McLaughlin: Breaking Down Oregon Basketball’s First Transfer Of What Should Be Many
By SPENCER McLAUGHLIN
Contributor, 750 The Game
Dana Altman has brought in his first transfer for next season. There’s going to be more of these along the way.
SF Devon Pryor (duh-VONN) is now a Duck after the first two seasons of his career were spent with the Texas Longhorns. Pryor is 6’7” and is freakishly athletic, easily soaring above the rim for highlight reel dunks.
His stats as a Longhorn aren’t going to blow away any Duck fans. In his freshman season he scored 7 total points across 5 appearances. This past season he appeared in 24 games and averaged just 3.5 points per contest, with a season high of 10 points against Arkansas Pine-Bluff. That outing on December 15th, 2024 is the only one in his career so far in which he’s scored in double figures.
Coming out of high school in the state of Texas, Pryor was ranked as the #210 overall player according to 247Sports. So why is Oregon adding a player who is so unproven when they lost so much production? I’m not sure just yet. We need to see the rest of the portal cycle play out first.
The Ducks’ roster next year ~should~ have a great core in Jackson Shelstad, Nate Bittle, KJ Evans, and Bam Tracey to build around. Make no mistake about it though, they need to do some building. With just 1 2025 high school recruit in 3-star shooting guard JJ Frakes, the roster is currently lacking bodies.
No more TJ Bamba, Brandon Angel, and Keeshawn Barthelemy leave a lot of production to be filled for next season. Look for SG Jamari Phillips to be a candidate to replace Barthelemy’s instant, 3-level offensive game. Oregon also lost backup big man Supreme Cook, SG Ra’Heim Moss, and SF Mookie Cook has hit the transfer portal. None of those 3 guys were huge contributors for the Ducks, but they were solid in the small roles they played.
Bamba, Angel, and Barthelemy were all starters for most of the season and combined to average just under 29 points per game. Is Pryor going to fill part of that void? From a play style standpoint, Pryor doesn’t resemble any of those 3 pieces for the Ducks. He’s 6’7” which is taller than Bamba and Barthelemy but shorter than Angel. He’s listed at just 185lbs, and though his potential is immense he’s never been a go-to scorer in his college career.
Do the Ducks expect big things from incoming freshman JJ Frakes and I just don’t know it? Maybe, anything is possible. Even if that happens, the Ducks still need bodies. They are looking at big man Paul Mbyia in France, who plays for a team owned by Tony Parker. They’ve offered San Francisco All-WCC Freshman guard Tyrone Riley IV.
Even with those names potentially coming into the fold, Dana Altman has to have more tricks up his sleeve.
My level of concern is not high, and it shouldn’t be for Oregon fans right now. The Ducks’ recruiting efforts have been good in recent years and should be even more solid with last year’s return of Tony Stubblefield. There are as many or more players in the portal than ever, and fresh off a second straight run to the Round of 32 I think Oregon’s brand is strong.
The Ducks have needs all over the place. I’m not banking on Devon Pryor becoming a 15 point per game scorer next year in Eugene, but the staff clearly sees his potential. Does he start? Or can he work his way into the fold more slowly behind another transfer who becomes a starting wing?
Welcome to the offseason.
Spencer McLaughlin is an Oregon Ducks football contributor to 750 The Game. He also hosts the “Locked On Oregon Ducks” and “Locked On College Football” podcasts and has work featured throughout the season here.