It’s hard to believe the Oregon men’s basketball team is less than a week away from the start of practices and less than a month away from its first exhibition game of the season.@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&KEY=&SPID=235&SPSID=4294@@
By this point, I should be used to looking up and realizing basketball season has nearly begun before I was ready for it. But now, the second week into October, I get the same feeling I have the past few seasons.
Over the last two years, students and fans have been fully submerged in the ever-expanding greatness that is Oregon football, and this season is no different. The Ducks are ranked in the top 10 nationally, and ESPN College GameDay will return to Eugene for the sixth time this weekend.
That same day, second-year head coach Dana Altman will have a new-look Oregon basketball team (more on that in a minute) preparing for its first game of the season against Grand Canyon University on Nov. 2 — exactly three weeks from now.@@http://www.gculopes.com/news/2011/8/25/MBB_0825114146.aspx@@
But as has been the case for most of my time here at the University, the peak interest of the season doesn’t really begin until the start of winter term. By then, the regular-season football schedule will be over as the Ducks await their postseason fate, and the Pac-12 basketball schedule is underway.
This year, the athletic department is promoting “Matt Knight Madness” in an effort to draw more attention to both the men’s and women’s program a few weeks, or even months, before general fans start to take an invested interest. That event will be held this Friday night, with a few raffles and maybe a scrimmage or two — couldn’t they have squeezed in a dunk contest somewhere? — to remind people just how amazing Matthew Knight Arena really is.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205311429@@
It’s a good move if you ask me. Oregon had a great run to the CBI Championship at the end of last season, but this year’s team won’t resemble that squad even in the slightest. The Ducks brought in nine new players during the offseason (counting Devoe Joseph, who spent most of last season with the team after transferring from Minnesota) and got bigger and more athletic.@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=235&SPSID=4295@@
If you’ve watched as much Oregon basketball over the last three years as I have, you know size and athleticism were two of the Ducks’ biggest weaknesses. That is no longer the case, and Oregon won’t be relying on a double-double from Joevan Catron anymore, either.
I’ve written plenty of columns about how excited I am to see this new brand of Oregon basketball, and I won’t continue to bore you with my analysis of newcomers Jabari Brown or Olu Ashaolu. But I will say that with the most recent news from the NBA (if you’ve gotten this far into the column I trust you know what went down), maybe the Oregon hoopsters will be even more of a focal point in Eugene this winter.
No doubt the opening of Matthew Knight Arena helped increase fan interest immensely last year, but will it carry over for a second season? A third?
I think it will.
Oregon has a team that some expect to make an NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time since 2008. Coupled with an NBA season that could very easily be canceled altogether, Duck fans might be stuck watching this new team for more than a few games in 2011-12.
Whether it’s by choice or default, I’m optimistic that Oregon fans will eventually enjoy a product that has been downright tough to follow at times in recent years. Want to see more dunks, like me? It’s just about a guarantee. (Incidentally, I watched Tyrone Nared do a 360-degree, behind-the-back, windmill slam last year after one practice. Very satisfying.)
Don’t misunderstand; I want a full NBA season just as bad as you do. But if there’s a year when a lockout occurs, even if it’s only a few weeks delay, I’m glad Oregon fans will have a quality product to fall back on.
Clark: Without NBA, Oregon hoops fans have exciting plan B
Daily Emerald
October 10, 2011
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