Dana Altman kept Oregon’s offseason moving with one more move that fits the Ducks’ biggest need. After a season that ended without an NCAA Tournament bid, Oregon spent the summer reshaping the roster through the Transfer Portal, and Monday morning brought another important piece: Arkansas transfer Malique Ewin.
The addition comes at a time when the Ducks were still waiting to complete the roster, a delay that suddenly looks even more calculated after the NCAA granted the entire 2022 class an additional season of eligibility last week. With the portal market shifting and more options potentially opening up, Oregon’s patience paid off in a meaningful way.
Ewin gives Altman and his staff another veteran body in a front court that was completely overhauled. Oregon is bringing back only Sean Stewart up front, while also adding PF/Cs Taylor Bol Bowen, Tajh Ariza, Pharoah Compton, and Kendre Harrison. The Ducks clearly needed help there, and Ewin fills a major hole.
There’s also a practical side to this move. A proven big man should take some pressure off Tajh Ariza as he gets his feet under him, and it should help in another tricky spot with Kendre Harrison, who is balancing football and could be on a deep run in the College Football Playoff.
Ewin’s path has been a winding one. He began at Ole Miss and averaged 1.4 points per game as a freshman before heading to the JUCO level.
He resurfaced at Florida State in 2024-25 and broke out with 14.2 PPG and 7.6 RPG. This past season at Arkansas, his scoring dipped, but he still played a critical role for the Razorbacks.
For Oregon, the appeal is obvious. Altman has long had a knack for making different pieces work together, and Ewin looks like the kind of frontcourt fit the Ducks needed after all the offseason turnover. If Oregon can get him back to the scoring level he showed at Florida State, that would go a long way toward pushing the Ducks back into the NCAA Tournament.
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