Oregon Ducks Basketball

Give Oregon Ducks guard Dillon Brooks credit for possibly committing the worst flop in basketball history. 

With roughly eight minutes left to play in Thursday's game between Oregon and the Utah Utes at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, Utah guard Sedrick Barefield dribbled toward the paint when he was picked up by Brooks.

Brooks bumped Barefield, and the Oregon player then attempted to buy a call from the official by stopping a few feet away from his opponent, launching his body backward, hopping on one foot and then falling to the court. 

None of that worked, however, as Brooks was called for the foul. 

This is as bad as any soccer dive you'll ever see, maybe worse. We hope the Academy gives this young man an Oscar.

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Quack quack! 

No. 21 Oregon hosted No. 2 UCLA in the Pac-12 opener for both teams Wednesday night at Matthew Knight Arena. It was a back-and-forth affair, and it came down to the final shot.

Ducks forward Dillon Brooks drained a three-pointer with roughly a second left to give Oregon the big conference win, 89-87. It was the Bruins' first loss of the season. 

Oregon fans stormed the court following the shot but had to return to their seats since the game was not over. A Lonzo Ball desperation heave fell short as time expired. 

[Twitter]

Oregon Ducks star forward Dillon Brooks will not play in Friday's season-opening game, as he is still recovering from offseason foot surgery.

Continue for updates. 

Latest on Brooks' Playing Status

Friday, Nov. 11

A school spokesperson told ESPN's Jeff Goodman that Brooks won't be available when the Ducks host Army at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon.

Brooks is coming off a 2015-16 season in which he led the Ducks with 16.7 points per game as an integral member of an Oregon team that made the Elite 8. 

It included a 22-point effort against Duke in the Sweet 16, which Oregon won 82-68:

Brooks is once again expected to lead the way for the No. 5 Ducks, and while Oregon should be fine against Army even without him, it will need the AP Preseason All-American as the schedule gets tougher.

When asked about Brooks' status on Nov. 5, Oregon head coach Dana Altman said the following regarding his potential return, per Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports: "He's doing some light workouts and making progress. There's no timetable for a return. I want to see how he progresses."

With an ability to exhibit a strong game near the basket along with a developing long-range game, Brooks is a force to be reckoned with, and his absence will prove to be a huge void to fill. 

Look for Tyler Dorsey, who was the program's second-leading returning scorer, to control more of the offense in Brooks' absence.   

One of the nation's top small forwards is headed to the Oregon Ducks.

Five-star recruit Troy Brown announced his intention to join the Ducks in a Bleacher Report commitment video Monday:

He chose Oregon over the Kansas Jayhawks, Ohio State Buckeyes, Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgetown Hoyas, per Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com.

Brown, who stars at Centennial High School in Las Vegas, is the nation's No. 11-ranked recruit and the No. 3-ranked player at his position in the 2017 class, per Scout.

Only Washington commit Michael Porter and Kevin Knox are ranked higher.

Brown commented on his decision Monday, per Borzello: "It's a great organization, would love to play with Coach [Dana] Altman as my head coach. The style of play fits me very well for my versatility. I'm comfortable with the players that will be there."

Brown has a bit of Golden State Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala in his game—capable of switching between positions while flashing a heady style. He can create shots for himself and others off the dribble and stretch out to the three-point line on occasion, and he is a good finisher at the rim.

One of the nation's top recruits, Brown has had college coaches hounding him since he became contact-eligible.

Brown, for his part, has been a little uncomfortable with the attention, as he told David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

It's one of those things that you'd rather have than not have, but it's way more stressful than people think it is, honestly. It's been a fun ride, that's one thing I'll give it. I got the full experience of it, and I thank God for that, that I've seen every piece of it, so I know the ups and downs. Certain stuff doesn't bother me anymore, and I can just go play basketball.

While some bask in the limelight, Brown is likely thankful to be done with the process. He has a chance to be a one-and-done candidate given his versatile skill set and athleticism. NBA coaches may be able to throw him out at the 2 or 3 without much trouble—even if, at 6'6", he's shorter than they would prefer for a standard small forward.

His commitment continues a trend for Altman, who has the eighth-best 2017 class in the country, per Scout, and Brown's decision might have a trickle-down effect that convinces another young star to make the leap to Oregon.

At the least, it's a coup that should shape Oregon's 2017 class.

Class of 2017 4-star guard V.J. Bailey told Evan Daniels of Scout that he verbally committed to Oregon on Tuesday. 

The Texas native is ranked as the No. 2 shooting guard in his state, the No. 22 shooting guard in the country and the No. 99 overall prospect in the nation, per Scout.  

The 6'4", 170-pound guard is a gifted athlete with an offensive game that is headlined by an aggressive ability to drive toward the basket. 

While his long-range shot does need some polishing, his perimeter defense is above average thanks to his agility:

His skill set saw him garner plenty of interest, receiving offers from a multitude of Midwest programs in Creighton, Illinois, Indiana, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Tulsa. 

But now Bailey will head to an Oregon team that is reaching new heights as a basketball program. 

The Ducks tied a program record from the 2002-03 season last season by earning a No. 5 ranking while winning a school-record 31 games and making it to the Elite Eight before losing to Oklahoma. 

Regardless, only one guard recorded more than six points per game last season, and that was freshman Tyler Dorsey, who was third on the team with a 13.4 average. 

Acquiring an aggressive guard prospect in Bailey could set up a possible backcourt rotation that contains a pair of dangerous scorers come the 2017-18 season. 

Stats courtesy of Sports-Reference.com. 

You can add Dillon Brooks to the list of NBA draft prospects this year.

The Oregon Ducks forward, who led the team with 16.7 points per game, will declare for the NBA draft but not sign with an agent, ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman reported Thursday.

Brooks was a key catalyst as the Ducks earned the first No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament in program history, a 31-7 record and an appearance in the Elite Eight.

"I love Oregon and everything the program has done for me," Brooks said, per Goodman. "I feel it's the right move to test the waters and declare for the draft without an agent. I'm going to go through the process and see where I'm at."

Brooks is the latest player to take advantage of a new NCAA rule that allows players to return to their student-athlete status as long as they don’t hire an agent and withdraw from draft consideration before May 25, 10 days after the conclusion of the NBA Draft Combine.

Brooks will be able to take advantage of that rule if he doesn’t see his draft stock improve within that time. He is not one of DraftExpress’ top 100 prospects, though the site ranks him as the 13th-best sophomore in the nation.

He’ll need to improve his three-point shooting, as he made only 33.8 percent of his threes in 2015-16, but he should be able to develop his untapped potential and athleticism over the next few years.

Chris Boucher can fly.

The No. 1-seeded Oregon Ducks senior forward caught a missed shot off the glass and threw down the putback dunk in the first half of Saturday's Elite Eight matchup against the No. 2-seeded Oklahoma Sooners in Anaheim, California.

The jam chipped away at the Sooners' lead, making it 27-17 with seven minutes, one second to play in the half.

Dante Buford, meet Jordan Bell.

Bell, a forward for the No. 1-seeded Oregon Ducks, stuffed the No. 2-seeded Oklahoma Sooners freshman, rising up to meet him at the rim during the first half of Saturday's Elite Eight matchup in Anaheim, California.

The block kept the Sooners' lead at four points, 17-13, with 12:37 left in the first half.

Ah, the woes of forbidden fandom.

During his team's NCAA tournament matchup against Duke, the Oregon Ducks mascot, like so many others, desperately wanted to snap a selfie with soon-to-be-retired NBA superstar Kobe Bryant.

The problem? Bryant was seated in a sea of blue, showing support for his two-time Olympic coach, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski.

Although No. 24's clothing didn't indicate his allegiance, his preference was apparent in his encouraging gestures.

Special guest in the Duke section tonight! Thanks for coming @kobebryant! #GoDuke  pic.twitter.com/89Umn2bZLN

— Duke M. Basketball (@Duke_MBB) March 25, 2016

Consequently, the Duck faced the dilemma of either suppressing his desire for a photo with the Black Mamba or procuring it via stealthy means. He chose the latter.

Cue Operation Incognito.

Rather than approach the Los Angeles Lakers legend, as Oklahoma's Buddy Hield did, the Duck opted for a longer-range tactic, capturing a minuscule version of the smiling Bryant.

Hey, it counts.

Fortunately for the Duck, his pond mates defeated the Blue Devils 82-68, making fraternization with the opposition somewhat less problematic.

Unless, of course, beneath that suit was a transplanted Boston Celtics fan. Then it would be very bad.

[Oregon Ducks, h/t For The Win]

Oregon forward Chris Boucher will return to the school next year after the team announced that the NCAA granted him an additional year of eligibility Wednesday.  

Boucher has provided an immediate impact after arriving from Northwest College in Wyoming. In 34 games for the Ducks this year, the junior college transfer has averaged 12.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.1 blocks. He's also shooting an impressive 54.2 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc.

Oregon's student section was thrilled to hear he'll be back:

Last November, the NCAA originally ruled Boucher would only be eligible for one year.

"After completing his academic requirements at the two junior colleges, it was determined that Chris Boucher currently has one year of eligibility remaining," said the Oregon athletic department, per Matt Prehm of 247Sports' Duck Territory. "The coaching staff was aware of this possibility during Chris' recruitment."

In February, USA Today's Daniel Uthman explained the source of Boucher's issues. He had taken time off from high school in order to work at a restaurant and support his family:

Boucher's timeline included a final year of high school as a junior in 2010-11, a year of inactivity in 2011-12, and a year of what would equate to postgraduate study that included 13 games of competition in 2012-13.

The NCAA, however, has deemed the end of his junior year as his high school graduation date, leaving 2011-12 as a postgraduate "gap year" and the time at Alma Academy and the 13 games he played against other prep schools as his first year of college competition. Thus, it views Boucher's two seasons of junior college play as his sophomore and junior seasons of eligibility and this season his final, senior year.

The NCAA determined the situation to be "circumstances beyond his control," paving the way for his extra year of eligibility, per Rob Moseley of the Ducks' official athletics website.

Getting Boucher back for next season is big for Oregon. He has been one of the team's best players and should continue to improve in 2016-17.

Should the Ducks also retain sophomore guard Dillon Brooks, freshman guard Tyler Dorsey and sophomore forward Jordan Bell, they will once again be a national title contender.