Oregon Ducks Basketball Coach Dana Altman Praised Team's Depth in Win Over Montana

The Oregon Ducks men's basketball team have opened up their college basketball campaign with two straight victories on the newly renovated Kilkenny Court after beating down the Montana Grizzlies on Friday night, 79-48.

Oregon center Nate Bittle puts up a shot for three as the Oregon Ducks host the Montana Grizzlies at Matthew Knight Arena Friday, Nov. 8, 2024 in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After the first week of college basketball for the Oregon Ducks, all is going right. The starting lineup of Jackson Shelstad, TJ Bamba, Kwame Evans Jr., Brandon Angel and Nate Bittle looks to be working for coach Dana Altman.

It was total domination from Oregon over Montana in front of 6,577 fans. Senior center Bittle led the way with 17 points on 6-for-12 field goals and 3-for-5 three-pointers. His relentless effort on the glass grabbed him nine rebounds as well. The big man seems to be filling the hole at the five spot so far since the departure of N’Faly Dante who is on a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets.

Oregon head coach Dana Altman calls to his team as the Oregon Ducks host the Montana Grizzlies at Matthew Knight Arena Friday, Nov. 8, 2024 in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Altman had his group as a whole locked in on the defensive end of the floor. The Grizzlies shot an abysmal 15.8 three-point percentage on 3-for-19 attempts and the turned the ball over 14 total times. The Ducks held their best individual scoring threat to zero points in guard Kai Johnson.

“I’m a competitor. If you put me on their best player, which was supposed to be number one (Kai Johnson), he’s gonna have a long night. . . . But it’s a team effort. It wasn’t just me guarding him, it’s gonna be everybody. Without them, I can’t do it.”

- Oregon guard TJ Bamba

Villanova transfer Bamba is the right fit to be playing alongside the Naismith Trophy candidate Shelstad in the Oregon backcourt. As for forward Evans Jr. who scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds against Montana, he is fully unleashed due to how much talent is available across Altman's roster.

“I can go harder (now). Last year was way different than this year. We’ve got a deeper bench and we can use more players, so you don’t really have to conserve energy.”

- Oregon forward Kwame Evans Jr.

Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad presses past Montana guard Brandon Whitney as the Oregon Ducks host the Montana Grizzlies at Matthew Knight Arena Friday, Nov. 8, 2024 in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The depth was put on display in the win as everyone for the Ducks seemed to make some sort of an impact. Senior guard Jadrian Tracey has occupied the sixth man role nicely as he was the leading scorer off the bench with 12 points on 5-for-8 field goals and 2-for-5 three-pointers.

Freshman guard Jamari Phillips put in seven points in his collegiate debut. He seems to always be going at full speed when going downhill and gets to the free-throw line because of that non-stop effort from him. Sophomore forward Mookie Cook scored six points on 3-for-5 field goals but yet, he's still not close to showing off his full potential for Oregon.

“You can look at the plus-minus and that’s not a tell-all... (and) we’ve got to have some guys looking over their shoulder. They all want to play 40 minutes.”

- Oregon coach Dana Altman

Altman's squad would get even deeper if Georgetown transfer Supreme Cook makes his debut for the Ducks on Tuesday, Nov. 12 when the Portland Pilots make the trip down to Eugene. As for junior college transfer Dezdrick Lindsay who just had an MRI on his shoulder this week, it looks to be a bit longer until he gets his first opportunity with the Oregon program.

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