Sports Editor:
Adam Jude
adamjude@dailyemerald.com
Assistant Sports Editor:
Jeff Smith
jeffsmith@dailyemerald.com
Wednesdayjanuary 9,2002
m
Adam Amato Emerald
Oregon forward Luke Jackson reaches in for a steal against Pepperdine’s Mike Westphal. The Ducks beat Pepperdine, 88-64, on Dec. 14 at the Pit.
Formula
for success,
andfailure
The Oregon men have already
exhibited patterns
of winning and losing in the
season’s opening months
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent called
it a “blueprint.”
Oregon players called it a “formula.”
By whatever name, the Oregon men’s
basketball team has exhibited clear pat
terns, some positive and some negative,
in recent play.
On the positive side, the Ducks have
been dominating opponents at home. In
five home games over winter break, Ore
gon beat up its competition by an aver
age of 29.6 points. Two of those wins
were over Arizona and Arizona State,
Pacific-10 Conference teams that the
Ducks beat by a combined 43 points.
In those wins, Kent said, his team ex
hibited the same qualities, his “blue
print.” The Ducks shot sharply (an aver
age of 52.6 percent from the floor), played
tough defense (holding opponents to 38.9
percent shooting), and hit the boards (the
Ducks outreboimded opponents 37-30).
Heading into last weekend’s games at Ari
zona and Arizona State, Oregon was 9-3
overall, 3-0 in the Pac-10 and sitting on
top of the conference standings.
But that’s where the negative formula
comes into view. After an impressive win
over the Wildcats 90-80
in Tucson, a game
where the Ducks made
the formidable McKale
Center look like
McArthur Court, Ore
gon reverted back to old
ways with a close loss
to Arizona State in
Tempe. The loss was the Ducks’ fourth by
less than 10 points. During break, Oregon
dropped a close game on die road to Min
nesota, a week after nail-biting losses at
Massachusetts and Portland.
Still, the Ducks emerged from the
Turn to Men’s, page 12
Freshman opts
to leave Oregon
■A highly-touted recruit, CatherriaTurner leaves
the Ducks after playing just six games as a freshman
By Hank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
After playing in six games for the women’s basketball
team, freshman Catherria Turner has been granted her re
lease from the University.
“Catherria has asked to be released from
her scholarship for the 2002-03 academ
ic/athletic year, and this request has been
granted,” head coach Bev Smith said.
In a guard-heavy lineup, Turner posted
five points and three steals in limited ac
tion this season. The Tucson, Ariz., native
averaged a triple-double her senior season
at Amphitheatre High.
The 5-foot-6 Turner was one of six freshman to join the
Ducks this season. The recruiting class was the nation’s
17th-ranked class in the country.
Stanford ready to return to top
Here’s a trivia question for all you Pacific-10 Conference
buffs out there.
Name one sport Stanford doesn’t excel at.
Football? Nope, they’ve got that covered.
Baseball? They’ve been to the championship game of the
College World Series the last two seasons.
Volleyball? Think again. They just won the national
championship.
Basketball? Well, that’s the most obvious of all. Their
men’s team is as tough as ever, and the Cardinal women,
well, they are annually one of the best in the nation.
This season is no different for the women from Palo Alto,
Calif. Ranked fifth in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and
sixth in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25, the Cardinal are 14-1
overall, and have already begun conference play with a per
fect 4-0 record.
The Cardinal return 10 letterwinners from a squad that
won a share of the Pac-10 championship last season. Name
a position, and Stanford has depth at it.
“I think the conference tournament will reward depth,
and that will be one of our strengths, ” Stanford head coach
Tara VanDerveer said at the outset of the season.
The 2001 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, Nicole Powell, re
turns to the Cardinal this season after posting 14.1 points per
game last season. The Phoenix, Ariz., native has picked up
where she left off, averaging 15.8 points per game, and has
recorded two triple-doubles this season. No other Pac-10
Turn to Women’s, page 12
Harris proving to be
leader of UO wrestling
■Senior Eugene Harris is
No. 6 in the country and
ready to take on the Pac-10
By Chris Cabot
Oregon Daily Emerald
In his final year of collegiate
wrestling, senior Eugene Harris is per
forming better than he ever has and
dominating opponents in his 165
pound weight class.
Harris lost 3-2 to Tyrone Lewis of Ok
lahoma State on Dec. 16th, but since
then he’s been unstoppable.
After the loss, he went on to compete in
the 15-team Reno Tournament of Cham
pions. Harris swept the competition, \vin
ning all four of his matches and earning
the individual title for his weight class.
Then, after a pin of his opponent in the
second period at Nebraska on Jan. 3, Har
ris earned a major decision over No. 15
Nate Lawrenz of Northern Iowa on Jan. 5.
Heading into the Tournament of
Champions, Harris was ranked No. 10,
but due to his recent success, he has
risen to No. 6.
“Eugene is wrestling with confi
dence,” head coach Chuck Kearney
said. “He is focusing on the actual
wrestling and not concerning himself
with the ultimate results.
“He’s having the kind of year that
we’ve known he’s been capable of, and
he’s known he’s been capable of. ”
Harris is using his
increased quickness
and technique this
year to win matches by
double digits when
last year many of his
decisions were decid
ed by the smallest of
margins. He refuses to be distracted by
his mid-season ranking, though.
“If you start to think about your rank
ing, you start to think about winning and
losing, and that is the worst thing you can
do when you are wrestling,” Harris said.
“I think about the one guy I’m wrestling
Turn to Wrestling, page 10
Ranked No. 6 in the country at 165 pounds, senior Eugene Harris (top) has lost just one match this season.
Emerald