Oregon daily emerald., November 04, 1982, Page 11, Image 10

Sports
Soviets power by Ducks, 78-63
By John Healy
Ol th« EnwnM
It was just one of a multitude
of plays, but Arvidas Sabonis
summed up Wednesday night s
Oregon home basketball
opener about as well as could
be expected
The 7-2 Soviet National Team
center grabbed a rebound
directly under his own basket
with the Soviets leading Oregon
76-59 and just over a minute left
on the clock
Sabonis took a second to get
himself oriented, then another
second to gather up a bit more
energy, and finally a third
second to sort of let the two
Photos by David Corey
Oregon players standing on
either side of him know that he
wasn't a man to be messed with
Sabonis soared, then
delivered a crunching stuff, one
of many that the Soviets used to
muscle their way to a 78-63 win
over Oregon
But Oregon never backed
down from the Soviets, thanks
to 14 first half points from David
Brantley and an equal number
of points in the second half from
Blair Rasmussen But in the final
equation, the Soviets were just
too big and too disciplined
Or, as Soviet coach Alexandr
Gomelsky summed it up in his
stilted English, "They (his team)
a little better, so they win
Simple."
It wasn't always that simple
after the Soviets had
methodically erected a 16-2
lead in the game's early
moments The Ducks played the
Soviets to a virtual standstill for
the rest of the game, and when
Rasmussen got hot in the first
eight minutes of the second half
to lead the Ducks to within
58-49. Mac Court began to rock
in expectation
But the Ducks broke down on
defense, and the turnovers that
plagued them early in the first
half returned.
"I wasn't happy with anyone
defensively,” said Oregon
coach Jim Haney "We looked
scared A lot of guys on the team
haven't seen much playing
before, and we were real
tentative, very soft "
That was a description for the
opening minutes of the
first half Oregon looked
tentative on offense, and when
the Ducks missed a shot or
turned the ball over, the Soviets
were quick to hit a 15-foot
jumper or work the ball inside to
Sabonis for one of his rolling
stuffs.
Case in point: Down 8-2,
Brantley threw a crisp pass
across the key to starting point
guard Greg Bell, who was cut
ting toward the baseline. All
3,591 fans in attendance could
almost see Bell turn around,
catch the pass, and hit a lay-in
But he didn't — the ball bounced
off his shoulder and out of
bounds
“My team better on the
bounce (dribbling),’’ said
Gomelsky. "Defend your (Ore
gon’s) bounce well Make you
pass and it go in crowd Sure we
go in crowd too (with his team’s
passes) but not so much as
you.’’
Brantley, too, could see room
for improvement in the Ducks’
execution
"For a first time out, effort
wise we played hard," said
Brantley. "But we have lots of
work to do in terms of execu
tion .’*
Haney felt Oregon’s offensive
problems, which were seeming
ly endless early on, but only
appeared in flashes as the game
progressed, were due to a com
bination of two things.
"When we started to stand, it
was because of fatigue, not
other things. And they played us
a lot of different ways. You won’t
find many teams that change
defense that much," said
Haney, in his fifth year at Ore
gon
“Last year, it was get the ball
and shoot,” said Brantley. "This
year , it’s more structured
Mentally, we're at a better level
this year.’’
Oregon has until Nov. 26 —
when UC-San Diego is in town
— to work on its new team game,
and that leaves Haney a happy
man.
"This isn't the end of the
preseason — it's the new begin
ning of the preseason."
Soviet National Taam (78) — Zhukanenko,
Enden. Berezhnoi 2 0-0 4, Derugin 3-4-5 10.
Tokhonenko, Valters 5 0-0 10, JovajshaS 1-3
11, Birlukov 5 2-2 12, Beiostenny 1 0-0 2,
Khomichus 54-4 14, Babenko. Sabonis63-5
15.
Oregon (63) - Brantley 8 0-0 16. Bell 10-0 2,
Taylor 1 0-0 2, Matheson 1 0-0 2, Bain 4 0-0
8, DiBiaso. Dutton, Gatewood 1 0-0 2.
Adams. Sprague. Rasmussen 9 1-3 19,
Thompson 1 0-0 2, Trended 3 0-0 6, Burns 1
2-2 4
First half score: Soviet National Team 36,
Oregon 29.
Will the real Blair please stand up
By Mike Rlplinger
He was “tentative" in the first half, but
shook it off and turned in a good enough
performance to make the Soviet National
Team coach wonder if somehow, the
Ducks hadn't exchanged someone else
for Oregon center Blair Rasmussen at
halftime.
“Center play us well. Look like they put
a new person in his uniform in the
second half," said Alexandr Gomelsky
after watching Rasmussen turn in a
19-point, eight-rebound effort as the
Ducks felt 78-63.
The seven-footer did show a
remarkable improvement in the second
half after looking a bit lost in the first.
“I had the jitters playing in the first half.
It just took a while for me to get into it,"
said Rasmussen, who scored only five
points in the opening period.
Oregon plans on using a patient, dis
ciplined offense this year, and if that
strategy is going to work, Rasmussen
"must play a good all-around game for
40 minutes," said Oregon coach Jim
Haney.
If that's the case, it looked like Oregon
was going to be in trouble after the
Ducks were manhandled by the physical
Soviets in the first half.
The first time Rasmussen touched the
ball, he set the tone for the half when he
pumped once, and then had the ball
checked right back into his face by 7-2
Arvidas Sabonis
But Rasmussen learned. The Ducks
came back to him on their next posses
sion, and the second-year man from
Auburn, Wash., faked once, and then slid
around Sabonis and dunked the ball.
That was about it, though, for
Rasmussen until after the half.
"He was soft, tentative, ineffective in
the first half," said Haney. "But he
became more aggressive and went after
the ball well in the second half. I wasn't at
all happy about that first half, though.”
In the second half, Rasmussen caught
fire and started the Ducks on a surge that
brought Oregon within reasonable stri
king range — only nine points down.
He started it by stripping Russian
guard Victor Berezhnoi of a rebound,
and then completed the play at the other
end of the court by nailing a two-foot
bank shot to make the score 51-39.
After a Soviet basket, Rasmussen then
hit Duck guard Bryan Trendell streaking
down the lane for two more to keep
Oregon close
Rasmussen came right back with a
left-handed hook, to bring Oregon back
to within a 55-43 margin.
The Soviets hit a foul shot, then
Rasmussen went back to work with a
jumper for two, and then hit a hook shot
over the Russian's 7-2 back-up center
Alexandr Belostenny to bring Oregon to
within nine at 56-47.
The Ducks then traded baskets with
the Soviets, but that was as close as they
got.
Still, it was better than many expected
from an Oregon team that has been
practicing only a few weeks, while the
Soviets won the world championships
last year.
“Rasmussen looked passive and he
seemed to be intimidated in the first
half," said Haney. “In the second half, he
was aggressive and demanded the ball.”
The Duck pivot man definitely looked
good in the second half, better than last
year when he seemed disoriented.
Haney noticed the improvement,
though he "was a little uncertain after
that first half. A little scared, as a matter
of fact. But he showed signs of being a
good player in the second half when he
became more aggressive and went after
the ball. He looked good then."
"I have to be ready to play right at the
beginning," said Rasmussen. "I have to
come right out, instead of waiting 20
minutes to start."
Rasmussen was “intimidated" at first,
but seemed to get over that as the game
wore on. He said playing against Seattle
Supersonics center James Donaldson
last summer helped him overcome being
intimidated by physical centers.
"I'm not as intimidated as easily. I
played against James Donaldson for two
weeks at the end of the summer. I was
intimidated for the first couple of days,
but he talked to me and told me that l>m
not going to stop him every time. I have to
wait and get him when I can.
"I just felt it was a matter of time before
I did well tonight."
It may take him a while to get started,
but once Rasmussen gets going, it
should be worth the wait for the Ducks.
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