Ducks Attack Message Board Forum

MAR 4 (THU) 11 AM
OREGON STATE
LAS VEGAS, NV
TV: PAC-12 NETWORK

They are playing like they have most of the year. Inconsistent. For whatever reason, Graves cannot get them past that this season.

OSU has consistent distance shooters that Oregon does not. They outwork the Ducks as well.

Where is Mark Campbell, haven't seen him on the bench last couple of games.

The route is on. The team looks better on paper than on the court. Maybe they can figure it out sometime next season.

Bigwaved wrote:They are playing like they have most of the year. Inconsistent. For whatever reason, Graves cannot get them past that this season.

For sure. Graves kept talking up Prince and Sabally as pros, but they have both been really inconsistent. Hard to win when your most talented players are a turnover machine and fadeaway brick machine. Mikesell is the definition of inconsistent, and overall a disappointment given her cred coming in. And the veterans (Boley and Chavez) didn't really make the big jump many expected.

If they would have played as hard all game as in the 4th, they would have been more competitive.

Beaten by a player who should be in high school.

The team really needed Paopao at PG as they get almost nothing from Chavez or Shelley. With Paopao likely out the rest of the postseason, I sense a quick exit from the NCAA Tournament.

Well I was expecting this. Oregon has regressed more than grown this year as the season has gone along. Too many players have lost their confidence and play tight.

I actually think OSU is pretty dang good at this point. I think they'd be in the top 2 in league if Kennedy Brown had been healthy.

Regressed for sure, and if a leader, someone who is the first to come to practice and the last to leave doesn't emerge next year it could be déja vu all over again.

GrandpaDuck wrote:Well I was expecting this. Oregon has regressed more than grown this year as the season has gone along. Too many players have lost their confidence and play tight.

I actually think OSU is pretty dang good at this point. I think they'd be in the top 2 in league if Kennedy Brown had been healthy.

The overall chemistry is very poor and the dynamics of this year in particular were stacked against them developing any chemistry. Most of the team was brand new, they could not bond before the season, they could not really practice much leading into the season, they had two momentum draining covid pauses, and oddly they had too many players that could play which resulted in the experienced players playing tight at times (particularly Miksell, Chavez and Shelley, and sometimes Boley), and then the talented freshmen not being very assertive for fear of being yanked for anyone else on the deep bench. Just a bad mix with no real solution other than to keep gaining experience. The team cohesion was such a strength in recent years, but it is pretty explainable as to why it has been so bad this year.

bigsugarduck wrote:

GrandpaDuck wrote:Well I was expecting this. Oregon has regressed more than grown this year as the season has gone along. Too many players have lost their confidence and play tight.

I actually think OSU is pretty dang good at this point. I think they'd be in the top 2 in league if Kennedy Brown had been healthy.

The overall chemistry is very poor and the dynamics of this year in particular were stacked against them developing any chemistry. Most of the team was brand new, they could not bond before the season, they could not really practice much leading into the season, they had two momentum draining covid pauses, and oddly they had too many players that could play which resulted in the experienced players playing tight at times (particularly Miksell, Chavez and Shelley, and sometimes Boley), and then the talented freshmen not being very assertive for fear of being yanked for anyone else on the deep bench. Just a bad mix with no real solution other than to keep gaining experience. The team cohesion was such a strength in recent years, but it is pretty explainable as to why it has been so bad this year.

Interestingly, early in the season I had posted a hope this doesn't happen. Playing in fear of the early hook, determining how to dish out minutes when players of roughly the same ability are all also inconsistent. My worst case scenario came to be. But next season should be much more normal. Some players are sure to make offseason jumps. Some players will transfer. I have high hopes for next season while also acknowledging that there will be at least 2 other top 10 teams in the conference. (Stanford and OSU assuming Brown is ready)

I was thinking about this right after the game.

Having too many good players was a Catch-22 for Coach Graves. Normally teams have a nice balance of bench players, role players, and stars. This Oregon team just has a bunch of good, solid players.

On one hand, Coach has to play a deep rotation to see if a player or two emerges into that star category, which would help shorten the rotation.

On the other, in order for most players to emerge, they need time on the court to get into a rhythm, which can't happen when the rotation is so deep.

Also, it's so clear the team misses Te-Hina. We lost so much talent from last year's God Squad, brought in a ton of new faces, and had to deal with the pandemic that it's not really a surprising year. I think another year for this team to mesh will do wonders.