The Fast Break: Where did the defense go?

On Oregon’s problem with the defensive end, Kario Oquendo’s spark, Tony Stubblefield’s future and a big game coming up for the Beavers.

EUGENE — ”Giving up 80 drives me crazy” says Oregon coach Dana Altman as he glances down at the hardwood, tugs at an earlobe and cracks a slight grin.

“And some of the easy baskets we give up,” he adds on this Tuesday afternoon, right after a practice that was heavily focused on the defensive end of the floor. The Ducks (13-5, 5-2 Pac-12) are getting healthier and in spite of last week’s 0-2 mountain road trip, have positioned themselves near the top of the conference by way of a top-40 offense nationally. 

But Altman doesn’t think they’re playing hard enough.

Not where it matters, anyway.

“We’re just not as committed on the defensive end as we need to be,” he said of the Ducks, who boast the second-worst scoring defense in the conference. 

Altman knows it starts with effort, however. N’Faly Dante, still relatively fresh off his eight-week injury-hiatus, is his exemplar. 

In an 86-70 loss to Colorado last Thursday, Dante scored just seven points and collected five rebounds. Late in the second half, Oregon already trailing by 10, the center sat back in the paint, his hands rested on his knees and his conditioning still not apace his ambition, watching as Buffaloes’ freshman Cody Williams blew by him for a layup. 

But Sunday, against Utah? 

“Dante played at another level,” says Altman. “There’s playing to win, and playing. And N’Faly Dante plays to win. I mean, he’s been out eight weeks, and he looked like the only conditioned, tough, hard-nosed guy we had.”

Dante scored 23 points, adding 10 rebounds, six assists, a pair of blocks and one steal. Altman knew what he was watching in real time, but found himself even more impressed upon reviewing the film. It doubled as the source of his discontent with the overall defensive effort. If Dante, in just his fourth game of the season, could be such a presence, what’s stopping the rest of the roster? 

Altman made it clear the roster’s improving health won’t fix errors that have plagued this team since November. The perimeter defense is porous. And with Arizona State and No. 9 Arizona set to stop through Eugene this week, two critical opportunities for Oregon to bolster a resumé on the brink of a March Madness bid, it’s exacting enough a task that Altman couldn’t help but chuckle Tuesday afternoon.

“We got to get better,” he says. “We know that we can’t give up 80.”

It’s always been attack-first for Ducks senior Kario Oquendo. 

That 6-foot-4 bowling ball of a wing, who, after transferring in this offseason from Georgia, has spent his first season with Oregon finishing through contact and above the rim with authority, has played that way since he was a kid, even if the end results weren’t always so thunderous. 

And for as eye-catching as his approach can be in this era of dazzling outside shooting displays, it turns out Oquendo’s season has been even more impressive upon a closer look. 

Oquendo is playing a career-low 17.7 minutes, and he’s never averaged less than his 9.7 points per game this season. And yet, he’s been one of the nation’s most effective offensive players. 

He’s shooting a career-best 51.3 percent (the best of any Oregon guard/wing who has played meaningful minutes this season), including 41 percent from deep (second on the team). According to KenPom, Oquendo is ranked No. 342 nationally with a 117.7 offensive rating, No. 63 in lowest turnover percentage (8.2, and No. 35 in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (6.7). He also appears in the top 500 in the nation in field goal percentage and No. 210 in three-point percentage.  

On Tuesday, I sat down with Oquendo briefly after practice to ask him about his perplexing statistical season.

“I know that we have a really good team here,” he told me, “and there’s a lot of guys who also have success. So you know, you just have to come in and figure out where you fit in and play a role and just be happy with what you can do for a winning team.”

Here’s the most interesting part. KenPom divides usage rates into several categories. The top echelon is titled “go-to guys” — players who use greater than 28 percent of possessions on the court. Dante is the only Duck who fits the criteria there, but the next category, “major contributors” (24-28 percent usage), contains just one player, too: Oquendo. 

Put simply, when he does enter the game, Oquendo is treated as an offensive hub.

“I try to just kind of set that tone that the starters start for us,” he said of his role off the bench. “Me and my boy (Jadrian Tracey), he comes off the bench with me too, and we look at it as an opportunity if anybody’s down we can pick the team up just by coming off the bench with a spark. So I actually really liked it.” 

Added Dante: “I’m glad to have him next to me bro. (He’s) gonna take a lot of pressure off. Nobody is gonna want to jump with him. 

Tony Stubblefield has held eight official roles in his collegiate coaching career and, regarding the matter of longevity, none have held a candle to the 11 years spent as a Ducks assistant.

Stubblefield was a piece of Altman’s original 2010 Oregon staff, only departing in 2021 after being offered a head coaching gig at DePaul. 

He was fired Tuesday after compiling a 30-66 record over two-plus seasons. 

“Tony Stubblefield’s a good basketball coach,” Altman said. “He’ll have 50 or 60 job offers this week.”

Stubblefield was among those at the forefront of Oregon’s best recruiting hauls during the Altman era. He played a role in the commitments of Troy Brown Jr., Bol Bol, Louis King and Payton Pritchard, among others. 

The Ducks landed five top-12 classes during his time in Eugene, but, as Altman alluded to Tuesday, Stubblefield, due to a lack of funding on the NIL front, was unable to mirror the recruiting success across the country.

Amid a stretch of seasons that has seen just as much coaching turnover as roster movement, don’t rule out a potential return for Stubblefield in Eugene next season.

“I sure hope that he’ll at least take a look at us,” said Altman. 

It had been since December of 2021 that Oregon State basketball graced the top-25 rankings. 

After having received votes for nearly a month, that streak ended this week, the Beavers (15-3, 4-3 Pac-12) now equipped with No. 25 in front of their name. 

Since opening Pac-12 play with a 62-41 win over Oregon, the Beavers have faced three top-11 teams in their last six. They dropped all three, but each was within reach late, and with six Pac-12 teams ranked in this week’s top-25, the strength of the conference has rendered Oregon State a team with national momentum. 

And what better a time to finally earn that ranking than ahead of this weekend, when No. 3 Colorado and No. 16 Utah swing through town on Friday and Sunday, respectively. 

It’s statement time for the Beavers — and I’ve made sure to put it on the boss’ radar to get his butt down the Corridor Friday to cover it.

— Shane Hoffmann, for The I-5 Corridor