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Oregon's Kavell Bigby-Williams, left and Oregon State's Drew Eubanks reach for a rebound during the second half of the team's NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Chris Pietsch)

EUGENE -- Comparatively speaking, Chris Boucher hasn't done Kavell Bigby-Williams any favors.

That's not to say Boucher, a senior, has been a bad teammate to the junior, it's just that Boucher's incredible adjustment a year ago to Division I basketball after transferring from junior college has left sky-high expectations for Bigby-Williams, who is in his first season with the Ducks.

"I've had very few junior-college players who have performed like Chris that quickly, maybe only Mitch Richmond would be the other one who did that going to the Division I level," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "It's very unique. Most of those guys, this is the time of the year when they start playing well and learning the system and getting a hold on it."

A year ago, Boucher transferred to Oregon after earning national junior college player of the year honors and played like a two-year DI starter. Boucher appeared in all 38 games and averaged 12.1 points and 7.4 rebounds, impressing fans with surprising athleticism for a player of his size and a rounded game that included the ability to shoot the three-ball.

And, of course, Boucher could block. Boucher's 110 rejections set an Oregon single-season record, as he quickly became feared in the Pac-12 and a player so integral to Oregon's roster that he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated prior to this season.

So when fans saw that Bigby-Williams was transferring to Oregon this summer, they expected a repeat performance.

Why?

They appear to have a lot of similarities. Boucher is 6-foot-10. Bigby-Williams is 6-foot-11. Boucher scored and blocked shots before Oregon, so did Bigby-Williams. Boucher was junior college player of the year before Oregon. So was Bigby-Williams.

Bigby-Williams averaged 16.8 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 blocks per game last year with Gillette (Wyo.) College, earning NJCAA first-team All-American honors while leading the country with 211 blocked shots.

And because of Boucher's success the year before, the Bigby-Williams hype was fathomable coming into this season.

And largely, Bigby-Williams hasn't met that hype -- yet, anyways.

The London, England native is averaging 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds while playing in 11.2 minutes per game, numbers that would seem disappointing when comparing them to what Boucher did a year ago.

But there's two factors at play: Boucher's 2015-16 season was one of the more unique seasons in Oregon history and not all transfers make the adjustment right away.

Take former Oregon star Elgin Cook for example. Cook transferred to Oregon after his freshman year and averaged 6.7 points and 16.7 minutes in his first season. Those numbers jumped to 13.0/29.4 as a junior and 14.8/31.9 as a senior.

"The transition to Division I basketball is different for everyone," Altman said. "Some freshmen pick it up really quick and some take a little longer, and it's the same thing for junior-college transfers."

And the Ducks are hoping it begins to click for Bigby-Williams, who could offer Oregon some help in paint in March. Bigby-Williams still has the third-most blocks on the team with 18 and could serve a key role if Boucher or Jordan Bell are in foul trouble or injured.

Altman said the biggest key for Bigby-Williams right now is confidence.

"He's a talented young man, but he gets down on himself more than the coaches get down on him," Altman said. "He's his own biggest critic. He has to learn to play through some of those things that don't go well and wait for his opportunity."

-- Tyson Alger

talger@oregonian.com

@tysonalger