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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2005)
“I’m a GM in fantasy basketball and I’m a GM on PlayStation, so on PlayStation I probably would have got a little more. ’’ Toronto guard Jalen Rose on the Vince Carter trade ■ In my opinion ION ROETMAN ROUGHING THE PASSER Traditional Civil War hoopla takes a back seat Saturday’s Civil War showdown with Oregon State marks an early season cross roads for the Oregon men’s basketball team. With a win, the Ducks execute damage control after a tough loss to UCLA on Sunday and prepare for their first Pacific-10 Conference road trip with a 2-1 conference record. With a loss, Oregon stumbles through three straight home games with a 1-2 ledger before traveling to take on No. 12 Washington. While the Ducks could certainly rebound from a loss to Oregon State (or collapse after a win), they have an oppor tunity to send their season in the right direction by defeating the Beavers. “You want to start 3-0 (in conference play) and obviously we can’t do that, so the next best thing is to go 2-1,” head coach Ernie Kent said. “It’s important, period, to win all of your home games in the Pac-10 Conference because it’s so tough on the road.” Facing the Beavers on the hardwood has always brought an extra source of motivation for the Oregon basketball team and its fans. This season, however, the Civil War hype has taken a back seat to the idea of the Ducks simply needing a home win against a much-improved Oregon State squad. With each roster featuring only four players from the state of Oregon, Kent said the rivalry lacks the “old school mentality” present during his days as a member of the Kamikaze Kids during the mid-1970s. “These kids have played with each other during the summer time and some of these kids even hang out together,” Kent said. “But it’s still the Ducks, and it’s still the Beavers, we understand that. We’re going to get up to play, they’re going to get up to play. It’s going to make for a great college basketball game.” Even someone who is familiar with the rivalry managed to downplay the importance of playing in the Civil War. “I haven’t really thought about it in that way,” said Redmond native and freshman forward Maarty Leunen. “It’s just another Pac-10 game. I have nothing against them so it’s just a game with us against Oregon State.” The Beavers enter Saturday’s contest with a 10-3 record, including victories against UCLA and Southern California last week. If the Ducks expect to win, they’ll need much more of an impact performance out of freshman guard Malik Hairston, who was limited to 14 points during the first Pac-10 weekend of his career. If Oregon doesn’t get more out of the McDonald’s All-American and the rest of its perimeter players, it could be a long night against the Beavers’ talented group of big men. “I had a rough weekend,” Hairston said. “It made me come in and work even harder. ” The veteran players know it. Coach Kent ROETMAN, page 14 ■ Pac-10 notes Erik R. Bishoff | Photographer Oregon senior Cathrine Kraayeveld has led the Ducks in points and rebounds five different times this season. UCLA tops Pac-10 after three-game homestand Key injuries to Arizona's squad and Oregon's upset of Stanford add to the conference's parity BY STEPHEN MILLER SPORTS REPORTER Only one women’s basketball team survived the first 10 days of Pacific-10 Conference play without suffering a loss. UCLA (9-3 overall, 3-0 Pac-10) fended off its first three conference opponents during a three-game homestand, which started with a victory over cross-town rival Southern California on Dec. 28, followed by a more recent sweep of the Oregon schools. At 71.6 points per game, the No. 22 Bruins are third in scoring among Pac-10 squads. Sopho more Noelle Quinn along with juniors Nikki Blue and Lisa Willis make up arguably the most potent trio of guards on the West Coast. Yesterday, Quinn was honored as the Pac-10 Player of the Week for the third time this season. She recorded a combined 35 points and 19 rebounds against Oregon and Oregon State. In 12 games this season, Quinn is averaging 18.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Willis is scoring 13.8 points per game and Blue is contributing 11.4. Willis leads the conference in steals with 3.4 per game. Quinn is second, averaging 3.3 and Blue is not far be hind with 2.4. Arizona (10-3, 2-1) held the longest winning streak in the Pac-10 at four games until it lost to intrastate rival Arizona State on Monday. The Wildcats were without starter Shawntinice Polk, who was averaging 13.9 points per game before suffering a sprained MCL in her right knee. The senior center is listed as day-to-day. Freshman guard Jessica Arnold, also a starter, injured her left shoul der and her playing status is still unknown. The Wildcats will have to continue relying on senior guard Dee-Dee Wheeler for the time being. Wheeler scored 26 of Arizona’s 47 points against the Sun Devils and is averaging a conference-best 19.0 points per game. “Our inside game (against Arizona State) was horrible, we had too many turnovers, we didn’t play well defensively, we didn’t execute on offense and our free-throw shooting was a joke,” Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini said. “The only bright spot was Dee-Dee.” Danielle Hickey | Photo editor UCLA’s junior guard Nikki Blue, seen here last season defending Oregon's Brandi Davis, is averaging 11.4 points and 2.4 steals per game. Arizona State (10-3, 2-1) and Stanford have been the toughest teams to score against this season. The Sun Devils have held opponents to 49.9 points per game while the Cardinal only allows 51.5. Arizona State has the best defense against three-pointers in the conference holding opponents to .225 from behind the arc. Stanford has limited opponents to a Pac-10 low 33.2 percent field-goal percentage. On average, Stanford (11-2, 3-1) scores 21.8 more points and pulls down 9.5 more rebounds than its opponents, which are both conference-best margins. California (8-5, 2-2) has the best three point shooting in the conference, at 47.1 percent. Kristin Iwanaga leads the Pac-10 in shooting from beyond the arc, making 69.4 percent of her shots. Cathrine Kraayeveld has posted double-digit point totals in each of the last eight games for Oregon. The senior forward has led the Ducks in points and rebounds in the same contest five times this season. Oregon is averaging the highest attendance in the conference at 3,656 fans per game. The Ducks drew 4,651 spectators — a Pac-10 season-high — for their upset of Stanford on Dec. 29. Washing ton has filled 24,231 seats this season in eight home games while Oregon has attracted 21,939 fans into McArthur Court in six games. stephenmiller@dailyemerald.com ■ Club Sports UO sailing to compete with elite at regatta Meanwhile, Oregon's Cycling Club began winter workouts in preparation for its season BY BEAU EASTES DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER The Oregon Sailing Club will start the new year off with a bang when it faces some of the top sailing programs in the country at the 20th Annual Rose Bowl Regatta in Long Beach, Calif., this weekend. “This will be the best competition we have faced in four years,” club coordinator George Yioulos said. “It’s the coolest regatta this year. ” The event, hosted by No. 2-ranked Southern California at the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, will welcome over 85 collegiate and high school sailing teams. The Rose Bowl Regatta, three times the size of normal sailing events, pits teams from across the nation in one of the most anticipated intersectional events of the season. Yale, Brown and other elite East Coast schools will be on display at the largest combined collegiate and high school regatta in the country. Yioulos, whose team competes in the Northwest division of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association, views the meet as the climax of several years of hard work. “It's a reward to finally have the funds to travel and make a name for ourselves,” he said. The Oregon squad will field “A” and “B” teams composed of two men each. The teams alternate in races throughout the weekend. Similar to cross country, points are awarded based on place (1 point for first, 2 points for second, etc.) and the regatta winner is the program whose combined total is the lowest. Teams will race multiple 20-to-30 minute races from dusk Saturday to 4 p.m. Sunday. The boats used in collegiate sailing are 14-foot Club/Collegiate Flying Juniors, or “sailing bathtubs.” “They’re round and not super fast,” Yioulos said. Like an old muscle car though, the Flying Juniors “reward patience and paying attention to the boat.” “It’s all about feeling the boat,” said Yioulos, who won the Northwest Inter collegiate Sailing Association’s Leadership Award in 2004. The meet will also serve as a gauging point for the Ducks as they head into the NWICSA spring season. Washington, which normally dominates the division, again is the chief obstacle in the way of a national regatta invitation for the Ducks. The winner of the NWICSA receives an automatic berth to the national regatta in Galveston, Texas, later this year. “Races like this make you glad to go sailing,” Yioulos said about the extravaganza in California. “The breeze, the sun, the water, the people — you’re just dialed in.” Cycling team gains experienced new coach Although not competing until March, the Oregon Cycling Club team started winter term workouts immediately upon return from break. The Ducks began their two-to-four rides per week program Sunday, putting in more than 20 miles each ride. CLUB SPORTS, page 14
