackers!

A Man of Character. A Man of Class. A Man of Oregon. Nuff said. Thanks for the memories and good fortune in your life's pursuits. Go Nix!

Rough roadtrip. Colorado is well...Colorado. Oregon could roster Kobe', LeBron, Michael, Shaq, Steve, and would still go into Boulder and lose! The Utah game was a tougher pill to swallow. Looked better incorporating Dante, but our guards went cold, especially from 3pt range in the second half. And FREETHROWS finally came back to bite this team in the arse! So pretty much makes this coming weeks home stand a MUST WIN over the two Arizona schools. Win those and we remain in first place....lose those and we drop to 5th or 6th in the PAC, going into February. Probably the most important week of the season in determining the actual floor and ceiling of this year's Oregon 🏀 team. Here's to hoping! 🤞👍

Four players that are getting some press but not a whole lotta love over other players of similar positions ARE going to be viewed as "steals" in the draft come next year's NFL season. Bo "dacious" Nix Bucky "Bruiser" Irving Tony "Touchdown" Franklin And of course ... Jackson "Power" Johnson I believe all four will be immediate starters and impact players that talking heads will be fawning over come mid season next year! Further solidifying Oregon Football as The perfect team to fine tune and develop your craft under. Can only help the program in the long run! Go 🦆's!

I do believe that the conference championship games are going to be worked into the "playoffs", as the first round games, as soon as TV execs and money managers finish "trimming" the conferences down to 3...two Super conferences and the third "farm conference" to feed the two Super conferences with players and coaching staff. With the NCAA (a completely neutered association) unable or unwilling to bring some order to the changes in college football, then a NFL-lite league with a comparable number of games played similar to the NFL will happen, because each game played generates more TV money, thus feeding the beast. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate being able to watch every game of a full season of Duck Football (unlike the lean TV years of Root TV with occasionally an appearance on a major network), but having that reality means the "beast" dictates the terms of its feeding regardless of how it effects conferences, coaching staff, players health, fans, program continuity, and college football culture. This is nothing new in the larger system that all of our other systems operate under. We Love it when we perceive the systems benefiting us, but Hate it when those systems only truly benefit themselves in the end. We grudgingly adapt and accept what is fed to us, and as human nature dictates, completely forget what we hated about it in the first place. The Beast will Always get what it wants over all other concerns. So, I have (grudgingly) accepted that, but I Always remember that. I believe that Duck Inc. realizes this also. So, bring on the 12, 16, 24 team playoffs, and let's all watch the Ducks rise to the top of the heap and make a run at several B1G AND National championships over the next 10-15 years! Go Quackers, a NFL-Lite prepped football team!

And when the top tier linemen (both offensively and defensively) DO enter the portal you have Sr, Dan Lanning and company: "Hi, have you seen what we got going on here in Oregon...and we Ain't Going Nowhere!". Welcome to the family. 😁😎🦆

Lawyers and Billionaires. We, the Fans, only matter as a source of clicks or eyeballs. 🙄

Buzz saw. The (now 11-1 at home) Buffs continued their dominance at home. They definitely looked and played like the more cohesive team and won most of the metrics of the game. Well we weren't going to go undefeated in conference anyway, but HAVE TO HAVE the game in Utah on Sunday. Shake it off and learn from what went wrong and close out this road trip with a win. Go Ducks!

Yes the current speed of play may slow down, a bit. But, with our "bigs" back and involved Oregon BB should take away the inside game for most opponents, opens up offensive fast breaks from defensive rebounds and significantly helps win the rebound battle. We won't have to rely on three pointers to pull out a game against other dominant inside post teams. But, again it comes down to chemistry and how to balance our speed with our size. Dana Altman seems to be able to strike that balance with teams that buying into his coaching. I hope to see more of that balance over the next 4-6 games. Go 🦆🏀!

Both Colorado and Utah are two games behind the Ducks in the conference. Both will be highly motivated in sending the Ducks back home 0-2. Altman and company Cannot afford to let that happen and need a split or sweep to continue the momentum currently building up with this Young Roster. As stated above, Colorado has Always been an albatross around the necks of DA and OBD basketball. It was good to finally break through last year and hope that it continues this road trip. Utah will be more challenging, as the second game at altitude, simply because they are a better group this year than in years past as the second stop. Bring it back home and hold serve against the two apparently, very good, Arizona schools with similar motivations; then going into February we can start talking about rankings, conference championships, tourney seedings, and how high of a ceiling this Young Oregon Duck BB team, actually has. I am excited to watch how it all plays out. Go Quackers!

Rankings? For 2024 season? In football? The talking heads do understand that final staff, rosters, and position groups won't actually be known until this fall, but I guess you have to fill your "space" with something to talk about. Ok, I'll play along. B1G10 (16/17/18/?) Oregon Football is going to be different than most any season in the past PAC10/12. The conference strength will rival the SEC on a yearly basis and because of this, 2-3 loss seasons, depending upon strength of schedule, will not automatically exclude a team from a possible invite to the post season (especially when it expands to 16 teams). Fans are going to have to adjust their expectations on what a "successful" season will be. ALL of the elite teams in college football are going to experience a loss or two, especially in the age of two Super conferences, and the focus for most will be to simply get into the playoffs and make a run at the title in the last 3 games of the postseason. There will always be a few undefeated teams each year but I don't believe we will be seeing any 25-30 game win streaks anymore in college football (unless of course it be OBD!). It will be interesting, to say the least, but it should be a fun ride. With the investment into our athletic department over the last quarter century, OBD ARE and will remain a player in the new college athletic reality and should be a contender in the B1G well into the foreseeable future. Just give me another quarter century of awesome 😎 Duck Fandom; after that my biggest concern will be if I can find anything I can chew or if some machine will be doing that for me? (Reference any of ya ole dogs out there?!). As always. GO DUCKS!

Well that was clunky, especially in the first half (-18! Really, Yikes!). But as they have all year NOT lost focus, made the adjustments needed, and toughed out another conference win. Dante definitely needs to "get in the groove" but did as expected and should work inside with more confidence as he gets up to speed Cousnard continues to be the team leader and Tracy is a nice compliment to whoever has the hot hand. Shelstad continues to work his freshman magic while Rigsby seems to be all over the court..looking for opportunity. This team has some playas' and they all seem to have an unselfish streak while starting to play very well together. They seem to believe in themselves and Never quit until the final horn. Hope to see continued growth and teamwork next week during the trip to the mountain schools. This could be a very good, almost dangerous, team going into the month of February. Go Quackers!

Chemistry. Chemistry. Chemistry. Tonight's game will give a us a glimpse of the integration of a dominant post player into the smallball guard lineup that Oregon has had significant success with. California, with their seven footer, will be a good team to make that adjustment to. Don't expect Dante to see a full set of minutes, but how Oregon moves the ball through him will give a good indication of that integration. Hopefully play has been going well in practice. We need to win the boards tonight and not have a drop off in three point and free throw percentage. Look smooth winning this game and I like our chances on closing out January strong, in a tough trip to the mountain schools followed up by a home stand against the desert teams, all positioned in the top half of the conference. Let's see if those final cubes will align properly and then we will talk about February, the traditional time period that the "aligned" Altman Rubik's Cube is released upon the conference. GO! 🦆🏀👍

And to add to this. Counting our First Duck Blessing of 2024. Dan Lanning proving his commitment to Oregon Football as it's long term Head Coach. He ain't going NOWHERE! One of many more to come in 2024, I'm sure. Go Ducks!

DL..practicing that most rare human quality...Consistency! What an example for his team in that aspect of meeting ones personal goals. Dan, Truly, is The MAN! 🦆's!

And just like that, poof, the nasty lil rumours are gone! Always a good day to be a Duck. 🦆🏈💯

Lanning to Bama? Anything in life is a possibility, so never say never. I fully expect Lanning to have an interview (at least a preliminary one). I myself have been interviewed for positions I was reasonably sure that I was not going to take, but the experience and exposure was a good networking and learning experience and helped refine my interviewing processes. That being said. DL is always on the lookout for an "edge" for the team he is managing, so any trips to Tuscaloosa may just be another way of DL leveraging his "spotlight" to further enhance and develop OREGON football. (Much like his appearance during Utah GameDay and last weeks Natty appearance at halftime). Personally I am very grateful that Oregon stepped up earlier last year and reworked DLs contract, including the bump on buyout money from 10 to 20 mil dollars. Even in an age of big college football money, 27+ million dollars to "poach" Lanning is an amount that few successful programs may be willing to layout for a young, promising, upward trajectory; yet still on-the-job learning and not yet championship proven Head Coach. Oh he will get there for sure but not there just yet. For whatever illogical reasons I hold on to, I am feeling fairly confident that Dan Lanning will still be coaching the Oregon Ducks long after the "noise" of the coaching carousel dies down. The "noise" will never completely go away because of the Quality of coaching personnel that Oregon is now attracting. We we lose coaches and personnel as they each pursue their own professional goals, but I always remember this axiom: "The grass is Not always greener on the other side." I hope and pray that Dan Lanning knows this also. GO DUCKS! 🦆

Very good question and I would have answered differently during the course of the season. Overall leadership, hands down, would have to go to Bo Nix. Loved watching him command and operate the offense and was a wonderful thing to behold. However my favorite overall player(s) this season would have been a darn near dead heat between Bucky (Bruiser) Irving, especially the first half of the season, and Troy (Touchdown) Franklin. Both of these players displayed "football smarts" and outstanding athletic ability. Bucky does NOT "go down" and in fact seems to relish who and how hard he will hit any potential tacklers at the end of each run. Troy can out cut, out maneuver, out run any pass defender on the fly and has an uncanny ability to win most 50/50 balls. His length and speed will be of advantage at the next level. The fact that these two outstanding players were somewhat..overlooked...in all of the end of season rankings/awards only means that some NFL team is going to pickup a diamond in the rough and I can almost guarantee we will be hearing these two names mentioned, regularly, during NFL games next year. Guess we will follow through the "How are our Pro Ducks doing" thread. Go Quackers!

I suppose it's a lot like Fantasy Football. Need a win to get in to a playoff spot and some meaningless 35 yard pass play to your opponents wide receiver in the last minute of the game, on Monday night football, causes you to lose the match by 0.75 points and derails your whole season. Soooo close, but no cigar! In those situations I'd have rather lost by 20, at least you would then know you never really had a chance...but I digress and have shared my pain. Have to resign myself to...there is always next year!

Man o man would that be a Big advantage and boost for the MBB team. I hope that the chemistry is good in practice (Practice?!) with the small ball guard lineup that has been successful thus far. Hope he can stay healthy the rest of the year. Go Ducks! 🦆🏀