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Report: Nate Bittle, Jermaine Couisnard go through warmups ahead of Oregon's matchup at Colorado

Jarrid Denneyby:Jarrid Denney•01/05/23•

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(Photo by Sean Burges/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

It appears as though the Oregon Ducks could potentially receive a much-needed boost ahead of Thursday’s showdown with Colorado in Boulder.

In the hours leading up to tip-off, James Crepea of The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that senior guard Jermaine Couisnard and sophomore center Nate Bittle both went through warmups ahead of the Ducks’ showdown with the Buffs.

To those who don’t follow the program closely, the news might sound insignificant at first glance.

But the injury-plagued Ducks have been playing with a short rotation for much of the season. The return of any of their four sidelined scholarship players would serve as a notable boost.

Couisnard, a transfer from South Carolina, has not played in a game this season and underwent knee surgery in November. Bittle has played in just six games due to a left foot injury.

Junior guard Keeshawn Barthelemy has played in just four games due to a left foot injury. Freshman forward Ethan Butler has yet to play a game this season due to an undisclosed injury.

Following last weekend’s win over Oregon State, head coach Dana Altman was asked if any of the four are “close” to returning to game action.

“No. No. Nope,” Altman responded. “When they do start practicing, it will be a really restricted minute type deal. Especially with knee, foot, foot, pelvis. They’re all lower-body injuries. So it’s not like a hand where you can run, do defensive slides.

“The foot, knees and those things take longer to bounce back from.”

Altman noted that when those players do return to practice, there won’t be any urge to rush them back into game action.

“When we do get them back, there will be a transition period,” Altman said. “I thought we would maybe get them back over Christmas break. But we have to be conservative with them. Knee surgery, foot, foot injury — we have to be conservative.

“I’m not arguing with the doctors or the trainers, but I’d sure like to get a couple of those guards back to help out (point guard Will Richardson) a little bit.”

Couisnard led South Carolina with 12 points per game last season and has averaged 11.1 points throughout his college career. According to On3’s Jamie Evans Couisnard was the No. 33 player available in the transfer portal last offseason.

Bittle, a former 4-star signee, was the No. 24 overall player in the class of 2021, according to the On3 Consensus. The 7-foot sharpshooter played a reserve role for the Ducks last season but made some promising strides during the offseason according to Altman.

Oregon (8-6, 2-1) and Colorado (9-6, 1-3) are scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. PT in Boulder. The game will air on ESPN2.

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