Dana Altman breaks down growth of N'Faly Dante

As Oregon‘s season quickly comes to a close, head coach Dana Altman has one thing to be especially grateful for. Big man N’Faly Dante finally made it through a season healthy.

And the talented big man has been a perfect example of the kind of work ethic Altman would like to see across the board on his team.

“Well first thing I want to say is we’ve had no one work harder this year than Dante as far as first one to practice, last one to leave,” Altman said. “He was here at 8 o’clock this morning working out. His work ethic has been really good.”

That certainly seems to be paying off, as Dante leads the Ducks in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He’s also tied for the team lead in blocks.

The nice thing for Dante has been his health. That hasn’t always been something he can take for granted, as Altman was quick to point out.

“And the first thing I want to say is it’s because he’s healthy,” Altman said. “The two and a half years previous to this he just hasn’t been healthy. It’s hard to put in a lot of extra work when you’ve got tendinitis in your knee or you’re working a year to overcome an ACL.”

Does N’Faly Dante have NBA potential?

Ask his head coach and the answer to that question is a resounding yes. Given the grind in getting himself back into playing shape over the years, Altman thinks he’s capable of developing the parts of his game that aren’t NBA ready just yet.

“If you haven’t gone through it or if you haven’t watched somebody go through it, especially when you’re 6-11, 250 pounds, you have no idea what those guys go through,” Altman said. “Football players that go through ACL tears, big bodies, it takes a while to recover.

“He’s done a tremendous job working through that. Like I said, he’s been our hardest worker this year, our most consistent guy. That’s mostly because he’s been healthy. He missed one game with a concussion and one when he twisted his knee warming up. But I’m really high on Dante. He’s been unbelievable. I think he can play in the league.”

But there’s one thing Dante needs to add to his game if he hopes to make it in the NFL, at least as far as Altman sees it.

“He’s got to shoot it, we’ve got to spend time working on his shooting because he’s got to be able to hit a 17-footer, but it’s in there,” he said. “He can shoot it. It’s just going to take time. There is no shortcut to being a good shooter, you’ve got to get in the gym and you’ve got to shoot a lot of shots. There is no shortcut. There’s no magic formula. I haven’t had one good shooter in 42 years that hasn’t put a lot of time in. Before practice, after practice on his own.

“If Dante wants to acquire that skill he’s going to have to put a lot of time in.”