Dana Altman provides injury updates ahead of season-opener vs. Georgia

Oregon basketball has several key players dealing with injury just a few days before it tips off the season against Georgia. Ducks coach Dana Altman met with media on Wednesday to provide an update on where the team is at.

Center N’Faly Dante and guard Jermaine Couisnard have both missed some time this preseason. The pair were Oregon’s top two scorers from last season, with leading the team with 13.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals per game.

Their status is certainly one to watch ahead of Monday’s game, as it could have a significant impact if either player were to miss.

“We’re kind of banged up,” Altman said. “Dante hasn’t practiced much so that has really slowed our progress. Jermaine’s been out since last Thursday. Hopefully they’ll be ready to go a little bit on Monday, but the two leading scorers have been out here for a while.

“…Our numbers aren’t what they should be, so I think it’s slowed our progress a little bit. But the guys who have been healthy have been working at it. We’ve made progress, but we’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got a lot of things to get ready here in the next four practices to get ready for Georgia.”

McDonald’s All-American and true freshman Mookie Cook is one player who has already been ruled out for the game against the Bulldogs. Cook had surgery on his ankle this offseason and is expected to miss more than a month of time to being the year.

He ranked as the No. 33 overall player and No. 9 small forward in the 2023 cycle according to the On3 Industry Rating, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

“We hoped that we wouldn’t have to have surgery,” Altman said. “We saw a few specialists and the consensus was to have surgery. I’m not sure how many weeks ago it was. Four or five weeks ago I think. So we’re looking probably at mid-December.”

Unfortunately, the injury report for Oregon basketball doesn’t end there. Freshman point guard Jackson Shelstad missed the past couple of practices with an undisclosed injury.

Shelstad ranked as the No. 26 overall recruit in the 2023 class and No. 1 player from the state of Oregon according to the On3 Industry Ranking. The two-time Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year still has a shot to suit up in the opener, however.

“I hope so,” Altman said. “We’re doing some checking tomorrow, but he just yesterday didn’t feel right. We’ll see here in a day or two.”

Coming off of a season where it finished 21-15 and made the NIT, Oregon will hope to get healthy and make it back to the NCAA Tournament. Tip off between the Ducks and Georgia is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on Monday in Las Vegas.