Sports journalists don’t often admit when they’re wrong.
In fact, by the time many sports media “experts” are proven incorrect, the narrative has shifted so much that many fans don’t even remember their predictions in the first place. But twice last year — once in September and again in October — I declared Dana Altman on the hot seat as a coach facing monumental expectations by a fanbase that expected an immediate winner.
Even at the time, it was a hard stance to take. After steady improvement in his first two years, it was easy to see a clear path for Altman and his team’s future success, especially after his recruiting started to get a solid footing.
But, I wrote, “Mediocrity isn’t tolerated in the new world order of Rose Bowls and #nationalbrands, and fair or not, if Altman doesn’t get the Ducks to the NCAA tournament this year, it will be a massive disappointment.”
Mr. Altman, I’m sorry I doubted you.
Led by outgoing seniors E.J. Singler and Arsalan Kazemi, Oregon recovered from two head-scratching losses to Colorado and Utah to race through the conference tournament in Las Vegas and into the NCAA tournament. But, as you know, the No. 12-seeded Ducks didn’t stop there. Back-to-back wins led Oregon to a Sweet 16 showdown with No. 1-seeded Louisville, against whom — old news — the Ducks’ season ended.
But even that loss can be considered out of Oregon’s hands. Last weekend, Louisville pounded Duke to clinch a Final Four spot despite suffering the worst injury I’ve seen live in sports. Kevin Ware’s revolting broken leg that left glints of white bone peeking out from the sophomore’s shin has seemingly rallied the whole country behind the Cardinals. There’s no shame in Oregon losing to a team of that caliber.
In fact, it’s a learning experience. Entering the Sweet 16, Altman was joined in the Midwest by Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Louisville’s Rick Pitino. Between the three of them? Twenty-four Final Four appearances and six championships. That’s not bad company for Altman, whose current claim to fame is as the winningest coach in the history of Creighton, a team that hasn’t advanced past the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament since 1942.
Altman’s winning will beget more winning, both individually for himself and for his team. As the first Oregon coach to secure three-straight 20-plus win seasons since the 1930s, the Nebraska native earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors. Recently, Altman was also named one of 10 contenders for the 2013 John McLendon National Coach of the Year award, according to CollegeInsider.com.
As a coach this year, Altman made few glaring miscalculations. When freshman guard Dominic Artis went down, Altman invested faith in back-up Johnathan Loyd. Despite a rough start to his era as a starter, Loyd repaid the coach with clutch play throughout the Pac-12 tournament, dropping 19 points in the title-winning victory over UCLA. In fact, the one-two punch of Artis and Loyd made almost everyone forget that across the country former Duck and five-star recruit Jabari Brown averaged more than 13 points per game for Missouri.
More than anything else, Altman gave fans little to doubt in his confidence of his team. The Pit Crew bought into his mottos — “BEND YOUR KNEES” — and fostered a sense of resolution eerily familiar to the blind confidence fans held in Oregon football.
Call it swagger if you want. Whatever it was, it came from Altman.
And I’ll be the first to admit it.