Sweet 16 Recruiting Flashback: Oregon vs. Duke
Other Sweet 16 recruiting flashbacks: Miami-Villanova | Oklahoma-Texas A&M | Maryland-Kansas | Iowa State-Virginia | Wisconsin-Notre Dame | Gonzaga-Syracuse | Indiana-North Carolina
THE MATCHUP
The West Region has played out to seeding and Thursday will feature an interesting nightcap with No. 4 Duke and No. 1 Oregon tipping off at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., around 10 p.m. ET Thursday. The Blue Devils are looking to defend their 2015 NCAA Championship while the Ducks are carrying the torch for the Pac-12.
THE KEYS
Don’t look for the shot clock to come into play very often when the Ducks and Blue Devils hit the floor. Even though the Blue Devils lack depth, they have a big-time college scorer in sophomore guard Grayson Allen and freshman forward Brandon Ingram is starting to emerge as a legitimate candidate to go No. 1 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft. The Blue Devils can score, but will they have enough horses to hang with Ducks? Will Allen and Ingram be physical enough to score against Oregon's tough and athletic wings?
HOW THEY WERE BUILT
Eric Bossi on Duke: Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff had to replace an awful lot when they lost most of their 2015 title team to the NBA Draft or graduation. They recruited Allen to score and he took a huge step in his second year while Ingram has lived up to his No. 4 overall prospect in 2015 billing. The rest of Duke's No. 2 recruiting class also has helped out. Maybe the biggest surprise has been the tough and inspired play the Devils have gotten from Marshall Plumlee. A surprise McDonald’s All-American out of high school, Plumlee hasn’t ever had much offensive game but Duke maximized his ability to rebound and be a low post defender.
Bossi on Oregon: Back in the day, Dana Altman made his reputation as a junior college coach and sometimes it almost seems as if he’s built Oregon as he would a four-year junior college with unlimited resources. The Ducks always seem to have scholarships for transfers, they pull guys out of the junior college ranks such as Elgin Cook, wing Dwayne Benjamin and shot-blocking machine Chris Boucher. At the same time they have proven they can land top-flight high schoolers like five-star freshman combo guard Tyler Dorsey. Altman has always targeted a nice mixture versatile athletes and skill guys, as a result he’s built a team capable of playing multiple styles.
| STARTERS | STARTERS |
|---|---|
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Casey Benson - Sophomore, 6-3, 185 3-star PG from 2014 class. Named the 2014 Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year. 2015-16 Stats: 5.9 PPG, 41.8 FG%, 35.6 3PT%, 70.5 FT%, 3.0 APG |
Matt Jones – Junior, 6-5, 200 4-star SG from 2013 class (ranked 36th nationally). Sister plays at Texas A&M. The pair became the third brother-sister combo to make MDAAG. 2015-16 Stats: 10.5 PPG, 40.8 FG%, 41.3 3PT%, 73.6 FT%, 2.3 APG |
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Dillon Brooks - Sophomore, 6-6, 225 4-star SG from 2014 class. Chose Oregon over Dayton, Iowa State and Kansas State. 2015-16 Stats: 16.8 PPG, 46.9 FG%, 33.6 3PT%, 82.7 FT%, 5.6 RPG, 3.1 APG |
Grayson Allen – Sophomore, 6-5, 205 4-star SG from 2014 class (ranked 28th nationally). Won two slam dunk contests in high school. 2015-16 Stats: 21.8 PPG, 47.0 FG%, 41.9 3PT%, 84.1 FT%, 3.5 APG |
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Tyler Dorsey - Freshman, 6-4, 180 5-star SG from 2015 class (ranked 18th nationally). Chose Oregon over Arizona State, Colorado, and Kansas. 2015-16 Stats: 13.7 PPG, 45.1 FG%, 41.8 3PT%, 71.6 FT%, 4.4 RPG |
Luke Kennard – Freshman, 6-5, 180 5-star SG from 2015 class (ranked 25th nationally). Senior HS season shot 59.3% from the field, 49% from behind 3, and 89% from the free throw line. 2015-16 Stats: 11.8 PPG, 41.8 FG%, 32.3 3PT%, 88.9 FT%, 1.5 APG |
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Elgin Cook - Senior, 6-6, 205 3-star SF from 2013 class. Father Alvin Cook was a four-time NBA All-Star with the Spurs and Bucks. 2015-16 Stats: 14.5 PPG, 46.6 FG%, 76.3 FT%, 5.1 RPG, 2.3 APG |
Brandon Ingram – Freshman, 6-9, 190 5-star SF from 2015 class (ranked fourth nationally). One of two players in NC HS basketball history to win four consecutive state titles. 2015-16 Stats: 17.1 PPG, 44.2 FG%, 41.5 3PT%, 68.3 FT%, 6.8 RPG |
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Chris Boucher - Junior, 6-10, 190 4-star SF from 2015 class. Transferred from JUCO Northwest College. 2015-16 Stats: 12.1 PPG, 54.5 FG%, 7.4 RPG, 3.0 BPG |
Marshall Plumlee – Senior, 7-0, 250 4-star center from 2011 class (ranked 79th nationally). Marshall and his two brothers were the first trio in ACC history to play on the same team. Only third trio in NCAA history. 2015-16 Stats: 8.4 PPG, 68.7 FG%, 58.3 FT%, 8.7 RPG, 1.7 BPG |
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KEY BENCH PLAYERS |
KEY BENCH PLAYERS |
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Jordan Bell - Sophomore, 6-8, 225 4-star PF from 2013 class (ranked 68th nationally). Averaged 13.6 points and 4.8 blocks his senior year in high school. 2015-16 Stats: 6.9 PPG, 58.7 FG%, 52.1 FT%, 5.1 RPG |
Derryck Thornton – Freshman, 6-2, 175 5-star PG from 2015 class (ranked 14th nationally). Reclassified to 2015 class after Tyus Jones declared for the draft. 2015-16 Stats: 7.2 PPG, 39.1 FG%, 32.5 3PT%, 69.0 FT%, 2.6 APG |
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Dwayne Benjamin - Senior, 6-7, 210 4-star SF from 2014 class. Was recruited as a wide receiver in high school as well. 2015-16 Stats: 8.1 PPG, 40.5 FG%, 67.6 FT%, 3.1 RPG, 1.1 SPG |
Chase Jeter – Freshman, 6-10, 240 5-star center from 2015 class (ranked 16th nationally). Nevada Gatorade POY. Dad played at UNLV and won a championship in 1990. 2015-16 Stats: 1.9 PPG, 55.6 FG%, 54.1 FT%, 1.9 RPG |