The Ducks will rely on the high-flying antics of Freddie Jones (20) to get back to the NCAA Tournament this season. Jones is one of three talented Duck guards.
Ernie Kent, Oregon men’s basketball coach, is dreaming of pumpkins and Hornets these days, even though both are far in the future.
Pumpkins, because October is right around the corner, and that means the start of Oregon basketball practice. Kent can barely contain himself over his 2001-02 squad.
“I’m excited about the level of commitment of this team,” Kent said. “All 12 members have been here this summer, and they’ve done a real good job in the classroom and the weight room.”
Kent is dreaming of Hornets because his first regular-season opponent will be Alabama State — the 2001 Southwestern Athletic Conference-Champion Hornets — come Nov. 15.
On paper, at least, Kent said he thinks the Ducks can match up with just about anyone, including the Hornets and the teams of the stripped-down Pacific-10 Conference. Many Pac-10 teams, including last year’s conference champion, Stanford, and second-place Arizona, lost key players to the NBA draft.
Kent and the Ducks will counter those teams with what he calls “the best back court on the West Coast.” The Oregon guard and forward pool includes senior Freddie Jones and sophomore sensations Luke Ridnour and Luke Jackson.
Jones will undoubtedly have the largest spotlight as the season approaches. A video on the large screen at the Oregon-Utah football game featured Jones’ high-flying dunks, and asked the question “Are you ready for Freddie?”
Jones, even though he is a senior, will once again be led by point guard Ridnour when the Ducks take the floor in November. Ridnour, last year’s Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, will try to turn around an Oregon team that barely missed the National Invitation Tournament last season.
“Our youth may have caught up with us,” Kent said of last season’s disappointing performance.
Kent tried to address Oregon’s shortcomings at the center and forward positions with his off-season recruiting. The coach snagged centers Matt Short and Brian Helquist, at 7 feet and 6 feet 9 inches, respectively. He also recruited forwards Ian Crosswhite and Robert Johnson, at 6 feet 11 inches and 6 feet 8 inches, respectively, to fill the shoes of Bryan Bracey, who was the last overall pick in this season’s NBA draft.
“If we can get two or three or four of those big guys to emerge this season, we could be contending with the best teams in the nation,” Kent said.
The big recruits will join 7-foot-2-inch Chris Christoffersen, 6-foot-10-inch Mark Michaelis and 6-foot-9-inch Jay Anderson in the middle of the floor.
All the Ducks have been participating in basketball-related activities over the summer. Christoffersen attended the Pete Newell Big Man Camp, one of the top basketball camps in the nation, with alumni such as Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwan, Scottie Pippen and Shawn Kemp. The sophomore Lukes attended a Nike Basketball Camp with some of the nation’s elite college players, while Jones attended the Michael Jordan Flight School.
On the sidelines, Kent has added longtime Oregon women’s assistant coach Fred Litzenberger to his staff of assistants. Litzenberger is a noted defensive specialist. Kent and Litzenberger coached together at Colorado State from 1987-89 as assistants under Boyd Grant.
Looming on the Ducks’ schedule is the recently-revived Pac-10 Tournament. Oregon will travel to Los Angeles March 7-9 for the tournament. The winner will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Until then, Kent will have to settle for pumpkins and Hornets.