Dana Altman Not Leaving Oregon
By STEVEN VAUGHAN, 750 The Game
It was a tough loss to Wisconsin on Tuesday night in the NIT quarterfinals. The Oregon Ducks were beat 61-58 by the Big Ten’s Wisconsin Badgers. Oregon coach Dana Altman was not in a good mood after the game.
The Ducks basketball coach reached out to John Canzano on Wednesday.
“I was mad at the world,” Altman told Canzano in a piece published at JohnCanzano.com. “It was the end of the season. We gave away the game at the free-throw line. We didn’t execute. I blew off some steam. I usually don’t do that. I did last night.”
Altman told Canzano he regretted venting after the loss. The Ducks coach went on to say that he loves all the support he gets from all of the boosters at Oregon and how they have helped elevate the program.
This isn’t the first time a veteran coach has expressed frustration with the way college basketball is going. On Tuesday, long-time Michigan State coach Tom Izzo vented about the sport on the Dan Patrick show.
“I don’t like the way the profession is going,” said Izzo, who has reached the Sweet 16. “I don’t like the rules, the changes, I don’t think there’s anything good about giving so much freedom to an 18-year-old that he can change jobs every other hour on the hour.”
In the past two seasons some high-profile college coaches have retired. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Villanova’s Jay Wright, and Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim have all stepped away. Some of it may have to do with NIL and the transfer portal. It may have to be because of the way the game is played. But Dana Altman said he is not ready to leave the Oregon Ducks program.
Read John Canzano’s full column at JohnCanzano.com.
John Canzano hosts the Bald Faced Truth weekdays 3-6 p.m. exclusively in Portland on 750 The Game
-Steven Vaughan (steven_von)