'We've gotta have guys who wanna be here'; Dana Altman hints at substantial offseason changes after underwhelming season

Dana Altman made waves late Tuesday with his comments regarding Oregon’s fan support — or lack thereof — during the Ducks’ season-ending loss to Wisconsin.

Altman called the turnout for Oregon’s tilt with the Badgers “embarrassing” after a season-low attendance total of 3,384 was announced.

While Altman’s critique of his own fanbase stole the headlines, it was the head coach’s comments later in his press conference that could prove to be more impactful in the coming months.

Altman gave a damning, top-down critique of his program while speaking with reporters at Matthew Knight Arena. After a disappointing 21-15 finish that resulted in a second consecutive season of watching the NCAA tournament from home, he indicated that substantial changes could be coming for the Ducks during the offseason.

“We’re gonna evaluate all the guys individually,” Altman said. “We’ve gotta have guys who wanna be here. We’ve gotta make some changes. We’re not good enough. Either we’re not coaching good enough or the players aren’t good enough. We’re just not good enough. We’ve gotta get better. If that means changing personnel, if that means getting in the gym more. … We’re just not good enough.

“So, I’ve gotta start with me. I’m not good enough. Then we go right down the list. But, 21-15, that’s not good enough. So, we’re gonna get better. I’ve gotta do a better job. We’re gonna get after players. If they’re gonna stay here, they’re gonna work their ass off. If they don’t, then we’ve gotta find somebody who will.”

Altman didn’t attempt to hide his displeasure with the effort of Oregon’s players this season. On multiple occasions, he indicated that he didn’t believe his players were as focused or dedicated as they needed to be. He has often mentioned the program’s past leaders — such as Payton Pritchard, Dillon Brooks, and Chris Duarte — as reference points, bluntly stating that the Ducks’ current group didn’t share the same desire to improve that those players did when they were with the program.

This marks the second year in a row that Altman has portended sweeping offseason changes after lackluster on-court production.

Last season, after the Ducks were bounced out of the NIT by Texas A&M, Altman lamented the fact that he “didn’t have to chase anybody out of the gym.”

“I only want guys who want to be at Oregon,” Altman said after the loss to the Aggies.

On Tuesday, after a series of similar remarks, he hinted that the vast resources available through Oregon’s Nike-backed program weren’t properly utilized by the Ducks’ players this season.

“We’ve got too good of a situation here,” Altman said. “We’ve got facilities. We’ve got a lot of support staff. We’ve got (Cliff Spiller) in the weight room. He’s an NBA weightlifting coach. We’ve got the Mariota Center over there. We’ve got a nutritionist. We give these guys every advantage and they’ve got to take advantage of it.”

Altman said he and his staff will meet with players as soon as next week, as most of them will be taking finals this week.

“We’ve got spring break next week,” Altman said. “We’ll grab a couple of them and we’ll start making some decisions pretty quickly.”