By Jeffrey Dransfeldt
freelance reporter
Gabrielle Richards surprised teammates and coaches of the Oregon women’s basketball team when she announced her decision to leave the program and return to Australia.
Richards cited personal reasons in a statement released on Sept. 6. Coach Bev Smith, bound by privacy laws, declined to reveal specific reasons for
Richards’ departure.
“My decision not to return to the University of Oregon is a result of personal reasons and a wish to remain at home in Australia with my family,” Richards said in a statement. Attempts by the Emerald to contact Richards
were unsuccessful.
Smith met with Richards two weeks ago and received her first indication that the Seymour, Australia native would be unable to play
this season.
“My first concern is, obviously, first and foremost (our athletes’ ) health and well-being and their ability to feel comfortable in their situation and so obviously for me that is the most important thing for Gabe,” Smith said.
Richards, who would have been a junior this fall, led Oregon last season with averages of 10.3 points and
6.7 rebounds.
“I am saddened and
disappointed not to be able to join my coaches and teammates for this upcoming season,” Richards said in the statement. “For the past two years, my coaches have been a source of support and guidance for me, and my teammates have been
like family.”
Her last performance in an Oregon uniform may have been her best.
The nimble center scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds on a sore left Achilles tendon in the Ducks first-round loss to Arizona in the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament. She had surgery during the offseason to repair
the injury.
Oregon must now plan on playing without her.
“When you have absences and losses, it does open up opportunities,” Smith said. “I feel very good about the stable of post players we had along with Gabe, including Carolyn Ganes, who is a fifth-year senior. Jamie Hawkins has got incredible experience and is probably in the best shape of her life. Jess Shetters made incredible progress last year. Obviously, Eleanor Haring is someone who gives difficulty
to opponents.”
A larger question is who will provide low-post scoring in Richards’ absence. Ganes is a pure shooter who enjoys playing along the perimeter. Shetters is a more
defense-oriented center. Haring uses her mid-range game away from the basket.
The answer, Smith said,
is Hawkins.
Hawkins sat out last season as a redshirt after she transferred from Boise State. The 6-foot-1inch center has one season of eligibility remaining. She averaged 6.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in her final season in Boise
in 2004-05.
“She’s not as big as Gabe in terms of her height but she has strength, she’s fit (and) she runs,” Smith said. “She is just an incredible work ethic, blue collar, bring in the lunch pail type of player and I think we’re going to be able to establish that inside position with Jamie.”
This isn’t to say replacing Gabe’s production is easy, Smith said.
“I can’t sugarcoat it and say we’re not going to miss Gabe,” Smith said. “We’ll miss her for the first few … weeks of practice but as we get into it, they will find their own rhythm and they will find their own space and I think our team will be able to play in a way that will get us those wins that
we need.”
Oregon welcomes two new guards in Taylor Lilley and Micaela Cocks next season. Coaches had already planned a more up-tempo attack to utilize the
additional quickness.
“We had planned to play more of a transition game, even with Gabe, so that’s where we’ll stick and keep going,” Smith said.
Even so, Oregon loses a large post presence who wreaked havoc on opposing defenses. Smith did say that if Richards changes her mind, she would be welcomed back with open arms, but is not something the Oregon coach expects
to happen.
“It’s a terrible loss,” forward Kristen Forristall said. “We’re going to miss her more than anything. It’s a decision she had to make and we support her decision.”
On and off the court, Richards made a large impact on Oregon’s team chemistry
last season.
“We’re just going to miss her personality as a whole,” Forristall said. “Gabe Richards brings so much to our team in terms of her spirit and her ambition and her great attitude.”
The decision comes with almost two months left until Oregon’s first exhibition game Nov. 3 against the Australian Institute of Sport at
McArthur Court.
“I think we know about this decision early enough that we have time to step up our games,” Forristall said.