EUGENE — If you believe Shakur Juiston, the Oregon Ducks forward didn’t have much knowledge about Memphis or heralded 7-foot freshman James Wiseman, the presumptive No. 1 pick in April’s NBA draft whom the graduate transfer will have to defend at times Tuesday night.
“I don’t really watch anybody else around the NCAA,” Juiston said. “I just worry about us. As long as I practice hard, study them hard and play hard, when game time comes I feel like we’re going to succeed.”
Perhaps the last few days allowed Juiston to get more familiar with Wiseman, whose NCAA eligibility concerns have created a spectacle of uncertainty around No. 13 Memphis as it prepares to take on the No. 14 Ducks Tuesday night (6 p.m., ESPN) at the Moda Center as part of the Phil Knight Invitational.
Oregon coach Dana Altman didn’t care to weigh in on the ongoing court actions Memphis is taking to keep Wiseman (22.5 points, 10 rebounds) on the court.
“I’m sure he’ll play,” Altman said, “and he’s a really good player.”
Experience will be on Oregon’s side, as the Tigers are starting five freshmen, including Wiseman, Precious Achiuwa and Boogie Ellis, whom Oregon recruited.
“Pretty athletic,” Altman said. “I just saw part of their game (Friday). Obviously their athleticism and length stick out. ... We know they’re talented; everybody in the country is talking about their talent. They are a gifted team.”
Memphis’ youth presents a difficult scout for the Ducks, who have just two games to reference.
“These early games you watch their two games and go,” Altman said. "(The Boise State) game we watched most of them from last year just trying to get their tendencies. When you got a lot of new players like that, tendencies are a little harder to pick up. When you have a senior group like (Boise State), they’re a little easier to pick up.
“It’ll be a tough game to get ready for in two days just because of their athleticism and their talent level. Keeping them off the boards is going to be a real challenge, their length and size. It’ll really help if we can get Francis (Okoro) ready to go because his physicality would really help us — somebody hit somebody, and he’s our best at doing that.”
While the location certainly is more advantageous to Oregon, particularly West Linn natives Payton Pritchard and Anthony Mathis, Wiseman and Achiuwa are familiar with the venue having played at the Nike Hoop Summit in April at the Moda Center.
Most of the attention around the game and during the telecast will be focused on Wiseman, and for good reason.
“They’re a great team, obviously,” Mathis said. “They got some great players. If we don’t come ready to fight, it’s going to be a long night for us. … We’ve got two great teams going up against each other; it’s not going to be an individual battle. It’s Oregon against Memphis, it’s not one player against our five guys, so we got to come ready to play.”
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