Autzen Audibles

If I had to bet money on it, I would wager than Oregon lands none of these 3. Obviously I hope I'm wrong.

But, we've definitely offerred Sheppard. We were late in the game, recruiting him, however and though he says he's still considering us we aren't in his list of 5 schools he was originally interested in.

Bennett has offers from big time programs like Kansas and Kentucky, and has yet to visit us, and I don't think we have great odds of landing him either.

I haven't heard anything about Graham. Looks like he committed and then de-committed to NC State a couple months ago.

I'd certainly love to have any of these guys, but I think don't have strong odds to land any of them.

It would be big if we could land any one of those three. If we do, I would say 'shut it down'. Just because we have scholarships doesn't mean we want to use them all. If we go beyond 4 or 5, we should be looking at JCs to balance our classes. Being too heavy in one class is just a recipe for disaster every 4 years. The best is to have a nice even flow of 3-4 each year. We're unbalanced because of the unique situation of Kent's dismissal and it will take a few years before the classes are balanced again.

Bennett is visiting his final 5 schools this spring before he makes a decision. We are in his final 5, his current teammate Artis is a duck and in his ear about coming to Eugene with him. I would wager we make his final 3, so 33% chance at landing a 5 star talent is pretty darn good.

The Ducks are searching the country for a two-guard and a big man but there aren't very many available options that are out there worth taking.

Like Oregon football has done expect Dana Altman and the Ducks to do the same thing. You won't see Oregon take someone to simply take someone. Washington did that last spring in getting two freshman post players in Bruinning or Kemp, JR. Both players are very far away from being a regular contributor on a Pac-12 team. Kemp might be a little farther along but look at the rosters of the other teams and ask yourself would he see major minutes elsewhere? Maybe ASU, Utah, and USC. All three of those schools are some of the worst teams in the country.

Devon Branch is a JC guard the Ducks really like right now and he's a top player in the JC ranks much like Carlos Emory was last season. 6-foot-6, 200 pounds, 20 ppg, 50% FG, 42% from three.

Spencer Coleman is a JC wing that is similar to Carlos Emory in playing style. 6-foot-6 220 pounds SF type player. 15 points and 8 rebounds per game. He also played his prep ball in Eugene at South Eugene HS. He's got about 10 offers from smaller level schools but no BCS level offers last I checked about 1.5 months ago. A guy Oregon might look to if they need a JC wing and miss on higher targets.

Then there is the 1-year graduate transfers that Devoe Joseph, Jay-R Strowbridge, and Olu Ashaolu have been. We won't know those until after the CBB season.

Then there's the JC guys we don't know about yet.

Hey Matt (or anyone else that knows more than me about this). Honestly how GOOD is armstead? Obviously just his size is good for 5-10 minutes of banging under the hoop, but how good are his actual skills? Could he have made D-1 without it being for football?

Not trying to bash his talents, just get some realistic expectations. I wouldn't mind him being a pryzbilla type player -- blocks, boards, and foul out every game. If he could be a scoring presence that would be an even bigger bonus.

Anyone know anything?

Thanks man, I never saw a rating on him for basketball. This makes me think he can contribute more then I originally thought.

Obviously playing football will hamper his ability to develop his b-ball skills, but I see anything we get from him as a bonus.

Nice to have a 6'8 290 pound body, basketball scholarship free, sitting on the bench in case of foul trouble.

Ernie would have gone to heaven!

None yet but I noticed the people in question and working to see what I can dig up.