JOHNATHAN-LOYD-031613.JPG

Johnathan Loyd

(The Associated Press)

EUGENE -- A broken nose suffered Tuesday in practice by senior point guard Johnathan Loyd could deal a blow to Oregon basketball's depth for its Thursday tipoff against UCLA, with head coach Dana Altman unsure Loyd would play.

Loyd was hit with an inadvertent elbow during a rebounding drill, which makes his availability against the Bruins at 6 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday evening a possibility but not a guarantee. Loyd would don a mask if he does play, but both Altman and reserve guard Jason Calliste, who broke his nose last season while playing at Detroit, called the masks an unwieldy adjustment. It's especially true at a position where court vision is paramount for running an offense.

"But if we have one guy who can bounce back to play it's Johnny," Altman said. "I've done this a long time and Johnny Loyd is a tough young man. ...

We can play Jason at the point, we can play Joe (Young) at the point, but (Dominic Artis) will have to carry a lot more load."

Loyd's injury meant the Ducks practiced Tuesday without two of their players, though one absence is much more long-term. Arik Armstead, the 6-foot-8 defensive lineman who joined the Ducks basketball program three weeks ago, notified Altman he wanted a larger role on the team after playing just four minutes in parts of his two seasons.

"We had a really good conversation and he wanted a bigger role, but we've been practicing for four months," Altman said. "He'd been with us three weeks. So I understand every athlete wanting to play, but at this point in time we couldn't make a drastic change."

Loyd started all but two games this season, coming off the bench in Oregon's last two games only. He averages 8.3 points, a team-high 5.7 assists and shoots 48.0 percent from the field in 26.3 minutes per game this season, and Altman said Loyd's recent sixth-man role against the Washington schools was not a demotion as much as an experiment.

Though Loyd started the season hot by shooting career highs of 48 percent overall and 39.4 percent from three-point range, Artis's development has been slow and gradual since his return from a nine-game suspension in mid-December.

In his sophomore season, he is shooting worse from the field and three-point range, has scored in double figures just once in nine 10 games and has surpassed five assists in a game twice.

In retrospect, it may have been the perfect timing to increase the scope of Artis's role in an effort to jump-start his production. Artis, Young, Calliste and Damyean Dotson will have to contend with UCLA's talented guards corps of Kyle Anderson -- a 6-foot-9 sophomore who can play positions one through five -- Norman Powell and reserve freshmen stars Zach LaVine and Bryce Alford.

"There was no reason I took (Loyd) out of the starting lineup other than just to try something different and I told him that," Altman said. "I said Johnny ... just last year when DA came back we went with him and you came off the bench and were MVP of the (Pac-12) tournament and it was a good spark for us and I’m just trying it again. Johnny said, 'Coach, I don’t care. Whatever you think helps us.'"

What would help Oregon most against UCLA (16-4, 5-2 Pac-12) would be the services of the experienced Loyd, who is one of five Oregon (14-5, 1-5) seniors. And if he does see the court despite the broken nose, it wouldn't surprise his teammates.

"I'm expecting him to play tomorrow to be honest," Calliste said.