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Offseason Report
NICK MEDLEY/Emerald
Terik Brown and his teammates will look to Jive neiv team members and a familiar assistant coach in the coming season.
Kent seeks to avoid sophomore slump
Seniors Tenk Brown and Mike
Carson join a young but
heralded group of recruits to
lead the 1998-99 Oregon men
By Mirjam Swanson
Freelance Reporter
In his first year at the helm of the Ore
gon men’s basketball program, Ernie
Kent guided his team to a 13-14 record,
good for a fifth-place tie in the Pacific-10
Conference, and barely out of contention
for a National Invitation Tournament bid.
While Kent’s focus on hard work and
positive attitude will continue to be a
part of his coaching repertoire in the up
coming season, much about the team will
be changed. Kent has put together a team
with more depth and athletic ability than
last season’s with the hope that Oregon
will be able to match up with some of the
Pac-lO’s nationally dominant opponents.
Those ideals are evident in Oregon’s
returning players.
“We have some great players coming
in and some great players coming back,”
senior center Mike Carson said. “I think
the chances are great. We'll have a bigger
bench, more guys will put in so Coach
[Kent] has a lot more options of what he
wants to do. It’s going to be a good year.”
Two top prep prospects and three ju
nior college players are new to the team,
as is assistant coach Don Newman, who
joins Oregon’s staff after having complet
ed a year as interim
head coach at Arizona
State.
High school All
American Frederick
Jones is one of three
guards that Kent
brought in. Jones. 6
foot-3, is one of the top
prospecis on tne west coast. A graduate
of Gresham High School, Jones averaged
nearly 30 points a game during his senior
season and gained national attention ear
lier this summer when Mike DeCourcy of
the Sporting News wrote that he was
“about the most electrifying wing player
that will be coming into college basket
ball this year.”
Kent has also acquired the services of
Alex Scales, a 6-foot-4 guard from San
Jacinto Junior College in Texas, where he
was a JC all-star for scoring more than 10
points and grabbing 5.3 rebounds a game.
Darius Wright, a 6-foot guard from West
Valley Junior College in California, is the
Ducks’ third addition to the perimeter.
Wright scored 17 points a game to go
with his 9.8 assists at West Valley.
“Freddie Jones is supposed to be a re
ally good offensive player,” Oregon se
nior guard Terik Brown said, “and Alex
Scales is supposed to be really good too.”
The three incoming guards will join
the 6-foot-l Brown, who was Oregon’s
leading scorer last season with 12.8
points a game, and juniors Mike Mc
Shane, 6-foot-4, and Yasir Rosemond, 6
foot-1, at the perimeter positions. Mc
Shane and Rosemond split time at point
Turn to MEN, Page 8
Ex-Arizona State star arrested during NFL camp
Fomer Sun Devil Keith Poole was
arrested by La Crosse police on
Monday and charged with a
golf club attack on a local man
The Associated Press
LA CROSSE, Wis. — New Orleans Saints
wide receiver Keith Poole was free on bond
Monday, charged with attacking a La
Crosse man with a golf club.
Poole, 24, a 1997 fourth-round draft
choice from Arizona State, was released on
a $150 cash bond and ordered to appear in
La Crosse County Circuit Court on Aug. 13.
“There was an altercation 1 was involved
with,” Poole said after practice Monday. “I
don't want to say anymore about it now.”
After a night off, Poole and teammate
Jake Delhomme, a second-year quarterback,
accepted a ride back to their dormitory
from three La Crosse residents about 2:30
a.m. Sunday, according to a police report.
Before they reached the University of
Wisconsin-La Crosse, where the Saints are
staying for training camp, the two players
began yelling obscenities at the driver, who
stopped and told them to get out of the car,
the report said.
One of the passengers, Timothy White
water, 26, of La Crosse, told police that he
and Poole then got into an argument out
side the car. Poole grabbed a golf club from
a bag in the back of the car and struck
Whitewater on the left hip several times,
causing a two-inch-long gash, Whitewater
said.
When police arrived, Poole ran between
several houses toward the campus and was
stopped by an officer about two blocks
away.
Delhomme, who was not charged in the
incident, refused comment Monday night.
“We’re aware of the incident,” Saints
general manager Bill Kuharich said. “He
has retained legal counsel. We’re going to
let things take their course.”
Poole said he had retained a La Crosse at
torney, but refused to identify him.
La Crosse County Deputy District Attor
ney Loralee Clark said she is waiting to re
ceive all the police reports before deciding
what charges to file.
Both Poole and Delhomme practiced
Monday.
Poole played in three games late last sea
son, but in the season finale at Kansas City
he caught two touchdown passes, a 32
yarder and a 14-yarder.
Emeralds end
five-game
losing streak
An early offensive explosion
helped Eugene to an 8-1 win at
Portland's Civic Stadium
By Scott Pesznecker
Freelance Reporter
PORTLAND — In the second consecu
tive game in Portland against the Rockies,
the Eugene Emeralds knew that the cards
were stacked against them.
For the season, the Emeralds (18-29)
were 2-8 against the Rockies (22-25) and 0
4 in Portland. And to make matters worse,
the Emeralds had just been beat by the
Rockies 12-5 the night before in a game that
was riddled with problems on the field.
But none of that mattered on Monday
night. In front of a Rockpile crowd of 3,577,
Eugene broke the game open at the top of
the second and stunned Portland with an
8-1 victory.
"It was our game," said Eugene catcher
Asdrubal Oropeza. "It was our day, and we
came out and played the game and that's it.
Things just happened to go better tonight."
Before Monday
night, Eugene had
lost five in a row.
According to left
fielder Gregg Strick
land, most of those
EMS: Greg Strick
land paced Eugene
with a 3-4 night
Page 8
games were close until the seventh or
eighth inning.
"We needed to get a win, some way and
some how," said Stickland. "We'd been
struggling for the last five games and we
needed la lift. We needed to get a win here
today and we got it. It's monkeys off our
back." j
Oropeza „who only had six previous at
bats on the season, had a base hit in the
second inning that brought Junior Brignac
over the plate for Eugene's first run of the
night. Oropeza then advanced to second on
a wild pitch, and Gregg Maluchnik was
walked to first.
"I just wanted to relax," Oropeza said as
he recalled his seventh-overall trip to the
plate. "When I hit the ball, we had no outs,
so I just hit the ball to second base and that
was it."
With runners on first and second, the
stage was set for the next three batters. Tye
Hanseen had a base hit that brought in
Oropeza for a run. Greg Strickland hit a
right-field double that brought in
Maluchnik and Hanseen, and before the
end of the inning Strickland scored off a
double by Castro, giving the Emeralds an
Turn to EMS, Page 8
Inside Today’s Sports
Pane 6
Oregon jun,or
Michael Fletcher,
who is expected to
start at strong safety ,
for the Duck football
team this fall, has
spent the last six
weeks in a sports
writing class taught
by KVAL's Walt Fox 1
through the UO jour- *
Ilf I
LETCHER
tiauoni suiiuui. nnuuyii ins CAfJiiiailucS III
the class and serving as an intern at KMTR,
Fletcher has gained an interesting perspec
tive on sports journalism. In a reporter's
notebook In today's Emerald, Fletcher gives
insight into his experiences on both sides of
the media spotlight.