Sports Editor
Hank Hager
hankhager@dailyemerald.com
Oregon Daily Emerald
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Wednesday, October 29, 2003
Maxwell, Moore questionable for Husky game
Adam Amato Photo Editor
Marcus Maxwell (83) dislocated his shoulder in the third quarter Saturday against the Cardinal
The Ducks will most likely have
to play against Washington
without two key injured players
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
The Ducks have been without key
players all season, but two injuries suf
fered Saturday in Oregon's 35-0 win over
Stanford will test the team's mettle
against Washington.
Senior cornerback
FOOTBALL
dislocated shoulder
Steven Moore went
down after a punt
return in the first
half with a sprained
ankle. Junior wide
receiver Marcus
Maxwell suffered a
the third quarter.
Both are listed as questionable for Ore
gon's game at 1 lusky Stadium in Seattle.
"It's day-to-day," secondary coach
John Neal said of Moore's status. "It
doesn't look good."
Moore was able to gain four yards on
one punt return before the injury forced
him out of the game. Maxwell caught six
passes for 43 yards from quarterbacks
Kellen Clemens and Jason Fife before
leaving the contest.
Maxwell said he hurt the shoulder
when the Ducks ran a screen play, lie
was switching the ball to his other hand
when a Stanford defender stripped the
ball from him. Maxwell reached for the
ball and became entangled with a Cardi
nal defender, dislocating his shoulder.
"I knew immediately (it was hurt)," he
said. "1 couldn't move my arm. I knew it
was something. I thought I could shake
it off. 1 thought it was just some type of
impingement or something."
The transfer from Diablo Valley Col
lege in IMeasant Hill, Calif., said he was
disappointed that he probably won't be
able to step on the field against the
Huskies.
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said
sophomore Demetrius Williams is also a
little banged up and bruised. Junior
Kellen Taylor played against Stanford
with a cast on his hand, but did not catch
a pass.
"Obviously, Kyle Weatherspoon and
Jordan Carey need to be the guys (to step
up)," Bellotti said. "Kellen Taylor is still
playing with a cast on his hand, although
1 think he can be effective given that. But
certainly it puts more pressure on the
two true freshmen."
Moore's loss may put the Ducks at an
even bigger hole. Washington wide receiv
er Reggie Williams is one of the best in the
Pacific-10 Conference and the Huskies
complement him with Charles Frederick.
Frederick may not play Saturday, al
though The News Tribune in Tacoma,
Wash., reported Tuesday that his hurt
shoulder and ribs may be playable after all.
Neal said the Ducks won't alter much
of their defensive plan due to the loss of
Moore.
"You don't ever want to lose your most
experienced corner and say things are
OK," he said. "It's tough, but I think we'll
overcome it."
Cal change
Oregon's game against California on
Nov. 8 at Autzen Stadium has been
changed to a 7 p.m. start.
The game was originally scheduled to
start at 12:30 p.m., but TBS Superstation
announced Monday it has decided to air
the game nationally. It will be one of five
games this season that the Ducks will play
at night.
Oregon opened the season with a night
contest at Mississippi State, then played
road night games against Arizona on Sept.
13 and Utah on Oct. 3. Saturday's game
with Washington will start at 7 p.m.
It will be the first night game at Autzen
since the Ducks defeated Arizona State, 42
24, on Nov. 3, 2001.
Turn to FOOTBALL, page 6
Oregon improving
despite past losses
The Oregon volleyball team still has hopes
of winning its first Pac-10 match of the season
after losing its first 11 of the 2003 season
By Jon Roetman
Sports Reporter
!UP ILP i\
VOLLEYBALL
If last week's matches against No. 1 USC and No. 9 UCLA were a
midterm for the Oregon volleyball team, the Ducks would've re
ceived a passing grade.
Oregon won its first Pacific-10 Conference game of the year and
hammered out a season high 85 digs in a 3-1
loss to UCLA on Thursday. The Ducks also set
a season high with 12.5 blocks the following
night in a 3-0 loss to USC.
Oregon head coach Carl Ferreira said the
Ducks (3-17 overall, 0-11 Pac-10) have im
proved, but still have plenty of work to do.
"The USC, UCLA weekend were our two best Pac-10 matches of
the year," Ferreira said. "It's not coincidental that we have our sea
son high in digs of 85 in one match and our season high in blocks
with 12.5 in the other match.
'"That says you're still progressing, you're getting better and your
system is getting better. *
Other areas the Ducks have improved on are their on-court chem
istry and passing game The latter area was upgraded enough to grab
the attention of USC head coach Mick Haley.
"Their passing game has improved immensely," Haley said after
Friday7s match. "They move the ball around well."
Sophomore middle blocker Kelly Russell said the Ducks' chem
Turn to VOLLEYBALL, page 6
Davis, Jackson lead at
scrimmage
Oregon's first scrimmage
allowed the veterans to
shine, but the Ducks must
improve their ball control
By Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
Amid the increased speed of play
and extensive turnovers, one thing is
for sure: It is the beginning, a 40
rpinute snap
BASKETBALL
shot of what
the season
may or may
not hold for
the Oregon
men's basketball team, which had its
first team scrimmage Monday after
noon at McArthur Court.
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent
mixed up the teams and tried vari
ous combinations during the four
10-minute periods, and he liked
what he saw.
"We did some good things and we
did some bad things," Kent said. "I
like the speed of this team. I like the
versatility of this team. 1 like the way
we passed the ball and how well we
played together."
Oregon played with the speed and
offensive flow of a team that didn't
lose its leading scorer from a year ago
— Luke Ridnour — to the NBA. Un
officially, senior guard James Davis
led all scorers with 18 points. Senior
Luke Jackson was just behind with 17
points and nine rebounds.
Jackson knocked in three baskets
from beyond the three-point line.
"1 feel really comfortable shoot
ing the ball beyond the arc," the
2004 All-American candidate said.
"That's something 1 worked really
hard on all this summer. I feel great
about my shot and I'm going to take
it when I'm open."
Jackson's newfound leadership
was evident during the scrimmage.
He called plays, brought the ball up
the floor and kept his team in check
during the scrimmage.
"I'm definitely enjoying the role
that I'm in right now," Jackson said.
"I'm just trying to lead as much as I
can. And trying to be an encourage
ment to everybody and the younger
guys in teaching them what they need
to know."
There is still much to learn before
the team takes the court. I he coaches
and players were displeased with the
number of turnovers on Monday. Un
officially, the ball was turned over
more than 30 times.
"We can walk the ball up and
Turn to BASKETBALL, page 6
Adam Amato Photo Editor
Senior Luke Jackson finished with 17 points in Oregon’s first
scrimmage Monday.