Oregon

Kwame Evans Jr. announces return to Oregon for 2024-25 season

Published

1 week ago

April 23, 2024

Kwame Evans Jr. announces return to Oregon for 2024-25 season

Kwame Evans Jr., a freshman power forward for the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team, will return to Oregon for the 2024-25 season. Evans announced the news Tuesday morning on Twitter.

After the Ducks lost Creighton in the round of 32 of the NCAA tournament and their season came to a close, Evans left his future at Oregon ambiguous, telling Oregonian reporter James Crepea that it was “hard to tell,” what his future looked like.

Evans was a key player for the Ducks throughout last season, and he could be even more impactful going forward. As a freshman, Evans averaged 7.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game, while also averaging more than one steal and one block each game.

In 2023-24, Evans did experience some struggles finding consistency in his game. Smoked layups and defensive breakdowns weren’t uncommon for the freshman. But what has never been in doubt is Evans’ talent and potential to grow. Even from the start of the season to the end, Evans transformed his game, and there’s no cap on what he can do going forward.

Evans came to Oregon as a 5-star recruit in the class of 2023, and he was joined by Jackson Shelstad and Mookie Cook — two Portland natives who were also highly sought after in their recruiting class. Shelstad and Cook have both announced their intent to return to Eugene in the fall, and now that the trio of elite recruits has a year of experience, Oregon could be a dangerous team come fall.

Source link

Related Topics:Featured Jackson Shelstad Kwame Evans Jr.mens-basketball Mookie Cook Oregon Basketball Oregon Ducks

Click to comment

Oregon

ESPN’s No. 38 recruit LB Wyatt commits to Oregon

Published

6 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Press Room

ESPN’s No. 38 recruit LB Wyatt commits to Oregon

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior WriterMay 3, 2024, 03:14 PM ET
Close
- College football reporter.
- Joined ESPN.com in 2008.
- Graduate of Northwestern University.

Oregon’s defense received a significant boost Friday as outside linebacker Nasir Wyatt, ESPN’s No. 38 recruit in the 2025 class and No. 2 player from California, announced his commitment to play for the Ducks.

Wyatt, who plays for Southern California power Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, chose Oregon over Tennessee and Texas, where he also took visits. He told ESPN that the experience Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi and coach Dan Lanning had in developing top outside linebackers steered him toward the program.

“Tosh, he already has a plan put in store for me that allows me to do everything I do best,” Wyatt told ESPN. “When I go up there, he’s going to be able to teach me so much about the game, just because him and Lanning have so much edge background. [Lanning] being the defensive coordinator at Georgia, he had Travon Walker and all those guys from that defense that went in the first round. Having him at Oregon as the head coach, it’s having two defensive-minded coaches to better my edge skills.

“I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.”

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Wyatt had 14 sacks and 21 tackles for loss last season for Mater Dei. He said both Lupoi and Lanning made comparisons between his game and those of players from their past stops, such as Alabama’s Rashaan Evans, whom Lupoi coached as a Tide assistant, and Georgia’s Nolan Smith.

“Coach Lanning said a lot of my measurements resemble [Smith] and not your typical 6-5 guys, but they can still make it up at 6-2, 6-3, 220, 230, but be able to make it fly, that’s what Tosh and Lanning are looking for,” Wyatt said. “Looking at every college and how they wanted me to play in their defense, Oregon just had a different energy and a different feel.”

Source link

Oregon

Oregon saw a 17.5% Y-o-Y increase in cranberry harvest in 2023

Published

12 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Press Room

Oregon saw a 17.5% Y-o-Y increase in cranberry harvest in 2023

In 2023, Oregon experienced a 17.5% increase in cranberry production compared to the previous year, attributed to favorable weather and growing conditions. Despite a 5% decrease in the overall U.S. cranberry harvest, Oregon’s output contrasted positively, as reported by USDA data. Oregon’s cranberries, constituting about 5% of the national harvest, are noted for their deep red color and high proanthocyanidin (PAC) content.

Cal Bewicke, CEO of Ethical Naturals Inc. (ENI), highlighted the challenges faced in 2022 with the supply of high-grade cranberries and the anticipation of better pricing and supply conditions into 2024 due to Oregon’s robust harvest.

ENI, which launched its Cranberex ingredient in 2017, has observed increasing demand for high-quality cranberry extracts, especially from the European market, amidst global supply constraints. Cranberry, as a herbal dietary supplement, ranked sixth in the mainstream multi-outlet channel in the US in 2022, with significant sales figures reported.

Source: nutraingredients-usa.com

Source link

Oregon

Dan Lanning explains what Will Stein provides to Oregon staff

Published

19 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Press Room

Dan Lanning explains what Will Stein provides to Oregon staff

Oregon will look to build on its 12-2 season from one year ago under second-year offensive coordinator Will Stein and third-year head coach Dan Lanning.

Lanning spoke to the success Stein has had since arriving in Eugene as the Ducks prepare for their jump to the Big Ten Conference this fall.

“I just think that he does a great job as a coach and working with other coaches, a really collaborative effort,” Lanning said during spring training. “I think he has a great vision of exactly what we want to look like and articulates that vision. He’s brought some great, you know, ideas. He’s one that is always constantly studying what other things exist and doesn’t have an ego. I think that’s really important in this profession. You got to figure out where you can improve and grow. Will’s done an outstanding job of doing that.”

He came into his own down the stretch last season during his first season as OC. Once Oregon got rolling, Stein deserves a lot of credit for how the Ducks shredded defenses all of last year. An entire offseason with Dan Lanning in Eugene will only help in that regard.

Stein came to Oregon after serving as a co-offensive coordinator at UTSA in 2022, but last season marked his first running an offense on his own. With that in mind, the numbers he put up were quite impressive, though there’s certainly room for him to improve being so young in his career.

The Ducks will likely face tougher defenses next season with their transition to the Big Ten Conference. Add in the fact that a lot of their offensive production came through former quarterback Bo Nix, who finished third in last season’s Heisman voting, and leading rusher Bucky Irving.

Oregon went out to get Dillon Gabriel out of the NCAA transfer portal this offseason to replace Nix, now a Denver Bronco, at quarterback. He’ll also have Tez Johnson, who had 86 catches for 1,182 yards and 10 touchdowns this past season, back as the Ducks’ top receiver.

This past season at Oklahoma, Gabriel had arguably the best season of his career yet. He finished with 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns, six interceptions, a 69.3% completion percentage, 373 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.

Throughout his five-year college career, Gabriel has 14,865 yards, 125 touchdowns, 26 interceptions, a 63.1% completion percentage, 1,060 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns. With that kind of resume behind him, there was no better candidate in the portal to take over Oregon’s starting quarterback job in year two of Will Stein’s offense.

Source link