Dana Altman weighs impact of getting Jermaine Couisnard, Keeshawn Barthelemy back from injury

Oregon basketball has not gotten off to the start fans hoped this season. The Ducks dropped four of their first six games and sit at just 9-7 a few games into Pac-12 play. But some help may be on the way for Dana Altman’s team, especially in the backcourt, where Oregon has had two primary contributors miss most of the games.

Transfer guards Jermaine Couisnard (South Carolina) and Keeshawn Barthelemy (Colorado) were necessary additions in the portal this offseason, with super-senior star Will Richardson standing as the only meaningful contributor to return from the 2021-22 backcourt. However, injuries took both guys off the table for most of the season to date, leaving Richardson to carry a semi-truck’s load as the lead guard.

Luckily, those two are on the mend. Couisnard returned recently and is already making a huge impact, even if it means simply alleviating some pressure off Richardson. Meanwhile, Barthelemy, who played 25+ minutes per game in four contests before his injury, is likely to return soon.

“It’ll definitely help. I mean, we’ve got better ball-handlers with the guys coming back,” said Altman of getting his two guards back. He’s already noticed the effect of having one of them in the lineup. “You know, Keeshawn and Jermaine, you saw the impact Jermaine had on the on the road trip. He was the one bright spot in Colorado. He played good and he graded out well against Colorado — and he really made a big difference in the in the Utah game. So getting him back has has been really good. He’s only played in two games, so we’ve got to keep kind of breaking him in.”

Altman continued, addressing the possible return of Keeshawn Barthelemy and what the insertion of this pair into the lineup means for the rest of the roster:

“But getting Keyshawn back will give us another ball-handler. Turnovers have been a problem for us, so I would hope that getting a couple ball-handlers there would help us in that regard. And the guys have just played too many minutes, you know. We’ve had some games where Quincy [Guerrier] played 37-38 minutes, Will’s played 40 a number of times. And I just don’t think you can give it everything you have, you know, playing that many minutes.

“So I’d like to get Will at 35, you know, Quincy down a little bit. Get some guys some more activity. And I think those guys getting healthy helps us do that. Nate [Bittle] getting healthy, Jermaine getting healthy. Now if we can get Keeshawn back, gives us an opportunity to play ten or eleven guys and work some things around.”

Oregon certainly seems way outside the bubble at this point in the season. But as we know, a slew of quad one opportunities remain for Dana Altman and co. Just remember 2018 Ducks fans, when he lost leading scorer Bol Bol off a team that was already spiraling…but then rallied to win the Pac-12 Tournament and make a run to the Sweet 16.