Oregon guard Jesse Zarzuela out for remainder of 2023-24 season
Oregon will be without one of its starting guards for the remainder of the season.
While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Ducks’ coach Dana Altman said senior guard Jesse Zarzuela will undergo ankle surgery and is going to miss the remainder of the season.
“Jesse is going to have surgery, he’s done,” Altman said.
The loss of Zarzuela serves as another significant injury blow for the Ducks. They were already without all-conference center N’Faly Dante, who underwent knee surgery in November, and starting forward Nate Bittle, who underwent wrist surgery in November.
Senior guard Keeshawn Barthelemy is currently sidelined with an ankle injury, and 4-star freshman Mookie Cook underwent ankle surgery in October to address an injury he suffered in a high school all-star game last spring.
Standout freshman guard Jackson Shelstad has also missed time due to injury this season.
Zarzuela started Oregon’s first five games of the season and was expected to be an integral figure throughout the remainder of the year. He averaged 10.0 points, 2.2 assists, and 2.4 rebounds this season.
Zarzuela joined the Ducks last offseason after playing at Central Michigan last season. He spent the 2021-22 season at Coppin State, the 2020-21 season at Missouri State West Plains Junior College, and the 2019-20 season at Navarro Junior College.
Altman said Zarzuela will likely appeal for another year of college eligibility, but it’s unlikely he will continue his career at Oregon. The Ducks have signed 4-star guard Vyctorius Miller and JUCO transfer Dez Lindsay for the 2024-25 season.
“He probably will, yeah,” Altman said. “But we’ve treated him as a graduate student. We’ve awarded two scholarships to two guards already. So, it was kind of a one-year commitment on our part. But he will apply for a redshirt. He only played five games, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
With Zarzuela out for the year, and Barthelemy sidelined for the foreseeable future, Oregon will lean heavily on Shelstad, Jermaine Couisnard, Brennan Rigsby, and Jadrian Tracey to fill out its guard rotation.
“It definitely is challenging. You’ve got some guys playing outside their roles,” Tracey said Tuesday when asked about Oregon’s injury situation. “But like coach always tells us, next man up. You know what I mean? In the past, same thing has happened. But (Altman) is a really good coach and he’s been putting us in a pretty good position to win games. It’s really up to us as players to come out and execute what coach has for us.
“Taking a toll on us, though? I wouldn’t really say that. Because we have a lot of different dudes ready to play different roles and step up.”
