Ducks Attack Message Board Forum

Richardson was on track to have one of the best conference seasons ever by an Oregon player. In the previous 8 games prior to the UA game (where he slammed his head into the floor and had to be held out), he was shooting 57% from the floor and 50% from three. Then two games later, he hits his head again vs. USC and needs stitches. And at some point in February, he also contracted Mono.

He was sick, really banged up, and could have possibly suffered a concussion or maybe 2. Prior to that, he was having one of the best shooting stretches by an Oregon player in a long time. He was Dorsey March good or Brice Tayler Pac-12 tournament good for most of conference play, prior to hitting his head at UA.

I think people are too hard on Richardson. He is truly a gifted shooter and we are very lucky to have him back. If he can stay healthy, it is going to be a very good year.

I think Richardson is a great player. I just don’t think he is a Peyton Pritchard, Aaron Brooks, or a go to guy like that.

And for sure his health could have been the driving factor for a rough second half of the PAC-12.

Not to mention, he was surrounded by probably the least cohesive squad Altman has had in over a decade.

So perhaps it was just the perfect storm of issues to give him a rough finish to the year.

northbeachsf wrote:Richardson was on track to have one of the best conference seasons ever by an Oregon player. In the previous 8 games prior to the UA game (where he slammed his head into the floor and had to be held out), he was shooting 57% from the floor and 50% from three. Then two games later, he hits his head again vs. USC and needs stitches. And at some point in February, he also contracted Mono.

He was sick, really banged up, and could have possibly suffered a concussion or maybe 2. Prior to that, he was having one of the best shooting stretches by an Oregon player in a long time. He was Dorsey March good or Brice Tayler Pac-12 tournament good for most of conference play, prior to hitting his head at UA.

I think people are too hard on Richardson. He is truly a gifted shooter and we are very lucky to have him back. If he can stay healthy, it is going to be a very good year.

Completely agree. Our basketball fanbase is pretty ignorant and tend to want Dana fired every January. The Twitter comments I see just make me scratch my head.

northbeachsf wrote:Richardson was on track to have one of the best conference seasons ever by an Oregon player. In the previous 8 games prior to the UA game (where he slammed his head into the floor and had to be held out), he was shooting 57% from the floor and 50% from three. Then two games later, he hits his head again vs. USC and needs stitches. And at some point in February, he also contracted Mono.

He was sick, really banged up, and could have possibly suffered a concussion or maybe 2. Prior to that, he was having one of the best shooting stretches by an Oregon player in a long time. He was Dorsey March good or Brice Tayler Pac-12 tournament good for most of conference play, prior to hitting his head at UA.

I think people are too hard on Richardson. He is truly a gifted shooter and we are very lucky to have him back. If he can stay healthy, it is going to be a very good year.

Richardson had high expectation coming into the season to be the leader of the team.

First part of the season he played extremely poorly , middle part good, and ending was terrible.

The thing about Richardson is that when he plays bad, he really plays bad, and it impacts our team significantly.

Sure, he had an amazing 5-7 game stretch during Pac-12 play, which exactly what I was hoping for from him at the beginning of the season. BUT other than that stretch, he played bad the rest of the season and.... regardless of his health status (mono), his lack of mental fortitude really drops the level of play for the whole team.

It's hard to quantify, but our team was designed this year to have him as our go-to guy and he, for the most part, did not deliver on this which led to other guys needing to step up (Young/Harmon) that should never be the premier player(s) on a seriously contending team.

Long story short: he had the experience/skill/oppotunity to step up as our go-to guy, and didn't do it. Since he has not proven he can be the go-to guy, that means he will have to take a lesser role this year in order to be effective for our team. Doesn't really benefit him to come back, and I think we should invest in the future as well.

Last post: compare Richardson and Prichard's junior seasons. Both averaged around 11-12ppg and were sharing duties as our primary ball-handler.

Going into their senior seasons, it was clear that were going to be the #1 option and nobody would be a clear #2.

Vastly different outcomes.

.....and Dior is gone.

Kind of wondered if this might happen once Richardson returned. Really too bad but something had to give with all the guards they have. I wonder if they might pursue someone else now to fill another position.

northbeachsf wrote:.....and Dior is gone.

Brutal, I don’t know why, maybe cause Will is coming back and he wants a guaranteed starting PG spot? I thought he’d be a huge contributor his freshman year. This is really odd.

Even elite PGs typically struggle their first year of college. He has really struggled lately and now is a 4*, missing out on the all star games. He is a good player, but not a first year leader / program changer. I think with the transfers we signed and Will coming back, he probably saw the handwriting on the wall. There just wasn’t going to be a ton of minutes for him.

Wow super bummer, but I guess better now than later..

UOducksTK1 wrote:Wow super bummer, but I guess better now than later..

Hes been at 10 different High schools, and now decommited from 2 colleges

He doesn’t have a good track record of stayin in place long

northbeachsf wrote:Even elite PGs typically struggle their first year of college. He has really struggled lately and now is a 4*, missing out on the all star games. He is a good player, but not a first year leader / program changer. I think with the transfers we signed and Will coming back, he probably saw the handwriting on the wall. There just wasn’t going to be a ton of minutes for him.

This has the ring of truth. Barthelemy has experience starting for Colorado - I really don't think Dior was going to play much at all his first season, and with his transfer record, it seems like he wouldn't have wanted to be an understudy for a year anyway. I wonder if Coach Altman will find someone else at the last minute or put the scholarship on moth balls until next year. Either way, I think the two point guards we have should be sufficient, unless there is a rash of injuries.

Phalanx wrote:

northbeachsf wrote:Even elite PGs typically struggle their first year of college. He has really struggled lately and now is a 4*, missing out on the all star games. He is a good player, but not a first year leader / program changer. I think with the transfers we signed and Will coming back, he probably saw the handwriting on the wall. There just wasn’t going to be a ton of minutes for him.

This has the ring of truth. Barthelemy has experience starting for Colorado - I really don't think Dior was going to play much at all his first season, and with his transfer record, it seems like he wouldn't have wanted to be an understudy for a year anyway. I wonder if Coach Altman will find someone else at the last minute or put the scholarship on moth balls until next year. Either way, I think the two point guards we have should be sufficient, unless there is a rash of injuries.

What team have you been watching, seems to be a tradition at this point

I'm trying to remember when the Ducks last had two starting-quality point guards on the team...Benson and Pritchard? I think it would be really hard to entice a third to come and sit on the bench just in case there is an injury.

As for what team I have been watching, I didn't end up watching a lot last season. The few games I did watch were the worst I have ever seen an Altman-coached team, and even Dana had a pretty blunt assessment at the end of the season. Hoping for better this year.