Since 1970, people have called him Coach. Admirers have recently labeled him “The Guru of Go.” Before all that, people had another name for Paul Westhead: Professor.
Yes, Oregon’s head women’s basketball coach used to teach the works of Shakespeare to blossoming young minds in college. Westhead has not been known to invoke the Bard during practices, and the sport was invented more than 250 years after Shakespeare’s passing, but that does not mean the two cannot relate.
The Ducks formally opened their season on Saturday, beating Division II Western Oregon 110-70. What lies ahead for the remainder of Westhead’s second season? In the absence of tea leaves, famous works of Shakespeare shall become our tool of prediction.
“Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.”
— Twelfth Night, Act II, Scene V
This is the year that Amanda Johnson will earn much better standing than Pacific-10 Conference Honorable Mention. Johnson, who leads all Duck returners in scoring and rebounding should be more polished and fit this season; her skills in concert with Westhead’s fast-break system are dangerous for opponents. The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American has serious game and comfort within the spotlight of being the team’s most talented player.
“O! she doth teach the torches to burn bright.”
— Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene V
Nia Jackson will not replace the scoring ability of Micaela Cocks and Taylor Lilley, but she does not have to. The redshirt junior point guard is the preeminent leader by example. Six seniors and four freshmen will be able to look her way for guidance on the court. Bold prediction: Jackson leads the Pac-10 in both assists and steals this season, refining her passing abilities on offense and steeling her resolve in Westhead’s press defense.
“Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
— Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene II
The Oregon Ducks have a non-conference schedule bereft of ranked teams, with all but three of those games held at McArthur Court. Oregon should emerge undefeated and hungry for the Pac-10 season. (Beware the Dec. 19 contest at Saint Mary’s.)
“If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches, and poor men’s cottages princes’ palaces. It is a good divine that follows his own instructions; I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done, than to be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching.”
— The Merchant of Venice, Act I, Scene II
The Pac-10 schedule, however, is a whole new ballgame. On paper, all of the California schools and Arizona State look better than the Ducks. Taboo as this may be to say, look also for Washington to show continued improvement under head coach Tia Jackson. Seventh place in the conference will not feel good, but it will speak to the depth and quality of Pac-10 teams this season.
Oregon has a tough road ahead but no reason to be discouraged. Should Westhead ever find himself needing to keep his players focused, he can direct them to Hamlet. In Act I, Scene III, he will find the unofficial statement of the program’s identity: “This above all: to thine own self be true.”
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