Everybody gets to see more of the new-look Oregon men’s basketball this week when they host Western Oregon in their final exhibition game Sunday at McArthur Court.
The Wolves are coming off Monday’s 67-51 loss to Oregon State , but the game was much closer than the final score indicates.
In their the Ducks’ first exhibition game last weekend, they blew out Trinity Western 106-79, but head coach Ernie Kent said his young team still has much
to improve.
“Defensively, I want to greatly improve, particularly with our on-the-ball defense,” Kent said.
Defense has been the focus
at practice this week for Oregon, according to freshman Malik Hairston.
“The team needs to look better defensively,” Hairston said. “We want to focus on executing, especially on transition defense.”
Junior forward Ian Crosswhite, who scored 11 points and
had eight rebounds against
Trinity Western Sunday, agreed with Hairston.
“I think we all would like
to see us do a better job on
defense,” Crosswhite said. “Trinity Western scored so many points so we are going to have to go out there and get some stops.”
Redmond native Maarty
Leunen, who grabbed a
team-high 11 rebounds against Trinity Western, said containing the ball has been stressed upon this week in practice.
“Containing the ball one-on-one and working on our defensive stance (is key),” Leunen said. “If we do break down we have to make sure it goes to the help side.”
One thing that didn’t break down for the Ducks on Sunday was their offense, with Hairston leading the way with 30 points in 19 minutes.
“We really started to get up and down and shared the basketball,” Kent said about his team’s 109-point performance. “We really got into a rhythm and I would like to start the game in that rhythm in Sunday’s ball game.”
The Ducks’ fast-paced game wasn’t easy for everybody to
pick up.
“I think it is great,” Hairston said about the offense. “When I first got here, I couldn’t handle it. Now that we are weeks into practice I feel like I fit right in.”
Crosswhite knows despite the fast pace and a feeling of exclusion, the offense will sometimes be forced into half-court situations.
“(The offense) is fun,” Crosswhite said. “As long as you are ready to go then you can get involved. Sometimes you do just feel like you’re getting rebounds and just throwing the ball out there (to the guards).
“But when it comes to sets,
and it’s going to slow down now and again, those guys are going to throw the ball to you. It’s our (the post players) job to get them the ball because they run so hard out there.”
Kent said he will also be figuring out rotations that benefit the team the most.
“We want to find out and be comfortable with our rotation,” Kent said. “I need to know when I send guys into the game how they play and how they perform with the minutes they get.”
Last game, the Ducks brought
in many different lineups and
each seemed to show some sort
of cohesion.
“I think it’s great,” Hairston said about the team’s ability to play along side each other. “We have a very
unselfish basketball team and we
understand sacrifice and want to make each other better.”

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