Sports Editor:
Hank Hager
hankhager@dailyemerald.com
Oregon Daily Emerald
SPORTS
Best bet
NCAA basketball:
Arizona vs. Stanford
3 p.m. Saturday, ABC
Friday, February 6, 2004
Not-so movie star
Jay Anderson brings much more to the Ducks than can be seen in 40 minutes
Adam Amato Senior Photographer
Center Jay Anderson (55) is averaging 3.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He has been a
consistent contributor off the bench in his senior season.
By Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
hances are you don't know Jay An
derson. He doesn't make the big
headlines and he doesn't average a
double-double.
His name is never announced at the be
ginning of the game when the crowd
chants and cheers and the band plays for
Oregon's starters.
Anderson comes off the bench, con
tributes as much as he can and averages 3.8
points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
"People that come to watch the games
and stuff — people just see some skinny
white guy that's going hard and running
around the court," redshirt sophomore
Matt Short said. "(They) probably think
he's maybe a pretty boring guy."
And that's all, right?
Wrong.
"A lot of people may not know at first
glance what Jay is like," Short said. "He kind
of seems quiet at first, but if you're around
him a bit, he's going to have you rolling
around on the ground. He's one of the fun
niest guys I know."
Anderson is also a movie star. Well,
maybe not a star.
He served as an extra in the 1993 film
"Grumpy Old Men."
"Right as the title of the movie comes up
on the screen, you can see me walking
across the street, it's pretty funny," said An
derson, who was in sixth grade at the time.
"They all make fun of me. I got my dad's
boots on, and my boots are just huge. I
have this big parka on."
Anderson's mother, who worked at a ra
dio station in Faribault, Minn, at the time,
hooked him up with the spot.
The senior is the first native Minnesotan
to play for the Ducks. Graduating from
Faribault High School as a McDonald's All
American nominee, Anderson "didn't even
know where Oregon was," he admits.
Turn to STAR, page 9
Ducks use emotion as fuel for OSU
The Oregon women’s basketball team heads
north to Corvallis for this season's second Civil War
By Mindi Rice
Senior Sports Reporter
WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL
The first game came down to the final 4.9 seconds.
Oregon's final possession ended with a 19-foot jumper by
Brandi Davis for a 56-54 victory.
__ That was the first Civil War this sea
son, Jan. 10, at McArthur Court.
Saturday brings the second round of
the women's basketball Civil War, this
time at Gill Coliseum with a 7 p.m. tipoff.
"I know we're going to go through the
highs and lows during the game because it's so emotional, but
we need to come and be emotional for the game and be ready to
go," Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. "I thought that's what
we did here (in January). We just played with composure and
allowed the energy to fuel us when we needed it to and yet did
n't get too high or too low.
"In a rivalry game, who ever looks after those emotions —
both good and bad — will be in control."
In the 72nd women's Civil War, both Oregon and Oregon
State are rebounding from a split road trip to Los Angeles last
weekend. The Beavers (11-9 overall, 5-6 Pacific-10 Conference)
are currendy sixth in the conference while Oregon sits eighth.
The Ducks' record — 11-10 and 3-8 — has sparked a bit of
emotion into their season.
"It's always a big game against Oregon State," forward Kedzie
Gunderson said. "We're just going to go in and play like we've
been playing. We've been playing well right now, working well
against the zone and they play a lot of that."
Oregon has spent the past weeks concentrating on one con
cept: playing as a team. Past the lost leads, the struggle against
the full-court press and the cold-shooting nights, the Ducks are
Adam Amato Senior Photographer
Oregon junior Kedzie Gunderson has three career highs — assists, field
goals and three-point field goals - in past Civil War games.
making each game about themselves more than their opponent.
"You always study the scout and do this and do that, but right
now it's totally about making sure that we're playing well to
gether," Gunderson said. "Once we do that, the rest just comes."
Turn to FUEL, page 10
3-point defense
provides segue
for UO offense
Oregon leads the Pac-10 in three-point defense,
allowing teams to shoot 29.1 percent this season
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
As much as the three-point shot has been the sizzle of the
Oregon offense this season, the three-point effort on defense
has been the team's steak.
The Ducks, already known as one of the top sharp-shooting
teams in the nation, have also turned the
ta^^es on opposing teams this season.
IVllz.lM While Oregon has shot 42.4 percent from
BASKETBALL l^ie t^ree"P°'nt l*ne — good for third in
_ the nation — it has held opponents to
29.1 percent defensively.
That figure places the Ducks first in the Pacific-10 Conference, a
good five percentage points higher than second place Arizona.
"It's a big focus, because one of the things I think you have
to do defensively is field goal percentage defense, both from
the field and the three-point line," Oregon assistant coach
Fred Litzenberger said. "I think it's improved this year. One of
the big reasons is that our defensive transition has gotten
more consistent."
Oregon has been known as a fast-paced running team under
head coach Ernie Kent, and now it is beginning to pay off de
fensively. Last season, the Ducks allowed opposing teams to
shoot 34.9 percent from beyond the arc, seventh in the Pac-10.
Overall, opposing offenses were successful on 42 percent of
their shots last season.
Now, in the third year under defensive gum Litzenberger, the
Ducks are showing the capability to stop opposing teams.
"We're getting back to where we're supposed to more con
sistently," he said. "Both at the wings and on top. One of the
most important things is to give up no open shots. No open
looks, no easy baskets. To me, it's just like a lay-up, except it
counts for three points because it's outside the arc. I think it's
really important you get the floor covered outside the three
point arc."
With the capability of being able to stop opposing teams up
high, the Ducks, theoretically, have the opportunity to outpace
teams in the long run. A three-pointer is always worth more
than a lay-up.
Remember, Oregon averages 9.1 three-pointers per game.
That's nine more points than teams that take those same nine
shots from inside the three-point line.
"Ifyou do the math, that sounds good," Oregon guard James
Davis said. "Definitely we just tiy to key on the great shooters.
We just try to take out their best perimeter players and just go
from there.
"We know that's a huge advantage for us and we know there
are some great shooters in this league as well. If we take away
the three-point shot, it will definitely help our chances."
Count the development of Ian Crosswhite, Mitch Platt and
Jay Anderson as keys to Oregon's success this season.
Crosswhite has become the inside threat the Ducks have
been looking for in recent years and Platt is playing well in his
freshman season. Anderson has come off the bench to sup
plant the two at times and played a season-high 30 minutes
against California last week.
With the three becoming physical posts for Oregon, the team
has had to worry less about its inside game, allowing Davis and
the rest of the guards to worry more about opposing team's
perimeter players. With that, they don't have to collapse down
as much.
"I think that's really an important part because if an offense
can come down and throw it inside real easy and get an easy
basket, then a foul, that's a three-point opportunity too,"
Litzenberger said. "You need inside players who won't let it go
inside and that's one of the things that Mitch, Ian and Jay have
really done a good job of this year."
That will be key for the Ducks against Oregon State on Satur
day. The Beavers connected on just 25 percent of the their three
point attempts in a nine-point win on Jan. 10, but hit four in
the first half to keep the game close.
As a team this season, Oregon State has shot 32.6 percent from
beyond the arc. Like the message has been all season for opposing
teams, though, the Beavers cannot be underestimated.
"It's a good matchup for them because their perimeter
Turn to DEFENSE, page 10