Early Thoughts On Starting 5 For Basketball Next Year

There are too many questions to be exactly sure on who starts and who gets minutes as of right now. However you can go back and look at the last few games of the season and see Kent starting to trust Longmire and Viney more and more and then there was the loss of playing time for Catron at the 4 spot. The group staying doesn’t have much star power that’s been seen on the court in Porter but does have the potential to have a few players improve over the summer and become good players in the Pac-10.

The freshmen class this past season came in with alot of talk and belief that they would be a very good class by the time they leave Oregon. We all saw the flashes from Viney, Brown, and Longmire here and there but now the coaches are going to need to see it on a nightly basis. Brown is a natural leader and lead his HS team for 3 years as they played some of the best teams in the nation let alone California. Viney was considered one of the best athletes on the west coast and Kent said he was flat out the most athletic player on the team this past season but showed stints of being lazy. As we all know Longmire has been labeled a great athlete that is a great slasher that can get to the hole. His shot needs some work in the off season but he can turn into a good outside shooter and thus enhance his game even more as he adds that dimension to his slashing attack style.

Going into the off season Brown needs to improve on his outside jump shot and having the confidence in hitting that outside jumper. He also needs to work on cutting down on the fancy plays and making the simple ones. Much like Ridnour his freshmen year, Brown struggled to make the adjustment in his passing as he cant get that tough pass through every time now like he did in High school.

Viney needs to bulk up and get used to playing with the guys. His game could be All-Pac-10 caliber if he can bulk up and become aggressive. Viney reminds me of a mixture of Luke Jackson and Maarty Leunen. He has the broad shoulders and the length of Maarty Leunen but the handles and the shooting of Luke Jackson. Now Viney wont be as good of a rebounder as Maarty but could be a very solid rebounder if he puts on the weight to play the SF/PF spots.

Longmire needs to continue to work on his defense. He will continue to see more and more time as long as he plays great defense. I thought he played great on ball defense when in the game but his off ball defense needs to be like it was when Oregon played Arizona and Longmire guarded Bayless. At times he showed he could be a shut down guy and then when his man didn’t have the ball he slacked off. HE also needs to work on his ball handling and his outside J and his free throws. His said to be a great high school scorer but in highschool he scored a majority of his points in our around the paint from the result of slashing and using his athleticism near the hoop.

As for the Starting 5, if the freshmen see the expected improvement we see when freshmen get their first full off-season in the program my starting five would go as followed:

PG-Brown 6’2 SO

Brown showed glimpses of top notch defense for a PG and as well as being able to score and drive on anyone at will. Brown wont be expected to be the scorer Oregon has had in the past at PG in Ridnour and Brooks but instead be a guard much like Darious Wright in Ernie Kent’s early years at Oregon. Play tough defense, set up the rest of the team , and knock down the open shots when presented with the open shot. Brown’s ability to drive the lane and draw the defense to the paint will result in lots of open looks from the 3 point line and also draw a defender away from the forwards and thus open up a lane for a dunk or low post finish. Getting any more than 7 points a game from Brown next season will be gravy but I expect Brown to be near or atop the leagues assist leader board while getting a steal or two a game.

SG-Porter 5’6 JR

The experiment at PG is over unless Brown doesn’t develop into the PG Kent and Oregon fans expect or Oregon doesn’t sign Brad Tinsley for the 08 class. Kent himself made mention of this in Sunday’s paper in the Register-Guard. Porter’s shooting percentage, Free throw percentage, three point percentage, and scoring all went down his sophomore season compared to his freshmen year. Porter clearly struggled with setting up his teammates and finding the right situation for himself to take over games and shoot the ball. When Porter did get hot this past season and went on those famous runs of consecutive baskets he was usually set up with an open 3 in transition or on a kick-out pass from someone driving. Rarely did he go on hot runs where he created his own shot. With Brown taking over the PG duties and Porter sliding over back to the SG spot he wont have to worry about setting up his teammates on a regular basis and go back to working from off ball screens and getting looks from Brown’s ability to drive and kick the ball back out. Brown also provides solid height while playing the point that will allow Brown to guard most of the SGs in the Pac-10.

SF-Longmire 6’5 SO

Longmire replaced Senior Bryce Taylor this past season as our best on ball defender and became the guy we needed late in the season to guard the other teams top scorer. The only thing holding Longmire back from the starting lineup was his lack of an offensive game. He scored all his points primarily off of hustle plays and other players setting him up for a lay in or an open jump shot. Longmire will spend lots and lots of time with coaches in the off-season on his shooting and his driving ability. He is one of the better athletes on the court and I envision Longmire to be very similar to Freddy Jones. Not the leaping ability of Jones but the ability to slash to the hoop with the ball and finish around the rim. Knock down the open 3 point shot but wont be the shooter that will shoot the ball much from outside, but instead do most of his work in the mid range area. His defense next year will be tops on the team and expected to go night in and night out guarding other teams top scorer.

PF-Viney 6’7 SO

Oregon fans didn’t see the full Drew Viney this past season as he was hurt very early on in the season and was able to play in 11 games as he came back from injury. Viney came in and drew the praise of the coaches and players as he was described to be the best athlete on the team and have the best stroke from outside out of anyone. Yes even Porter. As a freshmen Viney came into Oregon a little underweight but his length and his athleticism made up for it. With a full off-season to put on another 10 pounds of muscle Oregon fans have a chance to see a player that doesn’t come around very often at a school like Oregon. Like I said above Viney to me has a blend of Maarty Leunen and Luke Jackson in him. The length and broadness of Maarty with the handles and scoring ability of Jackson. At 6’7 and adding 10 pounds and becoming 220 Viney will have the height and weight to hold his own with almost every Pac-10 power forward in the league. Yes he will struggle against some teams like UW and Brockman and Wallace. In that type of match up we will see Longmire and Viney split time at SF. Being versatile will be the key for Viney. He will be an absolute mismatch on offense as other teams try to have a slower power forward guard him on the outside and or have a smaller wing guard him down low. Viney has the chance to become our leading scorer if he can stay healthy and add the needed weight that’s expected of him. In Kent’s system he used Malik at the PF spot last season and Oregon fans saw the Ducks make an Elite 8 run as Malik was a complete mismatch for every team we played at the 4.

C-Dunigan 6’10 FR

Dunigan will be the first true athletic back to the basket center Oregon and Kent have had in a very long time. Dunigan wont be expected to score many points on his own as his game still is a tad raw on the offensive end. He will get a lot of his points using his height and position against his defender by getting the offensive rebounds and going right back up with the Dunk. Dunigan will also see a lot of ally oops and passes inside the lane from Brown due to Brown’s ability to penetrate the lane and draw defenders to him. Dunigan will be a bigger force on Defense as his shot blocking ability will allow our wings to play tighter man to man and take more risks for getting that tip or steal and going for the fast break. Dunigan will hold the paint and I would expect Kent to run a lot of zone with Dunigan holding down the middle. Rebounds, blocked shots, and put backs will be his calling for the Ducks his freshmen year. Everything else will be gravy.

6^th Man- Catron 6’6 JR

Catron excelled as an energy guy off the bench his freshmen year and should do the same as a Junior. I wont view him as a non starter but as starter 4A because he will see lots of minutes on the court playing both the center and power forward spots as well as a few minutes at SF against bigger teams. Catron doesn’t have much of an offensive game outside of his few but very good post moves and instead scores lots of his points feeding off other players drawing defenders away from him. Catron is great at passing inside the lane and will be a guy that Kent will use when the team needs a spark to get everything going. I still expect Catron to log a little over or a little under 20 minutes a game.

7^th Man- Matthew Humphrey 6’5 FR

Humphrey has a shot at starting at the SF spot instead of Longmire if he can show he can be the good defender he was in high school but at the college level. Even though Longmire is our top defender he isn’t a top 5 defender in the league and that title is still very easily up for grabs for anyone who wants it. Humphrey will show his great outside shooting and be a lift off the bench as a freshmen. However, what makes Humphrey more valuable is his ability to dribble drive and create his own shot. At 6’5 he will have the size to play both SG and the SF for the Ducks. However being a freshmen at a spot where we have already a few returning players will land Humphrey on the bench to start the season off. He could very well work his way into the starting lineup as the season goes a long but going in he will be a very very good player coming off the bench for the Ducks.

8^th Man- Josh Crittle 6’8 FR

Crittle is as equally as important as Dunigan is in this incoming class. With Dunigan being the shot blocking center that he is he will most certainly have a lot of games being in foul trouble as he adjusts to playing in the Pac-10 and not in his high school league. Crittle will be key to come in the game at the mid break of the 1^st half and give Kent and Dunigan some time on the bench to rest and to stay out of foul trouble. Crittle brings a nastyness to our post game as he is almost the same weight as Dunigan yet a few inches shorter. Crittle will be a lot like Leon Powe or Jon Brockman is, where Crittle will be a force with his weight and power. Rebounding the basketball and getting put backs and playing good defense will be Crittle’s role on this team.

9^th Man- Ben Voogd 6’1 JR

We wont see many minutes from Voogd but he will play in most of the games for spot duty at PG to rest both Brown and Porter during each half. Porter and Voogd will split the role of Backup PG and Voogd will most likely see close to around 10 minutes a game. Simply playing good defense and setting up others will be Voogd’s job. Scoring wont be a primary job as there are plenty of other scorers on this team.

10^th Man- Churchill Odia 6’6 SR

Theres talk that Odia might not be back for his senior year due to his knees troubling him again this past season. There was mention of this situation coming up in the Sunday Register-Guard once again. Odia wont be counted for scoring but again like Voogd to provide senior leadership for the Ducks and to play solid Defense for the Ducks.

Tenondre Williams, Drew Wiley, and Franz Dorsainvil wont see much time next season IMO. Williams and Wiley could end up redshirting due to the log jam at the wing positions for Williams and the lack of strength and toughness for Wiley at the PF spot and the log jam at SF as well. If one of the two were to see more minutes than the other my guess will be Williams due to his higher level of athleticism and scoring ability than Wiley.

Brad Tinsley is the wild card for this team. A lot could change with Tinsley on this team but even if Tinsley does sign with the Ducks I don’t expect him to start at PG unless Brown doesn’t work out and I would believe the Ducks would try Porter there before Tinsley as well. Tinsley would most likely force Williams to redshirt as well with Wiley due to his ability to play both wing positions for the Ducks as well as the PG spot.