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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 1998)
BEST BETS NBA San Antonio at Wash ington, TBS (3) 6 p. m. Emerald Mac Court isn’t what it used to be It used to be great to be a fan at Mac Court. The place was rocking. I was sitting three rows up in the third deck of McArthur Court dining the men’s basketball team’s overtime loss to Stanford last season EiiMMUM watching Oregon duke I it out with the Lardi i nal. | The game was great. The players were great. The fans were great. I don’t remember sit Ryan Frank ting down that entire game, nor do I remem ber too many people reaching for their seats. There was no need to, there was an exciting game going on. A game that not just 30 people were a part of, but a game that more than 10,000 people were a part of. It was one of those games that you leave thinking, “Wow, that was a blast.” I couldn’t believe how much fun the game was despite the fact that the third balcony was shaking for much of the game. Last season it wasn’t just that game, either. Remember the win over UCLA? How could you forget? What about the win over Arizona, after which you fans put Jerry Green on your shoulders? Fast forward to 1997-98. If you’ve been to a game yet this sea son, you know what the scene in Mac Court is like. Does it remind you of those Stanford, UCLA and Arizona games of last season? It reminds me of a morgue. Granted, the Oregon Ducks of last sea son were a little quicker, a little better shooters and a little faster. Overall, they were more talented than this season’s version. But have you noticed a significant change in the atmosphere at Oregon bas ketball games? I sure have. At the opening weekend of men’s games, California and Stanford, the crowd was as quiet as I have ever seen it for a conference game. The Cal game was pathetic, although school wasn’t yet officially in session. True, the Stanford game was a blowout, but how many times did you see head coach Ernie Kent throwing his hands up in the air rooting the crowd on? The coach rooting the crowd for chris sakes! Can you see football head coach Mike Bellotti leading the crowd in a round of The Wave? In my years of following sports, I’ve never seen such a thing as that. When a coach is reduced to cheering for the crowd, you’ve got to know something is wrong. The team has changed, yes, but I don’t think that is the problem. I think the problem is in the new, redesigned Mac Court. The new scoreboards, entrances and paint job are all beautiful. The in side is attractive and, I think, money well spent. But what I think is ridiculous and tak ing the crowd out of the games is the new seating setup. The Oregon athletic department, as part of its $3.5 million reconstruction of Mac Court over the past four years, took Turn to FRANK, Page9A Duck Notes Rosemond starting to adjust to Pac-10 CHAO PATTESON/Emerald Rosemond had his most complete game against UCLA last Saturday, finishing unth eight points, four assists and three steals. Point guard Yasir Rosemond had eight points, four assists and three steals in 29 minutes against UCLA By Chris Hansen Assistant Sports Editor In the “Where did that come from?” cate gory: Yasir Rosemond’s performance against UCLA on Saturday gave a glimmer of what the Ducks had hoped for when they signed the point guard sight unseen last spring. In 29 minutes of relief for Mike McShane, Rose mond’s eight points, four assists and three steals is his most complete game — by far — of the season. Up until Saturday, Rosemond has struggled while averaging 16.1 minutes a contest and just 3.7 points on 30-percent shooting. “For Yasir, that’s one great game for him,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent. “He’s had some ups and downs this year. So this week’s practice is important for him.” Part of the struggle for Rosemond is the adjustment to playing at the Pacific-10 Conference level after sitting out all of last season after playing one-season of junior college basketball in Florida. But against the Bruins, Rosemond ran the offense fluidly and looked confident taking shots — two components that a point guard must have playing in the Pac 10. Home court Despite Oregon being 1-3 in the confer ence and not having an intimidating team, Pac-10 opponents still aren’t excited to come into McArthur Court. “Oregon is tough because the people are right on top of you,” said Arizona point guard Mike Bibby. “Arizona has people from all walks of life, but at Oregon you have 6,000 students screaming the whole time which makes it tough,” he said. Family affair Thursday night’s game against Washing ton will pit brother against brother. Ore Turn to MEN, Page 8A Runge lets players sort out problems at the foul line Team members are staying after practice to work on their free throw shooting after the Ducks went 15 for 33 from the line against UCLA By Ryan Frank Sports Editor Jody Runge hasn't, like a number of other college coaches, turned her team’s poor shooting from the free throw line into a conditioning exercise. Instead, Oregon’s fifth-year head coach has left that responsibility up to the players themselves. ‘‘I’ve tried punishing them for not making free throws, and I’ve tried not talking about it," Runge said. “So I’ve let them develop whatever strategy they have for making free throws. ” The Ducks shot just 45.5 percent from the line, miss ing 18 of 33 attempts, in a five-point loss to UCLA last Saturday. For the season, the Ducks are shooting 61.9 percent from the line, 213 for 244. Runge said the players may need to develop a strate gy each time they step up to the line, a routine that they use for each attempt. “It’s just something that I feel like we work an awful lot on, and I think we have some players who have some inconsistent strokes form the free-throw line,” Runge said. “It’s a personal responsibility to shoot enough when you step up that it’s going to go in, and that’s the bottom line.” Junior forward Sonja Curtis said team members are staying after practice to shoot free throws. “It’s been pretty frustrating for everyone involved,” Curtis said. Curtis said team members have had no problem making free throws in practice. In addition to the post-practice work on free-throw shooting, Curtis said the team is working on its own strategy for mak ing free throws. That strategy, however, has nothing to do with shooting mechanics. The details have yet to be worked out, but according to Curtis, the player with the worst free-throw shoot ing percentage in practice may have to clean another player’s apartment at the end of the season. Only getting better She has been the topic of conversation regarding the women’s team all season, but it’s getting hard to ignore what freshman Brianne Meharry has done in just 12 Turn to WOMEN, Page8A “It’s a personal responsibility to shoot enough when you step up...” Jody Runge Oregon coach
