Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Wednesday, January 15,2003
-—11 Oregon Daily Emerald —-—
Sports
Best bet
NCAA basketball:
Virginia at Duke
4 p.m., ESPN
UO looks to basketball basics vs. PSU
Adam Amato Emerald
Luke Jackson, who struggled to seven points against Stanford on Saturday, looks to rebound
along with the Ducks at Portland State tonight Jackson has been averaging 16.7 points per game.
After a forgettable weekend in the Bay
Area, Oregon focuses on fundamentals
—and Portland State—tonight
Men’s basketball
Adam jude
Senior Sports Reporter
It may not solve all of Oregon’s recent problems, but
Luke Jackson has figured it’s time for a litde change.
“I gotta get this (hair) cut,” Jackson said Tuesday.
“It’s getting out of control.”
So, too, is Oregon’s Pacific-10 Conference season,
which is off to a 1-3 start after consecutive losses to
California and Stanford last weekend.
But there aren’t any drastic changes in store — for
either the team or Jackson. The Oregon junior for
ward has no plans to cut off his patent mop top; just
a quick, $5 trim to keep the bangs out of his face.
Meanwhile, the No. 22 Ducks (10-4 overall) look
to grow from a rough Pac-10 beginning as they break
today from conference play with a bout at Portland
State. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Memorial Col
iseum in Portland. The game will be televised on the
Oregon Sports Network (KEZI).
“We need this game right now,” Oregon head
coach Ernie Kent said. “It gives us a chance to
get back in our rhythm before another Pac-10
(game).”
While Portland State (3-12 overall), on paper,
does not pose a serious threat, the Ducks aren’t
taking tonight’s game lightly. In fact, in their two
practices this week, the Ducks stressed funda
mentals, including Boxing Out 101 to counter
Oregon’s 45-26 rebounding deficit in a loss to
Stanford on Saturday.
“Everyone needs to get back to some funda
mentals,” Jackson said. “That’s what’s made this a
good team.”
Jackson, in particular, is looking to get back on track
after a 5-for-16 shooting performance in the Ducks’
two losses in the Bay Area, which dropped Oregon 10
spots in The Associated Press poll this week.
“He needs to get back into his rhythm,” Kent
said. “Sometimes you need to blow some things
out of your system to get there, you even need to
fail a little bit to get there. And in our case, we
have failed as a basketball team in our last couple
of outings.
“We need to bounce back from some major adver
sity and get rolling again.”
The players had a meeting this week to get
Turn to Men's, page 10
Robert Johnson and
the Duck big men
I will need to step up
over the rest of the
season, starting at
Portland State
tonight.
Jeremy Forrest Emerald
Lavin may not be living at UCLA much longer
The Bruins have struggled to a 4-7 record,
and this year the firing rumors could be true
Pac-10 notes
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
Steve Lavin, UCLA head coach, has long been a target of op
posing fans. Now, it seems, not even Bruin fans support him.
UCLA attendance is at an all-time low as Lavin has led his
team to a 4-7 record this season, including a 2-5 record at
Pauley Pavilion. Now, Lavin is under fire from the media and
fans, but this is nothing new for the seventh-year coach. In
fact, Lavin criticism is almost an annual event, like Christmas
or the Super Bowl.
“His job has always been in jeopardy,” UCLA forward T.J.
Cummings told the Los Angeles Times. “That’s why there is so
much pressure on him all the time.”
According to the Times, Lavin told Bruin Athletic Director
Women won t let near-comeback
set them back for rest of season
For the Ducks, 3.3 seconds was a
lot longer in their loss to Stanford
Women’s basketball
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
Three seconds is just a short amount
of time to most.
For the Oregon women’s basketball
team, it was an eternity.
But then again, it’s just 3.3 seconds. Right?
“We can’t let those last 3.3 seconds de
fine our game,” Oregon head coach Bev
Smith said. “We need to learn from those
last 3.3 seconds, and there is a lot of emo
tion with people out on the floor who did
; that for the first time.”
But despite losing to No. 6 Stanford on
Nicole Powell’s last-second free throws
Saturday, the Ducks have coped well,
and, in hindsight, it appears more of a
confidence-builder than anything.
“We just gelled together and proved to
ourselves that we can play with the best,”
senior Kourtney Shreve said. “We don’t
give up with the team that we are; that
was huge for us. And we know it was a
positive experience.”
It was an emotional experience for the
team as well.
“Afterward, I was real upset,” fresh
man Carolyn Ganes said. “And you just
think of a million things you could have
done differently.”
Through the aftermath of the experi
ence, there was initial heartbreak, but
the Ducks don’t stay down for long. Ore
gon said it feels the experience taught
that the team is now capable and is final
ly realizing its true potential.
Injury updates
Sophomore Kedzie Gunderson was
without her protective face mask Satur
day night in the Stanford game.
Gunderson has worn the mask in every
game because of the broken nose she suf
fered at Montana on Dec. 19. Ironically,
since beginning to wear the mask on Dec.
22, she has gone 7-of-12 (58.3 percent)
from 3-point land. Prior to wearing the
mask, she was 3-of-13 for 23 percent.
“She’s ready to go,” Smith said. “She
feels free and loose, and she can play like
that. Let’s take the mask and get rid of it.”
Sophomore Andrea Bills also is injured
and is suffering from plantar facitis, an
Turn to Women's, page 10
Dan Guerrero on Monday that he will not resign, at least not
this week, with the red-hot Arizona schools coming to Los An
geles. And Guerrero told reporters this weekend that he won’t
fire Lavin during the regular season.
But with things looking bleaker than ever in Westwood, it
can only be a matter of time before something happens to
Lavin or his staff. This year’s predicament is even more drastic
than past Lavin situations.
In his first year, Lavin’s Bruins suffered their worst-ever loss,
Turn to Pac-10, page 10
Danielle Hickey Emerald
Oregon guard Kourtney Shreve (with ball) and the Ducks suffered a
last-second loss to Stanford, but say they will learn from the game.