Ducks Attack Message Board Forum

While the season so far has been pretty disappointing, just a reminder that next year will introduce a lot of new faces and some serious talent.

Something to look forward to.

I want to be excited but I just have zero faith in Altman’s ability to manage these types of players. Never mind that half our roster will likely transfer, as they do every year under Altman.

We’ll be in a rebuild, counting on journeyman transfers to carry us, which will probably mean the usual early-season struggles. The freshman will be on a short leash, and if they struggle at all, will be riding the pine by league play.

We’ve been trying to win with this formula for the last few year and it’s not gone well. The roster turnover alone every offseason is unsustainable.

I'm hoping Ware sees the incoming talent and opportunity to play with a lot of studs and decides not to transfer like a lot of people seem to think he will. And hoping that Bittle continues to show improvement and finally turns that corner and becomes what we all were hoping.

bellsduck wrote:I'm hoping Ware sees the incoming talent and opportunity to play with a lot of studs and decides not to transfer like a lot of people seem to think he will. And hoping that Bittle continues to show improvement and finally turns that corner and becomes what we all were hoping.

I hope so too, but I feel like Ware will probably transfer.

Believe it our not, Ware is still showing up as the No. 25 pick in the latest NBA draft. If that doesn't change, I would suspect he will go pro.

northbeachsf wrote:Believe it our not, Ware is still showing up as the No. 25 pick in the latest NBA draft. If that doesn't change, I would suspect he will go pro.

The NBA seems to decide on potential rather than college performance. It makes sense. Pick up a guy with a lot of potential, but not the results in college late in the first round, invest in him and potentially have a solid player until they hit FA.

DuckNV wrote:

northbeachsf wrote:Believe it our not, Ware is still showing up as the No. 25 pick in the latest NBA draft. If that doesn't change, I would suspect he will go pro.

The NBA seems to decide on potential rather than college performance. It makes sense. Pick up a guy with a lot of potential, but not the results in college late in the first round, invest in him and potentially have a solid player until they hit FA.

NIL seems like an even bigger deal for Basketball to me because the 1-and-Done's can stay an extra year and actually develop so they've got a better ability at their 2nd contract.

I would imagine the biggest issue for Ware is wanting to play for a coach that will actually put him on the court.

It’d be one thing if there was major competition at the post spots but it’s guys like Gurrier getting his minutes. Gurrier may play harder but the end result is the same; he makes tons of mistakes and has a net negative affect much of the time he plays. The major difference is he’s not getting any better, where Ware had the potential to be a dominant player if Altman would’ve been willing to actually work with him.

Benching freshman the second they make a mistake while giving mediocre 5th year guys like Gurrier an endlessly long leash makes no sense to me. It’s why we’re stuck in this cycle of losing our young players every year but keeping mediocre veterans.

dthomas=ddixon wrote:I would imagine the biggest issue for Ware is wanting to play for a coach that will actually put him on the court.

It’d be one thing if there was major competition at the post spots but it’s guys like Gurrier getting his minutes. Gurrier may play harder but the end result is the same; he makes tons of mistakes and has a net negative affect much of the time he plays. The major difference is he’s not getting any better, where Ware had the potential to be a dominant player if Altman would’ve been willing to actually work with him.

Benching freshman the second they make a mistake while giving mediocre 5th year guys like Gurrier an endlessly long leash makes no sense to me. It’s why we’re stuck in this cycle of losing our young players every year but keeping mediocre veterans.

Altman is as stubborn as KG.

I agree that we know who Guierrer is at this point, but he is a serviceable player and works hard. Ware has had some stretches where he doesn't even look like he belongs on the court, especially on defense where he was giving up layups over and over again without moving his feet or raising his arms. That dude should be blocking 3-5 shots a game and altering 1/2 dozen more. It sounds like they have had conversations about it and not much has changed. It is just not clicking yet and Altman is under pressure to win games now. I don't disagree with the decision to sit him for a game or two and make him think about it a little bit.

northbeachsf wrote:I agree that we know who Guierrer is at this point, but he is a serviceable player and works hard. Ware has had some stretches where he doesn't even look like he belongs on the court, especially on defense where he was giving up layups over and over again without moving his feet or raising his arms. That dude should be blocking 3-5 shots a game and altering 1/2 dozen more. It sounds like they have had conversations about it and not much has changed. It is just not clicking yet and Altman is under pressure to win games now. I don't disagree with the decision to sit him for a game or two and make him think about it a little bit.

That’s true but is that the result of being on such a short leash all season? Even when we were down so many guys Altman would yank him pretty quickly.

Not to absolve Ware of any responsibility for his effort but there seems to be a trend of Altman mishandling young players. You just can’t survive the majority of every single recruiting class being gone after 1-2 years. The portal’s barely been a blip on the radar for us because our program has operated this way for years.