While most people at McArthur Court were watching Oregon beat up on the Basketball Travelers 102-59 Monday night, Oregon head coach Ernie Kent was watching another game at the same time.
The newcomer game.
Freshmen Luke Ridnour, James Davis and Luke Jackson, along with redshirt transfer Mark Michaelis, were all playing in their first game as Ducks against the team from the Ukraine.
“I thought the freshmen did a good job,” Kent said. “It’s very encouraging to see all our pieces fit together.”
Davis, along with senior forward Bryan Bracey, led Oregon with 21 points on the game. Ridnour played point guard for 22 minutes, and dished out seven assists without a turnover.
“It was a dream come true,” Davis said. “It was amazing for me.”
The freshmen came out with a few jitters. Davis missed his first three shots, and went into halftime shooting 1-for-5 from the floor and 0-of-3 from beyond the three-point arc.
Michaelis, the big man from Utah, also struggled in the first half. The junior missed three shots, one a wide-open three pointer.
But the newcomers settled down in the second half. Davis made six-of-seven shots, including 4-for-5 from three-point land in the half. Michaelis ended the game with four rebounds and Jackson put together a solid game, scoring nine points and making all four of his free throws.
Ridnour, the Ducks’ most touted recruit, ran the team’s offense like a fourth-year player from the start of the game.
“I had to perform right away,” Ridnour said. “For me, the nerves went away as soon as the ball went up.”
Ridnour created some of the most exciting plays of the game, including a behind-the-head pass that Julius Hicks laid in late in the second half. Ridnour also had a scoring play of his own that made the crowd gasp, when he laid in an off-balance shot when he seemed already out of bounds with three minutes left in the first half.
The freshmen scored the Ducks’ last nine points, to help Oregon break the 100-point mark for the first time since the team put up 101 against Denver last December. Davis drained two threes in succession with two minutes left, and then Jackson added one of his own with just over a minute left to end Oregon’s scoring.
Kent was pleased with the second game he was watching Monday night.
“You look at a guy like Ridnour and how he can handle himself out there,” Kent said. “With Davis, the way he shoots the ball, and Jackson… As composed as those freshman play, I thought they did a very nice job.”