Oregon Ducks Finalist for 2025 Four-Star Shooting Guard

The Oregon Ducks are looking to reload for the future after a memorable final season in the Pac-12.
Mar 16, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman cuts down the net after the Pac-12 Championship game against the Colorado Buffaloes at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 16, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman cuts down the net after the Pac-12 Championship game against the Colorado Buffaloes at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Oregon Ducks are headed for new beginnings as they arrive in the Big Ten and will need to keep adding talent to keep the future bright.

Oreogn basketball coach Dana Altman and staff are now on the brink of doing just that.

Mar 21, 2024; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman calls out to his team during the second half of the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2024; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman calls out to his team during the second half of the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

According to On3's Joe Tipton, the Ducks are one of four finalists for 2025 four-star shooting guard Jovani Ruff. He'll be deciding between Oregon, USC, Cal and Kansas.

Per the report, Ruff, a Long Beach, Calif. native, will announce his decision on Wednesday, June 5.

Oregon currently has just one commit in the class of 2025, as three-star Isaac Carr from Portland announced his pledge to the Ducks all the way back in Oct. 2023. Of course, basketball recruiting classes are naturally smaller than football, so having just commitment at this point isn't a concern for Altman and staff. Expect Oregon to add more commits this offseason and potentially during the 2024 campaign.

As far as next season's class goes, the Ducks are set up nicely. Oregon signed three-star center Ibrahima Traore and landed a trio of transfers with T.J. Bamba (Villanova), Ra'Heim Moss (Toledo) and Brandon Angel (Stanford).

Oregon was the Pac-12 Tournament champion in the conference's final season, which bodes well for the program's future as it heads into the Big Ten. Altman helped lead an impressive turnaround as the Ducks weren't projected to make the NCAA Tournament field last season before winning all three games in the Pac-12 Tournament to earn a No. 11 seed in March Madness. Oregon then upset No. 6 South Carolina in the Round of 64.

While the efforts of seniors Jermaine Couisnard and N'Faly Dante were major reasons for this late-season run it takes a world-class coach to help make it happen. Safe to say Oregon fans should feel confidence ahead of next season. Landing Ruff will only add to the excitement.


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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

Zach Dimmitt is a journalist contributing to the Oregon Ducks, Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies on SI websites. Dimmitt I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2022 with a Bachelors degree in Journalism.