Oregon Ducks 25-26 Different look | The Boneyard

Oregon Ducks 25-26 Different look

Floridaduck

Floridaduck

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Introducing the 25-26 Oregon Ducks. This will be an entirely different team in both personnel and playing style. Likely to be a fast playing, high scoring team ala coach Graves preferred style.

Oregon made the NCAA Tournament in 2025 beating Vanderbilt and losing to home team Duke to finish 20-12.

Lost to graduation:(6) Deja Kelly, Peyton Scott, 6’8’ Phillipina Kyei, Alexis Whitfield, Nani Falatea, Salimatou Kourouma

Retained: (9)

Transfers out: (0)

Transfers in: (3)

Freshman: (2)

Retaining 9 players from the 24-25 roster is significant for 25-26. All now have a familiarity with each other and the coaching style. Most will be expected to have a major increase in minutes and production. Likely standouts among returners:

Point Guard: 5’11 inch Sophomore Katie Fiso – 4* top rated player out of Washington, 4 time state champion

Guard: 5’10” Senior Elisa Mevius.- German national, Olympic Gold Medal in the 3x3

Wing: 6'1" Junior Sofia Bell 4* top rated Oregon HS player 22-23. Returning starter

Forward: 6’3” Junior Sarah Rambus 4* out of Michigan

Forward: 6 ft Sophomore Ehis Etute from the Luxembourg national team

Forward: 6’4” Amina Muhammad 4* transfer out of Texas. Full year starter for the 23-24 Elite 8 Texas team. Second year with Oregon


These 6 returnees will likely be in the rotation along with 6 ft Junior Guard Ari Long and the following Transfers:

Forward: 6’2” Aussie Senior Mia Jacobs First Team Mountain West out of Fresno State 18.3 ppg, 10.0 rb, 38% from 3. Likely starter

Guard: 6’1” Sophomore Avary Cain 5* out of California. Transfer from UCLA

Point Guard: 5’9” Senior Astera Tuhina from Kosovo. Long time experienced starter for Washington State.

Off the Bench: 6'1" juniors: 4*Texan Sammie Wagner and Swede Fillipa Tilliander. Frosh include 4* Oklahoma PG Janiyah Williams and sharp-shooting G Sarah Barhoum, all time 3 point Oregon HS record holder.

Expect a deep rotation with those 10 players to implement the fast paced, position-less pressing defense that the coaching staff has implemented. Oregon’s success this year will depend on MUCH improved shooting, both overall and from 3 point range. The Ducks were near last in the Big Ten in both shooting pct categories in 24-25.

Fiso, Mevius, Bell, Jacobs, Cain, Tuhina, Barhoum. and Long are all capable 3 point shooters and a spread the floor, 4 out & 5 out offenses seems to be in the cards.

Hope this introduction is helpful for fans who may have Oregon on their upcoming schedule. I don't expect the Ducks to compete for the Big 10 title but they will be a tough out at home for anybody. I am expecting another 20 win season and a tourney berth.
 
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Time for an update on my Ducks. After starting the season at 5-0 mostly at home against non-P4 competition a few things are coming into focus. Here are a few observations:
- This is Katie Fiso's team. Graves has given her the keys to the car for this year and the next two. She averages 27 minutes a game but that has increased to 30+ after the Mevius injury. She is averaging 12.5 pts with 8+ assists and a 67 fg%. A dynamic player.
-Mia Jacob is a 3 level scorer with a 17.2 scoring average with 50% FG and 36 3pt %. Big time player.
-Rambus and Muhammad are splitting the "big" duties and both have improved their finishing skills in the paint and added the 15 foot jumper.
-Holdover starter Sofia Bell is shooting 50% from 3 so far. Ari Long, a defensive specialist, fills out the starting lineup in place of Mevius. (Ducks lose a little there... Mevius was a special talent0
-The bench is very strong with veteran PG Astera Tuhina, 5 *Avary Cain, rebounding demon Ehis Etute and Freshman Janiyah Williams. Ducks lose very little when subbed in with the bench more productive thatn the starters a couple of times.
-The rotation will likely remain at 10 with a mix and match on the floor. Major emphasis on running and very active defense.

Outlook remains upper/mid in this very tough conference and a 20+ win season.
 
I have 2 questions:

1. Was Oregon a "one hit wonder" with Sabrina, the Sabally's, and Ruthy Hebard?
2. Were they on the verge of something really special and Covid make that program take a giant step back?

Now, they're still a really good program, but you have to wonder where they'd be if they won that National Championship in 2020? Obviously something happened since that entire #1 recruiting class transferred out, but had they won that championship, would things be different in Eugene now?
 
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I agree that Sabrina-Hebert-Sabally-Boley-Cazorla (2019) was a perfect storm of talent that is unlikely to be repeated. 2020 was their year (with Moore replacing Cazorla) cut off by COVID cancellation.
The big 5* class came in as Covid closed everything down and their college experience was terrible as far as bonding and enjoyment.
Read Sydney Parrish account of what they went through … pretty eye opening.
As far as the future of Oregon Ducks I expect they will be a usually quality team, possibly ranked occasionally, likely tournament bound but with a Sweet Sixteen ceiling without a generational talent.
I’ll still enjoy the team and their ( return) style of play I would say the Sabrina years were an outlier.
 
Bone Dog said:
The days of multiple “7’ footers” are gone I see. When Kelly had the huge teams they tended to be ponderous. It will be refreshing to see him go with a more uptempo style of play.
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I think you are confusing the Ducks with the Oregon State Beavers about “7 footers”. The Beav’s Scott Rueck was pretty famous for loading up that way. I think one year they had a 6’7”, a 6’8”, and a 6 ‘9” all around the same time.
The Ducks had 6’8” Philly Kyei for 4 years but otherwise no unless you are counting the 6’ 4” Sabally sisters.
 
Floridaduck said:
I think you are confusing the Ducks with the Oregon State Beavers about “7 footers”. The Beav’s Scott Rueck was pretty famous for loading up that way. I think one year they had a 6’7”, a 6’8”, and a 6 ‘9” all around the same time.
The Ducks had 6’8” Philly Kyei for 4 years but otherwise no unless you are counting the 6’ 4” Sabally sisters.
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And Sedona Prince
 
I just figure they grow ‘em tall in the Pacific Northwest.

(And yes, I realize that some of ‘em come from elsewhere)
 
The coach who is stacking up some tall ones is Mark Campbell at TCU. His roster features a 6’8” and three 6’7”s. One of the 6’7” is the aforementioned Kennedy Basham now at TCU via Oregon, then Arizona State
 
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Floridaduck said:
I agree that Sabrina-Hebert-Sabally-Boley-Cazorla (2019) was a perfect storm of talent that is unlikely to be repeated. 2020 was their year (with Moore replacing Cazorla) cut off by COVID cancellation.
The big 5* class came in as Covid closed everything down and their college experience was terrible as far as bonding and enjoyment.
Read Sydney Parrish account of what they went through … pretty eye opening.
As far as the future of Oregon Ducks I expect they will be a usually quality team, possibly ranked occasionally, likely tournament bound but with a Sweet Sixteen ceiling without a generational talent.
I’ll still enjoy the team and their ( return) style of play I would say the Sabrina years were an outlier.
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Well said about Oregon. I will have to read up on Sydney Parrish's account
 
Ducks beat rival Oregon State 96-73 and move to 10-0. Shot 68% from field, 80% from 3. Etute didn’t play. Fiso, Jacobs, and Rambus led. Fiso with 23 points, 14 assists.
Likely loss coming up @ UCLA Sunday. Then Portland and Montana State at home. Last non-conference is Stanford at neutral court.
 
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A little bit of tailspin for osu after they were thumping their chest when they beat Illinois a couple of weeks ago.
Their hailey van lith got swagger though.
 
Oregon Ducks conclude their non-conference schedule with a loss to Stanford at the Bay Area Women's Classic. Ducks got off to a slow start and trailed by as much as 15 in the opening quarter. Righted the ship after that and were down 3 at the end of the third.
Two stats were pretty glaring: 2-14 (13%) from 3 and an uncharicteristic 8/16 assist to TO ratio.
So 12-1 in ooc and Big Ten schedule opens v. Michigan at home. Tough draw.

Massey has dropped Oregon 7 spots to #33 and is projecting a 6-3 conference record at home with losses to Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State. Nebraska, Illinois, and Minnesota at home look to be important 50-50 games. Also looking at a 3-6 road record with wins at Wisconsin, Rutgers, and Purdue. Not so sure about Wisconsin who are playing pretty well.

If the season follows chalk the Ducks could end up 21-10 and 9-9 with a tournament bid. Satisfactory in my opinion. We shall see.
 
Floridaduck said:
Oregon Ducks conclude their non-conference schedule with a loss to Stanford at the Bay Area Women's Classic. Ducks got off to a slow start and trailed by as much as 15 in the opening quarter. Righted the ship after that and were down 3 at the end of the third.
Two stats were pretty glaring: 2-14 (13%) from 3 and an uncharicteristic 8/16 assist to TO ratio.
So 12-1 in ooc and Big Ten schedule opens v. Michigan at home. Tough draw.

Massey has dropped Oregon 7 spots to #33 and is projecting a 6-3 conference record at home with losses to Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State. Nebraska, Illinois, and Minnesota at home look to be important 50-50 games. Also looking at a 3-6 road record with wins at Wisconsin, Rutgers, and Purdue. Not so sure about Wisconsin who are playing pretty well.

If the season follows chalk the Ducks could end up 21-10 and 9-9 with a tournament bid. Satisfactory in my opinion. We shall see.
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Have thought the same about Wisconsin. Pingeton looks to have gotten these players to buy into her vision.
 
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Warren Nolan is a little more generous with his Oregon projections. Has them at #24 NET after the Stanford loss. He then predicts an 11-7 conference record. Adds home wins versus Michigan State and Ohio State to the Massey projection.

I can only wish.
 
Floridaduck said:
Warren Nolan is a little more generous with his Oregon projections. Has them at #24 NET after the Stanford loss. He then predicts an 11-7 conference record. Adds home wins versus Michigan State and Ohio State to the Massey projection.

I can only wish.
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I’ve been hoping to see Muhammad flourish as a Duck. But that seems not to be happening. She’s not a ‘big’ post type, more of a rangey kid with quick feet. At Texas she didn’t really get a chance to develop non-post offensive skills very much. What’s her future look like at Oregon now?
 
Struggling with good teams right now. They are really make life difficult for Katie Fiso who can't seem to find her shot (or assists) in these big games. Mia as well. There's just no reliable 3pt shooter in the team. SBell is too streaky.
 
Devastating loss to Wisconsin 94-92 in 2 OT’s from this fan’s point of view. Ducks up 6 with less than a minute left Wisconsin hits a 3 and now down 3 with less than than 30 seconds left Need to foul and do. Katie Fiso misses both (!) and Badgers come down and hit another 3. Overtime. Badgers pull it out in 2nd OT. Sad for me. Need to reorient this seasons expectations.
 
Bigger game for Ducks tonight since the overtime loss at Wisconsin. If they want to finish at .500 or better in league play.

Another 50-50 game at home versus Minnesota. Late start for us East Coasters.
 
Another blown loss. The team realIy struggles with critical late game possessions. Maybe the nerves get to them?
But if it's a last possession to tie, or win the game, they have been ending up with a loss but also not even a good look to make a shot. It's crazy.
 
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I’m just a fan so I am not limited to the “one game at a time” mentality. Oregon need 4 more B1G wins to get to the 20 mark. Lost our wiggle room in the two overtime losses to UM and Wiscy. I am conceding likely road losses at Maryland and at Washington. Hoping for road wins @Purdue and (maybe) @Indiana if they continue to self destruct. Critical home games include Illinois, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Washington. Need 2-3 of those but all winnable.
So that’s the remaining schedule. Plus the B1G tourney and a likely NCAA bid between 7-10 depending how the season goes from here.
 
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