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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1981)
emerald Oregon Daily Emerald Sports Supplement Wednesday, December 2,1981 II '»pm John Grelg, senior forward for the Ducks, hopes to set an example on and off the court. Youthful mistakes plague potentially talented men... By DONALD COULTER Of tha Emerald Oregon basketball coach Jim Haney was fielding questions from the press minutes after the 90-84 loss to Cal-lrvine in the season opener. How, someone asked him, could the Ducks come back from a 17 point deficit only to lose the game in the final stages because of careless mistakes? Obviously perturbed by the question, Haney paused before responding. “I don't think we deceived anyone into believing that this would be a great team at the beginning of the season. There are a lot of fine teams around the country running around tonight with a loss. “This is a young team which has a lack of playing in pressure situations ... and it showed in the way we played tonight.” Haney is quick to acknowledge that inex perience is the Ducks’ biggest liability at the onset of the 1981-82 season. Of the 13 players on Haney’s squad, five are freshmen and four others are sophomores. And one of the juniors - Jerome Williams - sat out most of last season with a fractured shoulder blade. “My major concern is that all 13 are not playing well in practice each day,” Haney said before the opener. “Some individuals will have good days, but as a team we haven’t had many. This is a trait of a young team - we can’t maintain consistency. “We have flurries of five minutes where we will play well on offense or defense or on the (fast) break, but not for the entire game or even a half. The framework is there, but we’re not consistent.” To provide that con Continued on Page 2B ... But women have bright hopes and Bev to boot By TERRY RHOADS Of the Emerald Elwin Heiny, coach of the women’s basketball team, leaned back into his seat in his office and explained the situation facing his team this season. Concern marked his face when he spoke about the team’s lack of experience and untested depth. Relief and then a smile finally broke across his face as the subject turned to his top player, all-American Bev Smith. Smith will be the key to Oregon’s game. Last year she led the Ducks in scoring (19.8), rebounding (11.8), and steals and was named the team MVP. “She is, I think, the best player in the U.S. this season," said Heiny, his voice warming to the subject. “Bev does everything. Some players might be flashier, taller or quicker, but none are as consistent. She’s all American.” As the Oregon press guide on the Ducks says, “In an equation of variables, Bev Smith remains the constant." With eight new ducklings among the 14 team members, it will be Smith, the lone senior's job to provide ex perience and leadership, offense and a lot of defense. Also back to pace the Duck charges is the other returning starter, 6-3 center Alison Lang. “She should be one of the top players in the nation at her position," said Heiny. But don’t think that Oregon's talent ends there. The Ducks, says Heiny, can be better than last year’s squad that went 25-7, and captured the 12th spot in the national rankings after a second-round finish in the AIAW championships. "It depends a lot on injuries Continued on Page 2B Photo by Mark Pynes Bev Smith is, in the words of coach Elwln Heiny, “the best player in the U.S.”
