Dana Altman says Oregon men's basketball mass exodus not unexpected
Oregon men's basketball coach Dana Altman faces a major roster rebuild with 12 players departing, including key starters.
The rebuilding of the Oregon men's basketball roster has begun. During a frank and revealing press conference with Dana Altman April 9 inside Matthew Knight Arena, the Ducks' longtime coach laid out the challenges that come with having to replace 12 scholarship players from last season's 12-20 team. Three of those players were lost to graduation, nine have reportedly entered the transfer portal.
None of the departures were unexpected. “We did not pull anybody’s scholarship. Everybody had their scholarship, and it would have been renewed,” Altman said.
“But we are working within a budget, and some guys were gonna lose their NIL, either totally or taking a reduction. Big reduction. ” Among those in the transfer portal is point guard Jackson Shelstad, the West Linn native and Ducks starter for three seasons and 2025-26 preseason all-Big Ten Conference selection.
Also transferring is starting forward Kwame Evans Jr. , a 2023 five-star recruit from Maryland who started 30 games this past season and averaged career highs in both points (13. 3) and rebounds (7.