Oregon’s Nate Bittle on Growth, Health, and NBA Draft Process
Oregon center Nate Bittle is the classic example of somebody with a great nickname that no one actually uses. There are many phenomenal life lessons that can be learned from the legendary sitcom Seinfeld, including the unwritten rule that one cannot give themselves a nickname.
A nickname can be only be bestowed upon you, and once it’s there, it takes on a life of its own. You have zero control over it.
At Big Ten Media Days, Bittle discussed how he got his nickname: “The Alligator.”
“I played for Ryan Silver, (Director of) West Coast Elite AAU program, and there was one summer, Ryan was just giving everybody animal nicknames,” Biddle responded in an exclusive with R.org.
“And somehow I got the alligator, and it stuck until now.”
Yes, it has stuck, despite the fact that, apparently, no one actually calls him this.
“We don’t call him that,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said, when we brought this topic up to him.
“But I guess it goes back to his AAU days, I think someone nicknamed him that when he was playing AAU ball. I’ve never called him Alligator, I’ve never heard any of his teammates call him that.”
For what it is worth, the college basketball star’s Wikipedia page literally begins with “Nathan Bittle, nicknamed “The Alligator.”
The 7-footer projects as a late first round to early second round NBA Draft prospect, or thereabouts, as he’s the quintessential big guy who can shoot it from the outside. And isn’t that exactly where today’s NBA truly is?
Bittle talked about going through the NBA Draft exploratory process last year, what he learned about himself, as well as what he needs to work on, in order to get better, and get himself to the league.
Draft Process, Improving His Shooting
“I think I learned a lot of stuff, going through that process,” the 22-year-old old Central Point, Oregon native articulated.
“I’m working on changing my body right now. Losing a little bit of fat, getting more muscle. And then also, just being able to switch one through five (defensively).”
He shoot 81% from the free throw line last season, and if he can improve his three-point shooting percentage, he’ll really have some sky-high draft stock. Bittle freely admits that he’s been working on trying to improve his long distance shooting.
“I think I was at 33% from three, had a couple games where I had a slump going on,” he said.
“So getting out of that, and getting those percentages up, changing my body and then just still being a defensive factor, you know, being able to come help side, block shots, and just be there for my teammates.”
Staying Healthy
The Big Ten All-Defensive Team and All-Big Ten honoree from a year ago said he’s also been working on his consistency, footwork, and form, as he shot exactly 33% from three point range in each of the past three seasons.
However, the 2024-25 campaign saw him set new career highs in scoring, blocks, rebounds, minutes, steals, assists, and virtually every statistical category. He finally played a full season after missing 31 games due to injury and illness in the previous campaign.
He also missed eight games, due to injury, in the season prior to that.
“I think the most important thing is he’s just got to prepare himself physically,” Altman added. “He’s had some injury concerns over the years, so they (NBA people) want to see him be healthy.
“They want to see him be durable. That starts with being in great shape, and getting your body right. He’s worked hard at that, and he’s watching what he eats a lot closer.
“The NBA process really helped him, hearing that from NBA teams. We’ve been telling him that, but it’s nice to hear it from the NBA- where he wants to go.”
Obviously, there is a lot of focus on where he wants to go, but when you look at where Bittle currently is, he’s truly embodying the concept of “living the dream.”
Staying Close to Home
In an era where guys are transferring constantly, he’s been at Oregon for all five years, and already earned his degree. Growing up in close proximity to the school, he spent his childhood supporting the Ducks program.
Among Oregonians, he’s the highest-rated recruit to ever play for the program. Rated a five-star recruit by 247 Sports and ESPN, he was named to the rosters for the McDonald’s All-American Game, Jordan Brand Classic, and Nike Hoop Summit.
“I grew up two hours south (of the campus in Eugene, OR),” Bittle continued.
“My whole support system, family, friends, grandparents, everybody’s right there for me. And they all come to games and everything like that. And I dreamed of being an Oregon Duck when I was a kid.”
Oregon is in a very unique position when it comes to NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) resources, as they have long had a mega-super donor in Nike founder Phil Knight.
Forbes values the net worth of Knight (who ran track and covered sports for the school paper while earning his business degree at Oregon) to be around $32.8 billion. His August donation of $2 billion to the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU)’s Knight Cancer Institute is reportedly the largest single donation that has ever been made to a U.S. university.
Both Altman and Bittle were quick to point out that the Knight family’s benevolence goes far beyond the university’s athletic facilities. It extends to the school at large, as well as the entire state.
“I feel like Mr. Knight has done a lot, not only for the University of Oregon, but also the state of Oregon,” Bittle said of the Knight family’s philanthropy.
“Everything that he’s built, cancer research, you know, lots of money going to that. He’s a big supporter of Oregon athletics, and it’s nice to have somebody like that, a support system like that. Definitely, he’s got a lot of money and he uses it to help out with stuff at the University of Oregon.
“We got a Science Research Center at Oregon that was paid for by him. He’s just a great guy and a good donor for us.”
When Nov. 4 gets here, Bittle, Altman, and the Ducks will open the season at Matthew Knight Arena. When that evening arrives, it will be time to, as the Nike slogan says, “Just do it!”