In Garrett Sim’s four years with the men’s basketball program, few of the previous three teams he’s played on would have been able to pull off what the Ducks did against UCLA this past weekend.
Staring at a 13-point halftime deficit after shooting less than 23 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, Oregon opened the second half driven with a sense of urgency that was nonexistent an hour earlier. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205335431@@
After a pair of Tony Woods free throws, Sim scored seven points in 49 seconds on back-to-back threes, including the first four-point play of his collegiate career. The lead was cut to four, and UCLA coach Ben Howland demanded a timeout.
“It was a big shot,” head coach Dana Altman said. “We needed it at that point, and it really got the crowd energized and our players believing that we were coming back and were going to get it done.”
Sim’s hot hand sparked a 15-2 Oregon run to open the second half, and the rest was history as Oregon closed out a dramatic 75-68 comeback victory.
“Those weren’t easy shots,” added junior forward E.J. Singler. “Those were great shots.”@@quite modestly@@
Sim, a Portland native and 2008 Sunset High School graduate, hasn’t shied away from those big moments this season, seeing only a bigger opportunity to take this team to a place its never been during his tenure. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4295&SPID=235&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1603562&Q_SEASON=2011@@
When Oregon came out flat against a USC team that remains winless in the Pac-12 last Thursday, it was Sim who refused to let what should have been a guaranteed victory slip away.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound guard again found his rhythm again in the second half, connecting on 5-of-6 three-pointers and making four of Oregon’s six free throws in the final 1:40 to finish with a team-high 20 points.
Sim says he doesn’t necessarily hunt down open three-point looks, but they’ve certainly come in abundance for the senior guard, who’s averaging a career-best 12.6 points per game this season. @@http://www.goducks.com/fls/500/pages/2011-12/mbb/stats/plyr_03.htm?SPSID=4295&SPID=235&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
“Any time I get an open three,” Sim said. “I’m going to shoot it with confidence.”
He’s gone back to the confidence factor time and again this year, saying it’s helped him play more relaxed than seasons past. Considering Sim’s nearly 13 percent increase in three-point shooting this season, to say he’s playing with more confidence would be a bit of an understatement. @@http://www.goducks.com/fls/500/pages/2011-12/mbb/stats/histcarr.htm?SPSID=4295&SPID=235&DB_OEM_ID=500#11@@
Having played in 122 games in his career with 87 starts along the way, Sim is Oregon’s active career leader in almost every single category other than rebounding and free-throw shooting, both of which belong to Singler.
He’s well on his way to breaking last year’s career-best mark of 52 made three pointers, and he could potentially do so in 50 less attempts. Sim has made 47.6 percent of his shots from long range this season (40-of-84), which trails only Cal’s Justin Cobbs (53.8) and Arizona’s Brendon Lavender (52.1) for the best mark in the Pac-12. @@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/MBasketball/2011-12-stats/HTML/ARIZ.HTM@@  @@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/MBasketball/2011-12-stats/HTML/CAL.HTM@@
Not surprisingly, he’s been as solid as they come from the free-throw line, too, converting on 85.5 percent of his trips to the charity stripe, good enough for the fourth-best clip in the conference. @@http://www.goducks.com/fls/500/pages/2011-12/mbb/stats/plyr_03.htm?SPSID=4295&SPID=235&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
Shooting has always been one of Sim’s greatest assets — he averaged 22.9 points and 8.8 assists as a high school senior — but it’s the career experience that’s starting to show through down the stretch. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4295&SPID=235&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1603562&Q_SEASON=2011@@
What’s the biggest difference for Oregon compared to the past few seasons?
“Senior guards,” Altman says without hesitation. “Devoe (Joseph) has been there, Garrett’s been there. The free-throw shooting is tremendously important … We never allowed (UCLA) to close the gap.”
Sim will make his 21st consecutive start when the Ducks host the Beavers Sunday afternoon for a 3:30 p.m. contest, the seventh Civil War appearance of his career. As the only remaining member of that coveted 2008 recruiting class, Sim believes the years of struggle for the Oregon men’s basketball program may have finally turned a corner, if only for a season.
“We want to make the tournament,” fellow senior Jeremy Jacob said, “We want to get wins.”
Closing games out will continue to be a key point of emphasis as well. The Ducks have done just that in winning four straight Pac-12 games for the first time since the 2006-7 season, and with a win over Oregon State on Sunday, they’ll be 11 games above .500 and remain in a tie for first with Cal in the conference standings.
“(This group has) a passion and eagerness to win,” Sim said. “We’ve got a lot of seniors and experienced guys. For myself, since I’ve been here we haven’t closed out games very well. I guess we’re kind of tired of that, and we want to win.”
For the first time in years, it seems all the pieces are in place for Sim and his teammates to pull off something special.