College basketball rankings: Oregon lands Rutgers transfer Jacob Young, jumps in early Top 25 And 1
Dana Altman secured yet another quality transfer when Young committed to the Ducks, who are now in the top 15 of our early rankings
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Dana Altman secured yet another quality transfer when Young committed to the Ducks, who are now in the top 15 of our early rankings
By Gary Parrish
As I noted in a previous version of the Top 25 And 1, Oregon lost seven of its top nine scorers after the 2018-19 season and still won the Pac-12 outright regular-season title a year later. Then the Ducks lost six of the top 10 scorers from that team but still won another outright Pac-12 championship the following season.
In other words, the roster turnover didn't matter.
And it's looking like next season will be more of the same considering Dana Altman has reloaded in a way that makes the Ducks obvious Pac-12 contenders once again. Yes, Oregon is losing five of its top eight scorers from last season's team — most notably Eugene Omoruyi and Chris Duarte, both of whom averaged 17.1 points per game. But the Ducks have secured enough commitments from proven and productive transfers to ensure they won't slip much, if at all.
The latest addition came Wednesday night when Jacob Young announced his commitment to Oregon. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 14.1 points and 3.4 assists last season for a Rutgers team that advanced to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. He'll likely join fellow transfers De'Vion Harmon, an All-Big-12 guard from Oklahoma, and Quincy Guerrier, an All-ACC forward from Syracuse, in the starting lineup and help the Ducks compete for what would be a third straight outright Pac-12 title. This development is why Oregon is up to No. 15 in Version 13.0 of the 2021-22 CBS Sports Preseason Top 25 And 1.
Gonzaga remains No. 1.
The Zags have won at least 31 games in five consecutive seasons, played in two of the past four national title games, and finished first or second at KenPom in four of the past five years — and it's possible the best is yet to come considering the roster Mark Few has in place. The West Coast Conference power should bring back Andrew Nembhard and Drew Timme, the latter of whom is the likely Preseason National Player of the Year. They'll be joined by the top-ranked prospect in the Class of 2021 (Chet Holmgren) and two other consensus top-30 freshmen (Hunter Sallis, Nolan Hickman). meaning this should be the most-talented roster in program history.
