Sports
Oregon Daily Emerald
Thursday, January 20, 2005
“It starts with us getting off the bus, where the
students are lined up and passing out all kinds
of pleasantries to all of us. ”
Arizona head coach Lute Olson on his Wildcats coming to Mac Court
■ In my opinion
CLAYTON JONES
SEVENTH INNING STRETCH
Redlands,
for the love
of basketball,
play defense
Usually I step to my computer with opinions
to share about the world of sports.
Randy Moss did this, Oregon did that, and
so on.
But the other day one of our sports copy edi
tors brought to my attention one of the oddest
statistical anomalies I have ever seen in sports.
He showed me the University of Redlands
men’s basketball team’s Web site and I
was amazed.
This team is averaging 141.4 points per game.
I had to look twice.
These guys had to be playing longer games
or with each basket counting for 5 and 10
points, right?
Nope. TWenty minute halves by twos
and threes.
To put this in perspective, North Carolina leads
the nation in scoring at the Division I level with
92.9 points per game. Same 20 minute halves,
same scoring system.
And the more in depth I looked at this team,
the more amazing it became.
They have hoisted 943 three-point attempts in
13 games, making 317 of them (an average of
24.4 per game). The Bulldogs have made more
three-pointers than any other team in their con
ference — the Southern California Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference — has attempted.
I became transfixed the more I read and re
searched. It was intoxicating looking at all the un
ordinary stats.
This team uses what its Web site calls a “fren
zied” defense to press the whole game. It has 21
men on its roster and hardly any of the players
play over 15 minutes per game, meaning fresh,
well-rested players are coming into the game all
the time.
The Bulldogs’ leading scorer is Amir Mazarei,
who averages 23.9 points per game. Their second
leading scorer is Carson Sofro, who in their 172
107 defeat of La Sierra, scored 34 points in 13
minutes of play. He made 10 of 18 three-pointers.
How do you shoot 18 three-pointers in
13 minutes?
In that same game, Redlands scored 93 points
— in one half. La Sierra put up 53 points and was
down by 40 at the half. Heck, Oregon only scored
55 points the entire game in its victory over
Washington State on Saturday. What does the La
Sierra coach say after a half like that?
“Well guys we put up good offensive numbers
in the first half, but has everybody forgotten how
to play defense?”
Redlands leads the conference in steals per
game with an eye-popping 18.2.
Six Bulldogs are averaging double figures in
points and eight players are averaging more than
eight points a game.
The numbers go on and on.
Now you wonder if this team has even lost
a game.
Oh yeah. Redlands is a 9-4 team. How do you
lose four games when you average more than 140
points a game?
Easy. When you are giving up 129.3 points
per game.
The team’s opponents’ combined field goal
percentage is close to 62 percent.
JONES, page 14
■ Men's basketball
Oregon gears up for No. 13 Arizona
Danielle Hickey | Photo editor
Arizona guard Salim Stoudamire, seen here last season, leads the Wildcats’
offense, averaging 15.7 points per game. As of Tuesday, he ranks in the top 10
nationally in three-point shooting percentage at 56 percent.
Head coach Ernie Kent hopes his Ducks can slow
down Salim Stoudamire and the potent Wildcats
BY JON ROETMAN
SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER
Ernie Kent was determined to get
his point across.
As the Oregon men’s basketball
team practiced at McArthur Court
Tuesday, the Ducks’ head coach
was relentless in instructing his
guards to fulfill their defensive re
sponsibilities in transition.
Players like freshmen Malik Hair
ston and Bryce Taylor were told to
defend the perimeter — more
specifically the wings — at all costs
and always know the whereabouts
of a certain someone.
“You have to get out there,” Kent
yelled to his young guards. “If you
don’t, he will light you up.”
No. 13 Arizona comes to Eugene
tonight at 7:30 p.m., and that means
Salim Stoudamire’s scoring talents
will be on display.
Yes, Stoudamire is the certain
someone Kent wants the Ducks to
keep an eye on. And yes, Kent’s
concern is warranted.
The senior guard torched the
Ducks for six three-pointers and 37
points during last season’s 100-87
Wildcat win at Mac Court and he
doesn’t appear to be cooling off
anytime soon. The Portland native
connected on 4 of 7 three-pointers
and scored 32 points during Satur
day’s come-from-behind victory
against UCLA. For the season, he’s
averaging 15.7 points per game
and shooting an impressive
56 percent from behind the arc.
“To me, (Stoudamire) is the best
shooter in the country when you
look at his numbers,” Kent said.
“He has an incredible ability to take
over a game and to dominate a
game. We really have to work to
limit his touches and his shots. If
you don’t find him quick in transi
tion, he has the ability to shoot it
beyond the NBA three-point line.”
But limiting Stoudamire’s
touches doesn’t guarantee much
of anything. The Wildcats are
loaded with talent at every posi
tion, including center Channing
Frye (14.3 ppg), forwards Hassan
Adams (12.2) and Ivan Raden
ovic (8.5) and guard Mustafa
Shakur (8.5). Arizona (14-3 over
all, 4-1 Pacific-10 Conference) can
score from anywhere on the court
and will push the youthful Ducks
in every facet of the game.
“It’s one of the teams you
watch growing up,” Taylor said.
“Now we get our chance to go at
them. We’ll definitely be ready to
play on Thursday.”
Other than a slow start in Seat
tle last week, Oregon (11-3, 3-2)
has received strong performances
from its freshmen of late and will
need more of the same tonight.
Taylor dropped a career-high 26
points Saturday against Washing
ton State, while Hairston added a
solid 10. And while many of the
Ducks struggled on Thursday
against Washington, forward
MEN, page 14
■ Women s basketball
Injury-depleted Ducks look for depth
After losing Chelsea Wagner to a season-ending
injury, Oregon will rely on its bench in Arizona
BY STEPHEN MILLER
SPORTS REPORTER
Size has been Oregon’s
biggest advantage over oppo
nents this season, but now the
women’s basketball team will
rely on its depth to get through
tonight’s game at Arizona.
With the loss of junior Chelsea
Wagner, the Ducks have called
upon senior Brandi Davis, sopho
more Cicely Oaks and freshman
Kaela Chapdelaine to fill the void
at the No. 2 guard position.
“Unfortunately, injuries are
part of the game,” Oregon head
coach Bev Smith said. “But our
depth and experience has really
helped us weather it.”
Even when Andrea Bills or
Cathrine Kraayeveld just need a
breather for Oregon (12-4 over
all, 5-2 Pacific-10 Conference),
freshman Gabrielle Richards is
ready to come off the bench and
see some action.
Smith said that every team
must endure injuries and fatigue
throughout the season, so usually
no team is at a large disadvantage.
The Wildcats (12-5, 4-3) were
just recently without junior
Shawntinice Polk for a couple
games but she is back at full
strength. The 6-foot-5 center
leads the Pac-10 in blocked shots
and is second in field-goal per
centage (.611).
“She’s one of the best post
players in the conference,” said
Bills, a senior center looking for
ward to a matchup with Polk un
der the basket. “She’s always a
challenge and I’m really excited
about it.”
On paper, each team is repre
sented by veteran players who
lead or rank high in various sta
tistical categories.
With 853 rebounds,
Kraayeveld tops the active career
list in that category and her nine
rebounds per game is second in
the conference this season. Bills
graces the career lists at third in
rebounds (715) and blocks (85).
Corrie Mizusawa leads the Pac
10 in assists this season and for
her career.
Polk is the conference’s active
career leader in blocks with 191
and second in rebounds (801)
and points (1,292). Senior guard
Dee-Dee Wheeler leads the Pac
10 in two career categories:
points (1,717) and steals (264).
She is second in the conference
averaging 18.5 points per game
this season.
“They’re extremely talented
basketball players and they
know each other very well,”
Smith said. “I don’t think you
can stop two players of that mag
nitude, but you can limit and
challenge them.
“Our team is up for it and it
will be an interesting measure
ment of how we can play two
very dominant players like that.”
Oregon’s depth also shows
with players like Richards, who
has already faced Polk in inter
national play.
“I played against her in the
World Championships where
she represented the U.S.A.,” said
Richards, a native of Australia.
“She’s really strong and really
tough. She’s a big force down
low so it’s going to take a lot to
stop her.”
Chapdelaine is confident that
her team will be able to contain
Arizona.
“They’re definitely strong
players but I think our team de
fense will be able to hold them,”
she said.
Smith said that along with de
fense, her team has to focus on ball
control, which it lacked in
m*m*wm*mm*
Los Angeles earlier this season,
leading to 40 turnovers in
two losses.
“We have revisited those two
things and we are doing a much
better job,” Smith said. “Now
the opportunity presents itself to
go down and test how far
we’ve come.”
The Ducks have not beaten the
Wildcats since 2001, but they lead
the all-time series 22-16. Arizona
has won seven straight against
Oregon and its last four meetings
at home against the Ducks.
Last year in Arizona, Polk
scored 23 points to go with nine
rebounds in the Wildcats’ 84-58
rout of the Ducks in front of 5,003
fans at the McKale Center. Oregon
was done in by 25 turnovers in
the game.
The Ducks haven’t held a road
record above .500 since going
10-5 in the 1999-00 season. Ore
gon is 3-3 away from home
this season.
Arizona is 7-1 at home this
season with its only home loss
coming from then-No. 8 Stan
ford, 78-66, Jan. 9.
Oregon is 17-25 on the road in
Smith’s four-year tenure and
holds a 22-29 all-time road
record.
stephenm iller@ dailyemerald. com
mmmwmmmm