Dana Altman's Oregon Ducks have shown some teeth as Pac-12 play begins
Eleven months after that drive down I-5, what the Oregon coach found is showing up on the court.
Dana Altman cracked a smile just a few days before Christmas.
His Oregon Ducks beat Kent State 84-70 on Thursday to cap off a nonconference schedule that saw the Ducks lose more players to injury than games on the court. The win came despite a 20-point loss to Syracuse just a few days earlier, despite more injuries piling up and despite a calendar year that had brought more frustration and soul searching than any other in his 35-plus years in the profession.
It was 11 months ago that Oregon’s play sent Altman driving through the night in search of something — anything — south down the I-5 Corridor, but on Thursday the Ducks’ play continued to show signs that the coach may have found whatever he was looking for.