This time last season, the Oregon Ducks, after completing the regular season with a 13-17 record, were entering the Pac-10 Tournament needing four consecutive victories to keep their season alive.
The feeling will be much different when the Ducks enter the Staples Center in Los Angeles for the 2007 Pac-10 Tournament and a quarterfinal matchup against Arizona on Thursday.
“This team is mentally tougher because of what they went through last year,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said.
The 16th-ranked Ducks enter this year’s Pac-10 Tournament as the fourth seed after finishing 23-7 overall and 11-7 in conference play, good for a third-place tie with USC.
And with an assured NCAA Tournament berth awaiting the Ducks in the future, there’s no pressure this season to win in order to extend the season as there was a year ago.
“They’re playing a lot more freer as you saw with Oregon State knowing that there’s a (NCAA Tournament) berth sitting there,” Kent said. “I think they’ll go down to the (Pac-10) Tournament playing freer, which means the energy will be good, they’ll shoot the ball well, and we’ll be in a good rhythm.”
The Ducks enter the conference tournament with momentum following three straight home victories to end the regular season. Last year the Ducks finished with two consecutive losses to end the regular season but still made an impressive showing in the tournament with an opening victory against Washington State, an upset of No. 12 Washington and a double overtime 91-87 loss to Leon Powe and California in the semifinal game.
The Ducks have made it a habit of playing well in the Pac-10 Tournament. In addition to claiming the title with Luke Ridnour in 2003, Oregon is currently the only Pac-10 team never to lose its first game in the tournament since 2002, though the Ducks did not reach it in 2005 when the tournament was restricted to the top eight teams.
“It’s just us being hungry and wanting to prove ourselves,” said junior forward Bryce Taylor, who returns to his home area ready for his first Pac-10 Tournament action after he was injured and held out last season. “We feel like we’ve been pretty disappointing the past few years, and we want to prove that’s not who we are. I know we’re much better than people think.
“It’s a chance to get a (Pac-10 Tournament) ring, too. So it’s something we can show for our season.”
Kent had his own feelings on the reasons for the Ducks’ success in the Pac-10 Tournament.
“It reenergizes you going to the tournament,” Kent said. “And there are all your peers sitting in the stands, guys want to play well. All the officials are sitting in the stands, so the officials want to officiate the game well.”
The Ducks flew to Los Angeles following a practice at McArthur Court on Tuesday and will practice at a high school in the Los Angeles area on Wednesday before battling the Wildcats on Thursday.
Kent said there are two reasons for the early departure.
“Number one, to get comfortable down there. We can get right on our study tables,” Kent said. “Number two, we’re going to practice at one of the high schools down there, and I think it’s great for recruiting to bring our program down there in L.A. and let people see us work. And it just gives us a more smoother adjustment.”
And it also gives two future Ducks another opportunity to see Oregon up close. The two commitments for the class of 2007, Drew Viney and Kamyron Brown, are both Southern California natives.
“With those two kids coming out of there this year that are in our program, it’s huge for us to have this great year, to beat a UCLA, and now we can go down there and here’s the tournament and everyone says ‘oh, now we know why those two kids chose Oregon.’”
Notes
The awards continue to pile up for senior point guard Aaron Brooks. The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) on Tuesday included Brooks on its All District 9 Team comprising players from the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Arizona and Alaska.
UCLA’s Arron Afflalo received the District 9 Player of the Year. The announcement comes one day after Brooks, the Pac-10’s leading scorer at 18 points per game, earned All-Pac-10 honors and took home the teams most valuable player and defensive player of the year at the team banquet on Sunday.
In addition, Oregon’s last-second victory against UCLA on Jan. 6 is a nominee for the Pac-10’s Game Changing Performance of the Year, along with the Ducks’ win against Washington State on Feb. 22. Oregon’s win over UCLA currently leads with 56 percent of the votes as of Tuesday evening. The winning school receives a $10,000 contribution to the school’s general scholarship fund. To vote, log on to Pac-10.org.
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