Forward Maarty Leunen is one of several Oregon freshmen dealing with the transition from prep student athlete to Division I student athlete.
As the Oregon men’s basketball team wrapped up practice Wednesday, Aaron Brooks was practicing his free throw shooting at a side basket at McArthur Court.
While he knocked down the majority of his freebies, the sophomore missed more than he would like.
In the background, assistant coach Fred Litzenberger was observing the point guard’s shooting technique from center court.
“Finish the shot,” said Litzenberger, instructing Brooks to follow through on his release. “You’re falling back every time.”
Brooks acknowledged the fourth-year coach, turned and softly sank his next free throw with a textbook follow through.
While the Ducks are a young group of athletes, they listen well. And that’s a plus because they are coached by a well-respected staff.
As eighth-year head coach Ernie Kent prepares the Ducks to open the 100th season of Oregon basketball Friday against Idaho State, Kent acknowledged that the Ducks will be facing a Bengal team led by a similar quality of coaching.
Kent worked with Idaho State head coach Doug Oliver during the 1990-91 season as assistants at Stanford under former Cardinal head coach Mike Montgomery.
Oliver’s coaching, along with the scare against Division II Western Oregon Sunday should ensure that the youthful Ducks don’t overlook the Bengals.
“They will definitely be a well coached basketball team,” Kent said of Idaho State. “I don’t think our guys, even as a staff, have ever overlooked anyone.”
Freshmen adapt
As the start of the regular season draws near, more pressure will be put on freshmen to balance their schedules correctly.
Two such athletes who are dealing with the transition are forward Maarty Leunen and guard Malik Hairston.
Leunen, who graduated from Redmond High School, said the transition from high school to college has been a tiring one.
“The first couple weeks were pretty tough,” Leunen said. “Getting used to everything, what teachers expect at the college level and everything, it’s definitely different. I’ve just gotten in a rhythm of what to do and got used to going to practice and how busy my day is.”
Hairston, who graduated from Renaissance High School in Detroit, said succeeding in school is a priority and the transition has been fairly smooth. The most trying aspect is being so far away from his family.
“I talk to my family a lot,” Hairston said. “I miss my family but they understand I’m on a mission out here, and they know I have a job to do.”
