Jackson gets top team honor
There wasn’t much surprise Sunday when the Ducks gave out their top team award.
Luke Jackson was named Oregon’s most valuable player at the team’s annual banquet after leading the Ducks in scoring with 21.6 points per game
Jackson is just one of just a handful of players around the country to lead his team in points, rebounds (7.3) and assists (4.5) per game. He ranks second in the Pacific-10 Conference in scoring behind Arizona State’s Ike Diogu, is fifth in rebounds and seventh in assists.
Jackson, who is a finalist for the Naismith and John R. Wooden awards, is the only player in Oregon’s history to post three 500-point seasons. He scored 540 points this season, giving him 1,854 for his career, putting him third on Oregon’s all-time list.
The past two Oregon team MVP’s have gone on to be selected in the first round of their respective NBA Drafts. Frederick Jones won the award for the 2001-02 season and went 14th overall to Indiana. Luke Ridnour won the award the next season and was taken 14th by Seattle.
Bryan Bracey won the award in 2000-01 and was selected in the second round, 58th overall by San Antonio.
Also at the banquet, seniors Jay Anderson and Andre Joseph shared the Jesse Nash most improved player award. Anderson was also named the John Warren most inspirational player.
Redshirt freshman Jordan Kent took home two awards. He was named the Rear Admiral John Dick defensive player of the year. He was also honored with the Harry Ritchie scholar-athlete award, the second year in a row he has won it.

Duck track and field gears up for NCAA Indoor Championships
Senior Ryan Andrus led a busy day for the Oregon track and field teams in Seattle on Saturday.
Andrus earned an automatic invite to the NCAA Indoor Championships next week in Fayatteville, Ark. He took second in the 5,000-meter race at the NCAA Last Chance Qualifier in the Dempsey Indoor with a time of 13 minutes, 51 seconds.
The mark was a 16-second personal best for the Orem, Utah, native.
Andrus took home the team’s only automatic mark of the day, but the Ducks earned six NCAA provisional marks in Seattle and Florida.
Junior pole vaulter Hannah Moore earned a provisional by taking a personal best in the event by clearing the 13-foot-5-inch mark.
Senior Eri Macdonald ran the 800 in 2:06.75, good enough for first in the event.
Meanwhile, in Florida at the FastTimes Qualifier, Eric Mitchum ran a 7.26 in the 55 hurdles, giving him first and a NCAA provisional mark. Sophomore Matt Scherer took third in the 400 with a time of 47.25, good for an NCAA provisional mark.
The NCAA will announce the field for the championships today. A minimum of 15 athletes will compete in each event with as many as 21 possible.
In addition to Andrus, Oregon is guaranteed to send athletes for three more events. Freshman Tommy Skipper will compete in the pole vault, while junior Magdalena Sandoval earned an automatic berth in the 5,000. The men’s 4×400 relay team — which consists of Scherer, Travis Anderson, Brandon Holliday and Roderick Dotts — will also compete.

— Hank Hager