Oregon coach Ernie Kent called the win one of the greatest wins of all-time for Oregon. With a potential NCAA Tournament berth at stake, the Ducks pulled out a statement win when it counted the most.
And considering it was senior night at McArthur Court on Saturday against Arizona, the game was that much more important. But it wasn’t the Oregon seniors who wound up in the spotlight once the game was over.
Instead, the underclassmen stole it from them.
“We took it upon ourselves that we couldn’t let them lose at home,” sophomore Joevan Catron said of the seniors’ final home game. “It was just emotion. Didn’t nobody want to lose.”
While the starting three seniors provided the bulk of work in game – each scored in double figures and played great defense – they didn’t provide as many highlight-reel plays as the underclassmen did.
Although it was an emotional send-off to what used to be the Ducks’ greatest recruiting class, the future doesn’t seem too bad, considering who’s being left behind and who’s set to arrive in Eugene next year.
Oregon redshirt freshman LeKendric Longmire scored only four points in 17 minutes, but provided some of the most spectacular moments of the night. He scored a emphatic dunk that gave the Ducks a one-point lead and a technical foul for Longmire.
Then there was his defense on Arizona’s freshman Jerryd Bayless and sophomore Chase Budinger. Bayless grew increasingly agitated by Longmire’s in-your-face aggressiveness (highlighted by the double foul when Longmire stood over Bayless who had just flopped on the floor desperately trying to get the referees’ attention) and although he led the Wildcats with 19 points, he grew increasingly tired toward the end of the game after having to run around to get by Longmire and Bryce Taylor.
Bayless finished the game on 6-of-16 shooting and was 1-of-6 from three-point range. He also was in foul trouble through the second half thanks to Longmire’s defensive head games.
Catron had his best all-around game of the year after approaching a triple-double, scoring 10 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing seven assists.
And perhaps most importantly Tajuan Porter was back on his game again, scoring a game-high 24 points and shooting 8-of-11 from the field, 5-of-8 from the three-point arc.
When he got his fourth foul in the second half, Oregon saw its lead dwindle to five points before Porter was subbed back in and enabled the Ducks to close out the victory with a few minutes remaining.
While the seniors definitely deserve credit for the way the underclassmen play, it seems that as the underclassmen go, particularly Porter, so do the Ducks.
They’ve become the igniters, the spark plugs, the energy the team desperately need on occasion: Longmire’s hell-bent tenacity, Catron’s versatility and Porter’s back-breaking threes.
Those three should be the key to Oregon’s success in the near and distant future. They may be the supporting cast to Taylor, Malik Hairston and Maarty Leunen, but their enhanced performance seems to dictate whether or not Oregon wins.
If Ducks are to make it into the tournament, hope Ernie Kent and the Ducks stick to the current formula.
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It wasn’t about the seniors on their day
Daily Emerald
March 9, 2008
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