Oregon Daily Emerald
Thursday, February 10, 2005
“This is the toughest time I’ve ever had at
basketball with my personal game. I know that
it can only get better from here. ”
Oregon guard Bryce Taylor on his current 6 of 37 shooting slump
■ Men's basketball
Bringing down,, wa]1
Freshman guard Bryce Taylor is the Ducks' third-leading
scorer, but he has hit a shooting slump in recent games
BY JON ROETMAN
SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER
A shooter’s mentality must be
rock solid.
A shooter must exude confidence.
At times, he’s asked to carry his team
by drilling perimeter jump shots and
scoring points in bunches. Any self
doubt can lead to hesitation and
hinder his ability to produce.
If a shooter is off-target, he must
continue to fire, knowing his shots
will eventually start falling.
At times, he will be viewed as a
selfish ball hog, who possess a “me
first” attitude. But he will also, at
times, be viewed as a hero — capable
of rescuing his team from sure defeat.
Bryce Taylor is Oregon’s best shooter.
At times this season, he carried the
Ducks offensively, scoring 26 points
against Washington State on Jan. 15 and
20 points against Arizona days later.
But recently, the freshman guard
has run into a problem. Taylor has
been in a shooting slump for
Oregon’s last four games, connecting
on only 6 of 37 field goals — includ
ing 3 of 16 from three-point range.
While missing shots is a part of every
player’s career, the Encino, Calif.,
native can’t seem to shoot his way
out of his current funk.
Entering tonight’s 7:30 p.m. tipoff
against No. 11 Washington (19-3
overall, 9-2 Pacific-10 Conference) at
McArthur Court, Taylor said he’s
looking to end his shooting woes
along with Oregon’s (11-8, 3-7)
five-game losing streak.
“This is the toughest time I’ve ever
had at basketball with my personal
game,” Taylor said. “1 know that it
can only get better from here.”
While Taylor has never experienced
a slump like this before, the Oregon
coaching staff could see it coming
from a mile away. Head coach Ernie
Kent has seen plenty of freshmen
make the transition from prep basket
ball to Division 1 hoops, and at some
point, he said, they all “hit the wall"
and run out of energy.
“With any freshman, there’s a big
change from high school to this
level,” Kent said. “The intensity
factor, the mental aspects, the
physical aspects of it. All of them
go through stages where they’re
up and then go through stages where
they’re down.
“We need to get him back on the
upswing, obviously.”
Taylor said the transition has affected
him physically and mentally.
Physically, an increase in the
number of practices and games from
his prep career has left the 6-foot-5
guard wobbly legged at times, not
allowing him to get maximum lift on
his jump shot. The intensity of his
daily physical activity has also forced
him to pay more attention to how he
takes care of his body.
“One of the things they tell you
before the season and in late January
is that you’re probably going to hit
the wall,” Taylor said. “You don’t
believe it can actually happen to you.
But then you find it’s tougher to wake
up early in the morning and tougher
to suit up for practice. We’ve
practiced so hard and played in so
many games that you find yourself
not having the legs that you would
have in high school at this point in
the season.
"It’s not a mythical type of wall. It
actually does exist.”
Mentally, Taylor’s confidence has
been tested. While shots in practice
and pregame warmups fall with ease,
it’s shooting in front of roaring Pac-10
crowds that causes occasional jitters.
How does such a talented shooter
feel pressure during games?
Confidence wasn’t always present
for Taylor. He grew up a shy power
forward who wouldn’t shoot much,
afraid to anger his teammates with a
miss. Only after years of practice and
positive mental training did the
fuzzy-haired sharpshooter realize his
potential as a scorer.
“In a game, I’m trying to put points
on the board for my team,” Taylor said.
“So if I’m missing, I feel like I’m
hurting my team, so I may think twice
about an open shot, and I know that’s
the wrong thing to do. Being a shooter,
I just try to have the mentality that if
you miss five in a row, that you’re
going to make the next five.
“That’s one of the things you try to
learn as a scorer is to stay positive.”
After 19 games, Taylor is third on the
team in scoring, averaging 11.3 points
TAYLOR, page 14
Tim Bobosky | Photographer
Oregon guard Bryce Taylor has struggled with confidence as of late, connecting
on only 6 of 37 field goal attempts during the Ducks’ last four games.
■ Women's basketball
Ducks head to Evergreen State
seeking first win out of Oregon
BY STEPHEN MILLER
SPORTS REPORTER
With only six games remaining in its regular season sched
ule, the Oregon women’s basketball team is sitting better than
it was last season.
The Ducks (15-6 overall, 8-4 Pacific-10 Conference) eclipsed
last season’s win total of 14 with a victory against Oregon State
last week. Head coach Bev Smith has only coached one Ore
gon team to a winning record, which occurred during her first
season in 2001-02 when the Ducks finished 22-13 overall and
10-8 in the conference.
This week, Oregon heads to the Evergreen State in search of
two road wins against squads that are resting in the lower half
of the Pac-10 standings.
“It’s very important for us to get two wins up there and on
the road,” Kirkland, Wash., native Cathrine Kraayeveld said.
“We haven’t played well on the road, but that’s something we
can change and something that we have control of. ”
At 1-4 away from home, the Ducks have not been able to
win outside Oregon, as their only win came against the
Beavers. However, they have yet to lose against a Northwest
team this season.
Oregon begins its road trip against Washington State (5-17,
1-12), and the Ducks realize it will be a challenge to obtain
their second road win against a team looking for just its sec
ond total conference win.
“Washington State has been playing really well,” Kraayeveld
said. “They have a lot of confidence, and they’re at home, so
we have to come in and play our game.”
But the Ducks have a confidence booster: They currently
have a seven-game winning streak against the Cougars. And
Kraayeveld should have plenty of confidence after a 17-point
performance against Oregon State and a double-double effort
Tim Bobosky | Photographer
Oregon senior
forward
Cathrine
Kraayeveld will
be challenged
on the boards
as the
Ducks face
Washington
State looking
for their second
Pac-10 road
victory of
the season.
in her last game against the Cougars.
Smith said her team has to focus on scoring, offensive re
bounding and transition defense with Washington State for
ward Kate Benz lurking in the paint — she leads the confer
ence with 9.6 rebounds per game.
The Cougars are playing well coming into their final homes
tand of the season, losing by single digits to UCLA and USC.
“Coach (Sherri) Murrell has played a lot of people this
year, and it looks like she’s getting different starting lineups
that are starting to produce for her,” Smith said.
stephmmiU.er@ daily emerald, com
■ Men’s basketball
Forward Crosswhite
suspended from
Ducks indefinitely
BY ALEX TAM & BRIAN SMITH
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
& SPORTS REPORTER
Forward Ian Crosswhite was
suspended indefinitely from the
Oregon men’s basketball team for
violation of team rules, head
coach Ernie Kent announced on
Wednesday. He did not disclose
the details of the suspension.
The 7-foot junior from Castle
crag, Australia, was averaging
8.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per
game this season. Since Pacific-10
Conference play began on Dec. 31,
Crosswhite’s numbers have
dropped to 5.5 points and 5.2
rebounds per game. He also leads
the team in turnovers with 55.
In the Ducks’ 76-72 loss to Ore
gon State in Corvallis on Saturday,
Crosswhite played 17 minutes and
scored two points on 1 of 2 shoot
ing. He grabbed one rebound and
had three turnovers.
The 22-year-old Crosswhite
has come under much scrutiny
for his play this season after see
ing a drop in his statistics from a
year ago. In his first season at
Oregon in 2002-03, Crosswhite
averaged 9.3 points and 3.8 re
bounds per game. In 2003-04, his
numbers jumped to 12.5 points
and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Troubles for Crosswhite came
when he was benched before the
Arizona State game earlier this
season. As Kent put it, Crosswhite
was ineffective, and freshman
Maarty Leunen was playing better
basketball at the time.
Crosswhite started the next
two games but came off the
bench against Oregon State.
“As a coach, you feel like you’ve
failed when you lose a guy for any
reason,” Kent said. “Anytime you
go through adversity, I look at the
positive side of things. ”
This season, Crosswhite was
the team’s top returning scorer
and rebounder and was looked
upon to be a leader for the Ducks,
who have no seniors. After receiv
ing a Pac-10 honorable mention
last season, Crosswhite dedicated
himself this past summer to be
coming stronger and spent time in
Los Angeles working out with
college and NBA players.
CROSSWHITE, page 14