No matter what happens as the season winds down, this year has to be looked at as a success for the Oregon Men's basketball team. Oregon has had to incorporate four new junior college transfers into its regular rotation, while sustaining the early season transfers of McDonald's All-American shooting guard Jabari Brown and backup point guard Bruce Barron. After over-achieving last year, Dana Altman's squad is doing it again behind the scoring ability of Devoe Joseph, the grit and leadership of E.J. Singler, and Carlos Emory's explosiveness off the bench. Dana Altman has proven himself to be a great coach and a good recruiter, regardless of the defections of Brown and Barron. With five rotation players set to graduate this year, coupled with the two transfers, Oregon has at least seven scholarships to offer, and a need to fill some holes and add depth. Ideally they would save one or two of those scholarships for next year and get a couple JUCO guys this year to balance out the classes. Oregon already has three high school commitments: PG Dominic Artis from California, PF Ben Carter from Nevada, and SF Damyean Dotson from Texas, in addition to C/PF Arik Armstead, who has a football scholarship.

After the jump, a look at some of the other players on Oregon's radar.

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With Oregon's class of 2012 pretty much accounted for, it's time to look ahead to 2013. Rumors, offers, commits and de-commits will be in flux over the next year, but this is a very early look at a few prospects that are high on Oregon's list. As a reminder, DO NOT contact recruits through social media such as twitter or facebook if you fit the definition of a booster. This includes 2012 recruits who have already signed their LOIs.

Thomas Tyner: 247sports and Rivals both put out their top 100 prospects lists this week. The most notable name on these lists is Thomas Tyner, the running back sensation from Beaverton Aloha who has committed to play for the Ducks. Rated by both publications as a top 10 overall player and number 1 rated running back in the country, Tyner is one of the most talented players to ever come out of the state of Oregon. At 6-0 and 200 lbs, Tyner runs a 4.38 40 (you read that right), giving him an incredible blend of size and speed. Tyner will be a Senior at Aloha high school this year. If you are interested, ESPN did a series of stories on Tyner last year.

Eddie Vanderdoes is a Defensive Lineman from Placer, California. At 6-4 285 lbs he has great size. He is ranked as the 21st and 40th overall player by Rivals and 247sports respectively. Vanderdoes is one of the elite defensive lineman in the country this year. He can play tackle or end, and has already expressed interest in Oregon and in playing with his friend, Arik Armstead. Of course, Vanderdoes will have a lot of other suitors all over the country. Vanderdoes has Cal, Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington in his very early top 5.

Michael Hutchings is one of the best linebackers in the country and plays for De La Salle High School in Concord, California. He is ranked as the 17th and 42nd overall player by Rivals and 247 sports respectively. At 6-2, 210 lbs Hutchings will need to add some weight, but he has the frame to do it. And he already possesses great aggressiveness and athleticism as a tackler. Hutchings will also be one of the most sought after recruits in the country. Oregon has had good ties to De La Salle in recent years, though Tosh Lupoi and Washington are sure to be all over him as Tosh is a De La Salle grad too.

This is of course a very brief look at players who have interest in Oregon. There are at least 18 other recruits on the Rivals 100 who have the Ducks on their shortlist. Stay tuned for more updates and leave your comments below!

Edit: In case you missed it over the weekend, here's our recap of Oregon's recruiting haul for 2012.

On Wednesday Oregon signed its second consecutive highly regarded recruiting class. It was headlined by Arik Armstead's commitment, but Oregon landed many other quality, athletic players that fit their system. Recruiting services ranked Oregon's haul in the top 20 across the board, including 16th by Rivals.com and 15th by Scout. With scholarships left to give and at least one other player visiting yesterday, Oregon may not be done yet, though Chip Kelly has said he doesn't anticipate signing any more players. With that said and several days passed since players sent in their letters of intent, where does that leave Oregon?

Recruiting rankings are fun to look at but widely acknowledged as an inexact science. Boise State, Wisconsin, TCU, and Oklahoma State rarely recruit top 25 classes, yet all four teams have been inside or near the top 10 end of season rankings over the last several years. All four teams are credited with having innovative coaches who "coach up" their talent. The same can be said of Oregon, who has finished in the top 5 in the country at the end of the season the last two years with classes of players who were not as highly rated as players at schools like Miami, Texas, UCLA, and Notre Dame. ESPN recently looked at this phenomenon when it re-ranked Oregon's 2008 class (which didn't make its top 25 at the time) as the #2 overall class behind Alabama. Clearly, coaching matters.

That being said, class rank and recruiting analysis are not irrelevant. While some schools squander their talent, there is also research indicating that the more 4 and 5 star recruits you sign, the better their chances at developing into elite players. What is exciting about Oregon's last two classes is that they are now combining elite level recruits with elite level coaching. While not quite at the level Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, and yes, Pete Carrol have been in the past, Oregon is knocking on the door and recruiting players that are not only highly regarded by pundits, but who also fit their scheme perfectly.

They are also filling positions of need and addressing weaknesses from year's past. While Oregon has been an elite level team every year under Chip Kelly, their main criticism has been size and strength along both sides of the line. With the #2 rated OL class last year, and one of the best defensive line recruits this year (in addition to great size and youth returning on the DL), Oregon is in great shape to sustain its level of success for the foreseeable future.

All that being said, here's a brief look at the 2012 recruits who have committed to Oregon:

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The moment has arrived Duck fans. After searching for clues as to who has sent in their letters of intent, Chip Kelly is announcing the 2012 recruiting class at 11:30AM PST.

Oregon has announced that 21 high school players have signed with the Ducks, which is exactly what we expected (check our earlier post this morning for some quick analysis). The quality of the class means that it should end up ranked in the 10-20 range from the various recruiting services. Yet, despite the strong class, there wasn't a lot of excitement today. After the early commitments of Bralon Addison and Chance Allen, it was mostly a day for "watching" the fax machine. And while other schools deal with last minute switches, I kind of like how Oregon's classes have been shaping up in recent years, mostly free of drama, with most commits sticking true to their verbal commitments.

Stick around and discuss the recruiting class and Chip's press conference. It will be premium content for GoDucks.tv subscribers, and there are rumors that it will be on ESPNU. If you can't access either, we'll post the important parts in the comments.

Welcome to all the new Ducks! Win The Day!

Make sure to check out all of ATQ's national signing day coverage here.

Well, signing day is off to a quick start. Per Tony DiFransciso and other sources, Texas wide receivers Bralon Addison and Chance Allen have committed to Oregon, and though it hasn't been confirmed by the University, Rivals lists both as having signed their letters of intent.

With only one wide receiver previously committed to Oregon, this helps solidify a position of weakness from the last season. Addison is a 5'10 180 pound speedster that should fit well in Oregon system. The Army All-American was previously committed to Texas A&M, and had drawn high praise around Texas for his athleticism.

Chance Allen is 6'3, 190 pounds, and was previously committed to Oklahoma State. He'll add some more size that has been lacking in recent years at the receiver position.

After the jump, video of both recruits. GO DUCKS!

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[UPDATE] Bralon Addison and Chance Allen have flipped their commitments to Oregon. Oregon's class is now expected to have 21 players. Full story here.

[UPDATE] Oregon has officially announced a class of 21 players.

National Day 2012 is here! It's like Christmas in February, and it should be a great day for the Ducks.

Oregon currently has 19 verbal commits. If this is anything like last year, we won't know for sure that their letters of intent are in until Chip Kelly has his press conference this afternoon.

If Oregon's class commits as we think (and there's little reason to think anything will change) this will be another great class for Oregon. The Ducks have currently have 7 commits on offense, 11 on defense, and one specialist. It is a class that covers many of Oregon's needs, though there really weren't any pressing needs this recruiting cycle.

With Jake Rodrigues and Bryon Marshall, the Ducks will be adding even more skill in the backfield. Evan Baylis and Pharaoh Brown will add much needed depth to the TE position, and Dwayne Stanford adds height to the receiving corp. The offensive line only has Kyle Long, a JC transfer, but with the class from last season, that is not a pressing need.

On defense, the Ducks look to continue to add to their athleticism and versatility. Headlining the class is one of the top recruits in the west, Arik Armstead, who committed to Oregon on Sunday. With commitments from DeForrest Buckner, Alex Balducci, Terrence Daniel, Cody Carriger, and Stezon Bair, Oregon is adding a lot of talent and depth along the defensive line.

Brett Barfao, the Amoako brothers, Reggie Daniels, and Oshay Dunmore round out the back 7, and with Oregon's rotation, will compete for playing time quickly.

We'll have all the news for another great signing day for Oregon. There are still a few names out there that Oregon is chasing, and may add to the class. We'll have all the latest here at ATQ, so stick around and discuss all signing day news here. Welcome to all the new Ducks!

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Huge, HUGE pickup for the Oregon Ducks today. Arik Armstead, the elite two-way lineman from Sacramento, has chosen to play his football in Eugene. Armstead is the #1 rated prospect in the entire country by Scout.com, and regarded as one of the best lineman in the country by most other scouting services.

Chip Kelly deserves a lot of credit for getting Armstead to sign with Oregon. A week ago it seemed like the Oregon recruiting class was in serious jeopardy, as Chip flirted with the NFL and linebacker Jeremy Castro switched his commitment to UCLA. But Chip stayed, and now he's nabbed one of the best recruits in Oregon Ducks history. Said Armstead, "He was honest with me. They never talked bad about any other program. They recruited me without recruiting me." Awesome.

Armstead plans to enroll in school in March, and will compete for playing time right away. He will also play basketball for coach Dana Altman.

Rejoice, Ducks fans. This gives Oregon great momentum heading into signing day.

[This is the first post by Noah, who is going to be covering recruiting here at ATQ. Welcome Noah! Looking forward to your contributions. -jtlight]

Hello, Ducks fans. With a Rose Bowl victory, Chip Kelly's flirtations with the NFL, and signing day closing in, it's been an exciting month in the recruiting world. Oregon has already received verbal commitments from 18 talented players and remains in the hunt for some of the most highly regarded recruits in the country. With around 5-7 scholarships left, we take a look at some of the key targets on Oregon's radar as signing day closes in.

Arik Armstead (OL/DL) - Arik Armstead is an elite level linemen who can play on either side of the ball. Listed at 6'8" and 275 lbs by Scout.com, Armstead is the type of lineman that Oregon fans seem to clamor for every recruiting season. Tall, athletic, and beefy, Armstead would be the best lineman prospect to commit to the Ducks since Haloti Ngata (and like Ngata, he reportedly prefers to play on the defensive side of the ball). Listed as the #2 overall prospect by Scout.com, Armstead is considering Auburn, California, Notre Dame, Oregon, and USC. One thing going in Oregon's favor is that Armstead reportedly wants to enroll for Spring term, which may be difficult at schools like Cal and USC, where Spring semester is already underway. For what it's worth, the Scout.com recruiting team is currently guessing that Armstead will pick Oregon, though other recruiting outlets have contradicting predictions.

Armstead had an in-home visit from Chip Kelly yesterday. Apparently the visit went well, and he found Kelly witty. Kelly also told Arik that he could not promise that he would be at Oregon for his entire career. This sheds quite a bit of light on how Kelly recruits. Armstead is now done with his visits, and will be announcing on national signing day.

Shaquille Thompson (S) - Along with Armstead, Shaq represents the potential crown jewel of this recruiting class. Listed at 6'2" and 210 lbs by Scout, Shaq is widely regarded as the #1 safety in the nation, and a top 10 overall talent by various recruiting services. He is currently committed to Cal but has wavered since Tosh Lupoi's high profile departure to Washington. Before committing to Cal, Shaq also had Washington, Oregon, and UCLA at the top of his list. With Lupoi now on its staff, Washington would appear to be the frontrunner should Shaq decide to decommit from Cal, though Oregon certainly remains in the running. After his initial visit to Oregon Shaq complained that Eugene was too small. However, he has recently inquired with LaMichael James about academics at Oregon and life in Eugene, suggesting a renewed interest in the school.

With the turmoil at Cal, Shaq's recruiting has taken a very stressful turn, and he could end up anywhere. Chip Kelly will be in-home with Thompson and his family today..

More recruits after the jump.

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