Eleanor Haring disarms you with a sly smile.
The charming, self-assured senior begins her senior basketball season Friday night with an exhibition game against a familiar foe. Haring, you see, used to don a uniform for the Australian Institute of Sport under former head coach and current Oregon assistant coach Phil Brown.
Don’t let the grin fool you. Come game time the grin disappears, replaced by a scowl. On the basketball court, Haring is all business. When the regular season starts Nov. 17 in Santa Barbara, it’s Haring who will have a large effect on whether or not Oregon can defy the odds and plan a trip for the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
Although Oregon faces questions offensively with regulars expected to fill new roles and freshmen transitioning to Division I basketball, the Duck faithful know what they are getting with Haring, a quiet leader with a deadly mid-range jumper.
That particular skill, thought to be lost in a sea of lay-ups and three-point shots, is the Australian native’s specialty. Haring takes the ball on the wing or low post, spins or drives past her defender and flicks in jumper after jumper.
Haring’s 2005-06 averages of 7.6 points and 3.5 rebounds are a starting point. Her points per game, the highest of any returning player, are likely to increase if Oregon’s final game of the 2005-06 season is any indication.
Oregon opened the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament against Arizona needing a win to finish above .500 and to be eligible for the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
Haring did her best to make that happen with 14 first-half points on 7-for-9 shooting. She ended the afternoon with 20 points, one away from her career high, and just short of saving Oregon’s season in a 64-57 loss.
Few Oregon fans saw the loss, more than 560 miles away from Eugene in San Jose, Calif. Within Oregon’s performance, Haring’s effort offered hope.
She led by example.
She gave Oregon a reliable scorer when it needed one most.
She made up for a quiet three-point effort by veteran Chelsea Wagner.
Most of all, she should have given her teammates confidence. Haring raised her play and so should her teammates this season.
Oregon is going to need it if they are to exceed the Pac-10 coaches’ predicted finish of eighth place.
It all starts and ends with Haring, who, without friend Gabrielle Richards, emerges as a go-to option when the game is close and Oregon needs a bucket. Seasoned pros welcome the challenge. Now in her fourth year at Oregon, Haring is well prepared.
She is a refreshing personality. Shy by nature, Haring contemplates a reporter’s questions, and then offers a sincere answer. If she doesn’t know the answer, she says so, not resorting to a stock reply.
Last season, Haring quietly answered questions for a feature when Richards walked over. The hilarious back-and-forth dialogue translated to the story and offered a view of a laid-back Haring with a good sense of humor.
Most teams have players who face the tough questions when close games get away, losses mount and seasons slip away. Wagner often filled that role last year, even after the season-ending loss to Arizona. I’d expect the veteran Haring to claim it this season.
It’s the next stage of development for Haring, who already possesses the basketball and leadership skills.
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Meet Oregon’s new queen of the clutch
Daily Emerald
October 30, 2006
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