With Pacific-10 Conference play under way, the Oregon men’s and women’s basketball teams have each come to a crossroad.
Each is facing adversity and will ultimately be judged on how it handles unfortunate circumstances.
The men’s team found out Tuesday that it will be without the services of point guard Aaron Brooks for six to eight weeks after the freshman fractured a bone in his right wrist Sunday against UCLA. While Brooks, a catalyst for Oregon’s fast-paced offense, will be missed, Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said Brooks’ injury creates a chance for the Ducks to prove how good they are.
“I think this team has an opportunity to step up and talk about its character and depth all the time,” Kent said. “Now we have a chance to show that.”
The women’s team is facing a similar situation, but its loss was far more devastating than that of the men’s squad. Forward Cathrine Kraayeveld was lost for the season on Dec. 2 after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee during a practice at Northwest Christian College’s Morse Event Center. The senior All-American candidate was the Ducks’ leading scorer, rebounder, shot blocker and three-point shooter through five games, not to mention a team leader on and off the court.
“For the most part, we really are (over not having Kraayeveld),” freshman forward Jessica Shetters said. “Of course, it’s always in the back of your mind. I don’t think any of us are really thinking about it, we’re just looking to go forward from where we are and really working on putting everything that happened in the past in the past.”
With the loss of their best player, the Ducks have gotten off to an 0-4 start in the Pac-10, while struggling to score, rebound and deal with pressure defense. With such a huge void on the court, the pressure is on each player to contribute something extra.
Most of this pressure has fallen upon the shoulders of forward Carolyn Ganes. With expectations high after being named to the Pac-10 All Freshman Team a year ago, the 6-foot-3 sophomore has struggled offensively. She is averaging 6.9 points per game, while knocking down 40 percent of her field goal attempts.
If Ganes can relax and just play her game, all the two-foot shots she has been missing will likely start to fall. Once the “gimmies” start dropping, she can take her game back outside where Ganes can shoot as well as anyone on the team. If the Ducks are to experience success this year, the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native will play a huge role.
Two players who haven’t struggled during Kraayeveld’s absence are juniors Andrea Bills and Corrie Mizusawa.
Bills is the Ducks’ leading scorer (12.2) and one of the Pac-10’s leading rebounders (8.4). She has been the team’s only significant presence in the paint most games and is usually the first option offensively.
The addition of Mizusawa gave the Ducks the instant credibility of having a true point guard, something Oregon had been missing for years. She hasn’t disappointed — she leads the conference in assist per game (6.79).
The men’s team has a plethora of talented players who are more than capable of picking up the slack left by the injury to Brooks. Luke Jackson has lived up to his preseason hype, averaging 21 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while knocking down 42 percent of his three-point shots. He dropped a season-high 28 points in an 81-74 loss to UCLA on Sunday.
Ian Crosswhite has been a major player in the Ducks’ success this season, establishing himself as one of the better post players in the conference. The 6-foot-11 sophomore has
improved greatly from having a year of experience under his belt, leading to 14.4 points and a team-high 7 rebounds per game.
With a deeper roster, it appears the men’s team has the better chance of bringing basketball glory to Oregon this season. The Ducks are a young squad but have a definite shot at qualifying for an NCAA tournament berth.
“We’re still growing,” sophomore Brandon Lincoln said. “We still have a long way to go and basically we want to keep an open mind and keep doing the things that coach Kent and the rest of the coaches are trying to get through to us and we’ll be fine.”