The Bol Bol era of Oregon Ducks men’s basketball landed with a wince on Thursday.

A report suggested what we all feared -- Bol may be done for his freshman season with a stress fracture in his left foot. Maybe. Possibly. Probably. Likely.

Done? Really?

Bol confirmed it later in the day. Bummer. I couldn’t wait to see if Bol might develop into a formidable college player. Maybe you felt the same way.

Everyone knew Oregon wouldn’t have the 7-foot-2 center for more than a season, probably. He’s NBA bound next season. But when “one and done” turns into “nine games and done” it’s time for some deep reflection.

Is this: A) Bad luck for Dana Altman?; or B) What the Ducks' coach served up for himself?

That’s the question to ask. One that became clear when we learned Bol wasn’t regularly with his teammates. He’s been rehabilitating outside the Oregon program, with an eye toward the NBA Draft. And those close to the program say Bol has spent most of the last couple of weeks with his family in Kansas.

Let’s back up.

Because Altman reached a Final Four two seasons ago with a group of players that were talented and experienced. He recruited them. He coached them. That team grew into a cohesive unit that withstood the challenges of a regular season and thrilled the entire state, playing into the final three-day weekend of the college season.

Then, armed with a Final Four appearance, Altman lost his way. He recruited a pack of players who wanted to use the Oregon program as a stepping stone to the NBA. And now, I wonder if he’d take it all back in exchange for having a more seasoned, less-hyped roster.

I’ve been intrigued by the experiment. I mean, what basketball coach in America would turn away a class of generational talent? Not Altman. Probably not most coaches. Still, selling out full-scale to the philosophy invites five-star problems. Namely: a lack of cohesion, transient mentality, and “me first” club-basketball selfishness.

Remember, Bol attended four high schools in four seasons. Fellow freshman Louis King and Miles Norris both attended three. Will Richardson went to two. So did Francis Okoro. This class came on the heels of Troy Brown, Jr., who used a season Oregon to get himself to the NBA.

Brown’s college team?

It missed the NCAA Tournament.

Ducks sophomore Abu Kigab (two high schools himself) decided this week to leave the UO program. He wasn’t playing enough, and this roster isn’t loaded with patient players.

I feel for point guard Payton Pritchard.

He’s stuck with players who aren’t selfless, don’t play with consistent defensive intensity, and are worried about their personal trajectories more than winning key possessions. It’s a stark contrast to former Duck Dillon Brooks slapping the floor on a crucial defensive possession or Jordan Bell being thrilled to block a shot and get a teammate out in transition for an easy basket.

No, this is much harder. It’s trying. And losing Bol, potentially, isn’t the same as Oregon losing Chris Boucher to a knee injury during the Final Four run. The whole thing is built around Bol. Boucher was a mismatch as a college player, but he played within a system that hummed along and maintained its integrity without him.

Without Bol, Oregon will have to reinvent itself. And in that, you understand that the Bol Bol era was already broken before his injury.

In early December, with a 4-3 record, a frustrated Altman gave a quote that stuck with me.

“We’ve got to do the hard things,” he said. "If I told them all, ‘We’re going to get you six 3s this next game and you get to dribble as much as you want,’ they’d be all-in. We start talking to them about we’ve got to make plays for our teammates, defensively we’ve got to play with much more intensity, much more focus. Our rebounding effort, we’ve got to much more physical, we’ve got to take charges, got to dive on loose balls, those are things that aren’t fun to do.

"Until we all get on the same page there it’s going to be a struggle.”

Oregon is now 9-4 and opens conference play on Saturday against Oregon State. I suppose the luxury is that Altman is a great X-O basketball coach, and also that the Pac-12 is a dumpster fire as a men’s basketball conference. He might very well figure out how to piece together winning efforts and play above sea level.

But what happens beyond that?

In November, during a signing period for the 2019 class, Oregon inked forward Chandler Lawson, center Isaac Johnson and guard Chris Duarte. They’re all four-star talents. Lawson is 6-foot-8 and was the No. 58 recruit in ESPN’s top 100 for the class of 2019. Duarte was born in Montreal, raised in the Dominican Republic and is a junior-college transfer. Johnson is LDS and will likely make a two-year mission trip after high school so he won’t join the Ducks as a freshman until 2021.

That was in November, but it was already a solid diversion from the 2018 class, wasn’t it?

Here’s hoping Bol heals. Also, that his dream to play in the NBA comes true. But it’s Oregon basketball I’m thinking more about today.

Duck fans deserve better than what they got this season.

I suspect Altman will find a healthy balance in his recruiting philosophy. A coach shouldn’t just want the best, highest-rated players. He should want the best, highest-rated players that he can successfully coach in his system. If there’s anything the Bol Bol era of Oregon basketball can teach us, it’s this:

That foot isn’t the only thing fractured.