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Oregon basketball: 2019-2020 season review and 2020-2021 first-look preview

By Cody Williams

EUGENE, OREGON - MARCH 07: Holding a piece of the net that he cut off, Payton Pritchard #3 of the Oregon Ducks hugs a teammate after playing his final home game against the Stanford Cardinal at Matthew Knight Arena on March 07, 2020 in Eugene, Oregon. Oregon won 80-67. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
EUGENE, OREGON - MARCH 07: Holding a piece of the net that he cut off, Payton Pritchard #3 of the Oregon Ducks hugs a teammate after playing his final home game against the Stanford Cardinal at Matthew Knight Arena on March 07, 2020 in Eugene, Oregon. Oregon won 80-67. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
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Payton Pritchard #3 of the Oregon Ducks (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /

Top Players

Payton Pritchard

It’s tough to imagine that anyone could have expected or asked anything more from Oregon’s senior leader. Payton Pritchard averaged 20.5 points per game, by far a career-high, while also dishing more assists and grabbing more boards than ever before. Pritchard also regained his accuracy from beyond the arc, hitting more than 41 percent of his threes after slumping to just under 33 percent as a junior. He also showed a flair for the dramatic, sparking most of the Ducks’ heroic comebacks. Though he likely won’t get drafted until the second round, the next time we see Pritchard play should be in the NBA.

Chris Duarte

A heralded JUCO transfer, Chris Duarte lived up to his advance billing. The 6-foot-6 wing slid comfortably into the secondary scoring role, averaging almost 13 points per game and finishing second on the Ducks in rebounds and first in steals. The only thing Oregon fans may have been disappointed in was his streaky long-range shooting, as Duarte connected on only 33 percent of his treys despite launching five a game. He showed up big time against USC, racking up 30 points and 11 rebounds in the Ducks’ double-overtime triumph.

Will Richardson

Someone had to keep the offense humming during the rare times when Pritchard was off or on the bench, and often that duty fell to Will Richardson. He handled it well, scoring 11 points per game whether he was serving as the sixth man, which he did in more than half of Oregon’s games, or starting. He shot well in general and from behind the three-point line (though he didn’t launch many threes) and functioned as the secondary playmaker as well. Only a sophomore, Richardson could take a big step forward next season.

Shakur Juiston

Much of the preseason focus in the Ducks frontcourt was on prize recruit N’Faly Dante, but it was actually Shakur Juiston who turned out to be the player opposing teams had to account for most often. The graduate transfer from UNLV cleaned the glass effectively for his size, grabbing more than six boards a game at 6-foot-7. Juiston shot poorly from the line but converted 55 percent from the floor and was as reliable as you’d hope a veteran college basketball player would be.