When it was announced that Dillon Brooks would miss an unknown amount of time with a foot injury during the summer, the idea of his absence raised numerous questions for Oregon.
Brooks, who led the Ducks in scoring last season and was named an AP preseason All-American in early November, is the heart and soul of Oregon’s team. Without him in the lineup, the Ducks were left without a true small forward.
Brooks returned for Oregon’s opening game at the Maui Invitational on Nov. 21, but played just 13 minutes and didn’t have his legs under him as the Ducks fell 65-61 to the Hoyas.
As time goes on, Brooks will begin to work his way back into the flow of the Ducks’ offense and has already flashed the talent that has Oregon fans so anxious for his return.
In his absence, Oregon depended heavily on a three-guard lineup that showed both flaws and strengths of the team. Until Brooks gets back up to speed, Oregon will need to thrive in similar lineups if it hopes to reach the lofty expectations that come with early accolades.
“It’s a lot of talent at the guard spot, the big spot; we don’t really have that 6’6” position,” sophomore guard Tyler Dorsey said at Oregon’s media day in early October. “But we have a lot of guards to get up and down and run the floor and play a high-pace game to interchange everybody. There’s definitely a lot of talent and depth on the team.”
Dorsey leads a crew of four Duck guards who are interchangeable and can play numerous positions in Oregon’s free-flowing offense. Dylan Ennis returns as Oregon’s senior leader after missing last year with a foot injury, and has played the majority the minutes at the point guard spot so far.
Casey Benson, who was second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio last season, returns as well but could see a reduced role due the depth that Oregon has at guard. Freshman Payton Pritchard came to Oregon as a 4-star recruit and has emerged as Oregon’s most consistent point guard early in the season.
The combination of those three, mixed with the absence of Brooks, means that Oregon will have two point guards on the floor at almost all times.
“We do it in practice a lot,” Ennis said. “Last year in the summer we didn’t do it as much. But I think coach realizes that you can have two point guards on at the same time. I love playing with Casey, so it’s gonna be fun.”
Added to the mix is Dorsey, a 6’4” sharpshooter who has played shooting guard almost exclusively at Oregon, but projects as a point guard in the NBA and has the ability to handle the ball and distribute when needed.
Dorsey’s versatility as a ball-handler and a slasher allows the Ducks to play him wherever needed, and opens the option to play three guards at once in certain situations.
“That’s what we did in Spain,” Dorsey said in reference to Oregon’s summer trip in which they went 4-0 in exhibition games. “I’ll be looking forward to seeing that this year from coach Altman and our rotation, with three guards and two bigs.”
Even with Brooks back and steadily increasing his minutes, the Ducks will still depend on three-guard lineups in various situations. Even with Brooks available in a Nov. 22 win over Tennessee, Oregon ran a lineup featuring Ennis, Pritchard and Dorsey with Brooks playing a small-ball power forward spot late in the game.
It’s still early in the year, and Oregon has not looked the part of a cohesive product thus far. But expect Altman to shuffle and tinker with lineups as he looks for the best way to use his unique group of guards.
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