New Flock Will Help Altman’s Ducks Soar
Recruiting and bringing in athletes from other schools seems to be becoming the norm for Oregon athletics. The football team has been blessed with Eastern Washington graduate transfer Vernon Adams Jr. and Montana State graduate transfer Dakota Prukop. Men’s basketball was gifted with Junior College transfer Chris Boucher’s play and Villanova transfer Dylan Ennis’s presence on the bench.
Kavell Bigby-Williams, a four-star recruit and the number three ranked Junior College power forward in the nation, continued the trend this past Saturday when he committed to play for Dana Altman’s Oregon team next season. Bigby-Williams played his junior college basketball at Gillette College, a small college in northeastern Wyoming.
At Gillette College, Bigby-Williams asserted himself as one of the most dominant junior college players in the country, averaging 16.8 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.8 blocks per contest. With big men Chris Boucher and Jordan Bell already on the team, the 6-foot-10 power forward’s arrival in Eugene will make an already strong Ducks frontcourt that much scarier.
Kavell Bigby-Williams’ commitment to Oregon brings up many similarities to a player who is already on the Ducks’ roster—Chris Boucher—who was also a junior college transfer from a Wyoming junior college. Boucher’s numbers are similar to Bigby-Williams’—Boucher put up 22.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game at the junior college level.
The similarities do not end there. Both are 6’10” and both can shoot three point shots. Both are defensive anchors that can come out of nowhere to swat an opponent’s shot.
Bigby-Williams acknowledged the level he and Boucher can play at while on the court together. “Well, I’ve seen how impactful Boucher has been, and we are similar in terms of how we play,” he told The Oregonian. “I’ve spoken to coach Altman and McKenna and they plan on playing both of us at the same time, which could be really exciting and a problem for other teams.”
Bigby-Williams is not alone in the Ducks’ 2016 recruiting class. Oregon has added four star recruit and 2016’s number ten ranked point guard, Payton Pritchard out of West Linn, Oregon. Altman also received commitments from a pair of three star recruits—Keith Smith, a 6’7” small forward out of Seattle, and Michael Cage Jr., a 6’10” center from Los Angeles area powerhouse, Mater Dei.
With the commitments of Bigby-Williams, Pritchard, Smith, and Cage Jr., Oregon is expected to have a top ten 2016 recruiting class. The team has added yet another defensive piece to an already daunting front court, and now has a dependable bench.
Kavell Bigby-Williams relayed on Twitter how he and all committed players feel about playing for Oregon, tweeting, “Been a lot of hard work… I feel Oregon is the best fit.”
Coach Dana Altman will hope that Oregon will be the best fit for the upcoming season. Altman’s squad reached the Elite Eight and earned the program’s first ever one seed this last season. With an even stronger team, at least on paper, not to mention formidable replacements to seniors Elgin Cook and Dwayne Benjamin, hopefully Oregon fans will get to see their Ducks fly higher than the Elite Eight come next March.
Photo credit: Gillette College Athletic Department
