The Oregon Ducks took on the Utah Utes on Friday night in an exhibition match. The Ducks came out hot from the tip, jumping out to a 17-0 lead, and coasting to a 36-22 halftime lead. Oregon would not trail in the ballgame, winning the scrimmage 73-53.
Some thoughts I had while watching the game:
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Nate Bittle is (unsurprisingly) still a DUDE. The man might be the best big in the conference. Bittle finished the exhibition game with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks in 23 minutes of action.
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Wei Lin, at bare minimum, will be very entertaining to watch this season. Lin displayed some questionable shot selection, but he’s also got a little “streetball” in him (see below), which will definitely provide some excitement when he’s on the floor. He also seemed much more capable on the defensive end Friday than I had assumed he’d be. He finished the night with 10 points, four assists and two steals in 25 minutes.
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The other newcomers (Sean Stewart, Ege Demir and Devon Pryor) have seemed to settle into their roles nicely, at least they looked the part on Friday. Demir is a traditional, old-school, back-to-the-basket kind of big man, providing the second-unit the option to throw the ball down low to get some easy baskets. Something they desperately lacked in years past. Pryor and Stewart are both very athletic, and excel in transition, as well as providing solid defense.
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Three point shooting is still a work in progress. The Ducks went 0-10 from deep in the first half, but went 4-8 in the second half, so there is still cause for some optimism. But this game could’ve been much uglier had the Ducks made some open threes in the first half.
All in all, while this was a promising start, take it with a grain of salt. Exhibition matches don’t always translate to the regular season. But hopefully, the Ducks can use Friday night as a building block for something great this season.
As always, ‘Sco Ducks.
