Oregon Ducks Basketball Guard Jesse Zarzuela Enters Transfer Portal

Oregon Ducks men's basketball has reportedly lost guard Jesse Zarzuela to the transfer portal. Oregon coach Dana Altman is losing a member of his roster before the start of Big Ten conference play.

Nov 6, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Jesse Zarzuela (2) dribbles around Georgia Bulldogs guard Noah Thomasson (3) during the first half at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks football team has been making headlines in the transfer portal due to arrivals and departures, but now the basketball squad is getting in on the action.

Per reports from On3's Jaime Shaw, Oregon guard Jesse Zarzuela has entered the transfer portal before the end of non-conference play. He started all five games he played in last year but has not appeared in a contest yet this season.

Oregon guard Jesse Zarzuela moves the ball as the Oregon Ducks host Tennessee State Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Zarzuela, a native of Houston, originally signed with the UTEP Miners as a three-star recruit in the 2019 class, according to 247Sports. However, he played his freshman year at Navarro Junior College in Texas before heading to Missouri State West Plains Junior College. He made his way to Division I the following season and started 18 games for Coppin State before heading to Central Michigan for the 2022-23 campaign. In his one season with the Chippewas, Zarzuela averaged a career-high 16.3 points in 17 games, which was highlighted by a career-best 29-point game against Buffalo in Jan. 2023.

Now, before completing his second season at Oregon, he's set to change schools once again.

Along with the five starts, Zarzuela averaged 10.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He reached double figures in three of these five contests, twice reach his Oregon career-high of 14 points in wins over Tennessee State and Florida A&M. He then had 12 points in a loss to Santa Clara before finishing with seven points against then-No. 17 Alabama last November.

Nov 6, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Jesse Zarzuela (2) bounces a pass off Oregon Ducks center N'Faly Danta (1) during the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The Ducks have emerged as one of the best teams in college basketball as non-conference play comes to an end. Oregon has picked up wins over Alabama, Texas A&M and San Diego State. The Ducks have jumped up to No. 10 in the AP Poll as a result, but they lost their first game of the year, 73-71, to UCLA on Dec. 8.

"We kind of skated around in some close games, and we're fortunate," head coach Dana Altman said. "So we've just got to get better. Our block-out rates are not what they should be. I mentioned the deflections that we monitor weren't anywhere close to what they needed to be against UCLA. So our turnovers were really bad against UCLA and some of that's UCLA defense or good defense, but some of we just made poor decisions, just trying to drive against the set defense."

Oregon responded with a 79-61 win over Stephen F. Austin on Dec. 15. The Ducks will take on Stanford tonight in Eugene as non-conference play wraps up.

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