Ducks face a season of transition without longtime leader Dana Altman

The Ducks had a shock in early October when coach Dana Altman suddenly announced his retirement after 16 seasons in Eugene. Altman, 68, explained he did not have the energy or confidence to continue. Oregon will begin a search for Altman’s successor after the season. In the meantime, assistant Tony Stubblefield, who has been with the program for 13 years, will lead the Ducks as interim head coach for the coming season.

Nearly the entire roster has turned over from last season. Sean Stewart, a 6-foot-9 senior forward, is the lone starter to return. He played in all 32 games for the Ducks last season, including starts in the final 17 games of the season, and averaged 6.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Junior guard Wei Lin also returns. Of the new players, keep an eye on transfer Fred Payne, who averaged 15.8 points at Boston College.

The Ducks lost nine players to the transfer portal and three to graduation. Starters Jackson Shelstad, an Oregon native, transferred to Louisville and forward Kwame Evans Jr. went to Villanova. Guard Takai Simpkins transferred to Lipscomb. Top scorer Nate Bittle, who averaged 16.5 points per game, graduated and now plays for the Toronto Raptors.

Among the transfers in are Jasper Johnson, a sophomore guard who played last season for Kentucky, sophomore Dwayne Aristode transferred from Arizona, forward Taylor Bol Bowen came from Alabama and guard Tyrone Riley IV arrived from San Francisco. Forward Pharaoh Compton is a 6-foot-7 transfer from San Diego State.

Oregon opens the season at home against Montana on Nov. 2.. The Ducks will face former Pac-12 rival Oregon State on Nov. 19 at the Moda Center in Portland. Oregon takes part in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas starting Nov. 24 against St. Johns. They'll face Big Ten foes UCLA and Southern California in early December. But the conference slate begins in earnest on Dec. 30, when the Ducks travel to Ohio State.

Oregon's 20 losses last season were the most since the 2008-09 season, when they lost 23. It was Altman's first season under .500 since 1995-96, when he was head coach at Creighton. ... Oregon missed out on postseason play last season for the first time since 2010. ... Altman took over ahead of the 2010-11 season and finished as the winningest coach in Oregon history with a 382-182 record. ... The Ducks made nine NCAA Tournament appearances under Altman, including a Final Four berth in 2017.

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