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Ducks struggle to shoot straight
By Steve Mims
Owg*or> (tofy
Whether it lx- in the bat kyard or on a Nerf hoop
in the basement, the first tiling most basketball
players learn to do is shoot Yet. ns their < timers
progress it often remains one of the toughest things
to do consistently well
Nothing upsets fans more than when their team
has trouble shooting the ball. be< ause. after all.
isn't that the easiest part of the game ' Who hasn't
hit a 20-footer in the driveway and thought. "If I
can do it, why can't they'
Basketball has changed a lot since Dr Naismith
invented the game, things like three pointers and
zone defenses have joined the lingo, hut one tiling
remains the same The team that puts the ball in
the hoop more often will always win
One of the reason's Oregon has won only four of
11 games tins year is tx-cause they have had a ter
riblo time shooting the ball I he Ducks are shoot
ing only 4^ S pen cut from the floor. f> pen ent
from three-point range and (>4 .7 percent from tin
free throw line, ranking in the bottom half of the
Pacifii • in Conferent e in all three categories
I'm concerned.'' Oregon head coach ferry (.men
said Tuesday, taking a break from viewing recent
game films "We get shots, we |iist have to tx- able
to make them. We trv for SO pen ent but haven't
done that much However, o lot of that has to do
with the other team."
As Oregon's offense has developed during the
Iasi year and a half since Green took over the pro
gram. the Ducks have been getting better shots
Oregon players are finding themselves open on the
perimeter or down low. but the shots just aren't
falling
"Our early problem was the quality of shots."
Green said We were a perimeter team early, hut
now we are making a major push to get it inside
more often
A smart move < onsidenng Oregon's best shoot
ers statistically are those who play down on the
box I he only Oregon plover who has made more
shots than he's missed is forward Damon Kuny
on. yvho is shooting hi r percent from the floor, a
pace that would break Kichnrd Lucas school
rei ord of hi 0 percent if it continues
('.enter /.nt h Sellers and forward Henry Madden
are the only other two Dm ks shooting a
respectable percentage. 50 and 4H pert ent, re spot
lively. Sellers gets most of his shots after offensive
rebounds or when the ball is sent down low. and
Madden gets some down there as well, though his
percentage would be higher if didn't throw up
some untimely shots from outside us well
Oregon's two other main weapons down low.
|off Potter and Aaron Johnson, have struggled ear
ly . shooting 42 and 4H percent, respet lively Green
said the inconsistency of the inside game is the
responsibility of the whole team
"Sometimes we look inside, sometimes we
don’t," Gnfn said "Sometimes the big guvs work
hard, sometimes not When nobody is open inside,
the big guys must continue to work inside
When the Ducks don't look inside, they have
struggled to find the hoop from the perimeter
Orlando Williams. (iregon's main scoring threat,
is shooting 45 t pen ent. not bad considering most
shots t ome from deep and other teams often key
on him Williams ranks eighth in the < onference in
m onng at 17,4 portent, and has put the hall up 14-1
tunes, that's 60 more shots than the next closest
Out k
Williams ranks fifth in school history with a
career three-point shooting percentage of just
lielow to peri ent, including 416 percent last year.
This season Williams has been streaky, but is cur
rently slumping at 32.5 percent.
Of Oregon's five returnees this year who have
put up at least 10 shots, only Runyon is shooting
higher than ins < areer shooting percentage. John
son's 1H percent shooting is even below his paltry
career shooting peri ent age of 41.4 percent, and
Potter has a ways to go to get up to his 47.2 career
pen entage
|ordv I.vden shovvetl signs of wing a scorer his
freshman visit when hi* was named to the Pacifii •
10 Conferem e all-freshman team, but has strug
glei) tins year after his foot injury. l,yden. just
ahead of Williams on the si hool's three-point list,
is actually shooting better behind the three-point
arc (37.5 pen ent) than he is from the field (35.3
percent)
The hottest Duck lately has been point guard
Kenya Wilkins, who seems to gain confidence
with eai h performance Wilkins' shooting per
centage has jumped from 38 percent to 37 percent
since the Far West Classic last month Wilkins has
hit nine of his last 14 three point attempts to lead
the team at 40 percent.
Free throw shooting is one area where the Ducks
have improved since the beginning of the season
l aris m the year the Ducks resembled Chris Farley
in Ins re< ent FNPN commercials. ("A little help
please ) but Oregon is almost at (>4 7 percent now.
A lot of people are shooting free throws better,"
Green said. We look a lot more comfortable at the
line, hut we're still not as good ns we need to be
Our average is up to 04 percent and our goal is 70
percent
The biggest turnaround at the line has been Pot
ter. whose average is up to 77.4 percent, nearly 10
points higher than his career average. Williams
and Lyden are the only other Ducks ahead of
Green's team goal of 70 percent, hut Runyon and
Darryl Parker are both nearing that level as well.
"The free throw is the one common thing in bas
ketball," Green said It never t hanges, thi* only
thing that changes is the mental attitude "
And as even the backyard superstar knows, as
the mental attitude rises, so does the shooting per
centage.
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