CHICAGO — Dana Altman first confided in long-time assistant Tony Stubblefield that he was contemplating retirement final Friday. Stubblefield waited for the weekend to go, hoping his buddy would have a change of coronary heart. Altman wished to satisfy with Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens on Monday, however Mullens was out of city, so the summit was kicked down the street for twenty-four extra hours. Late Tuesday, Altman relayed to Stubblefield that he was nonetheless leaning towards hanging it up, however he wished to sleep on it yet another evening.
After Wednesday’s apply, Oregon’s gamers gathered for a gathering. Senior wing Andrew Meadow thought they is likely to be getting contemporary new sneakers. As a substitute, Altman dropped the bombshell that he was stepping away, regardless of being on the doorstep of the unique 800 Wins Membership.
“We had a difficult yr final yr,” Stubblefield stated. “Not that it had something bearing on coach’s choice, however I believe that took quite a bit out of him.”
Stubblefield was elevated to the interim head coach, which meant he needed to pack a jet-black swimsuit and hop on a late-Wednesday flight certain for Chicago forward of Thursday’s Massive Ten Media Days.
The largest brouhaha now could be the portal. Since Oregon’s brass tabbed Stubblefield because the interim coach, Oregon’s roster can not enter the portal till Nov. 7, 5 days after the Geese’ season-opener towards Montana. Exiting Eugene now would imply giving up a season of video games and NIL funds to attempt to switch over Christmas break? That is a number of hoops to leap by means of.
“We have had optimistic suggestions from nearly all of the fellows that we have been to get ahold of their households and their illustration,” Stubblefield stated. “I’ll get again to Oregon instantly after this at this time, and schedule some one-on-one conferences with our gamers and go over issues with them and proceed to work the cellphone and be touring, I am positive, over the course of the subsequent three or 4 days. We really feel like we now have a extremely good group of younger males, resilient younger males in that locker room, a really proficient group of gamers that we wish to preserve this group intact, as a result of we felt like we did an important job attacking the portal and bringing in a highschool child or two. We now have 11 new guys, and we really feel like we now have an opportunity to actually make a step in the precise route and get again to the NCAA event.”
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The David Mirkovic Present begins
The Massive Ten’s preseason groupthink can agree on two fronts:
1. Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. is the consensus Preseason Participant of the Yr.
2. Illinois‘ David Mirkovic goes to be a complete stud this yr.
Illinois is not working from it. A damaged foot was the lone hiccup amid an impressive summer season that has the Illini teaching workers believing Mirkovic is destined to be Illinois’ subsequent first-round choose.
“Dynamic younger man, only a dynamic participant, the most effective gamers within the nation with simply an unimaginable character,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood stated. “Mirk loves life. I believe he is nice for the game. He is all the time completely happy. He by no means has a nasty day. Nice charisma, humorousness. Whenever you get to know him, you will learn the way clever he’s. He is simply received a fast wit to him. And then you definately step throughout the road, and he is that man that simply, , desires to tear your throat out and compete. I am excited for the world to get to know him.”
Mirkovic’s hilarious quotes and goofy antics maybe shadowed simply how dominant his freshman season was. Mirkovic averaged 13.6 factors, 7.9 rebounds and a couple of.7 assists whereas capturing 38% from downtown on greater than 4.0 makes an attempt per sport. Rival coaches like Minnesota‘s Niko Medved, Purdue‘s Matt Painter and Nebraska‘s Fred Hoiberg gushed over Mirkovic’s skill-set repeatedly. The 6-9 ahead additionally notched a historic 29-point, 17-rebound efficiency within the Illini’s NCAA Event romp over Penn. Mirkovic turned simply the third freshman in NCAA Event historical past with 25+ factors and 15+ rebounds in an NCAA Event sport, per CBB Analytics.
Massive Ten professional picks: Projected order of end, preseason predictions, prime gamers to look at, beginning lineups
Isaac Trotter
By the tip of the season, Mirkovic had become Illinois’ second-best participant, behind eventual lottery-pick Keaton Wagler. Now, he’s slated to be the go-to piece of a top-five Illinois squad that was picked to win the Massive Ten.
“I liked his ability set,” Underwood stated when requested for his first impression of Mirkovic when he was taking part in for SC Derby within the Balkans. “He was a man that did not shoot a number of threes, however I like his capability to make threes. He was a tenacious rebounder. I used to be clearly drawn to that.
“He was a fats. I referred to as him fats. He was only a fats man that performed within the submit, however he had a tenacity and a toughness to him. He is higher than I assumed by way of with the ability to deal with the ball. However we wanted him as counter to Tomi (Ivisic) on the time with physicality, and now he is become a reasonably expert basketball participant.”
Inside Michigan’s new offensive coordinator
The reigning champions could have a brand new offensive coordinator after Dusty Might left for the Dallas Mavericks and two Michigan assistants — particularly Drew Williamson and ex-New Zealand Breakers head coach Mody Maor — adopted Might to the league. New Michigan coach Mike Boynton employed Brown coach Mike Martin in July to run the offense alongside ex-Orlando Magic staffer Dylan Murphy.
It was a little bit of a curious rent as a result of Brown’s offense ranked 342nd nationally final season, together with rating lifeless final in Ivy League play in effectivity. However model of play could also be on the epicenter of this new marriage. Michigan bulldozed its strategy to the title, partly by working one of many nation’s best reducing offenses. Michigan had stud creators like Elliot Cadeau, Yaxel Lendeborg, and Aday Mara to generate benefits, and it used reducing (and a number of unselfishness) to transform these benefits into buckets.
Martin’s offenses have yearly rated properly above common in … the variety of pictures that got here instantly off a lower.
- 2025-26: 79th percentile in frequency
- 2024-25: sixty fifth percentile
- 2023-24: 67th percentile
- 2022-23: 78th percentile
- 2021-22: 76th percentile
- 2020-21: No season as a result of COVID
- 2019-20: 93rd percentile
- 2018-19: 62nd percentile
- 2017-18: 76th percentile
“Mike and I’ve talked hoops quite a bit,” Boynton stated. “I believe it is slightly deeper than simply watching a man’s crew taking part in or how they rating. It is extra like with the ability to perceive what they’re doing and the way they’re making an attempt to function, relative to the way you wish to play. If I used to be going to play a system the place you throw the ball inside 50 instances a sport, like if I had Shaq? Perhaps Mike isn’t one of the best coach. He is not coached a mode like that. However the way in which we play is the way in which he coached earlier than. The mix of him and Dylan Murphy collectively, two actually, actually good basketball folks, it should give us an opportunity to be environment friendly on that finish of the ground.”
Boynton has reiterated usually that he does not wish to reinvent the wheel offensively within the post-Might period. That trickles right down to lineup development as properly. Michigan is hoping to get Roddy Gayle Jr. eligible for a fifth yr, and he’ll begin on the 3-spot subsequent to Cadeau and Trey McKenney if he will get excellent news from the judicial system later this month. If not? Michigan is exploring one other jumbo lineup with prized 6-10 freshman Quinn Costello working on the 3 subsequent to Michigan’s new-look front-line of 6-11 ahead JP Estrella and 7-2 heart Moustapha Thiam. It largely works as a result of Costello is a lights-out shooter and prefers to drift across the perimeter at this level.
“That lineup is superb,” Cadeau stated. “Like, we’ll be capable of stretch the ground quite a bit. I really feel like me and Mo or JP in a ball display screen. Trey and Quinn within the corners, like no person can assist off Trey or Quinn, so it will type of give me the liberty and the wide-open house that I would like.”
Massive Ten basketball preseason ballot, predictions 2026-27: Michigan, Purdue overrated; USC, Iowa underrated
Cameron Salerno
Fast hits
1. The Antione West Jr. hype has left the station at Purdue
The 6-3 combo guard redshirted final season, however Purdue coach Matt Painter believes he’s poised for an enormous breakout season … even when he is nonetheless coming off the bench to start out the 2026-27 marketing campaign.
“Antione West is a extremely good two-way participant. He is a plus-five, plus-six wingspan, very, superb on the basketball, good at creating for himself, good combo guard,” Painter stated. “We simply had a deep backcourt [last year]. How a lot was he going to play? Who was it going to have an effect on? I in contrast it to Patrick Mahomes not taking part in as a substitute of Alex Smith, who was an important quarterback within the NFL, after which studying that yr. Then, hastily, Patrick Mahomes, in a fast period of time, was one of the best participant within the NFL. He’ll be one of many higher guards in our league.”
2. Michigan State has one other huge breakout candidate in capturing guard Jordan Scott
Scott labored his approach into the rotation utilizing protection final yr and is poised to be a Day One starter for a deep Spartans’ membership that has Detroit in its sights this season.
“Jordan’s made enormous enchancment,” Fears stated. “He received far more athletic. He is been dunking extra and he is lastly like rising into his physique. I believe he is type of a late bloomer. However general, he makes pictures, he defends, he is robust, will get each free ball. He is only a successful participant.”
3. Mick Cronin had a Mick Cronin second once more, this time at my expense.
Everyone’s received an opinion on the UCLA coach. He is not good, however I like him, and his humorousness is normally proper up my alley. So Cronin messing with me slightly bit about how a lot prized Texas Tech switch Jaylen Petty will play on the ball this season is completely fantastic.
In any case, this is the clip.