Oregon’s Maarty Leunen (10) and Ray Schafer surround a New Mexico player during a victory earlier this season. The two freshmen have helped the Ducks hold all three of their opponents this season to under 40
While much of the emphasis this season has been on the run-and-gun offense the Oregon men’s basketball team thrusts upon its opponents, this young squad has stepped it
up on the defensive end of the court as well.
The Ducks have amped up their defensive intensity and have held their opponents this season to a 38.1 percent shooting percentage and have held all opponents to under 40 percent.
“I’m happy defensively overall with this team,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said.
Freshman Bryce Taylor said the team has been working hard to become better defensively.
“We take about half of practice to work on defense,” Taylor said. “It’s one of those things you have to keep working on, especially our intensity and our technique.”
So far it has paid off. In their opening game of the season, the Ducks held Idaho State to 51 points, their best defensive game in an opener since 1982.
The team’s improvement on defense has been helped by the insurgence of 7-foot redshirt freshman Ray Schafer.
Schafer brings a presence to the inside for Oregon, especially when teamed with fellow 7-footer Ian Crosswhite.
Though his four blocks this season may not show any kind of dominance, his ability to alter shots has been key for the Ducks.
“It’s not necessarily a blocked shot (that helps the team),” Schafer said. “If a guard gets beat and his guy comes down the middle and I just alter his shot and make him throw up some junk, I’ve done my job.”
Another aspect the Ducks have improved on this season is rebounding. Crosswhite said Oregon has struggled with rebounding the last few years, and Kent has made it a focus for the Duck big men.
“A big emphasis this season
has been on rebounding,” the Castlecrag, Australian native said. “The last couple of years we have lost some games because we haven’t boxed people out and rebounded.”
Oregon currently ranks fourth in the Pac-10 Conference in
rebounding, averaging 38.8 per game. On the other end, the Ducks have held their opponents to 29.0 rebounds per game — third best in the conference.
The team’s size comes in handy, posting a lineup that usually features at least four players over 6-foot-5 on the floor, including at least two over 6-foot-10.
With the added height, Oregon has also been able to put pressure on opponents and get more hands on the ball this season on the defensive end.
