Oti Gildon was named director of player development and assistant coach by head coach Kelly Graves on Sept. 21, 2023.
Gildon, who played for the Ducks from 2015-19, helped lead Oregon to two Elite Eight appearances and the program’s first Final Four in 2019. She is third in program history with 143 games played over four seasons and was a member of two Pac-12 championship teams (2018, 2019). Gildon was Oregon’s director of creativity/student-athlete support from 2020-22 and spent the 2022-23 season as an assistant coach at Seattle U on Suzy Barcomb’s staff, working with the team’s forwards and post players.
“We are so happy to have Oti back with our program,” said Graves. “She was a foundational player for us who really helped build this program up to what it is, and she has gained invaluable experience as both a collegiate coach and professional player overseas. We are so thrilled to have Oti in this player development role and back in Eugene where she belongs.”
“I’m excited to be coming back home and stepping into the player development role where I can work with high-level athletes, such as the ones we have at Oregon,” Gildon said. “I’m also excited to work with Coach Graves and his talented staff.”
After graduating from UO in 2019 with a general social sciences degree in crime, law and society, Gildon went on to play professionally in Portugal for Lombos Quina. She averaged a double-double (16.8 ppg, 10.2 rpg) on her way to being named the 2020 Portugal Eurobasketball Forward of the Year along with a Eurobasketball All-Portuguese first-team selection.
A native of Spokane, Wash., Gildon is a two-time USA Basketball 3x3 national champion (2018, 2019) and represented Team USA at the 2018 FIBA 3x3 World Cup in the Philippines.
Gildon finished her Oregon career with 583 points and 414 rebounds and is tied for the most NCAA Tournament games played in program history with 13. Her career 59.6 field-goal percentage in NCAA Tournament games ranks second in UO history.
AS A PROFESSIONAL
Played professionally for Lombos Quina in Portugal after graduating from Oregon in 2019 ... The team's top performer through 20 games during the 2019-20 season, averaging a double-double with 16.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game while shooting 54.1 percent from the field ... Named the 2020 Portugal Eurobasket Forward of the Year and a Eurobasket Al-Portugese first-team selection.
CAREER
Appeared in 143 games as a Duck, the third-most in program history ... Finished career with 583 career points and 414 rebounds ... Helped Oregon to back-to-back Pac-12 regular-season titles in 2018 and 2019 as well as the Pac-12 Tournament championship as a junior ... Tied for the program record with 13 NCAA Tournament games played, helping the Ducks reach the Elite Eight in 2017 and 2018 before advancing to the program's first-ever Final Four in 2019 ... Ranks second in Oregon history with a .596 career field-goal percentage during NCAA Tournament play.
AS A SENIOR | 2018-19
Made two starts as a senior while appearing in all 38 games for the Ducks, who repeated as Pac-12 regular-season champions and advanced to the Final Four for the first time in program history ... Averaged a career-best 4.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in a career-high 16.3 minutes per game ... Shot an efficient .583 (70-of-120) from the floor and recorded a career-high 23 steals ... Scored a season-high12 points on 5-of-6 shooting on Nov. 23 vs. UC Riverside ... Finished with six points in each of her two starts as a senior, coming in back-to-back games against UCLA (Feb. 22) and USC (Feb. 24) ... Also had eight rebounds against the Bruins ... Went 3-of-4 from the floor for eight points in Oregon's win over Indiana in the second round of the NCAA Tournament ... Scored four points and grabbed three rebounds in the Final Four against eventual national champion Baylor.
AS A JUNIOR | 2017-18
Appeared in all 38 games with one start as the Ducks won both the Pac-12 regular season and tournament titles in 2018 and advanced to the Elite Eight...Averaged 4.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per game...Posted her first career double-double in her first career start, with 20 points and 12 rebounds against Hampton on Nov. 28...Averaged 8.0 points in four NCAA Tournament games, including 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting in UO's opening round win over Seattle U...Also had 10 points and seven boards in UO's Sweet 16 win over Central Michigan, which was played in her hometown of Spokane, Wash.
AS A SOPHOMORE | 2016-17
Appeared in 37 games for the Ducks in her sophomore campaign...Averaged 4.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game...Had some big games for the Ducks, helping the team to the NCAA Tournament...Scored 11 points and snatched nine rebounds in Oregon's Sweet 16 win over No. 4 ranked Maryland on March 25...Averaged 5.5 points while shooting 61.5 percent from the field in four NCAA Tournament games...Scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds in just 13 minutes in a win over San Jose State in Honolulu on Nov. 27...Followed that game with 10 points in a win over Portland on Dec. 9...In the next game, tallied 16 points and six rebounds in a win at Clemson on Dec. 12...Scored 10 points at No. 8 Stanford on Feb. 26...Served on the O Heroes Courts for Kids service trip to Nicaragua in the summer of 2017.
AS A FRESHMAN | 2015-16
Appeared in 30 games in her first season with the Ducks...Averaged 2.0 points in 9.4 minutes per game...Her first collegiate basket was a three-pointer in the Ducks' season-opening win at No. 22 ranked North Carolina...Scored a season-high nine points against Hampton in the second game of the year and again at Stanford in the regular season finale...Grabbed six boards in 18 minutes at Cal and played a season-high 22 minutes in that regular season finale against the Cardinal after the Ducks lost All-American forward Jillian Alleyne with an injury the week prior in practice...Shot 44.4 percent from the field, 35.3 percent from three and 72.0 percent at the line.
USA BASKETBALL
Won a second straight USA Basketball 3x3 national title in 2019 along with UO teammates Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard and Lydia Giomi...Represented the USA at the FIBA 3x3 World Cup in the Phillipines during the summer of 2018 along with Ionescu, Hebard and Erin Boley, finishing fifth with a 4-1 record...Earned the bid after going undefeated at the USA Basketball 3x3 national championship in the spring...Played in the USA Basketball 3-on-3 tournament in the spring of 2017 with teammates Justine Hall, Ruthy Hebard and Lexi Bando...Team took second in the women's open division.
HIGH SCHOOL
Rated the No. 37 recruit (five stars) in the nation by ESPN Hoopgurlz, then the highest in UO history...Averaged 15.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game as a junior when she led Gonzaga Prep to its first ever 4A state championship…Scored 18 points to go with 15 rebounds in the state title game against Mount Rainer…Tallied 10 of Gonzaga Prep’s 11 fourth quarter points in the championship game.
CLUB
Played for head coach Kerry Pickett and the Spokane Sandpipers.
