ST. LOUIS – There was hardly a dry eye in the entire room. Maarty Leunen and Ray Schafer had strained red marks that circled their eye sockets.
Adrian Stelley had his sweatshirt cover his entire head while Tajuan Porter and Chamberlain Oguchi had shell-shocked expressions, holding their heads in their hands while never taking their focus off the space in front of them. And the entire roster had looked battle-weary in the locker room following the Ducks’ 85-77 loss to defending champion Florida Sunday afternoon at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.
After missing the NCAA Tournament the past three years, Oregon bowed out in after its magical run to the Elite Eight, exceeding expectations for a team that some predicted to lose in the second round. But proving people wrong didn’t make this loss any easier.
“We left everything out on the floor on this one,” senior Aaron Brooks said.
Oregon coach Ernie Kent paused, began to choke up and removed himself from the media after he was asked about his job status at Oregon. He went into the shower area where he sobbed a couple of times and wiped away tears before he came back and answered the question.
“Athletics goes beyond just winning and losing basketball games. You grow with people and share peoples’ emotions, particularly when you’re dealing with a group of young men,” Kent said. “I couldn’t be any prouder of these guys.”
It was a season certainly to be proud of. After finishing the regular season 23-7 the Ducks went 6-1 in the postseason, finishing with an overall record of 29-8, the and took No. 1 seed Florida down to the wire in the final minutes of the Midwestern Region Finals.
Still, Florida was every bit as good as advertised. They’re considered favorites to repeat as national champions for a reason.
“They’re everything I expected,” Kent said. “They’re as every bit as strong and physical and deep and as athletic as you thought they were.”
Although the Ducks’ defense was able to contain the Gators’ big men Al Horford and Joakim Noah for much of the first half, it was their guards that did the damage for Florida. Lee Humphrey led the team with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting and was 7-of-13 from the three-point line, while fellow guard Taurean Green had 21 points and was 4-of-8 beyond the arc.
It was a different matter entirely for Oregon guard Tajuan Porter. After lighting up UNLV with 33 points on Friday night, Porter was unable to regain his magic touch against Florida. Porter was 0-of-8 from three-point range until he connected on two in the final minutes and finished the game with 10 points.
“I just didn’t knock down my shots,” Porter said. ” Everybody has an off-day. It really wasn’t the defenders, because I’ve been hitting shots over bigger players my whole life – and in the tournament.”
Brooks, however, after slumping in the previous game, came out and led the Ducks in his final collegiate game with 27 points.
“He definitely led this team,” Schafer said. “He and I were roommates freshman year. It was great to be his teammate.”
Brooks said he loved his teammates and that it will be tough leaving these guys behind as he looks towards his future and potential NBA career.
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them. I’ll give up whatever I can for them,” Brooks said. “We’ve been through so much and we all helped each other. We pulled together. And this is family. And when we say family, we mean it.”