Fans will have their first chance to meet Oregon basketball’s newest member, Ivan Johnson, at Friday’s Midnight Madness at McArthur Court.
Johnson, a 6-foot-8-inch, 255-pound transfer from Los Angeles Southwest College, is looking to bring a new powerful presence to the Oregon lineup. With 6-foot-10-inch, 275-pound Mitch Platt redshirting after his second foot surgery, Oregon head coach Ernie Kent is hoping Johnson will fill a void for the Ducks.
“Once he grasps the system, he’s going to be a very good player,” Kent said. “He’s big. He’s strong. He’s powerful. He gives us what everybody else has, and maybe what they don’t have, in terms of his physical presence. He’s a tough basketball player.”
The San Antonio native averaged 22.3 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game as a sophomore at Los Angeles Southwest College. He earned California Junior College all-state honors after leading all leagues in rebounding and ranking eighth in scoring.
Johnson will join an Oregon team with a crop of talented guards. Sophomores Bryce Taylor and Malik Hairston – members of the Pacific-10 Conference’s All-Freshman team – and All-Pac-10 guard Aaron Brooks compose one of the Pac-10’s most explosive backcourts. The three led the Ducks in scoring last season, each averaging more than 11 points per game.
Hairston is looking forward to his chance to run the floor with Johnson, who is described as an athlete and a physical presence.
“Ivan’s a beast. He brings toughness that we’ve never had,” Hairston said. “He doesn’t have any fear. He’ll be a presence on offense and defense.”
Johnson will add depth to Oregon’s frontcourt that includes sophomores Maarty Leunen (6-9, 215) and Ray Schafer (7-0, 235), junior Adam Zahn (6-8, 225) and one of the team’s two seniors, Matt Short (7-0, 235).
“(The frontcourt) get me better, and I am getting them better,” Johnson said.
Churchill Odia, though he will redshirt this season in accordance with NCAA rules, is another transfer for the Ducks. The Nigerian native played a limited role at Xavier, averaging 8.8 minutes in 25 games, but will add additional support for Oregon’s run-and-gun offense in the future. The backcourt, in addition to Taylor, Hairston and Brooks, consists of senior Brandon Lincoln, junior Kenny Love, sophomore Chamberlain Oguchi, junior Jordan Kent and junior Adrian Stelly.
“We have a veteran basketball team with enough guys that have played enough minutes,” Kent said. “It’s just a different mentality. That’s experience. You cannot substitute that.”
A challenging schedule
The Ducks begin the pre-season Nov. 9 at home against Southern Oregon with hopes of improving upon last season’s disappointing 14-13 overall record and 6-12 Pac-10 record.
Oregon will be tested early with non-league games against Rice, Vanderbilt, Georgetown and Illinois in consecutive weeks.
“This schedule’s got a lot of big games on there,” Kent said. “We’ve got a stretch there, those are all tough ball games. Illinois is an opportunity to get them back out herein Oregon.”
The Ducks open the Pac-10 portion of their schedule at home on Dec. 31 with the Civil War against Oregon State.
Revised Pac-10 Tournament
One of the disappointing factors for Oregon last season was its failure to qualify for the Pac-10 Tournament at the end of last season. This season Pac-10 officials have decided to include all 10 of the conference’s teams into the tournament, which is played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles from March 8-11.