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Oregon’s addition of five-star center Dante makes them Pac-12 favorites

Oregon v USC

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Head coach Dana Altman of the Oregon Ducks signals his players during a semifinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament against the USC Trojans at T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Trojans won 74-54. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Oregon added a key piece to their puzzle for the 2019-20 season on Tuesday as N’Faly Dante announced that he will not only be committing to the Ducks but reclassifying so he can enroll at school this fall.

He picked the Ducks over Kentucky.

“I’ve put a lot of thought into it, and I’m excited to tell you that next year I’m going to be attending college and playing basketball at the University of Oregon,” Dante wrote in a letter to his mother, who lives in Mali, that was published on The Players’ Tribune. “Oregon has a program that reflects a lot of the values you taught me when I was growing up. And I hope that someday I get to show you around Eugene. It’s beautiful there!”

Dante is a 6-foot-11 center that ranks as a consensus five-star prospect. At this point in his development, he a rim-protecting rebounder that will do the majority of his damage around the rim, but with Kenny Wooten leaving for the NBA with two years of eligibility remaining, he fills a hole on the Ducks’ roster.

Dante joins C.J. Walker, Chris Duarte and Lok Wur in Oregon’s recruiting, which also includes grad transfers Anthony Mathis and Shakur Juiston. Those newcomers should help Altman offset the losses of Louis King, Bol Bol and Wooten.

The Ducks now looks like the favorite to win the Pac-12.