DANA ALTMAN MEDIA REACTION

(Altman's) not Mark Few or Jamie Dixon, but a more accomplished version of Jeff Bzdelik, who was hired by Wake Forest earlier this month for his X's and O's. Altman's just as good and has been doing it longer. ... The question now will be if Altman can recruit out West.

He's gotten standout players to Creighton, including Kyle Korver, Rodney Buford and Anthony Tolliver, which should bode well for his Ducks future. Convincing similar talent — or even the players Ernie Kent had — to come to Eugene would place Oregon among the Pac-10's upper echelon, though still probably shy of Washington, UCLA and Arizona.

So after all that, Altman represents a slight boost from Ernie Kent. Doubtful that's what Oregon wanted after a prolonged coaching search, but it'll have to do.

— Mike Miller, NBCSports.com

If I'm Creighton Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen, I could do a lot worse (than Iowa State's Greg McDermott) in a pinch. Although given that the Bluejays see themselves as the Xavier of the Great Plains — they're not, but that's the idea — they'll probably go young or promote from within.

If I'm McDermott, I'm telling my agent to give Rasmussen a call. I take a page from the Steve Alford playbook: When the posse's out lighting torches, it's always better to skip town before they wind up on your front porch.

— Sean Keeler, Des Moines Register

Altman's first priority will be to provide stability for the Ducks, convince the remaining current players to stay put and make a last-ditch attempt to keep (Portland-area seniors Terrence) Jones and (Terrence) Ross close to home before they commit next weekend.

At this time last year, Arizona stumbled through a coaching search just as ugly as Oregon's and then somehow coaxed Sean Miller into leaving Xavier. Altman isn't as clear-cut a home run hire as Miller, but the Ducks needed to do something and they could have done worse.

— Jeff Eisenberg, The Dagger, a Yahoo! Sports blog

And no, don't expect Altman to do what he did to Arkansas. Remember, this involves Nike czar Phil Knight. Altman to Oregon is done deal.

— FoxSports.com's Jeff Goodman on Twitter

FAN REACTION

I love it. Who has ever heard of this guy? This is the best that Oregon can do? I think that for the first time we are seeing so many good coaches turning Oregon down BECAUSE of Oregon's close ties to Nike. Many of these coaches these days want independence ... not having to look over their backs at Phil Knight all of the time. Thus, Oregon ends up with a no-name who is probably decent but not great.

— SEP72 on blog.oregonlive.com

It's time for a clean break on both sides. You can sense Altman wants more than just what he's getting at Creighton and Creighton has gotten about as far as it can get with Altman. Time for someone with a new philosophy to come in and try some new, fresh things. I honestly think Oregon is a much better fit than Arkansas and a much cooler part of the country. I wish Altman the best on the West Coast.

— jayfan Omaha.com

No more hockey substitution patterns! Thanks Dana, you're a good coach, but it's about time we bring some new blood to bluejay nation.

— creighton fan Omaha.com

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