Bol Bol Put On A Goddamn Show Last Night, But What The Hell Is Going On With Oregon?

Bol Bol is an absolute monster. He’s made for the college game, especially when he doesn’t have to go up against a polished, wider guy in the post. Yes, wider. Bol Bol went off last night against Texas Southern as he scored 34, showed off his form and really attacked Trayvon Reed and Texas Southern.

But, Oregon lost. To Texas Southern. In Eugene. They lost 89-84. What the hell is going on with Oregon?

The Ducks are now 4-2 with losses against Iowa and Texas Southern and a win over Syracuse. First things first, you can see Bol’s weaknesses. Yes, he was a monster offensively and looked like a unicorn out there. But, he couldn’t guard Trayvon Reed. No one on Oregon could. Reed put up 23 points and went 9-for-9 from the field. That’s been part of the problem with Oregon all year. Bol, while he can protect the rim, does get bullied in the post defensively. It’s what Iowa did to him too. Right now he needs to get stronger to hold position defensively in the post and not let guys like Reed and Garza get position.

Second, Oregon desperately needs Louis King. While Bol is the more talked about freshman, Louis King is the better player and the one that Oregon really needs. King, from Hudson Cathlic in Jersey, who can immediately help out on the defensive side and give Oregon a different look. He can play the stretch four spot at 6’7″ thanks to his 7’0″ wingspan. He can also provide someone who can break down the defense off the bounce from the wing. Right now it feels like Pritchard and Amin are the only two that can do that. King can draw more attention coming from the wing – similar to how Oregon used Dillon Brooks.

We saw this a bit last year with Oregon. The team just didn’t gel until it was too late. That feels the same right now. You can see Oregon get lost defensively and playing more 1v1 there. They aren’t rotating as they should. Even on the press/zone they aren’t properly rotating and trapping when they should. This is a terrible loss, but it’s not the end of the season. They need to figure this out quick. because there aren’t going to be a ton of quality wins available in the Pac-12.