Oregon Daily Emerald
Friday, December 3, 2004
“He should be fresh, and he should
be light. Light in the pockets. ’’
Detroit guard Chauncey Billups on Ben Wallace returning after
serving a suspension that cost him $400,000
■ In my opinion
CLAYTON JONES
SEVENTH INNING STRETCH
Past teams
should not
be confused
with present
The Oregon men’s basketball team has
started its season in a nice fashion at 3-0
with an upcoming game against Vanderbilt
on the horizon at the Pape Jam in Portland.
They’ve defeated a good New Mexico
team at home and have beat up on two cup
cake teams to get to where they are now.
So how good is this team?
In my eyes they have exceeded expecta
tion, but one thing wrong with other peo
ple’s expectations is that they compare this
team to Oregon teams of the past, especially
the Elite Eight team of 2001-02.
That’s not fair.
I’ve heard on numerous occasions that this
team is “in better shape than the Elite Eight
team,” or that they are “a better defensive
squad than the Elite Eight team,” but I’m
afraid that all of you who are comparing this
team to that team are completely off track.
This is not that team.
Not even close.
This year’s squad hasn’t won anything yet.
Talented: yes.
Proven: no.
Go back in the time machine with me to
the 2001-02 season.
The Ducks went 26-9 for the season. They
defended Mac Court perfectly with a 16-0
record (the first time since 1937-38).
Most importantly, they had Luke, Luke
and Fred.
Who can forget when Oregon faced Wake
Forest in the NCAA tournament and the trio
combined for 81 (Jackson 29, Ridnour 28,
Jones 24) of the team’s 92 points.
Or the Texas game when Jones, despite
only having two points for the previous 39
minutes, drove through the lane and scored
the game-winning basket with 2.8 seconds
left to propel Oregon to a 72-70 victory —
and a spot in the Elite Eight.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not bashing this
season’s Oregon team at all.
One of my favorite things about this squad
is that it doesn’t want to be those teams. Red
shirt freshman Ray Schafer told me the 2004
OS Ducks don’t want to be compared to
teams of the past; they are their own team.
Yes, they still have the uptempo style and
great scoring talent like previous teams, but
they are different.
One thing they are missing is a big, tough
presence in the middle that makes little
guards think twice about coming inside.
A Robert Johnson or a Brian Helquist type
of player. Someone that can do the dirty
work in the interior and has the size to push
some bodies around.
Mitch Platt could be that guy for the Ducks.
He’s big (6-foot-10,265 pounds), and if he gets
healthy and gets a little bit of a mean streak in
him, he could be the enforcer the Ducks need.
But remember, this team is young. It will
take its bumps and bruises, and to hold it
to the same expectation as past teams is
unreasonable.
claytonjones@dailyemerald. com
■ Men's basketball
Away game, home advantage
uregon will face Vanderbilt in a Portland arena
expected to home mostly Duck fans at the Pape Jam
BY JON ROETMAN
SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER
he traveling show of athleti
cism that is the Oregon men’s
-L basketball team is ready to
take its act to a grander stage.
The Ducks (3-0 overall) take on
Vanderbilt (4-2) during Saturday’s
seventh annual Pape Jam at the
Rose Garden in Portland. The
men’s game tips off at 4 p.m. fol
lowing the completion of the
women’s game.
While McArthur Court provides
Oregon with an electric playing at
mosphere, there’s something
about stepping onto the Rose Gar
den floor that brings out the best in
the Ducks, who are undefeated in
their previous six games at the
Blazers’ home arena.
“I think the fact that it’s a pro
а. . • (gets our players excited),”
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent
said. “The fact that it’s the city up
there and a bigger group of fans up
there, it’s an element that allows
us to play up.”
After winning their first three
games of the season, the Ducks
face a Commodore team that
reached the Sweet 16 of last sea
son’s NCAA Tournament before
falling to eventual national cham
pion Connecticut, 73-53. Junior
guard Mario Moore is the team’s
biggest scoring threat. A returning
starter, Moore is averaging 16.2
points per game.
Vanderbilt also has 7-foot-2 cen
ter Dawid Przybyszewski, who
spends a lot of time around the
perimeter and is capable of knock
ing down the long-range shot. The
senior is averaging 9.2 points and
б. 5 rebounds per game.
As a team, Kent said Vander
bilt’s offense is comparable to
Princeton’s, as the Commodores
spread the floor and rely on precise
passing and backdoor cuts.
“They’re every bit as good as
any team we’ve had up there,”
Kent said. “They’re really going to
have us on our toes."
While the game is supposedly
held on a neutral site, Kent said
the Ducks will look to use thou
sands of screaming Oregon fans
to their advantage.
“It’s a road game in terms of our
preparation and approach,” Kent
said. “I’ll remind (our players) be
fore game time that it’s a road
game, but by the way, we have
13,000 fans with us.”
Offensively, Oregon has been
on fire from three-point range.
Guards Aaron Brooks and Bryce
Taylor have exposed defenses
that leave the perimeter open as
each is shooting better than 42
percent from behind the arc.
While the Ducks have been hot
as of late, it is important that they
learn from past failures and do
not become dependent on the
long-range shot.
“We can’t live and die (with the
three-point shot) because in the
past, it’s hurt us,” forward Ian
Crosswhite said. “We haven’t had
any inside play. This year, we have
big guys who can score. ”
Crosswhite is one of four Ducks
averaging more than 10 points per
game. The 6-foot-11 junior is aver
aging 13.3 points per contest,
while Brooks (17), Taylor (13.3)
and guard Malik Hairston (13.7)
are also averaging double figures.
Another big man who has
stepped up for Oregon is redshirt
freshman Ray Schafer. The 7-foot
center acknowledged that the
Ducks need to continue pounding
the ball inside but will gladly take
the three-point shot if it’s open.
Sophomore point
guard Aaron
Brooks is one of
four Ducks
averaging more
than 10 points per
game this season.
Oregon takes on
Vanderbilt Saturday
at the Rose Garden
in Portland.
Danielle Hickey | Photo editor
“That’s what (Marshall) gave
as, so we took what they gave us,”
Schafer said of Oregon’s 13 threes
igainst the Thundering Herd last
Saturday. “We fed the post, but
hey took that away."
Saturday’s game against Vander
bilt will be Oregon’s final tune-up
before a showdown with No. 5 Illi
nois on Dec. 11 in Chicago. Illinois
defeated No. 1 Wake Forest 91-73
on Wednesday. Illinois is consid
ered one of the favorites to com
pete for a national championship.
jonroetman@dailyernerald.com
■ Women's basketball
Ducks seek vengeance on Colonials
Oregon looks to avenge a 72-52 loss to George
Washington last season at Saturday's Pape Jam
BY STEPHEN MILLER
SPORTS REPORTER
A highly anticipated sequel be
tween the women of Oregon and
George Washington will take place
during the Pape Jam at the Rose
Garden on Saturday.
The Ducks (4-0) are one of only
two undefeated teams in the Pacif
ic-10 Conference, and they go to
Portland this weekend with an all
time record of 6-0 at the Pape Jam.
Last season, the Colonials (3-1)
defeated the Ducks 72-52 on their
home court. Oregon center An
drea Bills made only 2 of 11 shots
from the floor and did not score
until the final four minutes of the
game. The team committed 18
turnovers.
“It was just a bad game in gen
eral,” Oregon senior Corrie Mizu
sawa said. “We didn’t come ready
to play. ”
According to Mizusawa, the
memories of that contest have not
affected Oregon’s winning mentality
this season.
“We have a lot of motivation for
the (upcoming) game considering
they kicked our butts last year, so
we’re definitely ready to go,” she
said. “We’re 4-0 right now and
feeling pretty confident. It’s just a
matter of doing what we always
do, which is focusing on defense
and rebounding and getting the
ball up the court.”
Oregon’s defense and rebound
ing have been respectable so far.
The Ducks have held opponents
to a shooting percentage just un
der 40 percent, and they bring
down three more rebounds per
game on average. George Wash
ington allows 54.8 points per
game, and its field goal defense
has restrained opponents to a
Oregon center
Andrea Bills,
seen here
against Portland,
says her team
will focus on
rebounding this
weekend. The
senior is
averaging 5.8
rebounds per
game.
Danielle Hickey | Photo editor
33.7 shooting percentage.
On the offensive end, Oregon is
converting half of its field goals,
which is first among Pac-10 teams.
“A lot of our shots are short, in
side shots — we don’t really rely
on the threes,” junior guard
Chelsea Wagner said. “We work
hard on our shooting. We have
good shooters and we take good
shots, and that’s why we have a
good shooting percentage. ”
Senior Cathrine Kraayeveld,
who is coming off an 18-point ef
fort against Long Island, is
WOMEN, page 10