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.”