Quack Fix: Basketball missing its D, Tyner will improve the O, Draftees getting the M

Links

• Things were going so well for the Oregon Men's Basketball team in non-conference play. Now that the Pac-12 is here, the Ducks defense (or lack thereof) has been exposed. For as good as Dana Altman has been in assembling a great shooting team, Oregon needs a rim protector and some improvement on D to make it back to the NCAA Tournament in March.
• Some are saying that Thomas Tyner will make the Oregon offense even better (warning: Bleacher Report article) next year. While I think he will certainly continue to be a major factor in the running game, there are a lot of question marks going into next season for me to label Tyner as the key for improvement in 2014.
• Mike Nash from fansided looks at some of the Oregon players coming out in the NFL Draft. Of course, Josh Huff and De'Anthony Thomas get a mention but the other player is Colt Lyerla. The writer even advocates a 6th or 7th round pick on him as potentially a Vontaze Burfict sort of player. Can you see Colt getting drafted? I really can't but let's face it, the writer is a Jets fan.
• Here's a nice feature on one of my favorite seniors, Boseko Lokombo as he looks towards the NFL Draft.
• I'm betting the Oregon State student newspaper had a good time with these Women's Basketball power rankings.
• For those of you that made the trip to the Fiesta Bowl last year, you may remember a story about a pedicab getting hit by a drunk driver, seriously injuring the two Kansas State fan passengers as well as the driver. We have an update in the case against the driver that night.

Blurb of the Day

Vintage swag from Oregon's defensive coordinator, Don Pellum.

#tbt with @CoachPellum as Grad Asst. circa 1985. Hell of a man/coach...can't wait for '14! #GoDucks #DucksVoice pic.twitter.com/Cbcvl0SceL

— Mike Jorgensen (@jorgy_mike) January 16, 2014