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Advancing to a New Age
Coming off a very impressive season in the Pac 12 and NIT, the�Oregon Ducks Basketball team is eagerly awaiting a 2012-2013 season that should see further improvement and a possible return to the hallowed grounds of the NCAA Men?s Basketball Championship.
Key to this hope that the 2012-2013 season will bring further success are returning starters such as C Tony Woods, F E.J. Singler, and F Carlos Emory.
While these players do give the Ducks a solid base (and there are surely other quality players on the roster ? Jonathan Lloyd for one) for the future, the loss of Garrett Sim to the ?real world? and young shooting guard Brett Kingma to a transfer has given the Ducks the need to reload their roster in order to ensure success in 2012-2013 and beyond.
E.J. Singler will be one of the main pieces for the Oregon Ducks in 2012-2013
In order to shore up insecurities in their transition between eras in Duck basketball, Dana Altman (head coach of the Ducks) has brought in new faces for the 2012-2013 season that will give the success for many years within the confines of Matthew Knight Arena.
These are the new faces of the Oregon basketball team:
Dominic Artis (5?11?, 165 lbs.) ? Point Guard
Richmond, California ? Findlay College Prep
Listed as an ESPN 100 player, Artis is the highlight of Altman?s strong 2012 recruiting class. A somewhat smaller player, Artis more than makes up for his stature with his ability to lead an offense as well as his slashing mentality.
Though a young player, Artis will likely see lots of playing time in his freshmen season as he is one of the prime examples of a ?field general? in college basketball.
Sure, his shooting and scoring needs a little more work before we consider him an elite college basketball player, Artis? ability to captain the court is his greatest quality. He uses his quick speed and cuts to provide openings in order to open up other, better shooting teammates.
Damyean Dotson (6?6?, 181 lbs.) ? Small Forward
Houston, Texas ? Jack Yates High School
Dotson is another player who should be able to pile up a bunch of nice statistics for the Ducks. Perhaps a little small with his 6?6?, 181 lb. frame, Dotson will need to put on a little bit more of muscle weight before he is ready to dominate Pac 12 play.
Despite this need to build out his frame more, Dotson should be able to contribute significantly to the Ducks in his rookie season. Coaches and scouts have raved about his abilities to contribute on both sides of the ball.
Reggie Rankin of ESPN.com had this to say about Dotson:
?Dotson is a stat-sheet stuffer who competes and plays extremely hard on both ends of the floor. He excels in transition, gets to the rim, hits midrange jumpers, knocks down rhythm 3s, handles, passes and rebounds in and out of his area?
Why wouldn?t the Ducks love this guy?
Fred Richardson (6?5?) ? Small Forward
Friendswood, Texas ? Clear Brook High School
Another player from the state of Texas, Richardson will hopefully become one of the Ducks? next big three-point shooters.
A good transition player, Richardson also has a strong ability to come off of screens and hit the long jumper.
Ben Carter (6?8?, 215 lbs.) ? Power Forward
Las Vegas, Nevada ? Bishop Gorman High School
One of the soon-to-be bigger players for the Ducks, opponents of the Ducks will be miss to underestimate the athleticism of Carter.
While he does need to improve athletically, (and already has) Carter has already shown the ability and skill to be an offensive threat at the next level. He is an excellent shooter off the step back and can even set up to hit the occassional three.
With more athletic work and strength training, Carter should be able to shore up his questions on defense as well.
Dominic Artis will be one of the key newcomers for Oregon this next season. (Photo Credit: Brendan Nolan)
Willie Moore (6?3?, 175 lbs.) ? Shooting Guard
Cincinnati, Ohio ? Aiken High School
One of those players who we don?t know too much about yet, Moore should be a solid back-up at either guard position this next 2012-2013 season.
He has shown the tendency to be a great player with the ball in his hands and should be able to provide the Ducks with a viable scoring threat on every position.
Devon Branch (6? 5?, 175 lbs.) ? Shooting Guard
Aberdeen, Maryland ? Cloud County Community College
The lone player out of community college for the Ducks this year is Devon Branch.
Branch provides a much needed ?experienced? player who can make an immediate impact for the Ducks.
Although he is mainly a slasher, Branch has shown the ability to be a valuable outside shooter as well.
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� Chris Anderson for North West Sports Beat, 2012. |
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Post tags: Ben Carter, Brett Kingma, Carlos Emory, Damyean Dotson, Devon Branch, Dominic Artis, Ducks, Ducks basketball, Ducks hoops blogs, E.J. Singler, Fred Richardson, Garrett Sim, NCAA Basketball, NIT, Oregon, Oregon Ducks, Oregon Ducks Basketball, Oregon Ducks Basketball Blog, Pac 12 Basketball, Tony Woods, U of O Basketball blog, Willie Moore
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