Oregon’s most recent three-game slide may be the start of the end for the Ducks.
With six games to go in the season, the team is 12-12 and 4-8 in the conference. Tonight’s game against the Stanford Cardinal (11-14, 5-8) is Oregon’s best chance for a win in the upcoming games, but the injuries are starting to mount.
“They know there’s a lot they’re still playing for and everything, the bigger question is just the consistency of playing and having success that way,” head coach Ernie Kent said.
The biggest news from this week is the announcement from Kent that senior Joevan Catron will likely be out for the remainder of the year. The team will discuss a possible medical redshirt at the end of the season “depending on what our needs are,” Kent said.
Catron hasn’t played since Nov. 21 because of back problems.
Also on the injury list is freshman Jamil Wilson. He turned his ankle in practice on Monday and will be out of practice for a day or two. Kent said he will probably be OK, but he won’t start. That draws into question who the fifth starter will be.
Kent also discussed the struggles of senior guard Tajuan Porter. He had a rough road trip. He took 19 shots in Arizona and made just three of them. Three-point shooting has been even worse, with him making two of the 13 he tried.
“Everybody is just running at him and just taking his shots away from him, therefore that puts you in a pressing situation,” Kent said. “I think it would really help him if our scoring was taking place all over the floor and he got some good looks for the first time.”
Sophomore Matthew Humphrey said their senior leader struggling has affected the team, but other guys need to stand up and accept the challenge.
“In a way, just a little bit,” Humphrey said. “But that just means that somebody else has to step up, be it another guy on the team, myself, whoever. Guys got to step up.”
As for getting the shooter out of his slump, Kent said it will take him hitting a few shots early to get his stride going and the rest of the team having faith in him.
“It’s important to show him that we’ve got faith and confidence in him, and we do,” Kent said.
Porter’s struggles in the desert still don’t explain the team’s inability to close games. The Ducks were up by double digits against Arizona State before the Sun Devils went on a run to close the first half in a tie and take the lead in the second. The second half has not been a friendly place for Oregon this year. Although the Ducks have outscored opponents 861-851 overall in the second half, teams have been able to extend leads in the second half because of Oregon’s poor shooting.
“We’re making really good strides in the game, we’re just not executing when it counts,” Humphrey said.
There is some bright news for Oregon. Junior LeKendric Longmire, who hasn’t played in the last couple of weeks because of academic problems, practiced for the first time in weeks on Tuesday.
According to Kent, he will be available to play this weekend after fulfilling what he needed to do academically. This is good news for Oregon. Having one more defensive-minded player can’t hurt right about now.
Longmire is averaging 7.3 points per game and 3.5 rebounds in 18 games played. Of those, he’s started 10 games.
The attitude of the team has been resilient through the tough conference schedule, and the hopes are a weekend in Eugene will help. Everyone knows that they need a win. A win against the Cardinal, who beat the Ducks in Palo Alto, Calif., 84-69 earlier in the season, would go a long way in boosting morale.
“We just want to get a win period, regardless of who it is,” Humphrey said.
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