The Duck Report: Cleaning house

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The news didn’t come as a surprise, but it was still something to see earlier this week when Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad announced he was entering the transfer portal.

No matter how you look at it, it was a disappointing moment for the program. Shelstad is talented. He’s a homegrown product who came to Oregon from West Linn. He was the next Payton Pritchard — and occasionally played like him during a three-year Oregon career that peaked in 2024-25 when he averaged 13.7 points in helping lead Oregon to a second-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

But Shelstad missed much of his junior year with a hand injury, playing in just 12 games before being shut down for the season on Dec. 28. Without Shelstad in the lineup, the Ducks went 6-14 in a year that ended in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Now, he’s gone. And he isn’t the only one.

Rising senior Kwame Evans Jr. also announced he’s entering the portal after a three-year Oregon career. Evans averaged 13.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game this season.

Throw in the graduation of Nate Bittle and, yeah, this roster is going to be looking substantially different next winter.

But after the year the Ducks had, maybe a complete reboot isn’t the worst thing.

“It’s been 30 years since I had a losing season, or my teams have had a losing season,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said after the season ended in Chicago. “So it’s kind of hard to digest.”

So close and so far

The season was a success for the Oregon women.

After losing their top four scorers from last year’s Tournament team, Oregon won 23 games — including a pair of games at the Big Ten Tournament and a Round 1 win over Virginia Tech last week in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.

The Ducks are built for success — especially with the experience gained by star guard Katie Fiso during her standout sophomore campaign.

But as the season ended with a 42-point loss to Texas, the Ducks were also reminded of how large the gap is they need to close to take the step from promising to contender.

The story behind the hair

Oregon’s Astera Tuhina has a knack for standing out on the court. Credit: Tyson Alger

After a few questions about basketball, I got down to the important stuff with Oregon guard Astera Tuhina.

“Mind if I ask you about your hair?”

“Go for it,” said the junior, who rocked a bright green spiderweb on her head throughout Oregon’s NCAA Tournament run. She wore hearts earlier in the year, and Dancing Bears, a hand and tie-dye.

She often gets her teammates to help style it.

“There’s a lot of pressure on them,” Tuhina said. “Sometimes I’m really stressed and it makes them stressed. But they understand there’s no room for error. You have to be perfect.”

Duck of the week: Dominic Hellman, Oregon baseball

Dominic Hellman picked up some hardware for his work in Oregon’s series win over Northwestern. Oregon’s designated hitter was named the Big Ten’s co-player of the week after going 5-for-12 with four home runs, eight RBI and five runs scored in the series while also walking three times.

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At least the Duck found some zen amidst that Texas onslaught.

The trip down to Austin took a few years off my life in the best ways.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“What a blessing it is to be here. Not a lot of people get this opportunity where we’re at. So enjoying every minute, enjoying all the highs, the lows.”
— Oregon guard Katie Fiso after season-ending loss to Texas