7-footer Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad return to lead Oregon in second Big Ten season

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A year ago, Oregon finished eighth in its first season in the Big Ten, stung by a late five-game losing skid but advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Seven-foot star Nate Bittle considered the NBA in the offseason before returning to Oregon for another season. Oregon has six returning players overall, an incoming freshman and seven transfers. Dan Altman, who has 780 career wins, is starting his 16th season coaching the Ducks.

Bittle (senior, C, 14.2 ppg). Bittle was Oregon's driving force last season, leading the Big Ten in blocks with an average of 2.1 a game. He also averaged 7.6 rebounds and was named All-Big Ten.

Jackson Shelstad (junior, G, 13.7 ppg). The 6-foot point guard also averaged 2.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in addition to his points, which ranked second-highest on the team. He was healing from a broken hand as the season neared.

Kwame Evans Jr. (junior, F, 6.1 ppg) Used mostly as a reserve last season, Evans added 4.6 rebounds off the bench per game. He was a top 15 recruit, so it is expected he will up his game as a senior.

The Ducks lost senior playmaker TJ Bamba, who now plays professionally in Germany, and fellow senior guard Keeshawn Barthelemy. Oregon acquired senior Takai Simpkins, who averaged 16.4 points last season for Elon via the transfer portal, as well as junior forward Devon Pryor out of Houston. An interesting addition is Wei Lin, who played three professional season in China before joining Oregon. Ege Demir, a 6-foot-11 center from Nigeria, is new to the Ducks and also has professional experience in Turkey.

Oregon opens the season with four non-conference games, starting with Hawaii on Nov. 4, before heading to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival in late November. The Ducks visit No. 12 UCLA on Dec. 6 and play a neutral site game against No. 21 Gonzaga in Portland on Dec. 21. Oregon's Big Ten season starts on the road at Maryland on Jan. 2. The regular season wraps up at home against rival Washington on March 7.

Oregon was ranked as high as No. 9 last season in the AP Top 25. ... When Shelstad broke his hand, the timeline for his recovery was four to six weeks, which is about the time the season is expected to kick off against Hawaii. ... Oregon has won 20 or more games every season since 2010-2011, when Altman took over as head coach. ... Oregon has reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the past two seasons. The team's best season since 2020 was a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2021 ... Newcomer Efe Vatan, a 6-foot-10 forward from Turkey, won't be available for the start of the season because of a foot injury.

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