Sports Editor:
Hank Hager
hankhager@dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, March 9, 2004
Oregon Daily Emerald
SPORTS
Best bet
Soccer:
Manchester United vs. FC Porto
11:30 a.m., ESPN2
Jackson misses out on Player of the Year award
Stanford’s Josh Childress
took home the Pac-10's
top honor on Monday
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
For all the things Luke Jackson did
this season — from leading his team
in points, rebounds and assists per
game to the fashion in which he
scored his final two points of his
McArthur Court career — it wasn't
enough to gain major recognition in
the Pacific-10 Conference.
Just two days after sinking two free
throws in the final 13 seconds of Ore
gon's 60-59 win over UCLA, Jackson
was named to the All-Pac-10 team on
Monday. The forward was figured by
many as a candidate for Pac-10 Player
of the Year honors.
But the conference's coaches did
n't see it that way. The group instead
gave the top honor to Stanford's
Josh Childress.
Also winning major awards were
California's Leon Powe, who took
home the Freshman of die Year hon
ors, and Stanford's Mike Montgomery,
who earned Coach of the Year.
The conference nomination is the
second in a row for Jackson, who aver
aged 21.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and
4.52 assists per game this season. He
is the only player in the Pac-10 to place
in the top 10 in all three categories.
Jackson did, however, earn Player
of the Week honors Monday after
scoring 41 points in two games
against Southern California and
UCLA last week. His two free throws
effectively gave the Ducks a No. 5 seed
in the Pac-10 Tournament next week.
Had Oregon finished sixth in the
conference, it would have faced off
against Arizona, a team that swept the
Ducks this season. Instead, Oregon
will play California.
"With Luke Jackson, he's going to
be a first team All-American, he's still
on the Wooden Award list and he's
going to have an opportunity to get
drafted," Oregon head coach Ernie
Kent said after Oregon's game
against UCLA. "If that doesn't say
enough for it, then so be it.
"Him staying another year was a
positive for him. He's re-established
himself in the record books and he
has a chance to be an All-American."
Jackson is still a finalist for the Nai
smith and John R. Wooden awards,
both given to the nation's best player.
The Naismith award winner will be
announced on April 9 and the Wood
en will follow a day later.
Jackson was also named an
ESPN.com All-American on Friday.
He joined St. Joseph's Jameer Nelson,
Connecticut's Emeka Okafor, North
Carolina State's Julius 1 lodge and
Providence's Ryan Gomes.
Arizona and Stanford both placed
two players on the All-Pac-10 list. In ad
dition to Childress, the Cardinal had
sophomore Chris 1 lemandez honored.
Sophomore Andre Iguodala and jun
ior Channing Frye made it onto the list
for Arizona, which finished the season
in third place in the Pac-10. Washington,
which took second, saw sophomore
Nate Robinson voted as an All-Pac-10
player by the conference's coaches.
Powe was the only player to appear
on both lists and is California's lone rep
resentative on the All-Pac-10 team. Ari
zona State's Ike Diogu — last season's
Freshman of the Year — USC's Desmon
Fanner and Oregon State's David Lucas
round out the All-Pac-10 team.
Jackson was |
not the only I
Oregon player I
honored by I
the Pac-10 on j
Monday.
Aaron Brooks |
was named to 1
the Pac-10 All
Freshman I
team despite [
missing 10 . , , ,
conference Lllk© Jackson
games due to Oregon forward
a broken
bone in his right hand.
Sophomore lan Crosswhite was
named as an All-Pac-10 honorable
mention selection and Mitch Platt
made it onto the honorable mention
list for freshmen.
Contact the sports editor
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.
Hank Hager
Behind the dish
Don't rush
judgment
on steroid
allegations
Here's a little question to ponder: When
was the last time a pill, a powder or a sy
ringe was able to hit a home run?
Let that sink in for just a bit before an
swering. Think about it. Think of their
most common uses, then dedde for your
self their place in athletics.
If you've been paying attention to ru
mors surrounding Barry Bonds, Gary
Sheffield and a handful of professional
baseball players, then you know why a
pill, a powder and a syringe are so preva
lent in the media right now.
The thing is, I really don't get how they've
been credited for the spike in home runs or
improved performance on the field.
Yeah, I'll say steroids are bad. That's the
easy way to analyze the issue. Used im
properly, or illegally — remember, they do
have some practical medicai purposes —
steroids become a concern.
Supposedly, steroids allow athletes to
get bigger in a shorter period of time. But
does bigger necessarily mean better when
talking about baseball?
Can steroids hit a baseball? Do steroids
enable a player to make a backhanded
stab at third base and rifle the ball across
the diamond before fans can blink?
There's been no medical proof to show
that steroids improve hand-eye coordina
tion, which is the basis for almost every
thing a baseball player has to do on the
field. Granted, steroids may allow for that
first baseman to hit the ball 10 more feet.
Really, though, is that enough to im
prove a player's season by 10 home runs,
or even five for that matter?
It has been said that the hardest thing for a
baseball player to do is hit a baseball. In fact
that may be the hardest thing to do in sports.
Well, some players have been known to
get their eyes surgically fixed, a procedure
Turn to HAGER, page 6
UO Club volleyball
goes 6-1 in tourney
The Ducks narrowly missed
the championship match
By Kirsten McEwen
Freelance Reporter
For a team that has struggled to establish
a solid lead in the first minutes of previous
matches, Oregon men's Club volleyball
showed promising signs of kicking the
habit Saturday.
The Ducks host
ed the Second An
nual Northwest
Volleyball Classic at
the Student Recre
ation Center, plac
ing third overall
and losing in the semifinals to Western
Washington.
The Ducks started the day with pool
play to determine how each team would
be seeded in the tournament. Oregon won
all three games in its division, defeating
Humboldt State, Idaho and Washington
State, putting the Ducks in a good position
to begin their first game in bracket play.
"We played the best volleyball our
team has ever played in the morning,"
volleyball coordinator Kyle Sinner said.
Hoping to build on their momentum
from earlier wins, the Ducks finished with
Club
Sports
an overall record of 6-1 on the day and
lost to the 14th-ranked team in the na
tion, Western Washington. The Ducks
forced the match into three games as
Western Washington won the first set 25
23, and Oregon won the second, 25-22.
Despite strong performances from
middle blockers Steve Jang and Derek
Olson, Oregon lost its final game, 15-11,
and missed its chance to compete in the
championship game. Western Washing
ton went on to play Simon Fraser — the
eventual tournament champion — in
the final match.
Although Oregon fell short of compet
ing in the diampionship, the Ducks cap
tured third place after beating a Seattle
Club team. The Ducks ended the match
with a 25-20 win to solidify a day of
strong performances both on an individ
ual and team level.
Representing the Ducks on the All
Tournament Team was setter Judson
Mead and outside hitter Toshihisa Chiba.
"Both of these players did an outstand
ing job for us all day long," Sinner said.
Oregon's success on Saturday, Sinner
said, can be attributed to the team's abili
ty to serve the ball consistendy.
"Our serving was immaculate," Sinner
said. "It was one of the main reasons we
Turn to CLUB, page 6
Erik R, Bishoff Photographer
Kyle Sinner (6) and the Ducks won six matches on Saturday.
Tim Bobosky Photographer
Jess Caryton finished with a tworound score of 158 to tie for 13th on Monday.
UO women lead first day
Six of Oregon’s golfers finished
in the top 15 after a second
round charge on Monday
By Brian Smith
Freelance Reporter
DUCK
The Oregon women's golf team felt
right at home Monday.
Having been slighted by Mother Nature
last week in North Carolina, the Ducks
took full advan
tage of the fact that
they opened their
spring season at
home by jumping
out to an opening
day lead at the
2004 Duck Invitational. Underneath clear
blue skies and 60-degree temperatures,
four of Oregon's competitors finished in
the top 10 on the 5,968-yard, par-72 Eu
gene Country Club course.
The Ducks showed a little rustiness in
the morning round. In spite of the fact,
the Ducks were in second after a first
round 315, seven strokes back of Wash
ington State, confident that they could
make a second-round charge.
"After I saw the first-round scores, I
knew our second round would be bet
ter," Oregon head coach Shannon Rouil
lard said. "We had a little hiccup in the
first round and 1 guess I expected that be
cause of some rust and nervousness, but 1
think playing 36 holes was a great advan
tage for us today, because we are a physi
cally tough and mentally tough team."
The advantage did indeed favor the
Ducks as they fired the low round of the
tournament's first day, a 298 in the sec
ond round; a 17-stroke improvement
from the morning. The Ducks used that
momentum to jump ahead of Washing
ton State to take the team lead at the end
of day one.
Sophomore Therese Wenslow
Turn to GOLF, page 6