For the first time in program history, the Oregon Ducks have won back-to-back Pac-12 titles.
Winning one title alone is impressive and difficult. Before 2016, Oregon had only claimed four conference titles in school history. Taking league titles in back-to-back seasons in the Pac-12 places you with the likes of Arizona, UCLA and the Cal teams of the Pete Newell era.
“Conference championships are hard,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said after his team’s title-clinching win on Saturday. “Winning the thing is important when you have a school that’s only won five previous conference championships.”
“It’s pretty special to be in my third year now and just to know that you’ve been part of something that’s been such a blast,” junior guard Casey Benson said. “It’s just been fun and we want don’t want it to end.”
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end eventually. And let’s face it: Oregon fans have been spoiled the last two seasons.
This is has been arguably the greatest two-year stretch of Oregon men’s basketball in school history. This core group has not lost a game at home in two seasons. They’ve shattered Oregon block records, secured the school’s first ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and are national champions contenders this year.
“It’s just nice to be so successful in two years,” forward Chris Boucher said. “Not a lot of people have a good career in college so it’s definitely special for me.”
But with a multitude of question marks surrounding next year’s roster, this season is Oregon’s best shot at winning, or even competing for a national championship — at least in the near future.
The hope that many Duck fans have is that Oregon’s recent success will make playing under Altman a very appealing recruiting tool and that it will start consistently netting top recruits.
Already Oregon is seeing some of the Altman appeal. Five-star forward Troy Brown Jr. signed with Oregon for 2017-18. The Ducks are also still in the running for five-star center Brandon McCoy, who would undoubtedly push Oregon’s No. 12 recruiting class into the top 10.
But Oregon’s top competition isn’t going anywhere, at least not anytime soon. UCLA, Arizona and Washington all have top-five recruiting classes next year. Even Arizona State’s 2017 class is ranked in the top 15 by 247sports.com.
Oregon may start turning success on the court into recruits and start to build an Arizona-like program. Altman has done this well enough so far during his Oregon tenure, and seven 20-win seasons in the last seven years have put the Ducks back on the map.
But his group this season is undoubtedly the deepest and most complete team he’s ever fielded. There should be little doubt that Altman will continue to build this program, but it’s this year’s team that will be his best shot at a national title.
Boucher and Dylan Ennis will both be gone after this season, that’s obvious. The main concerns for next season will center around the possible early departures of Tyler Dorsey, Dillon Brooks and Jordan Bell.
Both Bell and Brooks’ names have popped up in mock drafts since before the season began. Dorsey has completely fallen off most recently, but NBA teams are always looking for talented guards who can shoot the three.
No player has seen his pro stock rise higher than Bell this season. Some mock drafts even have him as high as a late-first round pick.
Brooks is National Player of the Year Candidate, and according to Steve Nash, will have a long NBA career when he eventually does turn pro. At the moment, Brooks is listed on mocks as a second round pick, but a strong showing in March on a national stage could catapult his stock.
All this being said, who knows what could happen next season. Everyone who’s eligible could declare for the draft. Or none of them.
The future is bright for Oregon, but not as bright as its present. This is probably the most talented Duck team ever assembled. The time is now for the Ducks to make a serious push for a national championship.
Follow Gus Morris on Twitter @JustGusMorris
The post Morris: It’s now or never for an Oregon national championship appeared first on Emerald Media.