It would have been sweet for Aaron Brooks to be able to play Thursday against Washington, but it just isn’t going to happen.
The Seattle native and Oregon freshman is healing well after sustaining a broken right wrist, but hasn’t yet gotten to the point yet where he is game-ready. The guard has been participating in some rehabilitation and is itching to get back on the court in a real game.
That could very well happen against Arizona on Feb. 19 at McArthur Court.
“That’s my target date,” Brooks said before Oregon’s practice on Tuesday. “It just depends on how it comes along in the couple days we have.”
Since Brooks went down with the injury during the Ducks’ 81-74 loss to UCLA on Jan. 4, Oregon has gone 5-3. At times, the Ducks have played fairly well against their opponents, evidenced most recently by a seven-point win over Oregon State on Saturday.
At other times, they’ve been dominated, such as during a 24-point loss to Arizona in Tucson.
“It’s been real tough watching them play,” Brooks said. “It’s easier when we’re winning.”
Could Brooks have meant a reduction in that 24-point margin? Would Oregon have lost to Oregon State on Jan. 10 and to Stanford three weeks later, especially after a 19-point lead in the second half?
There’s no way to answer those questions.
But Brooks’ presence on the court, especially if he returns with six games left on the regular season schedule, could mean the difference between an NCAA Tournament appearance and one in the NIT.
“I might have more legs than the rest of the players,” Brooks said. “I don’t know. I guess you could look at it that way.”
When Brooks was healthy, he was averaging 6.7 points and 2.9 assists per game. Those numbers are not terribly indicative of a player who can take over a game, but rather of one who is getting accustomed to the pace of collegiate basketball.
Brooks was getting a good feel for the game from the court. Now that he’s seen the offense from the bench, does he have an even better understanding of how to run it?
“It helps you to see it run everyday in practice,” he said. “But there’s nothing like learning it while you’re in the game. I (had) a pretty good grasp of the system when I was there. I’m really not out of touch with it.”

Not a down year in their eyes
So the Pacific-10 Conference is the ninth-strongest league in the nation this year, according to the RPI (Ratings Percentage Index).
Don’t tell the Ducks that.
“For those people who talk about the Pac-10 Conference being down, it sure is funny that I sweat it out every single weekend,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “We’re in a dogfight in every single game. Unfortunately, those people have a false perception because this conference is just knotted up right now where anybody can beat anybody with the exception of Stanford, which seems to be playing on another level as a team.”
The basic RPI formula is based 25 percent on winning percentage, 50 percent on opposing team’s average winning percentage and 25 percent on opponent’s average winning percentage.
Sound like a lot? Well, it is, but it has determined that the Atlantic Coast Conference is the best in the nation. The Pac-10 is sandwiched by the Atlantic 10 Conference (eighth) and the Western Athletic Conference.
“I don’t think the Pac-10 is down,” Oregon forward Mitch Platt said. “I think those other conferences are just way up. They’ve got some great teams on the East Coast. I think everyone is playing it tough in the Pac-10 and just because people are beating people, it doesn’t make us any less.”