Oregon point guard Aaron Brooks hopes to find consistency after an up-and-down start.
The best basketball teams in the country can experience consistency problems from time to time.
But when a team has no seniors and its most-hyped player isn’t old enough to buy a lotto ticket, erratic play is to be expected. So far, the Ducks have played a fairly steady brand of basketball for a team with 11 freshmen and sophomores. They won eight of their first nine non-conference games and looked like a team talented enough to earn a spot in the postseason.
When Oregon opened its Pacific-10 Conference schedule last week, however, the Ducks were plagued by inconsistency and split a pair of home games against Southern California and UCLA.
Most notably, the Ducks received spotty performances from three of their most talented players. Sophomore point guard Aaron Brooks and freshmen guards Malik Hairston and Bryce Taylor need to have a positive impact one way or another for Oregon to avoid letdowns similar to Sunday’s 70-62 loss to the Bruins.
After dropping 34 points on USC, Brooks connected on only 4 of 12 shots for 14 points against UCLA. Taylor followed an 18-point performance against the Trojans with a single field goal against the Bruins. And the 17-year-old Hairston struggled in both games.
“I actually expected it to be that way,” Hairston said. “I just wanted my team to win but I had a rough weekend.”
The jump from playing weaker non-conference opponents to getting into dogfights with Pac-10 opponents is all part of the learning curve for Oregon’s talented newcomers, which also
include freshman forward Maarty Leunen, guard Chamberlain Oguchi and sophomore transfer guard Kenny Love.
“The intensity is a lot higher,” Leunen said. “Guys are giving it their all because that’s how you make it to the NCAAs.”
To balance their strong perimeter play, the Ducks will need to continue improving their play down low. Junior center Ian Crosswhite and sophomore forward Mitch Platt have shown flashes of dominance lately and can help the Ducks’ offense.
“The biggest thing for us right now is getting our rhythm back, getting a little bit of our swagger back,” head coach Ernie Kent said. “I have to continue to remind myself that this is a young team. I sit down and have a conversation with Malik, and it reminds me that I’m talking with someone who is just 17 years of age.”
On paper, Oregon is far too young to compete for one of the top spots in the conference and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. On the court, Oregon can look like a young, confused team that has no business playing with the big boys. But there are times when Oregon looks like it can run or shoot any team in the country out of the gym.
Will Oregon compete for the conference title?
Will the Ducks earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament?
Depends on which team shows up.
