It was a difficult season by any measure for the Oregon Ducks and their head coach Kelly Graves, and Graves doesn’t shy away from that in the latest episode of the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast with host Howard Megdal. But on the heels of a transfer portal period that led to Oregon adding talent up and down its roster, the two discuss how fits like Deja Kelly not only change the possibilities for the Ducks as they head to the Big Ten, but harken back to the Oregon teams of just a few years ago on both sides of the ball.
On the podcast, Graves reflects on the challenges his program faced during the 2023-24 season.
“Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, and it included the schedule. And we played 12 games against teams that were in the Sweet 16 for crying out loud … most of those nights, we realistically didn’t have a chance to win unless we played a perfect game, or they may have been off a little bit. And that didn’t happen,” Graves said.
The Ducks head coach later reflects on how he and his staff kept things together despite the challenges and how the program is poised to return to its place of national prominence.
“We’re still Oregon, we’re still that name brand. And when we roll into a place people want to beat us and and most of them did this year. So, you know, it was less than just small victories. I think we tried to keep their heads up the best we could and continue to be positive. I really I give my staff a ton of credit. I thought they did a good job with this group, really, we could have lost them. And I don’t think we did at any point.”
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