The Eugene Chargers always had the pieces of a winning team. They had long-distance shooting, post play and grit. It’s the little things they needed – namely, a point guard.
Insert point guard Larry Morina and the Chargers are riding a six-game winning streak. The team visits Chico tonight and Oakland Saturday.
Detroit’s late arrival delayed the start of Eugene’s game last weekend, but nothing could delay the Chargers’ 92-point victory at the Morse Event Center.
The 178-86 Eugene win showed that the team is becoming a cohesive unit, coach Kenya Wilkins said.
“We are starting to trust each other, know what each other can do, know what our strengths are, weaknesses are, and we are starting to come together nicely,” Wilkins said.
The key to six-straight wins arrived with Morina’s addition to the roster for Eugene’s third game of the season. His presence solved a problem that tied into Eugene’s 0-3 start – a problem that prompted Wilkins to don a uniform and play point guard in a game.
Wilkins’ one-game experiment – in which he scored seven points at Central Oregon – is unlikely to happen again because his main focus is on coaching and because the team now has a bona fide point guard in Morina.
“He came in and stabilized the ‘one’ position,” Wilkins said. “The other guys have confidence in him, which allow them to go out and do the things they do well. They didn’t have to worry about other positions and things they shouldn’t have to worry about.”
The 5-foot-11 Morina is a quick, pass-first guard who also takes the shot when it’s open. Eugene already had post players, notably Bonell Colas, but lacked a guard to consistently feed them the ball.
Against Detroit, Morina found posts Colas (26 points, 11 rebounds) and Michael Harper (24 points, 12 rebounds) early as the game quickly turned into a rout.
“They catch everything,” Morina said. “They finish around the basket. They make the game so much easier for everybody else.”
The posts, when doubled, kicked the ball out and Eugene responded with 28 three-pointers. Eugene native Terry Smith-Harris often found himself the recipient of open looks, making five three-pointers en route to 21 points. J.R. Patrick, who scored 20 points, also poured in six three-pointers.
“We are predicated on getting the ball inside, working inside and out, and we are going to continue to do that,” Morina said. “If they double, we are going to hit a lot of shots on the outside.”
Already, Morina has contributed 29 points and six assists against Vancouver, 32 points against Portland and 24 points and 10 assists against Central Oregon.
Montana State grad Morina said he knows his role is to provide an extension of Wilkins on the floor, and he said he’s found a common ground with the ex-Oregon point guard.
“There’s things that I don’t know about the game,” Morina said. “There’s some things he can teach me, and then there’s things I’ve done in the game that I can teach him or things I see that he doesn’t see.”
Wilkins let his team know Saturday that defense is paramount. After beating Detroit, he listed areas in which the players can improve: defensive rotations, decision making in transition and shot selection.
“We got to value every possession and that will make us better,” Morina said. “We might not never score 180 points, but if we can take care of the basketball in tougher games, we can score 120-130 and beat teams by 40 points, which is more satisfying than winning a game like this.” The fast-paced style of the International Basketball League differs from college and NBA styles of play. Games are fast-paced, scoring is prevalent and dunk contests often happen.
Former Oregon post Jay Anderson, who played in a professional league in Germany, has been adjusting to the IBL style, but his arrival for Eugene’s fifth game has provided noticeable benefits.
He scored 16 points against Central Oregon last week and had 13 points and 11 rebounds against Detroit. Anderson heard about the league through an agent when he was in Europe.
IBL crowds are smaller than the 10,000-plus audiences in college, and usually only a few hundred fans attend Eugene games. Oregon and its athletics programs are nearby and can draw away people’s attention, but with track and other sports finishing their seasons, Anderson said, Eugene’s love of basketball should bring them to the games.
“If we can continue to put out a good product and play hard, people will see that this is a fun thing to come and watch,” Anderson said.
Eugene returns home Tuesday, May 23 to play Central Oregon – its last home game until June 11. All games start at 7:15 p.m., and home games are played at the Morse Event Center at Northwest Christian College.