Oregon guard Tyler Dorsey finished second on the team in scoring and first in 3-point shooting percentage for the Ducks in the 2016-17 season. The reliable 6-foot-4 shooting guard never missed a game and played no less than 18 minutes in each of the teams 39 games, proving to be one of the most vital pieces of the first Oregon team to reach the Final Four since 1939.
On Monday, Dorsey officially declared for the 2017 NBA draft in a statement on Twitter with intentions to sign with an agent.
When I arrived at Oregon almost 2 years ago, my goal was not only to be one of the best scorers and lead guards in college basketball but also to lead the Ducks to winning heights never seen in recent memory. After participating on a Duck team that reached the Final Four as well as leading the NCAA Tournament in scoring, it was one of the best experience of my life and I’m truly blessed to have those memories.
After this great college experience, I believe this is the time to pursue my dream of a NBA career and I am announcing my intention to declare for the 2017 NBA Draft with an agent. I have carefully deliberated this decision with my family and feel the timing is now right to pursue my path to a professional basketball career.
The loss of Dorsey’s 14.6 points per game is a big blow to an Oregon team that might face growing pains next season, but not a shocking one. Oregon’s Final Four team was young, with all five starters considered underclassmen -- and could lose as many as three starters to the professional ranks.
Pac-12 player of the year Dillon Brooks, a junior, has yet to decide whether he will stay for his final year at Oregon, and the same goes for athletic big man Jordan Bell. Should Brooks and Bell return, Oregon will likely enter the 2017-18 season as a Top 25 team. If one or both opt to join Dorsey in the NBA draft, it could usher in a new-look Ducks team that will lack for experience but not talent. The Ducks currently hold the No. 11 recruiting class for 2017, highlighted by the anticipated arrival of five-star small forward Troy Brown.
