Sports Editor:
Adam Jude
adamjude@dailyemerald.com
Assistant Sports Editor:
Jeff Smith
jeffsmith@dailyemerald.com
Wednesday, February 6,2002
Ducks’ NCAA hopes in jeopardy
■ After eight straight appearances
at the NCAA Tournament, Oregon
is close to having a March vacation
By Mank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
It has been nine years since the Ore
gon women’s basketball team has not
made an appear
ance in the NCAA
Tournament.
For eight
straight seasons,
the team has been
a force in the Pa
cific-10 Confer
ence, winning or sharing conference
crowns in 1999 and 2000. Two 10-8 sea
sons are the worst the squad has per
formed since the Ducks went 3-15 in
the 1992-93 season.
This year’s team, at 7-6 in Pac-10 play
(12-10 overall), could be the first to miss
the postseason since Elwin Heiny
roamed the sidelines at McArthur
Court.
However, this is not the first time
Oregon has been on the bubble.
“I think (last year) we were in a better
position because Stanford had losses,
and we kind of expected other people to
beat them,” senior forward Alyssa
Fredrick said. “Now, everyone has to
beat them.”
With five games remaining last sea
son, the Ducks were 6-7 in conference
play, and the team was embroiled in
turmoil due to the issues surrounding
former coach Jody Runge.
Bu the team pulled together and fin
ished at 10-8 after four consecutive
wins to end the regular season.
This year’s team is one game better,
but unlike last season, the Pac-10 is a
muddled group of teams looking for
someone to throw them a bone. One
game can make a world of difference,
but Oregon will most likely not make
the NCAA Tournament with the same
record as last season.
“I don’t think 10-8 is good enough,”
Turn to Women’s, page 6
Adam Amato Emerald
Senior guard Jamie Craighead, a veteran of three NCAA Tournaments, said the Ducks need to win
the Pac-10 Tournament at Mac Court to receive a ninth consecutive bid to March Mayhem.
Recruits to sign
letters of intent
beginning today
■ Ducks receive word that a defensive line
prospect may have not be signing with BYU
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
For most college football coaches, today is bigger
than Halloween.
Today is Signing Day, the first day that recruits can
submit national letters of intent.
But the big question remains: Will it be a trick or a treat
for the Ducks this year?
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti
may have landed the best treat Tues
day, when one of the top prospects in
the country reportedly made a verbal
commitment with the Ducks.
Haloti Ngata — a 6-foot-4, 305
pound defensive tackle from Salt Lake
City who is ranked the No. 2 prep prospect in the country
by Thelnsiders.com — had committed to Brigham
Young, but apparently changed his mind and is headed
for Eugene.
Haloti is “a true dominating defensive tackle that can
wreak havoc from the first second he steps on campus,”
wrote Chris Fetters ofTheInsiders.com. “If Bellotti were
to secure Ngata for this class, it would be a coup of un
heard proportions.”
Bellotti’s Ducks are coming off the best season in Ore
gon football history, highlighted by a 38-16 victory over
Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1. The Ducks fin
ished the season ranked No. 2 in the country, their best
ever ranking.
In the biggest area of concern, Oregon lost both of its
starting defensive backs — seniors Rashad Bauman and
Steve Smith — and starting tailback Maurice Morris. Ac
cording to Thelnsiders.com, Oregon has made offers to
six defensive backs and six running backs this year.
One of the corners who already made a verbal commit
ment to Oregon is Marques Binns, a 5-foot-ll, 160-pound
Los Angeles-native who is a good friend of Oregon de
fensive back Steven Moore.
Running back Hershel Dennis, who led powerhouse
Poly Tech High School to three straight state titles in
Long Beach, Calif., is also expected to make his decision
Turn to Football, page 8
Oregon ready to take its show on the road
■ All five of the Ducks’ losses
have come away from Mac Court,
and Stanford and California will
test them this week in the Bay Area
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
They’re the 13th-best men’s basketball
team in the nation after being unranked a
week ago.
They’re Dick Vitale’s “Team of the
Week” in his
column on
ESPN.com.
They’re the sole
owners of first place in
the unpredictable
Pacific-10 Conference.
Yet, they feel that
some people still
doubt them, and they
plan on changing that this week.
The Ducks (17-5, 9-2) returned to
practice Tuesday after taking two days
off to rest, their bodies after sweeping
the L.A. schools in an energized atmos
phere at McArthur Court.
Oregon raised its home record to 13
0, with the list of victims now including
No. 11 Arizona, No. 15 UCLA, No. 20
Stanford and No. 25 USC.
But — and here’s the Ducks’ mantra
for this week — Oregon has yet to prove
it can consistently win on the road,
where it’s just 4-5.
And this week’s road trip means a
visit to Stanford’s Maples Pavilion,
where the Ducks have lost 16 straight,
and California’s Haas Pavilion.
So, let the road talk begin.
“We’re really looking forward to get
ting on the road and proving to people
that we can win there too,” sophomore
Luke Ridnour said.
“We have to play twice as hard on the
road, and now going on the road is to
tally different because we’re on top,”
senior Anthony Lever said.
“It’s going to be a tough road for us,
but we have to come out with victories
that’ll tell everybody else that we’re for
real,” senior Freddie Jones said. “We
know we are. We just have to continue
to try and prove ourselves.”
These Ducks know what it’s like to be
in the bottom half of the standings after
experiencing last season’s dismal 5-13
Pac-10 record and don’t plan on going
back down there.
Now, Oregon has first place all to it
self but is only a game ahead of USC (8
3) and Arizona (8-3).
“I haven’t looked at the standings, but
I know we’re at the top, and that’s
where we want to stay,” Ridnour said.
Of the seven remaining Pac-10
games, three are at the Pit against the
league doormats in Oregon State (Feb.
16) and the two Washington schools
(Feb. 21-23). The other four games are
on the road, which begin with the two
Bay Area teams this week and a re
match with the Trojans and the Bruins
at the end of the month.
“We just have to bring it every night,”
Jones said. “We have a target on us now,
and that’s what good teams want. They
relish the situation.”
Should the Ducks beat the Cardinal
on the road Thursday for the first time
since Jan. 13, 1986, they will no doubt
continue to receive more national atten
tion as the Pac-10 leader.
Clearly, though, some big-time per
sonalities need to do more homework
on the Ducks. While ESPN’s Dick Vitale
did give Oregon respect, he misspelled
Turn to Men’s, page 8
Adam Amato Emerald
Senior Anthony Lever and the Ducks know the importance of winning on
the road as they head south to California for two games this week.