May 28, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: How Kelly Graves turned the page for Oregon
By The Next
Oregon head coach Kelly Graves discusses what's next for the Ducks
It was a difficult season by any measure for the Oregon Ducks and their head coach Kelly Graves, and Graves doesn’t shy away from that in the latest episode of the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast with host Howard Megdal. But on the heels of a transfer portal period that led to Oregon adding talent up and down its roster, the two discuss how fits like Deja Kelly not only change the possibilities for the Ducks as they head to the Big Ten, but harken back to the Oregon teams of just a few years ago on both sides of the ball.
Continue reading with a subscription to The Next
Get unlimited access to women’s basketball coverage and help support our hardworking staff of writers, editors, and photographers by subscribing today.
Already a member?
Login
Win a New York Liberty trading card when you subscribe!
Until the end of November, every new subscriber (and subscription renewal) to The Next will be entered to win a Panini trading card celebrating the WNBA champion New York Liberty — and yes, we can confirm it will be the Ellie rookie card!
On the podcast, Graves reflects on the challenges his program faced during the 2023-24 season.
“Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, and it included the schedule. And we played 12 games against teams that were in the Sweet 16 for crying out loud … most of those nights, we realistically didn’t have a chance to win unless we played a perfect game, or they may have been off a little bit. And that didn’t happen,” Graves said.
The Ducks head coach later reflects on how he and his staff kept things together despite the challenges and how the program is poised to return to its place of national prominence.
“We’re still Oregon, we’re still that name brand. And when we roll into a place people want to beat us and and most of them did this year. So, you know, it was less than just small victories. I think we tried to keep their heads up the best we could and continue to be positive. I really I give my staff a ton of credit. I thought they did a good job with this group, really, we could have lost them. And I don’t think we did at any point.”
Add Locked On Women’s Basketball to your daily routine
Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.
Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!
