Watch: Dana Altman discusses Oregon's pivotal win over USC
Oregon head coach Dana Altman met with reporters late Thursday following the Ducks’ 78-60 blowout win over the USC Trojans in Eugene.
Altman discussed his team’s rapid improvement over the past few weeks and the performances of a few key players during the victory. Watch his full interview below.
Key Quotes
On Oregon’s effort as a whole during the win
“We played pretty hard tonight. Our depth was good. We still have more depth; (Lok Wur) and Brennan Rigsby wanted to play a little bit, but those guys were playing pretty good. But I thought, defensively, we played pretty good. We beat them in every category except second-chance points, which kind of kept them in the game second half.”
On where Oregon stands ahead of Saturday’s matchup with No. 7 UCLA
“I think we all feel pretty good about things. We’ve got a quick turnaround here with a late game, and then Saturday. But I like our depth. We’ve just got to keep everybody healthy and swing away on Saturday.”
On what Oregon did to limit USC star Drew Peterson
“He’s a really good player. He’s been a pain in our rear the last couple of years; he’s played really well. So, with him and (Boogie Ellies) their 1-2 punch is pretty good. We knew going in that those two and (Kobe Johnson) had a nice game against us tonight. Kind of what we expected. But I thought the guys didn’t give Drew anything really easy.
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“Boogie got a lot of points. But other than that first three, I thought we challenged him pretty good. He’s just a good offensive player. When he gets it going he’s pretty tough to stop.”
On Quincy Guerrier’s effort early in the game
“I really thought he was a big boost in the first half. We had three second-chance points at the half and they were off his offensive rebounds. I thought his first half was really good.”
On if he believes he has “broken through” to Ducks’ freshman Kel’el Ware
“Yeah, I think he’s been good. He’s been a little better in practice. There’s so much there. You see the God-given ability he has to finish plays, and he has a soft touch. He didn’t play very well in LA against UCLA, with the physicality. So, I told him he’s gotta get ready for a really physical game.
“I thought he fought the physicality a little better tonight. But Saturday will be a big challenge for him.”
On Oregon’s looming matchup with UCLA
“Well, they’re really good. (Mick Cronin) has done a great job. They’ve really improved their depth; the freshman are playing really good. Amari Bailey’s numbers in conference are off the chart. It will be a big test. … It will be a physical game. Two teams really getting after each other.”
