The Oregon men’s basketball team just received some good news.
According to a report from CBS Sports writer Jon Rothstein, Oregon center Nate Bittle will withdraw from NBA draft consideration and return to the Ducks for one more season. Due to injury and illness, Bittle has one more year of NCAA eligibility remaining.
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This is a significant advantage for the Ducks heading into the 2025-26 season. Replacing Bittle would have been a tall order, both figuratively and literally. With Bittle in the lineup, along with Jackson Shelstad and Kwame Evans, Oregon should be one of the top teams in the Big Ten Conference next season.
Bittle stayed healthy last year and had his best season as a result. He averaged 14.2 points and 7.6 rebounds in the 35 games he played. For his career, Bittle is averaging 8.7 points and 5.2 rebounds a game and is shooting 50 percent from the field, including 33 percent from three-point range.
He had tested the NBA draft waters, but once Bittle was not invited to the NBA draft combine, it was a foregone conclusion he would return to Eugene. It’s just nice for coach Dana Altman and the basketball program to finally have that news become official.
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He had tested the NBA draft waters, but once Bittle was not invited to the NBA draft combine, it was a foregone conclusion he would return to Eugene. It’s just nice for coach Dana Altman and the basketball program to finally have that news become official.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon Basketball: Nate Bittle withdraws from draft, returns to Ducks
