When I first heard the news that Dana Altman had been offered the Oregon job, I paused.
I racked my brain, trying to figure out where I had heard that name before. It wasn’t until a fellow reporter mentioned Creighton that it clicked.
And if my reaction was at first puzzled while I tried to think of where Altman was from, just imagine a lot of other people’s reaction that aren’t familiar with the Missouri Valley Conference and the Omaha, Neb., school.
There was probably a lot of, “Dana who?”
I highly doubt this is the reaction the University of Oregon was going for when it asked Altman to come to Oregon. The Ducks envisioned making national headlines with the signing of a national championship coach, followed by a hero’s welcome in Eugene.
But for those of you who thought Oregon was going to hire a national championship-winning coach, you should really get over it. Oregon is not a national powerhouse in basketball. It might aspire to be that one day, but for all the wanting to be like teams from the SEC and ACC, the school isn’t there yet. There is still a small town feel to Oregon, and the school needed to stick to its ideals.
The Ducks needed someone who genuinely wanted to be here, not someone who was drawn here by stacks of money.
After my initial puzzlement, I have warmed to the idea of Altman as a Duck. His record of 410-243 in Division I basketball is good, and he has a pedigree of winning. He’s been to 11 NCAA tournaments (three as an assistant at Kansas State), so he knows what being successful means. He’s been to 13 straight postseason tournaments, and that’s the type of coach Oregon was looking for. If he could do that at Creighton, in the MVC, just imagine what he could do in Eugene, where he will have a brand new arena, more money, and play in a bigger conference.
Dana Altman belongs at the University of Oregon.
It just felt right when he walked up on the makeshift podium in Matthew Knight Arena on Monday. I can’t explain it, but the Nebraskan with no ties to the state of Oregon just seems to fit.
Maybe it’s his easygoing personality with the media. Throughout the 30-minute news conference he cracked jokes, answered random questions well, and impressed the media in attendance.
He received an ovation from the alumni and University personnel, but I couldn’t tell if that was from relief that the coaching search was over, or if they were truly happy to see him, but I think everyone involved thinks Altman is the right choice. Pat Kilkenny said within hours of spending time with Altman, he knew he was going to be Oregon’s next head coach. President Richard Lariviere – who reportedly wouldn’t allow two national championship coaches to coach here – raved about his commitment to academics.
I didn’t listen to any of this, as I thought back 13 years to what Ernie Kent’s press conference must have been like. A lot of the same words probably were said in describing him at the time. No, what I listened to was Altman himself as he fielded questions from the media. He was confident, knew what he was talking about and wasn’t flashy.
He was politically correct when he didn’t outright say the culture needed to be changed in Eugene, but he might as well have.
No one would have corrected him, because it does need to change.
Altman also said the three players who asked for their releases are free to do whatever they want – but he wants guys here who want to play at Oregon. That might as well have been a “so long, don’t come back.”
Only time will tell if Altman is the right choice, but fans should be excited because his hiring breathed fresh life into the men’s team. It will be a new era when Altman opens Matt Court, one I hope will be filled with excitement, and one I am sure will involve winning.
Pretty soon, fans will be saying, “Ernie who?”
A disappointing Pacific-10 Conference Championship came to its close on Wednesday for the No. 2 men’s golf team. The Ducks finished in a tie for sixth place overall, never fully recovering from a slow start earlier in the week.
The team actually shot its worst score of the tournament during the final round, finishing with a 360 (5 over par). Oregon’s final score came out to 1409 (11 under par), tying No. 35 California.
No. 6 Washington was the surprise winner of the tournament, upstaging No. 1 Stanford in the final round. The Cardinal had led for most of the tournament, but turned in an ugly 363 (8 over par) on Wednesday that allowed the Huskies to take the lead for good.
Stanford placed second with an overall score of 1386 (34 under par), while No. 10 USC capped an impressive showing with a third place finish.
Sophomore Daniel Miernicki paced the Ducks throughout the week, and his overall score of 274 (10 under par) was good for a sixth place tie individually. Fellow sophomore Eugene Wong made a late push on Wednesday, shooting a 67 (4 under par) and finishing tied for 20th overall.
Junior Jack Dukeminier tied for 28th overall, and all but one of Oregon’s players finished in the top 50. Sophomore Andrew Vijarro barely missed the top 50, placing in a tie for 51st.
Though the Pac-10 Championships were a disappointment for the Ducks, they will have an opportunity to redeem themselves in the NCAA Regionals beginning on May 20.
Robert Husseman Sports Reporter
Last week, as senior center Jordan Holmes tells it, “it just clicked.”
The Oregon offensive line had been struggling throughout the spring to keep defensive linemen and blitzing back-seven players at bay. With all five starters returning, many of whom – such as Carson York and C.E. Kaiser – have been unable to participate fully because of injuries, the level of play early on was disconcerting.
“The defense is doing some good things, (and) we’ve got to give them credit,” offensive line coach Steve Greatwood said, “but the biggest goal this spring is to try to continue our knowledge base, get better at our technique and just become a more dominant group.”
Though the line will be jumbled up between the Green and White teams at Saturday’s spring football game, the Ducks have found their rhythm. Defensive players are on notice.
“As a unit we’ve started off slow. That’s how we always are, we always start off slow,” said Holmes, a 13-game starter last year at center. “At the Wednesday scrimmage, we had a really good showing. We’re communicating well and getting the job done.”
That is all the more relieving, considering the revolving door of players at the tackle and guard positions.
“Most of these guys have played enough football here we should be able to plug them in anywhere,” Greatwood said.
Beyond the versatility of the offensive line, Oregon has an excellent anchor in Holmes, who inherited his job after Max Unger graduated. Holmes became one of the more consistent performers for the Ducks last season. A Pacific-10 Conference All-Academic selection last season, the senior from Yuba City, Calif. was even named offensive player of the week by the Ducks coaching staff after a victory against Arizona State.
“His leadership’s great,” Greatwood said. “He does a good job there.”
Holmes has had an up-and-down spring, with the low point coming in the Ducks’ first spring scrimmage. A snap to quarterback Nate Costa in the red zone sailed over Costa’s head for a loss of around 20 yards. But for that one noticeable mishap, Holmes has quietly worked hard on the weaker aspects of his game.
“I’ve got to be more consistent with my snaps,” he said. “I’d like to lower my pad level. I’ve got to keep my feet moving. Little things.
Behind Holmes is fellow senior – and roommate – Max Forer, a walk-on from Santa Monica, Calif.
Forer was an offensive tackle and tight end for his high school, the Santa Monica Vikings, before receiving an invitation to walk on from defensive backs coach John Neal. As soon as he set foot on campus, Forer was instructed to w
ork on his snaps.
“They looked at my tape and said, ‘You have a good pad level and a low center of gravity. It’s probably the best spot for you,’” Forer said. “For the first two years, I had troubles.”
As Oregon transitioned from a pro-style offense to a spread offense, Forer had to learn the art of shotgun snapping on the fly.
“It’s different,” he said. “In shotgun, you have to snap perfectly to the quarterback, five yards away. I changed my form multiple times until I found something comfortable.
“Everyone has their own ways. I just try to keep my hand low and level. I can’t snap fully as I run, so it has to be a quick snap, then step. If you step, then snap, the ball’s going to fly out.”
Between practices, Forer consults with Holmes and fellow roommate Costa on his technique and fundamentals.
“Guys that do well do a lot of repetitions,” Forer said. “That’s the key.”
After making three appearances in the previous two years, Forer saw action in four games in 2009, including a brief appearance in the Rose Bowl.
“Works his ass off,” Holmes said about his roommate. “Great person, good football player.”
Holmes, Forer and Costa, along with offensive lineman Bo Thran, always participate in group activities off the field. Take last weekend’s NFL draft: The foursome watched from their apartment, with a television and four computers set up to monitor and discuss the action, girlfriends out of the picture.
“We were just hanging out,” Forer said. “We grunted at each other a couple of times. It’s a nice chemistry. We’re a very tight-knit group.”
Some things just click.
Robert Husseman | Sports Reporter
Were it up to Mac Fleet, he might be competing in a different sport in college than track and field.
“My true love was basketball. Still is,” said the freshman, who counts the Los Angeles Lakers and Duke Blue Devils among his favorite teams.
“I played a little bit my freshman year of high school. I made a pretty big decision that not many people were happy with, to stop playing and focus on cross country and track. Nowadays, unless you’re an absolute phenomenal athlete, you almost have to specialize in a sport if you want to get a full-ride (scholarship).
“I’m only 6-foot-3, and how many of those guys are in the NBA? … Not too many.”
Luckily for Vin Lananna and the Oregon coaching staff, Fleet found himself a new sporting love. The San Diego native had running in his blood: His father, Dale, competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at Washington State and experienced a brief post-collegiate running career – but developed his feelings for running later in high school.
“I was never pushed into running – that’s probably what my dad didn’t want me to do. I just happened to be kind of decent at it. I love it now,” Fleet said. “As much as I love basketball, this is fun.”
Fleet was a California state cross country champion and 1,500 meters champion as a high school senior. A Pan-American Junior Championship in the 1,500m and a U.S. Junior Track and Field national championship at that same distance made him a touted college prospect.
There was no doubt where to go next.
“I believe that this combination of the team, the coaches and the facilities (at Oregon) was the best to take me to the next level,” Fleet said. “I made it pretty difficult for other coaches to get a hold of me, just because I knew I was coming here.
“The idea of being a professional athlete I like, and for as long as I can take it, I will.”
To date, Fleet has made short work of acclimating himself to the college environment and college-level competition. He was named the Pacific-10 Conference Men’s Track Athlete of the Week for his performance at the Penn Relays, and he left positive impressions on teammates at the team’s annual preseason camp in Sunriver, Ore.
“We have tons of guys that are All-Americans and guys that have been on national championship teams,” redshirt junior A.J. Acosta said, also an All-American. “(He was) able to come in right away and really mesh with the team.”
Fleet made occasional appearances for the Ducks in cross country season – he finished 33rd at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships – before cementing himself as an important figure indoors. His mile run of 3:57.70 at the Feb. 13 Husky Classic broke Galen Rupp’s school record, and his runner-up finish in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 13 gave the Oregon men eight critical points toward a second-place finish.
“Mac’s unbelievable,” senior Andrew Wheating said. “He came in here just looking to do big things, and he’s obviously stepping up and being one of our key players.”
The positive momentum has carried over to the outdoor season. At the Pepsi Team Invitational on April 10, Fleet broke the one-minute, 50-second barrier in the 800 meters for the first time in his career, winning the race in 1:49.19. A week later, he set a new personal best in the 1,500m, running 3:46.62 to edge out his teammate Acosta and win a second consecutive race.
At the Penn Relays this past weekend, Fleet took on an unusually heavy workload, competing in the 4xmile relay, the distance medley relay and the 4×800-meter relay. The Ducks won the first two relay races going away. Wheating failed to fight off Virginia’s Robby Andrews in the anchor leg of the latter race, costing the Ducks a win – and Fleet a perfect outdoor record.
“To triple this weekend is unbelievable,” Wheating said. “For us, on the Oregon side, he deserves athlete of the meet.
“You can’t ask anything else of the kid. He doesn’t think about it too much, he doesn’t put any pressure on himself.”
The decision to hang up the high tops and lace up the spikes has paid dividends thus far.
Jackson Long Freelance Reporter
The Oregon women’s club water polo team closed out a terrific season on Sunday that saw the Ducks end ranked No. 4 in the nation. After an undefeated 8-0 regular season and a clean three-game sweep of the Northwest Division championships, the ladies from Eugene headed to Tucson, Ariz., for nationals with an unblemished record.
The seeding for the national tournament was based on last year’s results for the representatives of each division, so although Oregon was ranked No. 6 nationally entering the tournament, the team would play from the third position in the bracket.
On Friday, in round one, the Ducks faced the unranked representative of the Heartland Division, Illinois State.
The Ducks crushed the Redbirds 14-5, scoring four goals in quarters one and two, then three apiece in the last two periods. Eight different Oregon players scored goals.
On Saturday, Oregon squared off against No. 19 University of Central Florida. That game proved to be a much closer contest than round one. After two quarters of play the Ducks led 4-0. They allowed three goals from the Knights in the third quarter, but also added two more of their own and the same in the closing quarter to snag the victory 8-3.
The win meant Oregon would advance to play later that evening in the semifinals, but it also meant that Oregon would face its toughest opponent all year: the Michigan Wolverines.
Michigan, coming out of the Big Ten Division, had an identical record as Oregon at 8-0 in the regular season. The Wolverines added three more victories in the division championships and were ranked No. 4 in the nation before their matchup with Oregon. After grabbing wins in rounds one and two, the Wolverines were set to face off against the Ducks in the semis.
Jeanette Lo scored the first goal in the heavyweight bout between the Wolverines and Ducks, putting Oregon ahead early at 1-0.
Less than a minute later, Michigan had tied the game at 1-1, but again Oregon pushed in front with a Lizzy Flower score 25 seconds later.
In the second quarter, the Wolverines scored to knot the game at 2-2 and scored again to grab the lead in the third. Flower again answered with a goal,
but Michigan had found a rhythm and put two more balls in the net before the quarter’s close to hold a 5-3 lead.
The girls from Ann Arbor scored once more before Flower turned her scoring performance into a hat trick, but it was too late for the Ducks and the game ended in a 6-4 loss.
“We expected the semis to be our biggest test,” senior player and club coordinator Laura von Stockhausen said. “We also played our regionals long before nationals, so we came in with a disadvantage.”
Disheartened by the failure to make it to the championship game, the Ducks still had one more game to play, this one for the rights to the bronze, against No. 5 UC Santa Cruz.
The beginning and end of the game were the same for each team, with both teams scoring three goals each, in both the first and fourth quarters, but it was the middle of the matchup that made the difference.
In the second and third quarters the Banana Slugs outscored the Ducks 6-2. Despite solid scoring from Oregon in the final stretch, there just wasn’t enough, as the Ducks fell, 12-8.
“We came our real strong, but their coach made some real great adjustments that put our offense in a tizzy,” Stockhausen said.
The outcome of the trip to nationals was just one spot different from the team’s 2009 effort, as at last year’s tournament the Ducks won their final game after losing the semis to claim third.