Emerald Photo
Debbie Adams, the second leading scorer in Oregon history has
returned to Eugene to serve as an assistant coach
Ex-Duck guard back
as assistant coach
By Doug Levy
Of th« Emerald
It may not have seemed unu
sual when Debbie Adams
walked across center court and
handed her Taiwanese count
erpart a gift during Oregon's
game with the Republic of China
on Nov. 8 It was something that
the former Duck had often done
in her star-studded career for
the Ducks.
But this time. Adams was do
ing the exchanging as an
assistant coach
Adams is back at Oregon after
four years as a forward for the
Ducks and a year hiatus as a
graduate assistant coach at the
University of Washington
"I am happy here." she says
simply. "I know the system — I
played under Elwin (Heiny) for
four years, and I don't think he's
doing anything differently than
before '" Adams says the words
quietly, thoughtfully
That's because for Adams,
actions have always spoken
louder than words As a prep
star in Seattle, she excelled for
four years in basketball and
track At Oregon, she became a
Kodak All-America nominee,
piled up enough points to
become second on the all-time
scoring list, and, by pouring in
38 points in a game against
Seattle University her junior
year, established herself as the
UO single game scoring
record-holder
Oh, she also ran a little track,
too Well, just enough to set a
school record in the 100-meters
and earn AIAW All-American
honors in 1979
It is worth noting Adams’
track achievements, because
when she came to Oregon in
1977, she came via a scholar
ship in track, not basketball. "I
was recruited for track and got a
track scholarship," she
remembers, “but I wanted to
play basketball, too.” Indeed
she did, and she did so well in
basketball that she quit track
after her sophomore year to
concentrate solely on
basketball.
For sheer athletic ability, few
can compare to Adams, yet she
remains humble about her
accomplishments Pressed to
name some of her honors and
some sprint times, she chuck
les “I don't know — I just don't
remember any of that stuff," she
says
Following the high' of com
petition, Adams has now settled
for coaching, and she admits
the transition has not been easy
"Oh yeah, sure I want to play
sometimes," says the
24-year-old It's a big change,
especially within one year's
time "
Although she can t play for
the 1982 Ducks, Adams is
pleased with the team she sees
"It s probably one of the better
teams they've had We have a
lot of new kids playing at a
higher level than they're used
to, so we've got to build around
players like Alison (Lang),” she
adds
This year, unlike years past,
Oregon is not predicted to be
the premiere team in the North
west That label has been
pinned on an up-and-coming
Oregon State team. Still, Adams
feels this team compares
favorably to the Oregon teams
she played on, and she's con
fident the Ducks can retain their
Northwest supremacy
My senior year everyone had
played in college a couple of
years. This year, there are a lot
of kids who are new to this kind
of ball. That's the only differ
ence," she says Regarding the
team's chances, she says,
We re not ranked because we
lost Bev (Smith), but we have
everyone else back I think we ll
be very good.”
Eventually, Adams wants to
switch from coaching to social
work (she graduated from
Oregon with a degree in com
munity service and public
affairs). “I’d like to go back and
get my masters, and then go into
social work — that’s my goal.”
With a laugh, she adds, "Really,
coaching is a lot like social
work.”
One reason Adams is back in
Eugene is the unique feeling the
town has for women's
basketball. "The basketball
program here is different,” she
says. "The community is really
behind the team, and there are
always a lot of people at the
games It’s nice.”
Adams stresses that coach
ing was an important ingredient
in her return also. ‘Til probably
still be coaching in a few years,"
she says. "I’m not coaching just
to coach, but because I enjoy
doing it.”
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