Sitting at the podium in the basement of Matthew Knight Arena after a 67-59 loss to UCLA, Dana Altman had a candid moment with reporters.
“Our margin for error is not very big,” Altman said. “Kind of like our team; we’re not real big.”
Indeed, to win games in the Pacific-10 Conference, the Ducks have to place a heavy emphasis on the smaller battles. Boxing out, rotating on defense and moving the ball on offense cannot be afterthoughts. Instead, they must be at the forefront of player consciousness.
On Saturday, that was not the case.
After taking a narrow 27-24 lead into halftime, Oregon fell apart in the second half. UCLA out-rebounded the Ducks 21-11 after intermission and also hit six three-pointers to effectively put the game away.
“I’m disappointed,” Altman said. “It’s not like we’re going to wake up tomorrow and be a great scoring team and everybody grow five inches … We’ve gotta play a certain way.”
The players knew their effort against UCLA was not acceptable, and took full responsibility after the final whistle.
“We just didn’t play as hard in the second half as we did in the first half,” sophomore forward E.J. Singler said. “And that’s what happens, and that’s why we lost.”
Rebounding was a particular point of emphasis for Altman after the game. The Ducks may have been missing their leading rebounder in senior forward Joevan Catron, but that still did not excuse what was perceived as a lack of total team effort.
“We just didn’t fight them well enough,” junior forward Tyrone Nared said. “We didn’t box out, people were leaving before the ball was even in the rim. You gotta be a team, rebounding together … and we didn’t do it.”
For his part, Nared did lead the team with eight rebounds. Yet, he made sure to emphasize that he couldn’t do it all alone.
“Even with my athleticism, I can’t even beat those guys out,” Nared said. “So we need everybody.”
One of “those guys” was UCLA freshman behemoth Joshua Smith. At 6-foot-10, 305 pounds, Smith was able to push aside Oregon’s players with relative ease. He finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, and played a substantial role in UCLA’s 15 second chance points.
“Those were key points to their win, those second chance points,” Singler said. “Their big boy killed us down low.”
In reality, the only player with a chance to slow Smith down was sitting on the bench wearing street clothes. Though he did not use it as an excuse, Nared acknowledged that Catron certainly could have helped the Ducks against UCLA.
“Definitely, just with his size and strength alone,” Nared said. “And he’s aggressive, he’s another tough one, so once we get him back, it could help us out.”
Catron Return Still Uncertain
Altman is desperate to see Catron back on the court. Yet, after Saturday’s game he was still unsure as to when the senior would be clear to return from a strained calf.
“I don’t know,” Altman said. “Calves are tricky, you’ve gotta be careful with them. We’ll probably make the decision late in the week whether he’s able to go against Oregon State or not.
“I would say it’s fifty-fifty for Oregon State, and a better chance the following weekend.”
Until then, Altman will be without a player who has quickly become his best friend on the team.
“It hurts when he’s not around,” Altman said. “Because I’ve got no one to talk to sometimes. He’s the only one that listens half the time.”
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Oregon cannot overcome size disadvantage
Daily Emerald
January 16, 2011
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