Sports Editor:
Hank Hager
hankhager@dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, April 6,2004
Oregon Daily Emerald
SPORTS
Best bet
MLB:
San Francisco vs. Houston
5 p.m., ESPN2
Huskies deny Yellow Jackets, take NCAA title
Emeka Okafor scores 24
and grabs 15 rebounds
in Connecticut’s national
title victory on Monday
By Aditi Kinkhabwala
The Record (KRT)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Thirty
seven minutes, three seconds into
the game, Jim
coach turned to his bench and
lashed out at assistant George
Blaney. For three years Calhoun's
MEN'S
BASKETBALL
Calhoun was
at it again.
A whistle
blew, the
Connecticut
been yelling at Blaney, and now,
2:57 from his second national
championship was no time to stop.
Not with the Huskies up by 12.
Not with the Huskies playing with
zeal and fervor, with passion and
sheer dominance. No, he gave
Blaney an evil eye 30 seconds later,
had cross words for likely lottery pick
Ban Gordon with 1:05 to go, and
then again for Blaney with less than
43 seconds to play and the Alamod
ome crowd filing out.
Jim Calhoun didn't stop working
Monday night. And neither did the
Huskies. Not till they'd captured the
national title they'd been picked to
win back in October, not till Georgia
Tech valiantly went down, 82-73.
"This is the best feeling in the
world," said star UConn guard Ben
Gordon, who scored 21 points. "I just
keep on telling myself that I would
not be denied, and that I would not
let my team lose no matter what."
All-America center Emeka Okafor
had his say in the matter, leading
the winners with 24 points and 15
rebounds.
Calhoun said of his players: "1 fell
in love with them."
Denham Brown came to the
bench with a smile and a head slap
for Charlie Villanueva with 40 sec
onds to go, two handfuls of former
Connecticut stars - led by Ray Allen
- filed behind the bench with 30
seconds to go, Alamodome
Turn to TITLE, page 8
Connecticut's
Emeka Okafor
and Georgia
Tech’s Luke
Schenscher(12)
battled for the
ball during the
Huskies' 82-73
victory in
the national
championship
on Monday in
San Antonio.
Patrick Schneider
Charlotte Observer
Hank Hager
Behind the dish
Bring in
big-time
baseball
to Eugene
Portland opens
up the 2004 Pa
cific Coast League
Baseball season
Thursday.
The Beavers are
on the road for ;;
the start of the
season, heading
out to Las Vegas
Editor's note:
Sports Editor Hank
Hager has interned
and worked for the
Portland Beavers
andtheEugene
Emeralds.
to take on the 51 s, the Triple-A dub of the
Los Angeles Dodgers.
On April 16, the Beavers return to
Portland to take on the 51s again. The
Turn to HAGER, page 10
To the future
Oregon struggled through an inconsistent season but looks to right some wrongs next year
Adam Amato Senior Photographer
Aaron Brooks missed 10 games this season due to injury, but returned in an Oregon loss to Arizona. He returns for the 200405
season as a key component of an Oregon offense that will miss Luke Jackson, Andre Joseph and James Davis.
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
Oregon's 78-53 loss to Michi
gan last week in the semifi
nals of the National Invita
tion Tournament didn't just end the
Ducks' season.
It also ended the college careers of
four seniors and an era unparalleled
in Oregon's history.
Goodbye, Luke Jackson. See you
later, James Davis. Hit the road, Jay
Anderson. Don't look back, Andre
Joseph.
Their careers are done. But in doing
so, those legacies open the door for
the future of Oregon basketball.
_ "Luke Jack
after the loss. "He's going to leave num
bers, footprints and legacies that may
never be matched again at Oregon. I
can't say enough about what he's ac
complished.
"With the other three seniors, for
this team to go through the injuries
and the adversity, we played some
outstanding basketball our last six out
MIEN'S
BASKETBALL
son has had an
incredible ca
reer, " Oregon
head coach
Ernie Kent said
Turn to FUTURE, page 10
Club baseball comes out on short end in 3-game series
Oregon catcher
Jon Loomis
was named
the player of
the week in the
NCBA last week.
He helped the
Ducks to a win
over Washington
Saturday at
Civic Stadium
in Eugene.
Erik R. Bishoff
Photographer
The Ducks won the first game of a three
game series against Western Washington
By Kirsten McEwen
Freelance Reporter
What a difference an inning makes.
Heading into the seventh and final inning on Sun
day, Oregon's Club baseball team led Western Wash
ington 11-4 at Eugene's Civic Stadium. The Ducks
(12-3) were only three outs away from winning the
series against one of their
toughest opponents and secur
ing first place in the National
Club Baseball Association.
When the top of the seventh
inning ended, Western Washing
ton (2-1) had scored nine runs
and taken the lead, 13-11. All nine runners came
around to score before Oregon even secured an out.
Western Washington took the series, 2-1.
Club
Sports
"It's one thing when you lose, but n. s another thing
when you have the game in your hand and lose at the
very end," Oregon center fielder Tory Caputo said.
A day earlier, the Ducks struggled against Western
Washington from the start, finding themselves behind
9-0 heading into the fourth inning of the first game of a
doubleheader. Oregon managed to score six runs in the
fourth inning, and in its last inning at bat, the Ducks
tied the game at 11. Catcher Jon Loomis' single brought
the winning run home and the Ducks won their first
home game, 12-11.
Then came game two.
"We thought we had tons of momentum going into
our second game and we did. We jumped on them and
got a 5-0 lead," first baseman Jeff Douglas said.
Third baseman Travis Chock hit a three-run home
run in the bottom of the second inning to put the
Ducks up early. In the fifth, Oregon gave up six runs
and found itself behind, 11-6, going into the last
Turn to SERIES, page 9