The Oregon Ducks got a huge boost today as returning players Nate Bittle and Mookie Cook were fully cleared to return to basketball activities today per Jon Rothstein. Bittle only played five games last season while battling an illness. Cook on the other hand had appearances in four games before being shut down for the season with an ankle injury.
The Ducks were bitten with the injury bug all last season. They are going to need to be much healthier this season if they want to compete in their first season as a member of the Big Ten. Their two leading scorers from a season ago; N’faly Dante and Jermaine Couisnard are no longer there.
Oregon had a very up-and-down 2023-24 season until they got red hot in the Pac-12 Tournament. Out of nowhere, Head Coach Dana Altman got the boys ready for March. The Ducks won three games in three days to win the final Pac-12 conference tournament to clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament. From there, they won their opening round tournament matchup but were bounced in the round of 32 vs Creighton in overtime.
Bittle and Cook Return For Oregon
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Seeing Nate Bittle and Mookie Cook being cleared is a great site to see. Each must have been kicking themselves all last year in frustration for not being able to be out there when their team was struggling. The lack of depth was on full display in the overtime loss vs Creighton. N’faly Dante and Jermaine Couisnard were quite literally the only Duck players who touched the ball in the second half and overtime. Guard Jackson Shelstad getting injured during the game made their rotation even thinner.
You’d have to think if they had just one or two more players able to get on the court and contribute, they would have fended off Creighton and made it to the “Sweet Sixteen.” But the past is the past and the now is now. And now they are both healthy enough to take the floor. Bittle showed some flashes in his freshman year in 2022-23 so it will be a big boost for the front court. We have yet to see Cook be a consistent contributor, but the highly touted 2023 recruit is ready to make a name for himself.
To go along with Bittle and Cook, the 2024-25 Ducks will be led by Jackson Shelstad and KJ Evans. These four guys will be relied on to get Oregon rolling earlier in the season. Duck fans should be fired up for the upcoming season.
Ducks Enter The Big Ten
The big story in college sports coming into the 2024 season is the new look conferences. The Big Ten now has a staggering 18 teams, the SEC added Texas and Oklahoma, the ACC added Stanford, Cal, and SMU, the Big 12 is now up to 14 teams, and the Pac-12 as we know it is dead.
The Big Ten has consistently at least six NCAA Tournament teams. When Oregon was in the Pac-12, it wasn’t uncommon for the league to get half the amount of NCAA tournament teams of what the Big Ten got. The Ducks are going to be facing better teams in more hostile atmospheres in the Big Ten.
While it will be a transition period, Oregon should be excited to be in a conference with the basketball prestige the Big Ten has. Schools like Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue, and Illinois are traditionally basketball schools so it will be fun to see the Ducks playing them in conference play. Being in the Big Ten creates more opportunities for Oregon basketball on a national level.
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