sports_
Hicks wants to live the pro punter's life?
Photo by Divf Kao
Oregon senior Kevin Hicks hopes Saturday's Civil War game
against Oregon State won't be his last as a punter.
By Steve Turcotte
CM the EmrnM
What has been an enjoyable hobby for Kevin
Hicks soon may turn into a full-time job.
While Hicks, the senior punter for Oregon's foot
ball team, has one eye cast on Saturday's season
ending clash with Oregon State University, he has
another eye cast on what may lie ahead afterwards.
The Civil War game marks the end of his col
legiate playing career; Hicks hopes it will not end his
football career.
"I would like to play pro football,” says Hicks. "I
would like to think I have a chance at playing in the
pros.”
With his statistics, Hicks may get that chance.
Until last week, the Ducks' punter was the
leading kicker in the Pac-10. After a sub-par game
against Stanford University, he stands third in the
conference with a 41.9 average. He barely trails Glen
Harper of Washington State University (42.2) and
Kevin Buenafe of UCLA (42.1).
"I have been working for the conference title all
year," says Hicks. "Last year was getting to know
punting and how to compete in the Pac-10, but this
year I have felt all along that I have a chance to win.”
Last year, after transferring from Santa Barbara
Junior College, Hicks averaged a respectable 39.6
yards per punt for the Ducks and finished seventh in
the conference. This season, he has been among the
league leaders — he was averaging 42.2 yards a kick
before dropping off against Stanford.
Hicks and Oregon coach Rich Brooks feel his im
provement stems from a summer and fall of
dedicated kicking.
"There has been an awful lot of improvement
from Kevin just this season," says Brooks. "He is
more consistent and is kicking into the short end of
the field."
"I think I have more control of my kicks this
season — I can place the ball where I want to, now,"
says Hicks.
When Hicks can't kick, he's shown he can run.
Against UCLA, he scrambled 23 yards out of punt for
mation for a first down.
Punting is a three-pronged endeavor. Accuracy,
hang time and distance are factors a top-flight punter
must possess.
And with Hicks, the Ducks have all three rolled
into one. Hicks has kicked more than 15 punts out of
bounds inside opponents' 20-yard line, has a hang
time of about 4.5 seconds and can boom the long
ball, as evidenced by a school-record 71-yard boot
against University of Arizona last season.
“His hang time has been very good this season,”
agrees Brooks. “He approaches 4.8-4.9 once a game,
and that is the kind of hang time the pros kick at.
“He has also put other teams deep in their own
territory."
As a Pac-10 punter looking for a niche in profes
sional football, Hicks is not alone. University of
Washington's Jeff Partridge, fourth in the Pac-10 last
season, kicked for the Los Angeles Express of the
United States Football League while last year's con
ference champ, Mike Black of Arizona State, has
found a home with the Detroit Lions.
Hicks want a professional punting job too, be it
Canadian or American football.
And according to Gil Brandt, the Dallas
Cowboys' vice-president for player personnel, he
may find one.
“I saw him last week — we are quite enthused
about him," says Brandt, known as one of profes
sional football's best scouts. "It wasn't exactly a
punter's field at Stanford, so it was hard to tell, but
from what I hear and what I saw he has some talent."
However, kicking in the National Football League
isn't all glamour. Punters often have a packed suit
case in one hand and an airplane ticket in the other.
Ray Guy of the Los Angeles Raiders, who leads the
NFL in punting on a yearly basis, has found the good
life in pro ball. His is the exception though, to a life of
trades, waivers and cuts.
“Kickers bounce around all the time in profes
sional football," admits Brooks, "but I think Kevin is
a definite pro prospect. He hasn't even realized his
full potential. Once he does, he is going to be an
outstanding kicker."
Hicks feels there is a spot in the big time if he can
find the right spot with the right team.
“I'll go anywhere," says Hicks, " if someone
gives me a chance."
Hill favored in
NCAA chase
The Oregon men's cross country team, fresh
off a victory at the District 8 Championships last
weekend, travels to Bethlehem, Pa., Monday for
the NCAA Championships and a chance to better
its 10th place of a year ago.
Oregon should be in the team title chase, but
Arkansas, University of Texas-EI Paso and defen
ding champion Wisconsin will be the teams to
beat. Oregon assistant Coach John Gillespie feels
the Ducks could be a factor or an afterthought
come Monday.
"If we run well, we'll be up there." says
Gillespie, "but we could run our best race possi
ble and not place high."
History, however, will be on the Ducks' side.
Oregon has run in the NCAA meet 14 of the last 17
years, winning four team titles and crowning four
individual champions.
All-American Hill has been labeled one of the
favorites in the individual race.
")im should be a bonafide candidate for the
individual title,” says Oregon coach Bill Dellinger.
Dellinger will stick with the same team that he
used in the Pac-10 and District 8 meets. Four
Ducks — Hill, Brad Simpson, Harold Kuphaldt,
and Matt McGuirk — return from last year's NCAA
team. Dellinger has added added junior Mike
Blackmore and Chris Hamilton, who are running
second and third on the team, and Dan Nelson to
this year's team.
University of Arizona and UCLA will join
Oregon as Pac-10 representatives in the meet,
which is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Eastern time.
This one ran away from home
t»y Kicn ween
Of the Emerald
Anyone who has had to transfer
schools knows the process can be dif
ficult. But for Oregon cross country
runner Chris Hamilton, transferring
was as easy as a one-mile warmdown
Hamilton left the University of
Portland — where he set school records
in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters —
because he wanted to take cross coun
try and track more seriously.
"I wasn't happy at Portland,” says the
Parkrose High School product. "The
school just didn't have the commitment
to track that I did.”
"If a distance runner is going to be a
success, he's got to come to Oregon,”
explains Hamilton.
Yet, despite winning the state 1,500 ti
tle his senior year, Hamilton was not
heavily recruited by the Ducks. Still, he
felt he could compete at the major col
lege level.
Then, times of 13:56 in the 5,OCX) and
29:13 in the 10,000 (good for 19th place
at the 1982 NCAA Championships) at
UP caught Oregon's interest.
Hamilton sat out last year (an NCAA
requirement for transferring athletes),
but once he became eligible, he wasted
no time.
In his first cross country meet, he
finished second at the Carrie Franklin
Memorial. He finished 10th at last Satur
day's District 8 Championships after an
injury-hampered 24th at Pac-10s.
Running for a team, and a coach, that
emphasizes cross country and track
leaves Hamilton feeling fine.
"I'm delighted (to be at Oregon),"
says Hamilton. "I consider coach (Bill)
Dellinger the best distance coach in the
country and my running is improving
every week."
Hamilton leaves no doubt that Dell
tnger is the reason he is in tugene.
" He's a real authority on coaching,”
says the Oregon junior. "I’ve never
doubted any of his methods."
A computer science major, Hamilton
is especially excited about running in
Oregon's colors.
Although he isn't apt to set many
records at Oregon, Hamilton figures to
be a a big factor for the Ducks at Mon
day's NCAA Cross Country Champion
ships. His 10th at District 8 made him
Oregon's third finisher, and that made
a prophet out of Dellinger, who said, "I
think Hamilton can be one of our top
three runners by the end of this
season." .
In the spring, Hamilton is itching for
high finishes in the NCAA 5,000 and
10,000 races. For now though, Hamilton
is happy to be at a school that's all
business when it comes to cross coun
try and track.
Women cagers in tourney
Oregon's women's basketball team
opens its season this afternoon with a
game against San Francisco State
University in the three-day Cal Poly
SLO Straw Hat Classic..
The Ducks are considered the
favorite in an eight-team double
elimination tournament, which in
cludes the likes of San Jose State
University, University of California
Davis and University of Pacific.
The Ducks. 15-14 and 8-4 in the Nor
Pac Conference last year, will rely on
All-American hopeful Alison Lang for
much of their offense. Oregon coach
Elwin Heiny feels freshman redshirt
Laurie Tennant should give the Ducks
a boost as well.
The tournament final is set for Satur
day at 8 p.m., after which a Straw Hat
Classic all-star team will be named.
Badminton flies
Oregon's Club Sports Badminton
team fared well in tournament play at
University of California-Davis last
Saturday, winning several singles
titles.
Aloysius Tan won men's Class C
singles competition, and Mitsuko
'Uto was a victor in women's C
singles.
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