Catching Up with the Pac-12, Part 2
Checking in with Oregon, Oregon State, and Colorado
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This four-part series takes a look at the state of the Pac-12 as teams start returning to campus. Last week, we examined Stanford, Arizona, and UCLA, the three teams that finished atop the Pac-12 last season. Those three will have a fight on their hands to keep those positions next season considering the strength of the three teams that finished behind them.
This week, we look at the teams that finished fourth through sixth in 2020-21: Oregon, Oregon State, and Colorado.
Oregon Ducks
2020-21 season: It was an up and down season for the Ducks. They started out strong in the limited non-conference play allowed by the pandemic and took that momentum into the early part of the league schedule.
Once they got to the meat of Pac-12 play, things were a bit more difficult for them. They defeated No. 15 Oregon State early in the season to take their only victory over a ranked team. At the time, Oregon State was having struggles of its own and would soon drop out of the top 25.
The Ducks finished the Pac-12 season on a 1-4 skid, then dropped their first game in the Pac-12 Tournament to Oregon State.
They were able to pull things together in the NCAA Tournament, beating South Dakota State and upsetting No. 10 Georgia. They made it to the Sweet Sixteen before bowing out to No. 8 Louisville to end their season at 15-9 (10-7 in the Pac-12).
Key losses: The Ducks saw two players depart via the portal fairly quickly after the season’s end. Guard Jaz Shelley is on her way to Nebraska. Fellow guard Taylor Chavez will now face her former teammates at least once a year as a member of the Arizona Wildcats.
After that, head coach Kelly Graves said that the Ducks would not be looking in the portal for anyone else unless it was an obvious fit. He was comfortable with his roster of 11 scholarship players.
That was several days before James Crepea of The Oregonian dropped the big news that Taylor Mikesell was in the portal…again. It was a far bigger surprise than the other two transfers considering that she had just landed in Eugene last offseason as a transfer from Maryland.
On April 25, Mikesell retweeted former Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah’s statement, “You’re the only one who has to see the vision…” On April 26, she retweeted Crepea’s article. Shortly thereafter, she announced that she was headed home to Ohio to play for Ohio State.
Then, it was Angela Dugalic on her way out in early May, eventually landing with Pac-12 foe UCLA. That made it four players who departed from Graves’ program after the end of the 2020-21 season, two of whom opted to face their former team as members of other Pac-12 programs.
Key returners: Oregon was a very young team in 2020-21, and the program will return a mountain of that young talent. Most importantly, they will get Te-Hina Paopao back from the injury that kept her out of postseason play. They will also get another year of Sedona Prince and Nyara Sabally.
Key additions: The Ducks didn’t expect to need much this offseason, so the class was fairly small. Small as in two players: five-star guard Taylor Bigby out of powerhouse Centennial High in Las Vegas and 6-foot-8 Canadian center Phillipina Kyei.
It didn’t end there, though. While Graves initially said that he was comfortable with a smaller roster, more departures made him change his tune. He was able to make a splash by welcoming former USC point guard Endyia Rogers.
Rogers may be an indication of how recruiting will change with the introduction of NIL dollars to the equation. She narrowed her choices down to Oregon and Arizona, visiting both campuses before making her decision. After she committed to the Ducks, she gave interviews stating that the NIL laws in Oregon played into her decision to head to Eugene.
The Ducks eventually added a total of five transfers including Rogers. Grad transfer forward Shannon Dufficy makes her third stop after spending three years at Utah State and two (including a redshirt year) at Missouri. Senior forward Taylor Hosendove also makes her third stop after a year at Clemson and two years at Georgia State. Senior guard Ahlise Hurst arrives in Eugene after three years at New Mexico, and junior Chanaya Pinto comes in from the juco ranks after winning a national title with Northwest Florida State College last season.
What’s next: Prior to the Mikesell announcement, it looked like the Ducks would return enough experience and talent to compete for another conference title. The program is still full of talent and the addition of Rogers will definitely help, but the turmoil in the offseason could have some lingering effects. With seven new players, Graves faces the challenge of integrating a large contingent.
Like others in the conference, Graves also had some holes to fill on his coaching staff. Associate head coach Mark Campbell became the new head coach at Sacramento State on April 16. After seven years on the Ducks’ staff, it’s a big loss.
To fill the empty spot, Graves hired Jackie Nared-Hairston off Adia Barnes’ Arizona staff. Nared-Hairston spent the 2017-18 season at Oregon when she was tasked with creating scout film for Graves’ squad.
Oregon State Beavers
2020-21 season: The Beavers started out very slow before going on an extended pause in late December. After losing nearly a month of competition to the pandemic, they returned with a vengeance.
In addition to the extra practice time that some of the players were able to get during the downtime, the Beavers added early enrollee Talia von Oelhoffen. It made all the difference as they advanced to the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament before getting to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Key losses: For the second straight season, the Beavers lost their starting point guard to Arkansas. Last year, it was Destiny Slocum. This time, it was Arkansas native Sasha Goforth, who opted to return to her hometown of Fayetteville after spending the stressful pandemic season so far from home.
Fellow freshman Savannah Samuel also entered the portal and found a new home. Samuel, another player who crossed the country to play in Corvallis, found a spot at West Virginia.
A third player also decided to return closer to home, although it wasn’t in the form of a transfer. Junior Jasmine Simmons made her way back to her native Australia.
The Beavers also lost Aleah Goodman, who was drafted by the Connecticut Sun in the third round of the WNBA Draft. The experience and steadiness of Goodman will be missed by a team that will have several newcomers in the backcourt.
On the coaching side, the Beavers lost two talented members of Scott Rueck’s staff. Brian Holsinger, who spent eight years at Washington State and five at Oregon State, was named the head coach at Montana.
Holsinger’s move was an obvious step up because it meant taking over as a head coach. Katie Faulkner’s move to Washington to take on another assistant coaching position for a program that has struggled for several years is not.
Rueck took his time filling out his staff but now has a full complement. Jenny Huth, who took over as head coach of Northern Colorado when Kamie Ethridge departed for Washington State in 2018, stepped down from her position as a head coach to take an assistant coaching position on the Beavers’ staff. She has been joined by Deven Hunter, who helped the Beavers to their 2016 Final Four appearance as a player.
Key returners: Given the dearth of guards the Beavers were facing after the loss of Goforth and Samuel, the most important returner for Oregon State is von Oelhoffen. Although she has only played a few weeks for the Beavers, her talent and ability to handle the step up in competition are obvious.
The team also returns some quality depth in the frontcourt. Taylor Jones will be playing in her third college season after two strong years for the Beavers. The team should also see Kennedy Brown return to the court after she missed all of last season rehabbing from knee surgery.
The additional year granted by the NCAA also allows Ellie Mack to return for her second year with the Beavers.
Key additions: Rueck brought in another top class to Corvallis. In addition to early enrollee von Oelhoffen, he added two talented wings in Greta Kampschroeder and A.J. Marotte. The three-player class was ranked No. 8 by ESPN, sitting just behind fellow Pac-12 programs Stanford and USC.
The Beavers also found help in the portal, bringing former St. Mary’s guard Emily Codding and former San Diego State guard Tea Adams aboard.
What’s next: Although the loss of Goforth and Samuel from last year’s class will sting and the loss of Goodman is another blow, there’s still plenty of talent in Corvallis.
The twin towers of Brown and Jones should be playing together again, and that’s a tandem that few teams in the Pac-12 can match. Assuming that von Oelhoffen is as effective as she was upon her arrival, there aren’t a lot of weaknesses for the Beavers.
Oregon State has the potential to move past Arizona, UCLA, and Oregon, all of which finished ahead of the Beavers last season in the league’s standings. They could well find themselves battling Stanford for the league title.
Colorado Buffaloes
2020-21 season: The Buffs ended the season in sixth place with an 8-8 conference record. They hoped that would get them into the NCAA Tournament, but it wasn’t enough.
Seventh-placed Washington State would leapfrog Colorado in the selection committee’s eyes. While the Cougars had some impressive wins, Colorado had some reason to feel slighted after defeating then-No. 1 Stanford.
Instead of heading to San Antonio for the NCAA Tournament, JR Payne’s squad went to the WNIT. They advanced to the Regional Championship before losing to Ole Miss, ending the year with a 12-11 record.
Key losses: Colorado didn’t lose a lot in terms of production, although four players opted to leave Boulder. Senior Annika Jank, who averaged just 7.0 minutes in her final year, chose not to pursue another year of college basketball. Three rising juniors--Madison Buford, Zuzanna Kulinska, and Raanee Smith--transferred out. All three took a step down in the competition level to mid-major conferences.
Key returners: One of the first big names in the conference to announce that she would return for her “super senior” season was Mya Hollingshed, an All-Pac-12 performer in her first senior season. Hollingshed led the league in double-doubles in 2020-21. That’s the kind of production anyone would like to retain. Of all the players who returned, she could be the one needed most by her team.
The Buffs also get back junior point guard Jaylyn Sherrod. Sherrod was All-Freshman her first year in Boulder and made the All-Defensive team as a sophomore despite being limited by injuries. She played in just 12 of Colorado’s 23 games last year before undergoing season-ending hip surgery in January.
Key additions: In the portal game, one team’s loss is another team’s gain. When Washington parted ways with head coach Jody Wynn, several of her former players headed to the portal. Colorado was one beneficiary of its Pac-12 foe’s loss.
The Buffs added former Huskies Tameiya Sadler and Quay Miller. Sadler was Washington’s leader in assists and was second in both points and steals as a freshman last season. Miller completed her sophomore season in Seattle as the team’s leading rebounder and third-leading scorer.
In addition to the intraconference transfers, Colorado added a two-player freshman class that includes the No. 16 point guard Kindyll Wetta and 6-foot-3 forward Kennedy Taylor.
What’s next: With a tandem like Sherrod and Hollingshed returning, Colorado has a nice foundation. Adding a solid center in Miller and another quality point guard in Sadler should mean a strong starting five. The question will be how many minutes the top players have to play to keep Colorado competitive with the top teams in the league. Their win over Stanford last season proved what they are capable of. Now, they just need to do that consistently. The quality of their depth could make all the difference.
If you missed part one of this series, check it out here:
Come back next week for the third part of this series to find out about Washington State, USC, and Arizona State.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Good summary. For Colorado, I think Frida Formann is worth a mention. She's tough and shot 40% on 3-pointers. The depth of the team, with experienced seniors (Peanut Tuitele, Aubrey Knight, and Leslie Finau) seems like a strong point.