Oregon Ducks Basketball

After spending his senior season with Villanova, guard TJ Bamba is heading back to the West Coast for his final year of eligibility.

Bamba, who spent the first three years of his college career at Washington State, has committed to Oregon for the 2024-25 season, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Bamba started all 33 of his appearances this past season for Villanova, which finished with a record of 18-16 and was eliminated by VCU in the NIT first round. He ranked second on the Wildcats with 10.1 points per game and a three-point field goal percentage of 36.9 percent while also adding 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

Before making his decision to transfer to Oregon, Bamba posted a farewell message to Villanova on social media:

Bamba worked his way to becoming a productive player after receiving little interest as a recruit. 247Sports rated him as a 3-star prospect in the class of 2020, and he chose to attend Washington State over the smaller schools that extended him offers.

Bamba is joining an Oregon team that went 24-12 last season and earned an upset win as a No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament over No. 6 South Carolina before falling in the second round to No. 3 Creighton. The team has a small 2024 recruiting class so far, so Bamba's commitment is a strong addition for head coach Dana Altman.

The Ducks had five players who averaged at least 10 points, so Bamba should fit right in while playing in Altman's high-octane offense next season.

Vyctorius Miller will not be Oregon bound in 2024.

Joe Tipton of On3 Sports reported that Miller had been "released from his National Letter of Intent" to the Ducks and would be reopening his recruitment.

Miller is the son of rapper Silkk the Shocker and the nephew of rapper Master P. He is also the cousin of Mercy Miller, a four-star recruit in the Class of 2024 who is committed to Houston and is Master P's son.

Vyctorius Miller is also rated as a four-star recruit, per 247 Sports, and had received 15 scholarship offers. He made official visits to USC, LSU and Cal before committing to the Ducks in November 2023.

Miller is rated as the No. 53 overall player, the No. 15 shooting guard and the No. 3 player from Arizona in the Class of 2024, per 247. He has a 6'5", 170-pound frame and was described as having "advanced ball skills and footwork for the position" by 247's Travis Branham.

Following his departure, the Ducks only have one player signed to the 2024 class. That is Ibrahima Traore, a three-star center from Florida. The Ducks are set to join the Big Ten Conference for the 2024-25 season, and finished its tenure in the Pac-12 strong with a conference tournament championship and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Miller will search for a new home for next season, and USC, LSU and Gonzaga would appear to be the current favorites to land him after the programs were finalists in his original recruitment.

Creighton and Oregon delivered arguably the best game of the NCAA tournament so far on Saturday night.

The No. 3 Bluejays held on in double overtime to beat the No. 11 Ducks 86-73 to advance to the Sweet 16 where they will face No. 2 Tennessee. The score was lopsided in the end, but the game was one of the best through the first two rounds of the tournament.

Creighton had four players in double figures, with Steven Ashworth leading the way with 21 points. Of Ashworth's 21 points, 10 came in overtime. Guard Trey Alexander had 21 points and big man Ryan Kalkbrenner added 19 points and 14 boards.

On Oregon's side, Jermaine Couisnard and N'Faly Dante put together huge games. Coisnard had 32 points and Dante had 28 points and 20 rebounds. Their efforts fell short as Creighton slipped away in overtime.

The double-overtime thriller had fans declaring Saturday night's Round of 32 matchup as the best game of the tournament so far.

Now, Creighton will head to its third Sweet 16 in the last four seasons. The Bluejays reached the Elite Eight and were one possession away from the Final Four a year ago, and last year's loss will certainly continue to be fuel for them.

Jermaine Couisnard, who played the first three seasons of his career at South Carolina before transferring to Oregon in 2022, showed no mercy to his former team during Thursday's first round of the NCAA tournament.

Couisnard scored 40 points as No. 11 Oregon completed an 87-73 upset of No. 6 South Carolina.

He is the first player in Oregon program history to record 40 points in a single NCAA tournament game.

Cousinard finished the afternoon having shot 14-for-22 from the field and 5-for-9 from behind the arc. He added four rebounds, six assists, a steal and a takeaway.

Center N'Faly Dante added 23 points in Oregon's victory.

Dante previously helped the Ducks earn an NCAA tournament bid with his performance during Oregon's Pac-12 tournament victory on March 16, when he shot 12-for-12 for a career-high 25 points.

Oregon is now set to face No. 3 Creighton after the Bluejays dispatched No. 14 Akron in their own Thursday first round matchup.

The Ducks and Bluejays will face off Saturday for a ticket to the Sweet 16. The game time has yet to be determined.

Another bubble has been burst after Oregon took down Colorado 75-68 in the Pac-12 tournament championship game Saturday night.

The Ducks pulled off a huge upset over Arizona Friday night before taking down the Buffaloes to seal their NCAA tournament fate. This year's tournament appearance will be the first for Oregon since the 2020-21 season.

Oregon capped off what has been a crazy night for "bid thieves." NC State beat North Carolina in the ACC Tournament to steal a bid earlier in the night, adding more chaos ahead of selection Sunday.

After the Ducks' win, fans praised the team for the miraculous run in the Pac-12 tournament.

Now Oregon is heading to the big dance riding the momentum of a huge conference tournament week. The Ducks will look to turn that momentum into wins as begin their NCAA tournament journey.

For Colorado, the Buffaloes could still receive an at-large bid after what has been a solid season, but fans will certainly be nervous heading into selection Sunday.

Don't rule the Oregon Ducks out when it comes to the recruitment of Bronny James.

"He's going to make his own decision," James' father, LeBron, said of the possibility that the high-profile recruit joins the Ducks, per Bill Oram of the Oregonian. "But there's a chance."

While Oram pointed out Dana Altman hasn't yet offered James a scholarship, the Los Angeles Lakers star said the Oregon head coach is a major reason Bronny is interested.

"I think it's the ability to put pros into the league," James said. "My son wants to be a pro. It's the way you hold guys accountable, the way they play. I guess he's seen the way they play. Dana Altman from the outside looks like a great coach.

"He's been winning for quite a while here at Oregon, so Bronny's smart enough to see all that."

Altman isn't the only thing working in Oregon's favor.

James' close friend, Mookie Cook, is part of the Ducks' 2023 recruiting class. He is a 5-star prospect, per 247Sports' composite rankings, and a major reason the Pac-12 team has the No. 8 class in the country for the current recruiting cycle.

"Mookie is going there, and they've been talking," LeBron said.

The addition of James, who is a 4-star prospect and the No. 33 overall player in his class, per 247Sports' composite rankings, would only help Oregon maintain its current recruiting momentum as it looks to reestablish itself as a Pac-12 contender.

At this point, the Ducks are considered one of three finalists alongside Ohio State and USC, per Luca Evans of the Los Angeles Times.

That means Oregon is facing something of a difficult battle since the Trojans play in Los Angeles, where LeBron's Lakers play. And Evans noted the Buckeyes are LeBron's "favorite," seeing how the future Hall of Famer grew up in Ohio and has said multiple times he would have strongly considered playing there if he didn't go straight to the NBA from high school.

The straight to the NBA option isn't available for Bronny, but ESPN's Jonathan Givony wrote, "He'll be in strong consideration as a first-round prospect in our initial 2024 NBA mock draft when that is released in the coming weeks."

While Bronny isn't as physically imposing or as surefire of a prospect as his father was at the same age, he is still an excellent passer who can make plays in transition, finish at the rim and score as a jump-shooter.

He has elevated up the recruiting rankings as his final season at Sierra Canyon continues, and he will surely make headlines given his own talent and his family name wherever he decides to attend college.

That could very well be at Oregon.

New York Liberty star point guard Sabrina Ionescu is joining her alma mater, the University of Oregon, in a part-time staff role as the school's director of athletic culture.

"There is no better person I could think of for this position than Sabrina. Sabrina exemplifies what it means to be an Oregon Duck and she represents everything our program is about," Oregon women's basketball head coach Kelly Graves stated in an announcement revealing the news.

"Even in just a part-time capacity, she will have the ability to make an immediate impact on our student-athletes and our program as a whole. She truly is a basketball icon that will be able to connect and develop our players off the court."

Ionescu left Oregon as one of the most accomplished players in recent college basketball memory. She is the first player in (female or male) NCAA history to amass at least 2,000 career points, 1,000 career rebounds and 1,000 career assists. Ionescu is also No. 1 (female or male) in triple-doubles with 26.

Under her leadership, Oregon won the 2020 Pac-12 championship and was set to enter the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed after going 31-2 (17-1 in conference). However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the remainder of the season.

Per the statement, Ionescu will assist "with the development of student-athletes and cultivate Graves' five pillars of Oregon women's basketball: passion, integrity, unity, thankfulness and servanthood." The statement also says Ionescu "will be a resource and example for current, former and future Ducks."

Ionescu earned a bachelor's degree in general social sciences with a minor in legal studies at Oregon in addition to her athletic prowess. Her contributions to the school will continue in this part-time role, however, and she spoke on the matter as well.

"As a kid growing up in the game, my family helped me develop my passion for basketball and all the values it rewards," Ionescu said.

"When I arrived at Oregon, I joined a new family that embraced those same values and helped me grow even more as a player and as a person. Part of my heart remains in Eugene, and I look forward to cultivating the same family atmosphere for future Ducks in the Oregon women's basketball program."

Ionescu has since played in three WNBA seasons and most recently made her first All-Star Game in 2022. She averaged 17.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists last season en route to leading the Liberty to the playoffs for the second straight year.

The college recruitment of Bronny James has become a hot topic with many speculating on which school is the favorite to land the oldest son of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.

On Tuesday, Jamie Shaw of On3 reported that Oregon is the front-runner to receive a commitment from Bronny. Not long afterward, his father responded to the report, saying it's still early in the recruiting process and Bronny will announce his choice when he makes it:

Bronny James is ranked as the No. 7 shooting guard in the class of 2023 by 247Sports' composite rankings, but surprisingly, his page doesn't list a single scholarship offer. ESPN's Paul Biancardi reported Friday that there is a "strong feeling" James will choose to attend college instead of playing professionally before he's eligible for the NBA draft in 2024.

Per Shaw, Ohio State and USC are the other teams actively pursuing James in addition to Oregon. Biancardi had listed UCLA and Michigan as also having interest in James, but Shaw noted those two schools were not actively recruiting him.

James had a solid showing recently at Nike's Peach Jam, averaging 15.8 points with a 2.5-to-1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio, according to Shaw. He also drew attention on social media after his thunderous poster dunk Monday during a Euro Tour exhibition game in Paris.

While James appears to be in no rush to announce his commitment, he is set for a crucial senior season at Sierra Canyon High School. All eyes will be on the son of one of the greatest NBA players ever as he tries to prove himself worthy of a Division I offer.

The Oregon Ducks men's basketball team may be appointment viewing during the 2023-24 season.

According to Jamie Shaw of On3 Sports, Oregon, Ohio State and USC are the three known schools to be recruiting Bronny James. He estimated that the Ducks had a 50 percent chance of landing LeBron James' son, while the other two programs each have a 25 percent chance.

"We are told James is going to go through the process," Shaw wrote. "At this point, the plan is to take virtual visits, Zooms, and in-person visits and go through the whole experience. Sources tell us that at this point, Oregon has a lead and that James will end up in Eugene."

The first connection that comes to mind with James and Oregon revolves around Nike. After all, LeBron signed a lifetime deal with the brand, and Phil Knight, who is the company's chairman, went to school at Oregon.

However, Shaw noted the younger James has a "comfort" with the program. It also doesn't hurt that Mookie Cook, who was travel teammates with Bronny in middle school, is part of the Ducks' loaded 2023 recruiting class.

That class already has Cook, who is a 5-star small forward, as well as 5-star power forward Kwame Evans Jr. and 4-star point guard Jackson Shelstad, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

It is currently the sixth-rated class and notably behind another contender in Ohio State (fourth), but adding James would certainly help it climb. James is a 4-star prospect and the No. 43 overall player, No. 7 shooting guard and No. 12 player from the state of California in the 2023 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

That is not to say this is a done deal.

USC is close to Sierra Canyon, where James attends high school. Former high school teammate Kijani Wright is also on the Trojans' roster.

As for Ohio State, the James family is from Ohio, and LeBron consistently supports the Buckeyes, be it by attending football games or shouting them out on Twitter. As Shaw noted, he even said he would have attended Ohio State if he played collegiately.

It seems as if this recruiting process will not end in the immediate future with James set to take visits to these schools and perhaps others, but Oregon apparently has the inside track for now.