While Dana Altman and a pair of Oregon players addressed a large crowd of reporters following the Ducks’ season-opening victory Monday night, Northwest Christian coach Luke Jackson stood outside the visiting locker room in the bowels of Matthew Knight Arena. With just two reporters there to listen, the former Oregon star threw an endless stream of compliments at the team that had just trounced his squad 86-51.
He talked about how bright the future is for Oregon and stated that the Ducks have the best group of big men in the country. He couldn’t stop raving about the maturity of Payton Pritchard, going as far to say that the Oregon freshman will play in a final four during his career. He said this current Oregon team is better and deeper than the “Luke-and-Luke” team that garnered a No. 9 preseason ranking in 2003.
Despite the lopsided margin, Jackson said all this with a smile on his face.
The hometown kid who grew up just eight miles from Eugene and eventually became one of the top players in Oregon history has been around plenty of success at the collegiate level. Now in his fourth year coaching at Northwest Christian, he knows better than anybody that his Beacon team is on the same rapidly-rising trajectory as the No. 5 Ducks.
“There’s been a good culture with some of the leaders on our team,” Jackson said. “And it’s fun to be a part of those guys and the building of what they’re doing. Just like Oregon’s got a tremendous upside, I think we’ve got a tremendous upside.”
Oregon is one of the most athletically-talented teams in the country and took hold of Monday’s game right away. Chris Boucher scored nine points in the first five minutes, and with six minutes left in the first half the Ducks had opened up a 32-6 lead. Oregon shot 58 percent from the field and scored at will inside the paint.
The second half was a different story. Oregon outscored the Beacons just 36-33 in the final 20 minutes, and Northwest Christian connected on more field goals than Oregon did in the half. Beacon freshman center Kylor Kelly tallied nine points and three boards in the second half and gave Oregon’s loaded front line all it could handle.
“We were just really lackadaisical there in the second half,” Altman said. “Got the big lead in the first half, and I’m just really disappointed we didn’t use that second 20 minutes to our advantage to get better.”
Monday’s game was never a close contest, but it didn’t need to be for Jackson to see that plenty of progress has been made since he took over the program in 2013.
“If this team played Dana Altman during his second or third year [at Oregon,] I think we would really compete with them,” Jackson said. “But we’re obviously outmatched. I think the future is bright for us this year and I’m excited to see where we’ll go.”
During Jackson’s first year with the school, the Beacons finished 18-14 and fourth in their conference. By last season, they improved to 28-7 and reached the second round of the NAIA Division II national championship.
This year’s team may be even more talented. The Beacons boast a combination of size and skill that is rare to see at the NAIA level. They feature a strong collection of big men who hail from in-state schools. The gem of Jackson’s group of posts is Kelley, a raw, athletic 7-footer whom Jackson believes could be every bit as good as Boucher.
“He’s very raw and he’s got a ton of natural ability,” Jackson said of Kelley. “I just tell him not to back down; he doesn’t need to be scared of anybody. He’s going to develop into just as good of a player [as Boucher] in my opinion.”
Now 12 years removed from his own collegiate playing career, Jackson has found a second life in the sport of basketball after injuries hindered a promising NBA career. Oregon’s No. 2 all-time leading scorer now spends his days trying to take things he learns from other coaches and apply the lessons to his team.
“I get the same enjoyment out of coaching as I did playing,” Jackson said. “I get the same nervousness coaching that I did when I was playing. For me to be able to help them achieve their goals and be a part of something bigger than themselves is something that’s rewarding for me.”
Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney
Former Oregon star Luke Jackson has Northwest Christian University on a winning trajectory
Jarrid Denney
November 7, 2016
Adam Eberhardt
While Dana Altman and a pair of Oregon players addressed a large crowd of reporters following the Ducks’ season-opening victory Monday night, Northwest Christian coach Luke Jackson stood outside the visiting locker room in the bowels of Matthew Knight Arena. With just two reporters there to listen, the former Oregon star threw …
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