Ernie Kent announced his spring signees Thursday, and it was as if he went through the drive-thru of a fast-food joint, ordered just what he wanted and made sure to Super-Size his meal.
Because the obvious theme for the 2001 recruiting class is height, and lots of it.
The Oregon men’s basketball team added three big bodies to its family in 6-foot-11 Ian Crosswhite, 6-10 Brian Helquist and 6-8 Robert Johnson. Those three join 6-11 Matt Short, who signed his letter of intent with the Ducks last fall.
“Our concerns were losing three big men in Julius Hicks, Bryan Bracey and Flo Hartenstein,” coach Kent said as he spoke to a group of reporters at the Casanova Center. “We knew we were going to have to replenish those positions with some size.”
Crosswhite is a 225-pound forward from Killarney Heights High in Castlecrag, Australia, who joins Short as the two incoming freshmen. Helquist and Johnson, however, are entering the Oregon program after two years in junior college ball and will be expected to make an immediate impact.
“The two young high school guys will have the opportunity to grow, and if they come quicker, that’d be great,” Kent said. “If they don’t, that would be OK also, because we feel like we have enough in the two JC players along with what’s coming back in our program next year.”

Kent was eager to talk about the recruit he traveled Down Under for. The Australian Crosswhite is currently a member of his country’s Junior National Team and was a part of the Western Australian U-20 team that competed in the national championship in February.
“He is one of the top 5 big man prospects in all of Australia,” said Kent, who actually played against Crosswhite’s father, Perry, at McArthur Court in a foreign exhibition game in 1975. “He is a skilled big man, skilled enough to play on the perimeter offensively.”
Helquist is coming into Eugene from Florida Community College-Jacksonville, where he averaged 14.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. The 6-10, 260-pound center, who will be a junior, began his career at Louisiana State before transferring to FCC-J.
“He has a great mentality for the game,” Kent said. “A big, wide body. He is a low post, back-to-the-basket scorer that loves to bang and plays physical.”
While Helquist will help man the low post, Johnson will provide some of the versatility that the Ducks lost with Bracey’s graduation. In fact, Kent describes Johnson as a mix between Bracey and former Duck A.D. Smith, who graduated following the 1999-2000 season.
“He has the ability to pass it and is a ferocious rebounder, loves to go get the basketball,” Kent said. “He has that Dennis Rodman mentality.”
Johnson, a 220-pound forward from Sebastopal, Calif., was named to the all-state and all-Bay Valley Conference first teams last season after leading Santa Rosa Junior College to a school-record 29 wins thanks to his 12 points and 14 rebounds per game.
Now, with these additions, Oregon will have seven big men, including 7-2 soon-to-be senior Chris Christoffersen, who will be attending Pete Newell’s renowned big man camp this summer.
“Time will tell how successful this recruiting class is,” Kent said. “They’ll fit in really well in terms of the growth and development of getting us to where we need to be.”