Thoughts On Viney Departure

When Drew Viney announced his intentions to leave the Oregon program last Thursday afternoon the Oregon Ducks Men’s basketball team went from being thin but manageable at the forward positions to being in danger levels of depth and being forced to rely even more on two incoming freshmen to man the forward spots with Junior Joevan Catron and Senior Franz Dorsainvil. Where does Oregon go next? Does Oregon go and try to land a Junior College transfer forward if there is any worth offering? What about trying to find another high school forward? What does Ernie Kent do with the recruitments of Oregon preps Brad Tinsley and Garrett Sim?

Doing a quick search through Rivals.com and seeing what players are still available and that have at this time received a division one scholarship to sort out the non D1 players its quick to see that the cupboard is very very bare this late in the recruiting process. There are a few options available but is it worth it to the Oregon program and the strive to reach higher standards to sign a recruit that might not be the same caliber of a player that the rest of the class is and taking him because we lost a player? The answer won’t be available until at the earliest fall camp for the Ducks when Kent can get a chance to see how far along Dorsainvil and incoming freshmen Michael Dunigan, Drew Wiley, and Josh Crittle will be and if Kent will need another big to go along with them and returning starter Catron.

The player that could develop the most into the answer for Kent and his staff regarding who will step up now is senior Dorsainvil. However, he has missed a few weeks of individual workouts with the coaching staff as Dorsainvil tried to play football for the Oregon football team. Also hindering his development was his lack of ability to adjust to Pac-10 basketball quick enough and to show Kent he is worth playing. Dorsainvil has all the tools to develop into not only a solid player but a basketball player that could be a force down low for a team if he could learn to play better defense in the post and weak side along with improving on his offensive game. Will he accomplish these things is to be seen. If he devotes the rest of spring and summer to getting into better shape along with the areas mentioned earlier and simply playing as much pick up game basketball as possible we may see him blossom. However, it shouldn’t be something to bank on as of yet so the answer wont be coming from Dorsainvil as of now.

Incoming McDonald’s All American center Dunigan will most likely become the starting center once his foot steps off the plane from Chicago and into Eugene. Dunigan will bring a different type of big man to Oregon that most fans haven’t seen in a very long time. However, as an incoming freshmen it will be expected that he will play great one night and then the next play like a true freshmen. Dunigan will provide that presence in the post on both ends of the floor the Ducks so desperately needed last season at the end of the year, but he cant be relied upon to be the sole savior of the depth issues. Dunigan can help fill the gap but wont be the solid answer.

The other incoming post player, Crittle, will be relied upon as well to man the post and could challenge Dunigan for the starting center spot if he can come into camp in shape and pick up the offense and defense quickly. However Crittle will most likely end up as one of the first players off the bench for the Ducks and should log anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes a game depending on match-ups. Expecting anything more than solid minutes and no mistakes will be a crime for Oregon fans and should be glad to get that production from an incoming freshmen.

Junior starter Joevon Catron will need to prove that he can stay healthy as it will be even more important this up coming season due to the lack of depth. Catron has shown spurts in his first two years at Oregon he can become a solid player for Oregon at the forward spot and give Oregon an inside post presence with his great spin moves and passing ability out of the post. He needs to however continue to get into better shape, as at times he is outquicked and out of position on defense. Rebounding is another area for Catron to improve upon. Catron will enter fall as the Ducks starting forward but can he be that anchor down low for the Ducks is yet to be seen.

The player who might have been most effected by the departure of Viney could be the local boy, Drew Wiley from Thurston High in Springfield. Viney was going to play the wing as well as the forward spot for the Ducks as a starter and be backed up by Wiley with a similar role. Wiley however is being labeled as player who will need to adjust to playing down low at the post at the colligate level as he was primarily a face up forward that attacked the hoop. If Wiley could transition well and be able to hold his own as a forward at times in the right match-ups Oregon might be ok for next season depth wise in the post for one year and then bring in another recruit in the following class that can play primarily down low. I have mixed feelings about Wiley being able to hold his own down low. He will need to spend a lot of time with trainers in the weight room trying to bulk up as much as possible

This late in the game for recruiting if I was the head coach I would take trust in one of my current players developing into a player one could count on to give Oregon depth and then try to sign only one of the two Oregon prep guards in Tinsley or Sim and then save the other scholarship for next year’s class to help spread out the class.

Time will tell and it will be very quick to see what Kent does with the departure from Viney.