There typically aren’t teams that lose a first-round NBA Draft pick and hope to further its success from the previous season.
But when a team returns four of its five starters, there should be reason for optimism.
That’s the test the No. 12 Oregon men’s basketball team is facing this year. Despite returning four starters after making the Elite Eight in the 2007 NCAA Tournament last season, some doubt the Ducks’ ability to return there because of the loss of All-Pacific-10 Conference player Aaron Brooks.
“We’re going to miss Aaron Brooks,” coach Ernie Kent said.

Kent, however, said the reason Oregon will be successful this season is because each of his returning starters, senior guards Bryce Taylor, Malik Hairston, senior forward Maarty Leunen and sophomore guard Tajuan Porter, is 10 percent better after their busy summers and the bench is loaded with experience as well.

“This is probably one of the more veteran teams we’ve had here in a long time in terms of the first four, five or six positions,” Kent said.
Kent said while it’ll be hard to replace Brooks’ ability to hit the game-winning shot, he said that hopefully the Ducks won’t be needing to do that as much this year. He hopes Oregon will have a large enough lead toward the end of the game where a big shot isn’t necessary. If it is, Kent says he isn’t concerned.

“Any one of those four guys have the ability to do that,” Kent said. “We’ll see who’ll become that go-to guy down the stretch.”
The veterans won’t be the only ones expected to offset Brooks’ production though. Kent’s incoming freshmen recruits should contribute and make the Oregon bench that much stronger than before. The addition of guard Kamyron Brown and forward Drew Viney should help the Ducks’ rotation and Kent said that each of them will receive playing time and has the potential to start depending how they progress.
Who will get the majority of Brooks’ playing time remains up in the air. Currently, sophomore forward Joevan Catron is listed as the fifth starter.
“The competition now is wide-open,” Kent said. “Mitch (Platt), Ray (Schafer), Joevan, Frantz (Dorsainvil) – all of those guys will be battling for time for that fifth spot.”
With the six-foot tall Brooks, the Ducks played small-ball the majority of last year. While Kent has no problem continuing to play that way with one of his many guards, he likes the versatility of being able to play with a couple big guys on the court as well.
“We’re ready to go either way,” Kent said. “That (fifth) guy is going to have to be a guy that understands how to rebound, play defense and play a role more so than play a position.
“I certainly think that Joevan is capable of doing that,” Kent said.
Kent said he wasn’t so much concerned about points coming out of the fifth starter, but he’s more concerned about that player being a role-player.
If it’s Brown, he’ll act as a point guard complementing Porter. If it’s Platt, Schafer or Dorsainvil, they’ll act as defenders and rebounders. If it’s Catron, he’ll do a bit of everything, Kent said.
“You look at it as who’s going to be that starter. I look at it as who’s going to be in that rotation,” Kent said. “I probably will have one starter and three or four guys in that rotation.”
The returners won’t have to worry as much. While Porter should handle more of the point guard duties, the only thing Kent is asking his starters to do is score more.
Hairston said he’s healthy so it’s his plan to put the team on his back. Leunen said he’d take it to the hoop more. Taylor said he’d help Porter out with ball-handling responsibilities.
“We have to show the freshmen the way,” Hairston said.
While it’s nice to only have to worry about one player’s role on the court, the Pac-10 is again considered to be one of, if not the best conference in the country and there’s plenty of competition in Oregon’s way to repeat as champions at the Pac-10 Tournament.
“It’s good. It’s real good. It’s the best I’ve seen it,” Kent said. “It’s been picked by everyone in the media to be the No. 1 conference.
“It seems like everybody during the summer was talking about the Pac-10.”
UCLA, which has been the best team in the league the past few years, remains the favorite despite losing Arron Afflalo to the NBA. The Bruins reloaded with the nation’s best recruit, 6-foot-10-inch center Kevin Love and are rated as the No. 2 team in the nation.
Washington State also is rated above the Ducks at No. 10. The Cougars return the potent senior guard combo of Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver.
[email protected]