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Catharine Kendall Emerald
Oregon freshman Luke Ridnour has quickly bonded with his new teammates and adapted well to Eugene.
Family matters
■Oregon point guard Luke Rid
nour didn’t expect to be a Duck
at first, but now that he’s here,
he can’t imagine beingany
whereelse
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
At the time, it didn’t seem like there
was that much at stake for the Oregon
Ducks last season as they took on a
touring Australian team in their first
exhibition game back on Nov. 12,
1999.
The atmosphere in legendary
McArthur Court that night was
nowhere near what it is usually like for
a Pacific-10 Conference game. Among
the 8,009 fans seated in The Pit that
night was a young man by the name of
Luke Ridnour.
The players on the court may not
have cared too much about their ho
hum 98-87 win, but for Ridnour, the
game helped him make a decision that
would shock the basketball world and
provide yet another example with
how far Oregon athletics has come.
Ridnour was believed to be the top
high school point guard on the West
Coast and one of the five best in the na
tion. The 6-foot-2 point guard was one
of the country’s most complete prep
talents. In his biography in the media
guide it says that he is a “pure point
guard who will evoke comparisons to
the NBA’s John Stockton and Jason
Williams.”
And on this particular fall night in
Eugene, he was deciding on where he
was going to spend his college career.
He had already visited Oregon, but
had not yet seen a game. Even in the
exhibition game he saw shades of
what an amazing place Mac Court is to
play in.
He fell in love and was sold on be
coming a Duck.
“I came down for that first exhibi
tion game, and even then it was almost
sold out,” Ridnour said. “It was only
the first game and I knew right then
that I wanted to play there.”
The day after the game, on Saturday,
Nov. 13, Ridnour signed a letter of in
tent with Oregon. The news was so big
that the Oregon football radio broad
cast of its intense game versus Califor
nia that afternoon was put on hold for
a moment as play-by-play man Jerry
Allen shared the exciting news of Rid
nour’s decision.
Kentucky, Utah, Washington, Gon
zaga and UCLA. Five schools with rich
basketball histories. Five schools that
practically any high school recruit
would die to play for. And five schools
that were praying to have Ridnour be
their point guard of the future.
Ridnour admits that it was the
toughest decision of his life. Right off
the bat, he decided not to visit UCLA,
but did go see the other four. The maxi
mum amount of schools that the
NCAA allows a potential recruit to vis
it is five, leaving one lucky school with
a shot at him — albeit a long shot.
Ridnour was then courted by both
Oregon and Oregon State. Not really
wanting to visit because of the fact that
he hates saying no to people that are
nice to him, Ridnour sort of reluctantly
decided to choose one over the other.
Former Oregon State head coach
Eddie Payne saw him play for only
five minutes and offered him a schol
arship. Ridnour was impressed and
thought he might check out Corvallis.
But then Oregon head coach Ernie
Kent proved why he is one of the most
regarded recruiting coaches in the na
tion.
Kent, who had heard of Ridnour
even back in his St. Mary’s coaching
days, connected with the youngster.
Kent sold Ridnour on the electricity of
Mac Court. On the deafening roar of
the crowd. On the Pac-10 and its
skilled players. And on the city of Eu
gene and its small-town feel.
The sales pitch was successful.
“Coach Kent was real impressive
when he came in on a recruiting vis
Turn to Ridnor, page 12A
Ducks reflect on Stanford’s loss of guard Jamie Carey
ii I’m dev
astated to
say the very
least
Jamie Carey
Stanford
guard 7 7
■The 2000 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year can’t play
ball anymore due to concussions
By Scott Pesznecker
Oregon Daily Emerald
Stanford guard Jamie Carey always knew she’d grow up to
play basketball in the Cardinal uniform.
Unfortunately, she never knew the tragic end that her ca
reer would have.
Carey suffered a concussion on Oct. 19 that doctors say
caused minor brain damage. Fearing that another hit — even
a slight blow to the head — would cause further damage, doc
tors told Carey she can never play basketball again.
“I’m devastated to say the very least,” Carey told reporters
at a Nov. 7 press conference. “I guess it’s kind of a shock. You
never really — in all the highest dreams and everything —
you never really consider something like this would hap
pen.”
Since the seventh grade, the basketball phenom suffered
several concussions. After each one, she’d experience symp
toms such as dizziness and headaches. Every time, the symp
toms would disappear in a few days.
But Carey was playing defense during an Oct. 19 practice
when she tripped, slid across the key and hit her head on a
teammate’s shin. It wasn’t too hard of a hit, she said, but she
felt the concussion symptoms setting in.
She rested for five days, but when the dizziness didn’t stop,
she told coaches about her symptoms. Doctors ran tests on
Turn to Basketball, page 1QA
Laura Smit Emerald
Oregon guard/forward Lindsey Dion (23) missed games and practice last season after she suffered a concussion.