Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Friday, October 11,2002
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
Best bet
MLB: Minnesota at Anaheim
5 p.m. Friday, Fox
Basketball bus rumbles toward season
Adam Amato Emerald
After reaching the Elite Eight last year, junior forward Luke Jackson (33) and junior point guard
Luke Ridnour (left) will anchor Oregon's up-tempo offense again this season.
The Oregon men’s hoops team is looking
forward to another season of success
Men’s basketball
Adam Jude
Senior Sports Reporter
As it traveled throughout the country and across
international borders, Oregon’s bus of basketball
madness made a few pit stops during the summer.
A few folks’ tickets expired, so they were booted,
gracefully, from the ride. And a few stragglers were
picked up along the way.
The bus stopped again Thursday at McArthur
Court so the riders could say hello to the media and
talk about their excitement and anticipation and ex
pectations for another season.
But it’s easy to sense that the bus, after making
its way to the Elite Eight last season , wants to just
keep rollin’.
“We’re going to be a different team, but we’re go
ing to be really good,” junior forward Luke Jackson
said at the men’s basketball media day Thursday.
For one, another Kent has surfaced on the Oregon
men’s basketball team, joining three other freshmen
and one junior college transfer as the rookies on the
Ducks’ roster.
Those five newcomers look to help replace the
loss of starters Freddie Jones and Chris Christof
fersen, who combined for almost 27 points and 11
rebounds per game during the Ducks’ Pacific-10
Conference championship season last year.
Head coach Ernie Kent, who coached the U.S. Ju
nior National Team in Venezuela this summer, said the
Ducks should continue where they left off in March.
“It was a great season last year, and we don’t want
to forget that,” said Kent, who now has two sons, Mar
cus and Jordan, on his roster. “The continuity is in
place. We’re not rebuilding, we’re reloading.
“To experience March Madness ... I think that im
mensely helped our program. Hopefully, we’ll get
back there.”
While there are new names and new jersey
numbers to learn, Mac Court did have a sense of
familiarity Thursday, namely with the return of
the mop tops.
The Lukes, Ridnour and Jackson, showed off the
raggv ’dos that made them famous last season. Well,
at least helped make them famous. Their play did
n’t hurt their popularity.
With the loss of Jones, the team’s leading scorer
last year, the Lukes will be the focal point of Ore
gon’s up-tempo offense.
“We feel we can pick up right where we left off,”
said Ridnour, a junior who enters his third season as
Oregon’s starting point guard. “I just gotta do what I
gotta do to help out the team. If that means scoring
more, I’ll score more.”
During the 2001-02 campaign, Ridnour averaged
15.5 points and a team-high five assists per game en
route to being named to the all-Pac-10 first team. His
name partner, Jackson, an honorable mention all
league selection, averaged 16.7 points, 5.4 rebounds
and 3.3 assists.
During the summer, Jackson was a counselor at
Michael Jordan’s high-school basketball camp in
Santa Barbara, Calif. Jackson, a 6-foot-7 forward,
said he matched up against the NBA legend in pick
up games, and held his own.
“He’s 39 years old, so I’m a bit quicker than him.
But he still has a decent shot,” Jackson said with a
straight face. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”
Jordan called out Jackson at the camp one morn
ing, challenging the Oregon star to hit a round of
three-pointers in a row. If Jackson did so, everyone
at the camp would get a new pair of shoes.
“I went all the way across and back and was on
my second-to-last shot before I missed,“ Jackson
said. “But it was a lot of pressure, especially with
Michael talking to you the whole time.”
Jackson and the Ducks are hoping that they don’t
miss much else this season. In fact, coach Kent says
they won’t. He says his team is more athletic this
season, despite the loss of Jones, who was known for
his posterizing dunks.
“There’s no way we’re going to replace the spec
tacular flair of Freddie Jones,“ the coach said. “(But)
we’re more athletic than last year. We understand
how to run even better.”
Replacing Jones and his athleticism will be up to a
Turn to Men's, page 9A
Volleyball heads
south in search
of streak-ender
The Ducks will look to end their Pac-10 futility
against UCLA and No. 1 USC this weekend
Volleyball
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
The Oregon volleyball players have said all season that if they
play up to their potential, they will have an opportunity to win
their first Pacific-10 Conference match of the season.
Two things stand in the Ducks’ way: No. 13 UCLA on Friday,
followed Saturday by the No. 1 team in the nation, USC.
If history has anything to say about it, the Ducks won’t know
what hit them.
Oregon has beaten UCLA just once — in 1987 — en route to
a 17-11 season for the Ducks. Since then, the Bruins have
earned a 28-match winning streak against the Ducks, an im
pressive streak considering it has spanned 14 seasons and three
Oregon head coaches.
Then there’s USC. The Trojans have been just as unforgiving
to the Ducks in recent years, defeating Oregon in 23-straight
contests. Overall, Oregon has handled USC better than they
have UCLA, although the Ducks still trail in the series, 29-6.
But with a new season comes a new sense of optimism for end
ing the 26-match conference losing streak that has plagued the
Ducks. Oregon has the Bruins and Trojans well within its sights.
“We’re looking to play hard and bring back the fire that this
team controls,” senior Lindsay Closs said.
At the core of Oregon’s resurgence in energy and vigor stands
the team’s freshmen — Kelly Russell, Jodi Bell, Dariam Acevedo
and Jaclyn Jones. The group has provided an offensive spark to
a team that lacked the essentials to be successful in the past.
“They’re phenomenal,” head coach Carl Ferreira said. “Part
Turn to Volleyball, page 8A
Ducks dive into Pac-10 play
Jeremy Forrest Emerald
Sarah Denner (10) said the Ducks hope to use their home field
advantage this weekend in matches with Washington and WSU.
Oregon begins conference play this weekend
against Washington and Washington State
Soccer
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
The Oregon women’s soccer team will get the chance to
start over this weekend.
A chance to forget the past and wipe the slate clean.
The Ducks get that chance as conference play begins
against Washington, today at 7 p.m., and Washington State,
Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games will be home at Pape Field.
Oregon is off to its worst start ever at 1-7-1 and is current
ly last in the Pac-10.
The Ducks have not won since a tournament win on Sept.
22 against Wisconsin-Green Bay in Corvallis. Oregon has
lost its last three games and may be due for a win, but Wash
ington won’t make it easy.
The No. 19 Huskies are winless in their last three games,
all on the road. All three matches were against top-10
ranked teams, which complicates things for Oregon.
“They are really going to try and come after us as hard as
they can,” Oregon assistant coach Jon Kiester said.
Oregon had its best Pac-10 performance against Washing
ton last season in Seattle, an intense battle that ended in a 1
1 tie after overtime. The Ducks were very excited about the
performance last year and want to prove themselves now
that the Huskies are coming to Pape Field.
“We want to play better than that at home,” senior for
ward Sarah Denner said. “We are focusing on what we need
to do to be our best.”
Prior to the 2001 matchup, Oregon had lost to the
Huskies five times from 1996-99. But with Washington —
struggling on the road and the Ducks talking about having
something to prove, it could be anyone’s game.
Less than 48 hours after the Huskies game, the Ducks will
face off with Washington State on Sunday at Pape Field.
The Ducks-Cougars matchup proves favorable for Oregon
Turn to Soccer, page 8A