article on rivals
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cordy02c
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article on rivals
There is a article on the ducks on the front page of rivals
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gofightingducks
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Re: article on rivals
http://www.rivals.com/
http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/con ... CID=938743
It is a free article
Anyone who watched Oregon play last season has good reason to believe Ernie Kent is kidding himself when he suggests the Ducks aren't far away from returning to the NCAA tournament.
But a glance at Kent's track record shows he might be right.
Ernie Kent will be under a lot of pressure next season, but the Oregon coach has high hopes.
Oregon has gone through a see-saw existence since Kent took over the program in 1997. The Ducks have advanced to a NCAA regional final twice – and have finished .500 or worse four times in Kent's 12 seasons on the job.
The Ducks hit bottom this season by going 8-23 and losing more games than any Oregon team since the 1921-22 squad went 7-24. That dispiriting performance will cause Kent to occupy arguably the hottest seat in college basketball next season, but it hasn't reduced his confidence.
"We've been down this road before with two other teams," Kent said. "We had to go young before they get stronger, get bigger, and they both have gone on to the Elite Eight. With this team, I expect great things out of them.''
Oregon went 26-9 and reached a regional final in 2002, one year after a 14-14 season that included a 5-13 mark in Pac-10 competition. The Ducks returned to the Elite Eight in 2007 after posting a combined 29-31 record in the two seasons leading up to that performance.
This would represent Kent's best turnaround yet.
Oregon ranked last in the Pac-10 this season in field-goal percentage (.401), scoring defense (76.1), field-goal percentage defense (.495), 3-point percentage defense (.391), rebound margin (minus-4.6) and assist-turnover ratio (0.8-1). The Ducks didn't earn their first Pac-10 win until Feb. 21. They capped the season with a 62-40 loss to Washington State in which they set Pac-10 single-game tournament records for lowest point total, lowest number of field goals (13) and lowest field-goal percentage (26.0).
Those facts don't provide much cause for optimism, but the Ducks might not have been quite as bad as the numbers suggest.
Oregon didn't help its cause by playing just five games against teams that failed to make some kind of postseason tournament. That brutal schedule didn't help the confidence of a team that featured six true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen and didn't have a single senior playing more than three minutes per game. Oregon already had lost six games by the time it began its Pac-10 schedule.
"They never got a chance to get a rhythm or get their confidence going," Kent said.
Kent is counting on those disappointments to strengthen the resolve of a roster that returns virtually intact. The Ducks will need more consistency from guards Tajuan Porter, Garrett Sim and Kamyron Brown, who combined for more turnovers (196) than assists (187) this season. They also could use a breakthrough performance from 6-foot-10 center Michael Dunigan, who had a fast start this season as a freshman before tailing off in conference play.
Oregon also welcomes a recruiting class that consists of three forwards: Jamil Wilson (the No. 94 prospect in the country), E.J. Singler (the younger brother of Duke forward Kyle Singler) and Jeremy Jacob (from Chipola Junior College).
Tajuan Porter will be relied on to lead the Ducks next season.
But the newcomer who may have the biggest impact is assistant coach Mike Dunlap, who spent the 2008-09 season as Arizona's associate head coach. Dunlap won two Division II national titles as the head coach at Metropolitan State (Colo.) and spent two seasons in the NBA as a Denver Nuggets assistant.
Dunlap's emphasis on defense should help an Oregon team that struggled to stop anybody this season. Dunlap is taking over for longtime Oregon assistant Mark Hudson, who was let go in a move that Kent called probably the toughest decision of his career.
"[Dunlap] has a terrific track record of developing players," Kent said in announcing the move. "His NBA experience shows he is prepared to help young men get ready for the next level."
The Ducks will have to develop their skills quite a bit in order to return to the upper half of the Pac-10 standings, but Kent remains confident in this group's potential. He pointed out that his players never gave up on the season.
"They never ever, ever came to practice without the work ethic they needed to get better," Kent said. "That's a sign of their strength and character. That's why you know they're going to be good down the road – because they never gave up."
The pressure on Oregon is even greater than usual because the Ducks can't afford a second straight losing season as they prepare to move into a new arena in the fall of 2010. Plus, they face more in-state competition because of the resurgence of Oregon State, which won the College Basketball Invitational and has signed three of the nation's top 130 prospects.
Then again, Kent already has proved he can lead Oregon to quick turnarounds. Now the Oregon alum has to do it one more time.
His job may depend on it.
http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/con ... CID=938743
It is a free article
Anyone who watched Oregon play last season has good reason to believe Ernie Kent is kidding himself when he suggests the Ducks aren't far away from returning to the NCAA tournament.
But a glance at Kent's track record shows he might be right.
Ernie Kent will be under a lot of pressure next season, but the Oregon coach has high hopes.
Oregon has gone through a see-saw existence since Kent took over the program in 1997. The Ducks have advanced to a NCAA regional final twice – and have finished .500 or worse four times in Kent's 12 seasons on the job.
The Ducks hit bottom this season by going 8-23 and losing more games than any Oregon team since the 1921-22 squad went 7-24. That dispiriting performance will cause Kent to occupy arguably the hottest seat in college basketball next season, but it hasn't reduced his confidence.
"We've been down this road before with two other teams," Kent said. "We had to go young before they get stronger, get bigger, and they both have gone on to the Elite Eight. With this team, I expect great things out of them.''
Oregon went 26-9 and reached a regional final in 2002, one year after a 14-14 season that included a 5-13 mark in Pac-10 competition. The Ducks returned to the Elite Eight in 2007 after posting a combined 29-31 record in the two seasons leading up to that performance.
This would represent Kent's best turnaround yet.
Oregon ranked last in the Pac-10 this season in field-goal percentage (.401), scoring defense (76.1), field-goal percentage defense (.495), 3-point percentage defense (.391), rebound margin (minus-4.6) and assist-turnover ratio (0.8-1). The Ducks didn't earn their first Pac-10 win until Feb. 21. They capped the season with a 62-40 loss to Washington State in which they set Pac-10 single-game tournament records for lowest point total, lowest number of field goals (13) and lowest field-goal percentage (26.0).
Those facts don't provide much cause for optimism, but the Ducks might not have been quite as bad as the numbers suggest.
Oregon didn't help its cause by playing just five games against teams that failed to make some kind of postseason tournament. That brutal schedule didn't help the confidence of a team that featured six true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen and didn't have a single senior playing more than three minutes per game. Oregon already had lost six games by the time it began its Pac-10 schedule.
"They never got a chance to get a rhythm or get their confidence going," Kent said.
Kent is counting on those disappointments to strengthen the resolve of a roster that returns virtually intact. The Ducks will need more consistency from guards Tajuan Porter, Garrett Sim and Kamyron Brown, who combined for more turnovers (196) than assists (187) this season. They also could use a breakthrough performance from 6-foot-10 center Michael Dunigan, who had a fast start this season as a freshman before tailing off in conference play.
Oregon also welcomes a recruiting class that consists of three forwards: Jamil Wilson (the No. 94 prospect in the country), E.J. Singler (the younger brother of Duke forward Kyle Singler) and Jeremy Jacob (from Chipola Junior College).
Tajuan Porter will be relied on to lead the Ducks next season.
But the newcomer who may have the biggest impact is assistant coach Mike Dunlap, who spent the 2008-09 season as Arizona's associate head coach. Dunlap won two Division II national titles as the head coach at Metropolitan State (Colo.) and spent two seasons in the NBA as a Denver Nuggets assistant.
Dunlap's emphasis on defense should help an Oregon team that struggled to stop anybody this season. Dunlap is taking over for longtime Oregon assistant Mark Hudson, who was let go in a move that Kent called probably the toughest decision of his career.
"[Dunlap] has a terrific track record of developing players," Kent said in announcing the move. "His NBA experience shows he is prepared to help young men get ready for the next level."
The Ducks will have to develop their skills quite a bit in order to return to the upper half of the Pac-10 standings, but Kent remains confident in this group's potential. He pointed out that his players never gave up on the season.
"They never ever, ever came to practice without the work ethic they needed to get better," Kent said. "That's a sign of their strength and character. That's why you know they're going to be good down the road – because they never gave up."
The pressure on Oregon is even greater than usual because the Ducks can't afford a second straight losing season as they prepare to move into a new arena in the fall of 2010. Plus, they face more in-state competition because of the resurgence of Oregon State, which won the College Basketball Invitational and has signed three of the nation's top 130 prospects.
Then again, Kent already has proved he can lead Oregon to quick turnarounds. Now the Oregon alum has to do it one more time.
His job may depend on it.