– Dozens of NFL scouts evaluated Oregon’s departing football players during the Ducks’ annual Pro Day on Thursday. Quarterback Vernon Adams ran a 4.85-second 40-yard dash and looked sharp on his throws to Bralon Addison and Byron Marshall. Projected as a middle-t0-late round draft pick, Adams had this message for coaches and scouts: “Put on the film. I’m not the tallest guy, but I make it happen.”
– Dana Altman’s basketball teams have had a history of overachieving. This year is no exception. The Ducks are the No. 1 seed entering the Pac-12 Tournament and Altman is the reigning Pac-12 Coach of the Year. The Emerald‘s Hayden Kim profiled the coach whom Oregon Athletic Director Rob Mullens described as “as great an X’s and O’s coach as there is” in college and NBA.
– Despite a slow start, Oregon overtook Washington 83-77 to advance to the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals, where it will face Arizona. Chris Boucher, who went from reigning Spalding NJCAA Division I Player of the Year to the nation’s leading shot blocker, delivered 19 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
– Oregon will take on Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals. The Wildcats trounced the Ducks by 28 points in last year’s conference finals. The revenge match will be the Las Vegas ‘Rematch of the Century,’ writes the Oregonian’s John Canzano.
– During Oregon football’s Pro Day Thursday, DeForest Buckner, a projected first-round draft pick, called himself “the best defensive lineman in this draft.” Buckner has never been one to seek the limelight, but his message to NFL scouts was “all eyes on me,” writes the Oregonian’s Andrew Greif.
– Freshman Shweta Sangwan has stepped up in singles play for Oregon women’s tennis, which enters Pac-12 play with its highest ranking since 2005.
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