Just minutes after another frustrating loss to Stanford, with the spotlight shining brightly upon his tired face, head coach Ernie Kent was asked if he got the sense things might not turn around. He sighed, and quickly launched into a comprehensive answer that preached one thing — patience.
 
“We’ve been down this path, and we know what we’re doing,” Kent said. “We never look at it and say, ‘Boy, this is not going to get turned around.’ You just keep plugging away.”
After nearly two minutes, he came back to the question.
“Yes, I think it’s going to get turned around,” Kent said. “In fact, I know it’s going to get turned around … I’m just going to ask people again to be patient.”
In a sense, Thursday’s game against Stanford represented the state of the team in a microcosm. There were signs of promise, such as freshman E.J. Singler’s 15 points and eight rebounds to go along with redshirt sophomore Jeremy Jacob’s 19-point, eight-rebound performance. Sophomore Matthew Humphrey was also strong with 11 points and four rebounds, and appears to be regaining form.
Of course, the game also showcased the very inconsistency that has made it difficult for fans to remain patient. The Ducks had 16 turnovers, 10 of which came in the second half when the Cardinal took an insurmountable lead.
 
“We had a stretch there, I think it was 10 possessions with five turnovers that gave them 17 points,” Kent said. “That’s not a good ratio to be giving up to a team of that caliber.”
Singler agreed, and the team knows that the turnovers will have to cease in order for the wins to start coming.
“Those were critical turnovers,” Singler said. “They got points off those turnovers, which killed us. Those and the foul shots I thought were the two big things that hurt us in the second half.”
Indeed, fouls were also a concern, as the Cardinal capitalized on 23 attempts from the free throw line for 19 points. At what proved to be a key juncture in the game, the Ducks found themselves down 42-41 early in the second half before fouls began to crop up.
“I think we gave up like eight straight free-throws to them,” Jacob said. “So that was a big problem.”
All of a sudden, the Ducks found themselves down by ten points. The Stanford lead eventually stretched to 17 points, and though the Ducks managed to fight back to within four, it was too little, too late.
In the end, as disappointing as the loss may have been, Kent preferred to look further down the road at the bigger picture.
“These are young people,” Kent said. “My job is to coach them in a lot of different areas … it’s frustrating but, yet, at the same time, you’ve gotta look at where they grew a little bit and bring them right back again, and try to get them over the hump.
“That’s what we’re going to continue to do, rather than just going all-out panic.”
Lee takes court as honorary captain
Former Oregon guard Ron Lee returned to McArthur Court Thursday night as an honorary captain. Lee was one of the original “Kamikaze Kids,” and was named an All-American three times during his career (1974-76). He is the only player in Oregon history to score over 2,000 points, and averaged 18.6 per game throughout his career. His number (30) has already been retired. Lee was greeted with a rousing standing ovation from the crowd, and embraced Kent at midcourt during the pre-game celebration.
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