Oregon hoop teams open Pac-10 seasons
jMen at 7-5, but team
inconsistency worries
Oregon coach Green
By Dave Charbonneau
Emerald Sport". Editor_
No one i .m argue th.it thr men's bus
ketlanli learn hasn't improved from last sea
son under new head coach Jerry Green.
Oregon already has more wins this sea
sun than it had all of last season, and the
players are showing confidence and
enthusiasm that "as lai king during the
Dm ks' 1'1‘)1-‘12 c ampaign
An argument i an lie made, however, as
to whether the Ducks will be able to
improve on last season's 2- !l> I’ai itii 10
( (inference record.
Ivon Green isn't sure what to ex pec t
from his team when it opens the J'ac 10
season tonight at California.
"Wo ve won only one I'm HI road
game* in the past five years." Green said.
"I don't know d we re reach All I know
is we've got to plav more consistently as
far as our w ork linhits go We re trying to
break some bad habits
t he ’ a Due ks have won sis of their
last seven games Not only that. Inti !he\
have delealed a top > team (Brigham
Young), overcome a 42-point perfor
mance In NBA prospect Vm Baker to
defeat Hartford, and won convincingly
over a host of Division II learns
Given all this. Green is still wondering
when lus team is going to start playing
the was he wants them In “unbeliev
ably hard, and unbelievably unselfish
We get leads in games Green said,
and then we have a game slippage We
st.art playing what I like to call.'(aidillac
country club basketball, where our plav
ers start to try and do too muc h In going
one-on-one instead of playing team bas
ketball I'his team has game sjippagos
more than any team I've ever been asso
ciated with.”
Welcome to Oregon, coac h
Turn to WINS. Page 8
Pfv t>, M- ' •/ -
Oregon guard Antoine Stoudamire has helped the Ducks win more games so tar this
season they did than all ot last year
jwomen open Pac- iu
play with star Sporcich on
the bench
By Stevt' Mims
\ rreMUJ SpOd‘> Reporter
It \ deja v it all dpt ,u;.im lot Hut (begun
WitiniMt '. basketball team as it prepares lot
the ton t Put »Ii« in l outerem e simsoh.
1 hr Dlll ks ,Hf oil* r again IHirsing
injuries in tin* front court, onr season
alter m|ui'ir< t*» post players Dehhie
Spun u h amt Sara Wilson lull the two
ah lr Si play on I V a lew g .1 lues together
I his year it is out e .i^mt Spun it h nurs
lie,; an injury ami she will he joined on
the sidelines at the beginning of the 1 on
feieiu e •. e a s 11 n t»\ » foot I! forward
( mdv Morphy
1 )e 11 n 11 e I \ flu-, is frustrating Oregon
head 1 o n h I Iwill Helm said I he big
(iiiestion now 1 . what < an we do to make
tile hrsl of .v hat we have and see if we
tan w m st iiiic games
Sport u h missed 10 games a sear ago
with a stre-.s fiat lure in h • * * left loot and
on Mntul.i\ was olfn l. 11f\ diagnosed with
a stress fiat turr in her right ankle Before
the injury Sport h It was leatlmg tin* team
in storing ( !'• U rebounding (10.0),
ttiot ked shots (Id. tree throw per* elltage
| and field goal pert elltage (l».! d
Heinv said h»- hopes to have Sport it h
f»a« k m the lineup m three weeks
Morphs s toot injury 1 ante as a stir
prise to finny when he found out on
| uesdas Iml In* said she is expet let! to
return after this weekend
l ie- lov.es ol Murphy and Sport n h
has put added pressure on the )) 11« ks
perimeter game hut the guards have
responded im eh Point guard Missy
Slowed has led Oregon in storing ill
three of the last four games, boosting her
m or mg average to IS h points per game,
set ond on the team
.Missy has played very well Ihunv
said She has really stepped up her
Turn to INJURIES, Patje 6
Big shocker; Bruins, ’Cats
teams to beat in Pac-10
By Dave Charbonneau
Emerald Sports Editor
Last season. USC was the
team that was able to nudge
its way into the Pacific -It)
Confereru e elite
This season, Oregon Stale.
California and Arizona State
all have the possibility of making some
noise in the conference.
But the one thing that is a given coining
into the Pat It) season is the fac t Arizona
and UCLA are, as always, the teams to beat.
Whether the Fac-10 will be able to dump
its traditional cruinmv showing in the
NCAA tournament remains to be seen.
There could he as many as six teams to
make the tournament this season, but it
looks as if no team from the Fac-10 real
ly deserves to hn mentioned in the same
breath as Duke, Kentucky and Indiana
Here is a team-by-team analysis, in pre
dicted order of finish, of the Fac-It) sea
son. which begins tonight
§1. UCLA — Some may feel
the losses of Don MacLean
and Tracv Murray may lie too
much for the Bruins to over
come. as the two accounted
for nearly a third of UCLA's offense last
season. But the Bruins remain ru h with
young talent, including junior guard Shoo
Tarver, who is just waiting to Blossom
Tarver will be joined by returning
starters Min hell Butler and Tyus Kdney
UCLA could also have a formidable cen
ter in Czechoslovakian Ki< hard Potruska.
who sat out last year after transferring from
Loyola-Marymount. where lie averaged lh
points and seven rebounds a game
joining him in the front court will be
seven-footer Ed O'Hannon. With the weak
crop of centers in the Pai 10 this season,
the sophomore could have a great year
The only problem with the Bruins is a
lack of depth They have four freshmen
and three sophomores on their roster.
Pac-10 Prediction: lt>-2
2. Arizona — Thu
Wildcats had their
share of losses to grad
uation as well. Sean
Kooks and Matt Othick
art! both gone, but returning is senior tor
ward Chris Mills. Mills averaged Its points
and seven rebounds last year.
Turn to MEN, Page 6
Stanford favored to top
women’s basketball again
By Sieve Mims
I meraicl Spotts Heportor_
The I’m if11 10 ( cmf*-r
• •111 •', wllil ll SCIlt MX IlSIlllS
to the NCAA tournament
last season. s h on I cl lie
among I ho nation's elite
conferem es again in l‘)‘liJ
the defending NCAA i hani
pioti. returns all fivtt starters from last
season and is a heavy favorite to win the
title again, hut the rare for positioning
within the i onferem e should he tight
between the other nine schools.
A lot of individual talent is hiring
showcased as six of the ID players from
last year's all-< onferem e team return,
including Stanford's Val Whiting, the
140 1-02 Conference (’layer of the Year
Here is a team-hv team analysis of the
conference in predicteri order of finish
yKNfOii^1 Stanford — Stanford is
* ^^^^*the overwhelming favorite
jTl"® to capture its fifth consei
Utive (.onference title, and
there is good reason why
Stanford
Whiling is nlf In .1 strong start averag
ing 1(> 7 points .mil H.‘t rebounds pur
game uni Ii.in ,i solid supporting i ast
Senior Mulls (ioodenlmiir, lust year s
I iii.il Four MVI*. tins boosted her si nr
ing average tn 112 points in the pre
season anil will team with Christy
lledgpeth ill thit h.ii hi mirt
1 ‘»<n >> > I’,u in Freshman of the Year
Kai.hnl Hiiinnmr. who averaged II
points and almost seven rebounds par
gaum a ynar ago, and ( dirts MacMurdo
will linn up with Whiting on dm front
linn Six-foot 5 center Amt.i Kaplan, a
member of hist year's all-freshman tram,
will provide depth up front
Pac-10 Prediction: 17-1
2. California — Thu ('.old
nn Hoars have gotten off to
a terrific start in what was
supposed to lie a rebuilding
year under head coach
(.ouch Foster. California lost three
starters from last year's NCAA tourna
ment team, hut have a < ornorstono to
Turn to WOMEN, Pago 7