In a season where the No. 7 Oregon Ducks have proved so many wrong, they’ll have to prove something else tonight – that they can win without Aaron Brooks, their senior leader who’s been so instrumental in the team’s 18-1 start, which matches the best ever in program history.
“It’s definitely going to be difficult for us, but at the same time it’s an opportunity for us to show that we have other guys that can step up,” said Oregon guard Bryce Taylor, who is the teams’ second-leading scorer behind Brooks.
Brooks is serving the latter part of a two-game suspension Thursday against the Huskies for an incident last March in the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament in which Brooks intentionally elbowed Washington’s Ryan Appleby in the face. Brooks was ejected for the remainder of that game, one the Ducks won 84-73.
The Pacific-10 Conference suspended Brooks for Oregon’s next game in the tournament and the University handed down a two-game punishment for Brooks this season, one coming in the season opener, a 77-65 win against Lehigh, and Thursday’s game at Bank of America Arena in Seattle.
Brooks, a Seattle native, will join the team for all preparations but will not attend the game, Oregon coach Ernie Kent said.
“He’ll do everything but go to the game,” Kent said. “I don’t think I need to have him sit on the bench and go through that. I don’t want him to go through that.
“I’ll let him go home and get some of mom’s good cooking.”
Brooks is the Pac-10’s leading scorer this season with 18.4 points per game, but he has shown he can do more than simply score – he can score when the Ducks need it most.
The senior has already made two game-winning shots to help Oregon defeat back-to-back top-10 opponents, the first time since 1976-77, in then-No. 1 UCLA and then-No. 10 Arizona. He most recently extended Oregon’s five-game winning streak by scoring eight of Oregon’s first 10 points in the second half on his way to scoring 22 points in a 92-84 win against California.
The Ducks won’t have that firepower Thursday.
“It’s unfortunate that people up there won’t get a chance to see him in person, because he could have a huge impact in a positive way,” Kent said, noting the transformation Brooks has made since last March.
In Brooks’ absence, freshman Tajuan Porter, who averages 13 points per game, takes over at point guard. Porter averages 30.3 minutes per game this season but may be relied on for more than that against the Huskies.
Porter scored 27 points, third most by an Oregon freshman at the time, in 34 minutes against Lehigh when Brooks served the first of his two-game suspension.
“No pressure,” Porter said of handling the point-guard duties against Washington. “I’m very excited. It’s sort of a revenge game for me to get back at (Washington) coach Lorenzo Romar for cutting me this summer at USA Basketball tryouts.”
The 5-foot-6-inch Porter said he’ll just “play the same way” he has all season.
“I might have to penetrate a little bit more, try to get my teammates a lot more open shots because (Brooks) does that a lot and he understands the defense better than me,” Porter added.
While Porter is expected to take the point guard duties, guard Chamberlain Oguchi is also expected to see a hike in his minutes. Oguchi has struggled through injuries this season and has averaged 22.4 minutes and 7.6 points per game while making nine starts. Oguchi torched the Huskies with 22 points when Brooks was ejected last season in the Pac-10 Tournament game.
Kent said he is not worried about where leadership will come from Thursday.
“Obviously, you’ve got a basketball team of Malik (Hairston) and Maarty (Leunen) and Bryce, and if you watch us play … each of those guys take their turn in any given huddle where they’ll be the guy talking. This team has several different leaders on it and I think that’s one of the reasons they have such great poise.”
The Huskies have lost three straight and have started conference play 1-6 after starting the season 10-1, including an impressive 88-72 victory against No. 12 LSU when Washington was ranked No. 17. The low point, though, came last week with a 75-47 loss to Washington State, the largest margin of defeat for the Huskies in the 261-game series with the Cougars.
But with three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior as the starting five for the young and talented Huskies, the Ducks know exactly the pain Washington feels.
“The preseason, they looked really good and talented,” Leunen said. “But I kind of know how that was, just the youth and inexperience. It kind of sucks, but they’ll be fine in the next couple years.”
The Ducks have not won at Washington since 2001, but Oregon is unbeaten on the road this season.
Notes
– Oregon forward Adam Zahn suffered a concussion in practice after getting tangled with fellow forward Joevan Catron. Zahn, a 6-foot-8-inch forward, will not play tonight and is questionable for Saturday’s game at Washington State.
– The top two rebounders in the league square off tonight in Oregon’s Leunen (9.8 rebounds per game) and Washington’s Jon Brockman (9.7 rebounds per game).
– Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl arrived in orange body paint and a “V” for Vols painted on his chest at the No. 4 Lady Vols basketball game Monday against top-ranked Duke. When asked if he had plans to paint his chest green any time soon, Kent said simply, “I could see myself doing that. I could.”
[email protected]
Game Info:
Oregon at Washington
Tonight, 8 p.m.
Bank of America Arena
Seattle, Wash.
TV: FSN