Oregon daily emerald., October 15, 2004, Image 5

Oregon Daily Emerald
Friday, October 15, 2004
“Tall."
Ray Schafer, Oregon’s 7-foot redshirt freshman,
when asked how the Ducks stand up to the rest of the Pac-10
■ Women's soccer
Geoff Thurner | Oregon Media Services
Senior defender Kelly Baird provides Oregon’s defense with a collected presence on
the field. The Ducks will take on the Beavers tonight at Pap6 Field in Eugene.
After spending her childhood moving from place to place,
senior defender Kelly Baird has found a constant with soccer
BY BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
Dayton, Ohio. Colorado Springs,
Colo. Mojave Desert, Calif.
Rhode Island. San Pedro, Calif.
Alabama. Virginia. San Pedro again.
Culture shocks. East Coast, West
Coast.
Ten months here, ten months there.
Welcome to Kelly Baird’s childhood.
The Oregon senior defender grew up
in the nomadic lifestyle of a military
family and found a constant in her life
through the game of soccer.
On two separate occasions and
several years apart, she found herself
living in San Pedro. While she said
she would remember the people by
face, it was impossible to remember
any names.
“It was tough,” Baird said. “But at
the same time, soccer was the thing
that never really changed. The game is
the same everywhere.”
While soccer was one of the few
constants in her life, it was not always
a positive experience. Being forced to
routinely change teams presented its
own unique challenges.
“(Soccer) meant a lot, but it
was also a hard thing,” Baird said.
“Because club teams are getting
progressively more (exclusive),
where you have this group of 20 girls
and they move from one level to
the next, trying to break in and get
your spot is a lot (to handle) mental
ly. It makes you question whether
you really want to do it.”
But breaking in was always neces
sary for Baird and she continued to
adapt. She learned to just go with the
flow.
“I tend to sit back at first and
watch,” Baird said of feeling out a new
team. “But once I’m comfortable, I’m
fine and in my own element.”
What that element is depends on
what she is preparing for. Before a
match, Baird assumes the role of the
focused, quiet player lost in her own
world.
"Before (a game), I like to put
my headphones on, listen to a
little music and be by myself,” Baird
said. “(I also) picture things in
my head, like hitting a girl hard or
a tackle and then I build off of
everyone else’s energy in the
locker room.”
Outside soccer, Baird is described as
a great friend with, as teammate Chris
tine Mintz describes, a weird sense of
humor.
“A freshman told me that ‘you’re a
lot nicer off the field than on the field,”’
Baird said. “(Normally) I’m just laugh
ing and having a good time, but once I
get on the field, it’s a whole different
story. So, a lot of things that I’ll put up
with off the field, I don’t on the field.”
That mentality has transformed
Baird into one of the strongest defend
ers on the Duck squad. Baird and
Mintz routinely draw the assignment
of covering some of the best players in
the country.
Her career numbers at Oregon — 17
shots, eight shots on goal, two goals
and one assist — do little to speak of
the contribution she brings to the
team.
“Teammates look to her to be calm
and composed,” Oregon head coach
Bill Steffen said. “Kelly is a key leader
for us defensively and a calming pres
ence in the back.”
Her strength in the back extends
to many aspects of her life. Baird
has endured a number of injuries
in her Duck career. The biggest came
when she dislocated an ankle during
the first minute of the Ducks’ 2004
spring game, an injury that required
three screws to be inserted into
her ankle.
“Everybody has injuries over the
season,” Steffen said. “But she has
overcome every one. She worked hard
on her rehab and that earns her respect
from her teammates.”
A true teammate in every sense,
Baird is quick to return that respect.
“Every game we’ve won, every
game we’ve lost, they’ve been there,”
Baird said. “It sounds almost corny,
but at the same time it’s who you have
at your side day in and day out.”
Mintz agrees.
“When you move around a lot, it’s
always nice to have a team to fall back
on,” Mintz said. “It’s always a stabiliz
ing force."
Soccer has provided not only friends
and opportunity for Baird, but has
been a showcase for her strength as an
individual.
briansmith@ daily emerald, com
■ Men's basketball
Ducklings: Oregon's youthful additions add depth
Without a senior on the roster, the Ducks are turning to young
players to fill the void left by graduates like Luke Jackson
BY JON ROETMAN
SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER
The Oregon men’s basketball program is un
dergoing a youth movement.
The Ducks’ 2004-05 roster features six sopho
mores, four incoming freshmen, one redshirt
freshman and most notably, zero seniors.
Don’t be mistaken, however. Oregon’s new
bies are some of the most talented in the coun
try and should provide for an exciting, up
tempo brand of basketball.
Guards Malik Hairston, Bryce Taylor, Cham
berlain Oguchi and forward Maarty Leunen
compose one of the top recruiting classes in
Oregon basketball history.
Add sophomore point guard Aaron Brooks,
junior-college transfer Kenny Love and three sev
en-footers, and head coach Ernie Kent finds him
self with a deep, talented team he said can com
pete with anyone in the Pacific-10 Conference.
“From a talent basis, we’re right there,” Kent
said. “They’re big, they’re athletic and their
work ethic is already in place.”
Plenty of media attention has been paid to the
youthful Ducks with the addition of Hairston.
The 6-foot-6 Detroit, Mich., phenom was ranked
as the top shooting guard prospect in the country
by Rivals and No. 7 overall coming out of Renais
sance High School. He’s considered Oregon’s
highest-profile signee since Greg Ballard and Ron
Lee during the 1970s.
Rivals ranked Taylor as the 50th-best player
in the country, while Leunen was ranked 60th
and Oguchi 74th.
“In my 13 years as a head coach, I’ve never
been around a team that has received so much
hype over the course of a summer and fall
heading into a basketball season,” Kent said.
“Obviously that’s a good place to be because
that means we’ve done something right. ”
Hairston said the hype surrounding his ar
rival at Oregon hasn’t derailed his focus of be
ing successful.
“There’s no pressure,” Hairston said. “I
know a lot of people are raving about it, but
honestly, I’m just focused on what I want to get
done. I want to become a winning program.
This is a good basketball team. We have a lot to
learn but we’ll be there every step of the way. ”
Along with a talented group of young wing
players, the Ducks will have a more-experi
enced Brooks running the show. After being
selected to the Pac-10 All-Freshman team last
season, Brooks spent the summer improving
his perimeter shooting to become a more
complete offensive weapon.
The Seattle native will also take on a leader
ship role with the loss of seniors Luke Jackson,
James Davis, Andre Joseph and Jay Anderson.
“My role on this team is to be the floor general,”
Brooks said. “You know (the freshmen) are going
to fall sometimes. That’s human nature. But we’ll
be there to pick them up when it happens. ”
Kenny Love will provide depth at the position
after playing his freshman season at Casper Col
lege in Wyoming. Kent said the Ducks “won’t
Freshmen Bryce
Taylor (4),
Chamberlain Oguchi
(25), Maarty
Leunen (10)and
Malik Hairston (1)
will be looked upon
to be major
contributors to
the 200405
Oregon men’s
basketball team.
Nicole
Barker
Photographer
miss a beat" when Love takes over for Brooks.
Oregon will be strong inside as well with four
players standing 6-foot-10 or taller. Junior Ian
Crosswhite returned from a five-week trip to Aus
tralia in the best shape of his career and is ready
to improve on his honorable mention all-confer
ence honors from last season. Sophomore Mitch
Platt received valuable playing time last year and
showed he can hold his own in the paint. Junior
Matt Short and redshirt freshman Ray Schafer are
also expected to contribute.
Kent said the Ducks’ talent and depth will al
low them to run teams into the ground with an
attacking style of offense.
“We’re going to run,” Kent said. “We’re
going to try and make the game as fast and
chaotic as we possibly can with this group. We
have a lot of depth, a lot of size, a lot of weapons
and a lot of speed and we want people to play to
our strength and that’s going to their bench.”
With so many young players, maintaining a
high level of confidence will be critical to Ore
gon’s success. Self-assurance shouldn’t be a
problem for the time-being, as the youthful
Ducks receive plenty of preseason attention.
“It’s their time,” Cross white said. “They need
that kind of hype to give them confidence com
ing into the season. When it comes down to it,
it will take at least 10 of us to win these games.
They’re going to need that confidence when
their shots aren’t dropping.”
jonwetman@dailyemerald.com