Oregon Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

There’s a lot going on in Eugene, and not all of it involves construction of the new Matthew Knight Arena. In some ways, though, all of it eventually connects back to the new building.

Coach Ernie Kent, beginning his 13th season at his alma mater, has taken the Oregon program to great heights, as recently as 2007 when the Ducks won the Pac-10 tournament.

But Oregon wound up last in the conference in 2009 and finished the season 8-23 overall.

That won’t fly this time.

The Ducks, with seven scholarship sophomores and two freshmen, must make a big step forward or risk a season that degenerates into endless speculation about their coach’s future.

With the new on-campus arena set to displace beloved-but-outdated McArthur Court by January 2011, the pressure is on get the program back on its feet.

Kent is downplaying the scenario.

“Someone asked me the other day, ‘How do you feel about that?’ And I said they were asking me those questions at the Elite Eight (in 2007), so that tells me we’ve raised the bar enormously around here, and that’s OK,” Kent told the Register-Guard in Eugene.

“Coaches feel pressure going into every year, because we want to win, we want to be successful. I’ve always felt added pressure here because it’s your alma mater, and you want to have success. And you want to win. You don’t want to let people down personally, let alone let your own self down.”

Kent has a lot of decisions to make with this young team, starting with who he allows to run things. He’s apparently toying with the idea of returning quick-shot artist Tajuan Porter, his leading scorer, to the point.

There’s also sophomore Garrett Sim, steady but unspectacular. Junior college arrival Malcolm Armstead, also a sophomore, figures prominently in the mix.

How all that unfolds will impact personnel moves elsewhere:

• Will junior LeKendric Longmire, the club’s No. 2 scorer a year ago, start on the wing or become the club’s sixth man?

• Will freshman Jamil Wilson, an athletically gifted small forward, work his way into the starting equation?

Sophomore center Michael Dunigan, who failed to live up to massive billing a year ago, is expected to produce more. Physically, he has a chance to become the most dominant big man in a conference without much frontcourt power.

The Ducks, just 2-14 on the road last year, must play better away from Mac Court, they must substantially tighten their defense and they cannot rely so heavily on the 3-pointer. Nearly 38 percent of Oregon’s shot last year were from beyond the arc, and the Ducks converted less than 36 percent of those.

NOTES, QUOTES

• Tajuan Porter is the Pac-10’s top returning career scorer at 1,435 points. Oregon’s school record of 2,085 points was set by Ron Lee (1973-76). Porter has 279 career 3-point baskets, just three shy of the UO record held by Orlando Williams (1991-95).

• Oregon ranked last in the Pac-10 in scoring defense a year ago, allowing 76.1 points per game. No other Pac-10 team allowed more than 69.5.

• PG Kamyron Brown’s transfer opened the door for the Ducks to recruit Malcolm Armstead, a sophomore from Chipola (Fla.) JC, who will compete for the starting job at that position.

• Michael Dunigan, Josh Crittle and Teondre Williams completed court-ordered community service—and additional penalties imposed by their coach—after pleading guilty last April to illegally using BB guns to shoot at fowl in Alton Baker Park one night last March.

Last Year:   8-23 overall, 2-16 in Pac-10.

Head Coach:   Ernie Kent (career 309-237); 13th year at Oregon (309-237).

Quote To Note:   “They never, ever, ever gave up. Consequently, you have a team that is so much closer and together because of the adversity they went through, and the fact that they hung in there together. That’s a testament to their character, and I’ll say it again—this team has a great run in it, it really does, because their strength of character is so good.”—Oregon coach Ernie Kent on his team.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   PG Malcolm Armstead, a 5-10 sophomore from Chipola (Fla.) Junior College, will get every opportunity to win the starting job. Freshman wings Jamil Wilson and E.J. Singler both arrived in Eugene in June and never left. Coach Ernie Kent has called Wilson probably the team’s best athlete since Fred Jones, who was a first-round NBA pick in 2002. Wilson averaged 21.2 points and 10.2 rebounds last year at Horlick High School in Racine, Wis. Jeremy Jacobs, a 6-7, 220-pound sophomore, followed Armstead to Oregon from Chipola.

Key Early-season Games:   The Ducks are playing a schedule designed to create confidence and early victories, with only two trips outside Eugene before the start of the Pac-10 season. The most challenging home game is a Dec. 12 matchup with Saint Mary’s College, which no longer features Aussie point guard Patty Mills. There is a potential ambush awaiting Nov. 21 at Portland, regarded as possibly the second-best team in the West Coast Conference. The most rigorous assignment is a Dec. 5 visit to Missouri for the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, a game that could produce Oregon’s lone non-conference defeat.

Program Direction:   Since winning the Pac-10 tournament two years ago, the Ducks are just 11-25 in conference play. Ernie Kent’s recruiting class of a year ago was highly touted, but those youngsters will need to start to deliver in order to keep the wolves off their coach. With the new Matthew Knight Arena set to open in January 2011, Kent needs a bounce-back year to assure he’s the man who will continue to lead his alma mater.

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Garrett Sim, SG Tajuan Porter, SF LeKendric Longmire, PF Joevan Catron, C Michael Dunigan.

Roster Report:  

• Wing LeKendric Longmire, who averaged 9.9 points last year, is the Ducks’ only junior. Oregon has two seniors, and eight sophomores.

• Sophomore C Michael Dunigan will improve his 19.9 minutes-per-game—and his other numbers—if he can reduce his personal foul total of 84. He reportedly reshaped his body during offseason workouts.

• Oregon entered mid-October without a commitment for the class of 2010, but there are only two available scholarships, and coach Ernie Kent isn’t sure he will use both of them this year, anyway.