Oregon Ducks men’s basketball coach Dana Altman met with the media Monday to preview the upcoming Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
Altman touched on the growth of the team throughout the season and what lies ahead for them in the coming weeks, but his most telling remarks were his closing comments about the retirement rumors that have been surrounding his name dating back to last season.
He was asked about retiring but quickly shut down any speculation as he nears the end of what will be his 15th season at the helm.
“I don’t know why. I guess they’re tired of me like you guys are,” Altman said to the reporters. “Fortunately, my wife has put up with me for a long time. But I’m not retiring. . . . I have absolutely no intentions of retiring. So I’m not sure how all that got started last year, but I’ve never talked to anybody and about that and every time somebody’s asked me, I don’t plan on it unless somebody tells me it’s time to quit, and I plan on going.”
Altman added that if the University feels like it’s time to move on at some point, he’ll accept it, though he made it clear his passion for coaching remains strong.
“If the school, if Rob and the president, if they decide it’s my time, it’s my time,” Altman said. “But guys, I love coming to work every day, so as long as I’m healthy and my family’s healthy, I’d like to coach, but maybe they know something I don’t.”
Altman has helped guide the Ducks through a 2024 season that’s had some notable highs and forgettable lows. Oregon delivered impressive results in non-conference play, securing major wins over No. 20 Texas A&M, San Diego State and No. 9 Alabama along with a road win over rival Oregon State.
But after moving up to as high as No. 9 in the AP Poll, the Ducks started to stumble toward the end of January. Oregon lost six of seven including five straight, which was low-lighted by a 78-52 road loss to the UCLA Bruins on Jan. 30.
The Ducks managed to turn things around with an 81-75 win at Northwestern on Feb. 11 and haven’t lost since. Following Saturday’s 80-73 overtime win against Washington, Oregon is now on a seven-game winning streak headed into Thursday’s matchup against Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament.
Altman shared his thoughts on what will be rematch of two teams that just played each other six days ago in Eugene on March 4.
“I don’t know if there’s that many things we will adjust,” Altman said. “We just got to do a better job of the scouting report. I thought we made some mistakes there first time around that they took advantage of. I think our ball movement needs to get better against their defense, because they do stack it up pretty good.”
The Ducks and Hoosiers will tip-off from Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 12 p.m. ET on Thursday.
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