Oregon forward Dillon Brooks propelled his Ducks to the Sweet 16 not only with his points but his leadership as well. I spoke to him about he is able to get the most out of his guys:
“A lot of our guys have played basketball for a long time and we all get ready the same way. So once a guy gets hot we all want to lead with that person. When I have to, I get on guys and they know they have to turn it up a little bit.
It’s in everyone’s mentality. We will all fight to the end.”
The most impressive thing about the Ducks (other than their size) is the depth. Brooks is an all-around good player who can create for himself or others while being disruptive on the defense end.
Jordan Bell didn’t score in the last game, but grabbed 10 rebounds and was a force on the defense as he helped contain DeAndre Bembry. Elgin Cook, Chris Boucher, and Tyler Dorsey can all turn in a huge performance on any given night, but there is no ego on this team, so if it isn’t their night, they won’t force it.
They now will play Duke, who is technically the lower seed, but Brooks said his team doesn’t feel like that. Here’s what he had to say when asked what he will have to improve on to beat the Blue Devils:
“It’s nothing different, we just can’t make mistakes, because they will capitalize. They have great players in Grayson Allen and Brandon Ingram, so we have to focus on every single play. We have to get our man [defense] and zone right. And we have to run them. They only play 7 guys, they don’t want to be in a track race.
Even though we are the 1 seed, we think they are the bigger school. So we see ourselves as the underdog.”
He makes a great point about running them. Oregon just has so many different options that can beat you and effort is their strength- not good news for Duke fans.
It will be fun to watch to see how far the Ducks can take this run. They are a big school, who doesn’t feel big as a basketball program. That old adage won’t be around for long if they continue to play like they have.