Joe Young, Paul White, and Johnny Loyd Started the Oregon Alumni Dream Team
Sedona Prince and every great player Altman has ever coached have decided that 2021 is the Summer of Ball.
You all thought basketball talk was done after two Sweet Sixteen exits by the Oregon Women and Men, but it ain’t over yet.
Firstly, I would like to apologize for my recent hiatus from Ditch Rich. My Ditching of the Rich was put on hold for two reasons 1) the Blazers were demanding nearly all of my attention (along with Dillon Brooks, the best Duck in the league right now), and 2) I regret to inform you that neither Oregon Baseball or Softball’s postseason runs managed to pull me away from Rip City.
I don’t dislike either of the sports, and normally anything green and yellow rises to the top of my priority lists, but this year I was disappointed with my indifference.
Maybe it was the fact that those two seasons had to compete for my attention with Playoff Blazermania, which was made even more exciting with my recent move into Portland proper—which obviously introduced a new daily dose of deadly mob violence and literal hellfire into my life. So that’s been a whole thing.
I was distracted. And I allowed myself to be distracted. And also I was tired of chasing down the broadcasts for some of those games.
I apologize to all the true Americans out there who I have disappointed with my lack of coverage of the two sports. I’m listening. I’m learning. And I’ll be better.
Also, thank you to everyone who has posted pictures of their new Save Mac Court shirts. Wear them with pride. Reject modernity. Embrace traditionalism.
If you send me a photo of you in the shirt outside Mac Court, or even at the Trials/NCAAs, I’d love to feature that on here.
Now, let’s talk summer basketball.
Sedona Prince just joined a recent host of Ducks-turned-USA Basketball stars this week as she made the 2021 USA roster for the AmeriCup down in Puerto Rico.
I’d be lying to you if I said I had heard about the AmeriCup prior to this announcement. BUT I do know what it means to make a FIBA roster, and now that Sedona is on the team it’s officially the second most important basketball event left until opening days next winter.
And it’s only the second most important because—as an obvious answer to all of our nightly prayers—we officially have a Dream Team of Oregon Men’s alumni reuniting for a giant tournament against other washed up ballers later this summer.
Team Always Us will play in the eighth annual—and aptly named—The Basketball Tournament, which will feature alumni teams from Ohio State, Dayton, Wichita State, and many more.
And our roster is essentially a who’s-who of the Altman era:
Casey Benson, Johnny Loyd, Joe Young, Jalil Abdul-Bassit, Dwayne Benjamin, Mikyle McIntosh, LJ Figueroa, Paul White, Shakur Juiston, Elijah Brown.
What a collection of names, where do we even start?
First, as an extra sign of the Altman stamp on this team, they’re almost all players who transferred into the program (Benson being the lone player to transfer away).
And it’s also a weirdly intriguing combination of fan favorites (Benjamin, McIntosh, White) and two Top Ten guards in Oregon history (Young & Loyd).
Also, before you come at me for saying Johnny Loyd is a Top Ten guard in UO history, keep in mind that he’s the winningest player in the history of the program. And even though he lost to Christian Vitale in dodgeball, I still think he belongs somewhere on those top lists.
I also have to say that I have long-suffered from an “Elijah Brown Heat Check”-sized hole in my heart, and the fact that we’re getting that back on ESPN this July is absolute proof that nature is healing, and we obviously only have Joe Biden to thank for it.
The only real concern I have will be along the frontcourt, where Shakur will have to capitalize off his relative youth and carry a lot of the load throughout the sixty four-team tourney.
But the only thing this squad is truly missing is Waverly Austin.
But even the ‘92 Dream Team had to cut Isaiah Thomas.
Happy summer everyone, thanks for reading.
Go Ducks.