After every game — home, road, win, lose, tie, whatever — the Oregon men’s basketball team meets at center court. The players grip one another’s shoulders and lean forward. They sway from side to side, a rocky sea of prayer as short players stand next to tall ones, starters next to scrubs.
For this, some would call the team weak. Some already have, including one writer in a national magazine who insinuated Luke Ridnour and Luke Jackson will be swallowed up by the demons of the NBA when they get there.
When you thump a Bible, the critics say, you can’t possibly thump the hardwood. When you read scripture before a game, you can’t possibly read a defense.
But faith doesn’t weaken this team, the Ducks say.
Faith strengthens it.
“That’s all perception,” Kent said of the faith-weakening stigma. “Particularly with men, any time you can get them to share their hearts, share their true feelings, share emotion, some people think that’s a sign of weakness. But in reality, it’s a sign of strength, because men have a tough time doing that.”
The coach and most of the players on his team are Christian. They hold chapel before games, say a prayer before heading onto the court, say a prayer at the end of the game and at least half the team, according to Jackson, goes to church every Sunday. They have a team pastor, Pastor Keith Jenkins, who facilitates most of the religious activities.

Kent, by law, can’t force his team into any kind of religious practices. Not that he would if he could. Kent himself has strong faith, but he describes it as just one of the many choices he gives to his team, like where they want to live or what they want to eat on the road.
It just happens that most everyone on the team, on this issue, chooses the same meal.
“The only thing I try to do is say, ‘Here’s a room — here’s a place you can go,’” Kent said.
For the Ducks, their faith is something much deeper than a prayer, much more intangible than a chapel service. It’s a path, and the Ducks are a band of young scouts, sticking to the trail.
But there are those who choose a different route. There are only two players who don’t regularly attend chapel, but they and the rest of the players are quick to point out there is no separation of “sinner” and “saint” on the squad.
“Everybody’s different,” said Robert Johnson, one of those who doesn’t attend chapel. “It’s just something they do, something I don’t do. It’s not like I look down on them or they look down on me. It’s like a brother who does something different. You appreciate what they do, give them much respect for what they do.”
Johnson, who is in a unique situation to judge such things, also commented on the toughness issue.
“(Faith) has nothing to do with how tough you are,” Johnson said. “They come out and prove it every night. These guys are really strong in their beliefs and really strong on the court.”
Marcus Kent, the son of a preacher man, er, Ernie Kent, has perhaps the strongest convictions of anybody on the team. He’s needed them. He played for Oregon last year before an injury forced him into a managerial role with the team this season. He’s in the process of starting a Christian fraternity and sorority on campus, and he spoke the words his dad couldn’t speak.
“Last year and this year, especially, there’s just been a peace and a calm that exists on our team,” Marcus Kent said. “I think it’s there because the presence of God is with our team. We’ve got guys that are depending on God for a lot of things in their lives, and it just brings you that peace and that confidence.”
For the Lukes, their faith has been like an umbrella for the storm of Pacific-10 Conference hoops. When Ridnour turned down an offer from Playboy magazine to be a Playboy Preseason All-American earlier this season, he cited his religion as his reason for defecting.
“The naked women and things like that; it’s not something I can be seen on if I’m going to state my faith to people,” Ridnour said. “The Lord just humbles me, keeps me humbling him, and just lets me know that everything I do is to glorify him. Anything I get is not for me, it’s for him. It keeps me level-headed and makes everything easier.”
It comes back to that post-game circle. Ridnour and Jackson, the stars, the best friends, the look-alikes, never stand next to each other in that huddle. The Christian faithful stand next to the nonbelievers.
Sure, they pray. But they stand as one. As a team.