The Duck who stayed: Sean Stewart believes — in his coach, this new team and UO’s chances

Sean Stewart is happy to report that things are beginning to feel a bit like normal again.

Offseason workouts for the Oregon men’s basketball team kicked off earlier this month, and he and the rest of the Ducks are counting down the days until the season officially opens Nov. 2.

It’s a big year for the Ducks, who are trying to rebound from the worst season of head coach Dana Altman’s tenure. And while there will be chemistry to build, systems to install and goals to set in the coming months, there’s also one aspect that might be overlooked for a team that saw all but one player on scholarship depart last spring.

Stewart has friends again.

Three months ago Oregon’s season ended at the Big Ten tournament in Chicago, followed by a sweeping roster exodus.

Nate Bittle graduated. Stars Jackson Shelstad and KJ Evans transferred and were followed by everyone but walk-ons Luke Johnson and Rian Gonzalez. That left Stewart, a 6-foot-9 forward who had arrived in Eugene only the previous offseason, as the lone returning scholarship player.

From the outside, it resembled the popular meme from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” in which Will Smith’s character stands alone in an empty living room.

“That’s exactly how it felt,” said Stewart, who averaged 6.5 points and 5.2 rebounds last year after spending the first two years of his career at Duke and Ohio State. “Those were the guys that I hung out with. Those were the guys that I formed bonds with.”

But Stewart was always a bit different. Even in Chicago, after one of the worst losses in Oregon basketball history, he was steadfast in his desire to return to Oregon. He liked Altman’s vision for him. He liked that the coach remained positive in the locker room even after the season went off the rails.

And he liked the idea of becoming a leader as a senior. 

“I’m going to work super-hard this summer to make sure we don’t have what happened this year happen again,” Stewart said in Chicago. “I believe in Altman and the plan he has for me.”

Over the ensuing months, Altman assembled a 13-player roster while keeping Stewart updated on who his new teammates might be. Stewart said the group began bonding over a team dinner and a couple of pickup games before summer workouts began — developing the first layers of chemistry that will be pressure-tested later this fall.

“You just kind of want to see what everyone can do,” Stewart said. “You’re not familiar with everyone’s games, so those first two pickup games were a really good indicator. There were no coaches there, it was just everybody playing off of instinct and feel and seeing how everybody operates without a system.”

The system, though, is coming. Full-team practices officially begin in September, continuing the feeling-out process for a group that still doesn’t quite know who its guys are.

Stewart likes the Ducks’ length, and newcomers such as Dwayne Aristode, Fred Payne and Jasper Johnson are likely to become more familiar names to Oregon fans. Stewart’s been working on his own game, too, trying to become a better shooter and ball handler. 

“We have so much talent and athleticism,” he said. “I really think that we can have a really good team this year.”

The one bona fide thing the Ducks have in July is someone who knows how things are supposed to be done. While much is different this year, this is also the most familiar offseason of Stewart’s college career.

It’s his first time returning to play for the same head coach. He knows the support staff, his way around campus and a few decent places to eat.

“I’m enjoying being with everybody,” Stewart said. “I think it helps me, too. I have to hold myself accountable to a higher standard.”