Wednesday
Best Bet
NCAA Basketball: Arizona at Arizona State
7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Net
SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com
UO men prepare for last stand at Mac Court
Oregon will try
to win for its
five graduating
seniors
in its final
homestand of
the season
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
It’s ironic that the Oregon men’s bas
ketball team may be getting hot just as
its season is coming to a close.
The Ducks have one hand in their
pockets, and the other one’s playing
some basketball.
After a split with the Washington
schools last weekend, Oregon returns
home to face UCLA Thursday and
Southern California Saturday in the
Ducks’ final homestand of the season.
The Ducks will then close out the sea
son on the road against Arizona State,
Arizona and Oregon State.
If the Ducks can win at least one game
this weekend, they will almost certainly
be headed to the postseason.
It’s so hard to say good-bye
This weekend’s games should be emo
tional for Oregon: Five seniors will play
their final games at McArthur Court.
Bryan Bracey, Julius Hicks, Flo
Hartenstein, David Jackson and Kristian
Kristensen will all participate in a pre
game ceremony to honor their careers at
Oregon.
“This is our seniors’ last weekend,
and we don’t want them to go out on a
losing effort,” junior guard Freddie
Jones said.
Senior student
managers Andy
Whiteside and Nick
Graham will also
participate in the
ceremonies with
the players.
“These guys know
that it’s the seniors’
last homestand,”
Oregon head coach
KENT
Ernie Kent said after
Tuesday’s practice.
“The underclassmen understand how im
portant it is to not let them lose. It’s impor
tant for us to finish out this homestand
strong for those upperclassmen. ”
Turn back the clocks
Saturday’s game against USC, origi
nally scheduled for 7 p.m., has been
moved back to a 6 p.m. tip-off to accom
modate the television broadcast of the
game. That contest, along with Thurs
Turn to Men’s, page 8
Adam Amato Emerald
Senior Julius Hicks will be one of five Ducks who will play their final game at Mac Court.
Junior transfer Shaun Williams (top) has made an immediate impact for the No. 17 Ducks.
Chrystal McConnell Emerald
FA S TivF URIO US
junior transfer
Shaun Williams
is out to score
points and win
big in the
process
By Robbie McCallum
Oregon Daily Emerald
Float like a butterfly, sting like
a bee.
The famous Muhammad Ali
quote is used synonymously
with contact sports such as box
ing, martial arts and wrestling. It
is also the perfect sentence to de
scribe Oregon wrestler Shaun
Williams.
Williams’ first match in an
Oregon singlet, a 21-6 pasting of
UC-Davis’ Tommy Schurkamp,
demonstrated his quickness. Out
of the buzzer, Williams earned a
quick takedown and a three
point near fall for an early 5-0
lead. After Schurkamp escaped,
Williams earned another take
down from the legs. After hold
ing off an attempt at a reversal,
Williams earned more near fall
points.
Seven takedowns and two pe
riods later, Williams earned a
major decision. Like most
matches, Williams’ opponent’s
only points came from one-point
escapes.
“I try to get on the mat and
score as many points as I can
without stalling,” Williams said.
“I’m one of the guys who go out
and score a lot of points, win or
lose, and have fun. Because that’s
what its all about.
“The more points you score,
the more fun you have.”
Since transferring to Oregon
from North Idaho Junior College,
the 125-pound grappler has won
the most Oregon matches at the
lightweight position since All
American Kevin Roberts in 1996
— and has scored a lot of points
in the process.
The Pretoria, South Africa, na
tive leads the Ducks in decisions
won, major decisions (a win by
eight to 14 points), technical falls
(a win by 15 or more points) and
is tied for second in total wins. In
32 matches this season, Williams
has scored a grand total of 353
points.
“When you’re a takedown
wrestler, which Shaun is, you go
for the legs much more,” Oregon
head coach Chuck Kearney said.
“He’s a catch and release kind of
Turn to Wrestling, page 12
Big Dance still in
reach for women
■ With five games remaining, the Ducks may
have to winout to earn an eighth straight
appearance in the NCAA tournament
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
Despite the recent five-game
slump — which ended in Saturday’s
64-60 overtime victory against Wash
ington —the Oregon women’s hoops
team still has a shot at an NCAA
Tournament berth.
And while the cliche of “one game
at a time” still holds true, the Ducks
(13-10 overall, 6-7 Pacific-10 Confer
ence) know they must essentially win
their final five games to make an eighth
consecutive trip to the Big Dance.
“I don’t think that’s in the back of
our minds; it’s in the front of our
minds. We want to go to the tourna
ment,” head coach Jody Runge said.
“That’s where we have our focus.”
The Ducks currently sit in sixth
place in the conference, one-and-a
half games behind California (7-5,11
11) and two games behind fourth
place Arizona (8-5,18-7). Last season,
four Pac-10 teams made an appear
ance in the NCAA Tournament.
“We haven’t given that up,” junior
guard Jamie Craighead said. “I think
we can still do it. I know we can make
a strong case with our preseason.”
If the Ducks fail to earn a bid to the
NCAA Tournament, Runge has said
she would rather not go to the WNIT.
But, after Saturday’s win over Wash
ington, she said she would ask the
team members what they wanted to
do if that circumstance came up.
Stealin’the spotlight
Sophomore point guard Alissa Ed
wards will start Friday at UCLA. The
original starter, sophomore Kourtney
Shreve, has been battling through a
shooting slump of late, limiting her
confidence and playing time.
“I think right now it’s just being so
Turn to Women’s, page 8
It's very
difficult not
to start
Alissa
Edwards
right now
because
she's done
such a
tremendous
job.
Jody Runge
head
coach yy