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Oregon Daily Emerald Thesday, November 15, 2005 “If I weren't earning $3 million a year to dunk a basketball most people on the street would run in the other direction if they saw me coming. ” Former NBA star Charles Barkley ■ In my opinion LUKE ANDREWS EXCESSIVE CELEBRATION NBA and its fans don't understand team play After finishing last season with one of the low est final’s ratings in its televised history, the Na tional Basketball Association recently com menced the 2005-06 season. But seriously, does anyone care anymore? Personally, I no longer understand the NBA and its fans. Not after Detroit and San Antonio, arguably the two most fundamentally sound teams, competed for the NBA Championship, yet still garnered little fan support and notoriety. What do solid all-around players like Tim Duncan have to do to garner the attention com parable to Kobe Bryant, whose soap opera-like, prima donna-filled Lakers had nearly a 25 per cent higher television rating one year prior to the Pistons-Spurs series? I understand the market size difference be tween Los Angeles and San Antonio, but Chica go, which certainly isn’t one of the league’s biggest markets, managed nearly record-high ratings during the Bulls’ run in the 90s. Face it Duncan, the NBA and its fans just have no room for a classy, team-first player who has guided his team to its first three championships. Simply put, you have to disrespect your team mates, get some technical fouls, break some laws — go to jail if you must. In return, you’ll be one of the most beloved players in the league. Forget about working on that sweet bank-shot jumper and start working on that alibi, or calling out that one teammate who took too many shots last season. The league is not ready for you in this era of the bad boy. Besides, NBA fans got enough of the too good-to-be-true superstar with Michael Jordan. Near the time of his departure from the league, came the entrance of the bad boy himself, Allen Iverson. Iverson truly started the list of the ego tistical, whiny and overpaid athletes that now includes Bryant, Rasheed Wallace, Jermaine O’Neal and Latrell Sprewell, among others. I’d go as far to say that the NBA’s style has a trickle-down effect — all the way to middle schoolers who try to emulate Iverson’s crossover but forget that defense, unglamorous as it may be, wins games. Many high school and college coaches have struggled to reverse this offensive syndrome. The And-1 craze, where offense is the name of the game, may have also added to this mentality. So while Tim Duncan and the Spurs continue winning with the truest form of a total team ef fort, the rest of the attention remains focused on the reunion of a once feuding Phil Jackson and Bryant in Los Angeles, Ron Artest’s return to the Pacers after a one-year suspension for the now infamous brawl, and the new dress code. Meanwhile, this former NBA fan prepares for another painfully drab 82-game schedule and tries to grasp why there’s such little love outside of San Antonio for Timmy Duncan, the most complete player in the league. landrews@dailyemerald. com ■ Men’s basketball Oregon faces final preseason test The Ducks will concentrate on their transition game as they get ready for the regular season BY SHAWN MILLER SPORTS EDITOR A lot of work can be done in six days, and that is exactly what the Oregon men’s basket ball team hopes to show tonight as it hosts Oregon Tech at 7 p.m. in the Ducks’ final exhibition game of the season. In the opener Wednesday against Southern Oregon, the Ducks used a 19-4 run in the closing minutes to pull away from a tied game. In the end, the talent gap caught up with Southern Oregon and Oregon hopes the same will happen tonight — except earlier. A lack of rebounding and overall defense at times hurt the Ducks, who were unable to push the ball and maintain their usual up-tempo style. “Pushing the ball is probably the main goal... getting it up (the floor), getting easy buckets in transition,” Oregon point guard Aaron Brooks said. “Last game we didn’t get to do that because we didn’t rebound. So we’ve got to rebound more consistently and get out.” The Ducks are used to a fast paced game and have pushed the ball up the floor at nearly every opportunity in recent years. As Oregon reserve point guard Kenny Love put it, “Our main game is getting it down the floor pretty fast.” If the layup isn’t available it is up to the wings to knock down jump shots. “Coach always says, ‘We’ve got to be lights-out shooters in this system,”’ Brooks said. “Well, if you don’t get a layup and you’re not open for a jumper, run the offense. We def initely want to kick it out for an open (jump shot).” Southern Oregon held the Ducks to only six transition points, all in the second half. “It’s definitely frustrating, but 1 feel we learned a lot of things from that first game with South ern Oregon,” Brooks said. “We are still not running enough for me.” An emphasis for tonight’s game is pushing the ball down the floor and creating more op portunities for “easy buckets.” However, if Oregon’s fast break is shut down, getting open shots in the half-court offense will be pivotal. With the addition of 6-foot-8 junior college transfer Ivan Johnson and the development of 7-foot Ray Schafer the Ducks have added an inside threat. So which is more important, an in side presence or a shifty point guard to collapse the defense? “You can’t have one without the other,” Brooks said. “You definitely need to have a domi nating force inside, to kick it in. That’s half of it. Point guards more in transition — get crafty, get in the middle, kick it out for a jumper — they work hand in hand and you need both.” Wings like Bryce Taylor, Malik Hairston, Brandon Lincoln and now Maarty Leunen will be reaping the rewards one way or another. The 6-foot-9 Leunen will play “more perimeter-ori ented this year,” relying on Brooks to collapse the defense in order for open shots. BASKETBALL, page 12 Tim Bobosky | Photo editor Point guard Aaron Brooks and the Ducks are focused on pushing the ball up the court during tonight's exhibition game against Oregon Tech at 7 p.m. The Ducks scored only six transition points in their 75-58 win over Southern Oregon on Wednesday. ■ Duck tennis UO women win three titles in Seattle Senior Markus Schiller wins three matches and advances to the main draw in the USTA Honolulu Futures tournament BY STEFANIE LOH FREELANCE REPORTER The Oregon women’s tennis team claimed bragging rights over the Washington Huskies this weekend at the 2005 Husky Invitational in Seattle. Led by standouts Dominika Dieskova and Anna Leksinska, the Ducks swept all three titles in their final event of the fall season. Both Dieskova and Leksinska were given first round byes, after which they proceeded to decimate their opponents. Top-seeded Diesko va easily defeated Washington’s Saskia Neun berg — 7-6, 6-0 in the second round — before making short work of fourth-seed Husky Tara Simpson (6-2, 6-2) to claim a place in the Flight I singles final. In the final, Dieskova dominated Washing ton’s Dinka Hadzic, winning 6-4, 6-2, despite Hadzic being ranked No. 66 to Dieskova’s No. 70 in the preseason individual rankings. “Dominika looked good today,” women’s tennis coach Nils Schyllander said. “She was aggressive and very sharp. She really took it to another level.” Leksinska saw similar success over the weekend. After her first round bye, she regis tered an impressive shutout against Boise State’s Carolyn Berry, 6-0, 6-0. Leksinska then went on to take out Berry’s teammate, Tiffany Coll, beating her 6-3, 7-5 and earning a spot in the Flight II Final. Leksinska overcame two previous defeats against Washington’s Allison Rainey in the final, taking down Rainey 6-2,6-2 to claim the title. “Anna played so well today,” Schyllander said. “She looked solid all day long.” Oregon later claimed its third title of the weekend in the doubles flight when Diesko va and true freshman Ceci Olivos pulled out an 8-2 victory over the Washington doubles team of Hadzic and Simpson. In a different time zone, Arron Spencer, Thomas Bieri and Markus Schiller — the three seniors on the Ducks men’s tennis team — spent their weekend competing at the USTA Honolulu Futures tournament in Hawaii. “The Honolulu Futures tournament is a pro event where the players get ranking points to help them out with their careers,” said men’s tennis coach Kevin Kowalik, who explained that the results of the tournament do not really factor into the Ducks’ team rankings. The week-long tournament is more of an opportunity for the players to get experience in a professional event. After three rounds of weekend qualifying play, only one Duck remains in the tourna ment. The German-born Schiller advanced to the main draw Monday afternoon after his third-round victory over Bijan Hijazi of the United States (6-3, 7-6). “Markus played really well today,” assis tant coach Armando Espinoza said. “He was up against someone who was just bombing his serves, and Markus fought to stay focused and stay in the match.” Schiller’s teammates Bieri and Spencer were both eliminated after first-round defeats TENNIS, page 12
