Simi Shittu Names Top Ten Schools
By JACOB POLACHECK Simi Shittu, the 6-foot-8 power
CAMDEN, N.J. — The Golden State Warriors may be scaring the rest of the NBA with the way they space the floor and snipe from downtown, but the Knicks are still emphasizing the old triangle offense.
Just ask a couple of former Oregon players who recently worked out for Phil Jackson’s club.
“The Knicks, oh yeah, they actually went through the triangle probably 45 [minutes] to an hour,” former Oregon and Villanova guard Dylan Ennis said Thursday at the Philadelphia 76ers workout facility. “They did progressions to it, but it’s an offense that works and I picked it up real fast. That’s what they liked about me. That’s what a six-year guard will do, man. You give me an offense, I’ll pick it up real fast.”
By DENNIS CHAMBERS
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The final stage of this college basketball season is bringing in a slew of firsts for most of those involved.
This edition of the Final Four features just one program with championship head coaching experience. That distinction belongs to blue-blood North Carolina and their lead man Roy Williams. Through his time at Chapel Hill, and previously at Kansas, Williams has made it to nine different Final Fours, winning championships in 2005 and 2009.
After that, though, Mark Few, Frank Martin, and Dana Altman combine for a whopping zero coaching appearances during college basketball’s final two contests. In fact, the programs they represent — Gonzaga, South Carolina, and Oregon, respectively — have just one Final Four appearance between them, Oregon’s 1939 championship during the inaugural NCAA event. In comparison, this latest trip marks the 20th time North Carolina has been one of the final four teams remaining.
The Canada-to-Oregon pipeline under Dana Altman dates back to 2011, when the Ducks landed a pair of Canadian transfers in Devoe Joseph (Minnesota) and Olu Ashaolu (Louisiana Tech).
During Altman’s seven years at the Pac-12 school, Oregon has featured seven Canadians, including the current trio of Dillon Brooks, Chris Boucher and Dylan Ennis. While Boucher is out with an injury, Brooks and Ennis have been driving forces as the Ducks have marched to their first Final Four since 1939, when FDR was in the White House.
Oregon will face North Carolina in one national semifinal on Saturday in Glendale, Ariz., while South Carolina meets Gonzaga in the other.
“It started with Devoe Joseph and Olu Ashaolu our second year here,” Altman said. “We started a pipeline. And they’ve done a great job for us.”
The last time Oregon advanced to the
By AMAN KIDWAI
The Rhode Island Rams’ 2016-17 season came to an end in a tight battle against No. 3 Oregon in a 75-72 loss Sunday night in Sacramento, Calif.
Though Dan Hurley’s scrappy squad led at halftime and for most of the second half, the Ducks closed in late and a three by sophomore guard Tyler Dorsey with 38 seconds left gave them the win.
The game had all the trappings of another chapter in Rhode Island’s Cinderella story. URI was on the bubble late in the season, but seemed to be getting hot at the right time. Adding to the brewing magic, a backup guard scored 19 points as the Rams built a late lead for their upset bid.
Unfortunately, Dorsey (27 points on 9-of-10 FG, 5 rebounds) and junior forward Dillon Brooks (19 points, 7 rebounds) were too much to handle down the stretch. Oregon advances to the Sweet 16 where it will face No. 7 Michigan. The Wolverines are coming off a 73-69 upset win over No. 2 Louisville on Sunday in Indianapolis.
