Hate to say I told you so, but sports writers – even this one – get things right from time to time.
Two weeks ago, in this space, I said Oregon was on the brink of losing several of its remaining games and, as predicted, the Ducks lost four of their last six.
Not that I’m gloating; I didn’t want to see the Ducks lose (it’s always better to talk to players after wins, unless you’re looking for controversy, specifically), but being ranked as the ninth-best team in the nation is a little high for a team that had been out-rebounded by nearly every conference opponent.
Or if you’re looking for a jinx, blame Sports Illustrated writers Luke Winn, for ranking the Ducks No. 2 in his national Power Rankings before the Washington loss, and Grant Wahl, for saying Oregon is one of eight or so teams capable of winning the NCAA Tournament. That publication never seems to fail when it comes to cursing this University’s athletic programs.
Considering those factors, I don’t buy into the notion that the Ducks are losing because they’re tired from playing too many minutes.
These guys are near the apex of their athletic careers and trained like track athletes during the off season. They haven’t stopped running for a long time, and being tired after playing for 35 minutes isn’t a reasonable excuse for losing.
In practice Tuesday, Ernie Kent mockingly asked Aaron Brooks if he wanted to take practice off and take a nap in case he was too tired. Kent’s fed up with people saying this team’s exhausted, and when Brooks tried to dunk a missed shot, Kent spouted off again.
“Aaron Brooks, you’re not supposed to be doing that! You’re supposed to be tired!” Kent said.
There were complaints that Arizona’s coach Lute Olson was running his team into the ground by playing his starters for too many minutes. Did the Wildcats look tired to you on Saturday? Teams are able to catch their second wind and nobody exemplified that better during the game than freshman Chase Budinger who, after scoring four points in the teams’ first meeting, destroyed Oregon with 30 points and 10 rebounds.
Anybody who blames the Ducks’ losses on fatigue are looking for reasons to blame Kent for the recent downswing.
But if Kent’s to be blamed for playing his starters too much, it only reflects the quality of his bench.
What’s more detrimental to the team? Playing the starters 30-plus minutes per game or having to rely on subs to provide solid contributions?
I won’t get into the specifics of the bench’s inadequacy other than that the supposed sixth man is shooting threes at a .270 clip and is a constant liability on defense.
Not that the subs are entirely to blame, however.
During practice Tuesday, Kent yelled “box out” at least 50 times. The Ducks need to rebound if they’re not shooting lights-out, and that’s been the biggest factor in the team’s recent losses.
Oregon needs to win a few more games, however, to be ensured a NCAA berth. Twenty wins is not an automatic qualifier for the tournament. There’s only one likely assured victory left on the schedule (Oregon State), but seventh place and missing the postseason is still entirely plausible if the team doesn’t box out.
Too bad Ernie can’t physically show them how to do it.
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