The Oregon Ducks are on the verge of finishing a horrific basketball season, but they made a wild statement as a response to it.
The Oregon Ducks are on the verge of finishing up one of the most disappointing seasons in a very, very long time.
As of Wednesday, they are 10-17, 17th in the Big Ten, and have recorded a 3-13 Big Ten record with three games left to go in the regular season.
While some programs might act irrationally in this instance, the Ducks are giving head coach Dana Altman another chance after a year that has been an incredible disappointment.
On Wednesday, it was reported that the Ducks will remain "fully committed" to their head coach and they expect him to be back on the bench next year.
Oregon's season this year has two long stretches that really spelled their demise. The program had a five-game losing streak at the end of November, and then they experienced a 10-game slide over a four-week stretch from Jan 4 through Feb 9.
While the Ducks struggled, Altman's only life raft is the fact that this season has been marred by significant injuries.
The two big injuries came to starters Jackson Shelstad and fifth-year center Nate Bittle. Combined, these two average over 31 points, 10 rebounds, and over 7 assists, and on the other hand, they have missed a combined 22 games.
They also lost depth pieces Ege Demir, Devon Prior, and Takai Simmons to injuries at some point in the year.
It is hard enough to win basketball games in the Big Ten, especially from the upper Northwest, but to do it without your best players makes it an even bigger struggle.
This is Altman's 16th season in Oregon, and it is by far his worst. He has never won fewer than 20 games in his time in Eugene except for this year. As a matter of fact, this is just the third time that he has won less than 20 games in a season since 1997, when his Creighton Blue Jays went 18-10.
Altman is getting the well-deserved benefit of the doubt after this season. He is one of the great College Basketball Coaches in the country, and he will remain the leader of the Ducks even after a very difficult season.
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