Oregon men's basketball has multiple key players dealing with injuries ahead of season-opener

The Oregon men’s basketball team kicks off its 2023-24 campaign in less than a week, but it’s unclear at this point how many of the Ducks’ key players will be available for the Nov. 6 season-opener with Georgia.

While speaking with reporters at the program’s media day on Tuesday, head coach Dana Altman said center N’Faly Dante, guard Jermaine Couisnard, and guard Jackson Shelstad all missed practice this afternoon.

Couisnard is in concussion protocol. Dante and Shelstad are both dealing with knee soreness.

All three expressed optimism during their respective media availabilities that they will be able to take the court against the Bulldogs next Monday.

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

Junior forward Nate Bittle, who is expected to contend for a starting spot, twisted his ankle during Tuesday’s practice. Altman did not provide any sort of timeline on the injury, but Bittle spoke with reporters later in the afternoon.

Altman said UO will do “some checking” on Sheldstad on Wednesday as the freshman point guard “didn’t feel right” during Monday’s practice.

A former standout at West Linn and one of the top prep players to come out of the state of Oregon in recent memory, Shelstad was the No. 26 overall player and the No. 7 point guard in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

He’s expected to compete for significant playing time in the Ducks’ backcourt this season.

Dante led Oregon with 13.4 points and 8.4 rebounds last year in 31 games. He was the Ducks’ lone preseason all-conference selection and is expected to be the team’s offensive focal point once again this season.

Couisnard transferred in from South Carolina last offseason and dealt with injuries during the early portion of the 2022-23 campaign. In 19 games, including 16 starts, he averaged 12.8 points on 40% shooting for the Ducks last season.

Additionally, blue-chip true freshman Mookie Cook is out, too. He underwent surgery for an ankle sprain that he suffered back in April and was in a walking boot on Tuesday.

Altman said Cook and UO’s coaching staff were hopeful that surgery would not be required.

“We saw a few specialists and the consensus was to have surgery,” Altman said of Cook. “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.”

Oregon and Georgia are set to tip off at 1:30 p.m. PT as part of the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas next Monday. The game will air on TRUTV.

“Our numbers aren’t what they should be, so I think that’s slowed our progress a little bit,” Altman said. “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 Georiga.”