DSN Contributor Don Smalley (Don Smalley News - DSN) emailed DuckSportsNews a commentary (”Duck Fans, Chill Out”) regarding the state of the Oregon men’s basketball intended for online publication Friday.

We refused to post it.

Well, we didn’t exactly refuse. That might be a bit too dramatic.

DSN had a couple of questions about what Don wrote, questions that most Duck fans probably have right now. So, we just put them where they belonged.

Don didn’t like that. So, we gave him a chance to respond.

Here’s Don’s post, along with our questions, remixed.

“Duck Fans, Chill Out”
By Don Smalley
DSN Contributor

From what I’ve seen and read, people are really worried about the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team. And there are some good reasons for that.

DSN: Why shouldn’t people be worried? This was an Elite Eight team last year, with four returning starters.

I think there is cause for alarm, but the conference season just started. They haven’t played up to their potential for the last month. Although the loss to the Sun Devils was disappointing, it isn’t quite time to call out for the Red Alert. Oregon has weapons … a lot of weapons.

DSN: What makes you think they are going to live up to their potential over the next month? What weapons do they have? Do they have a Top 5 or Top 10 player in the Pac-10?

Talent-wise, Malik Hairston, Bryce Taylor, and Tajuan Porter are all Top 10 players in this league. But basketball involves more than just pure talent. They have to work for shots in the half-court game. In the ASU contest, they got shots that were not there in previous games. Those shots just didn’t go down. Oregon is not going to go 2-for-17 from the three-point arc very often. They are just too talented for that.

DSN: They might be talented, but that’s how teams are going to beat the Ducks. Shut down the threes. If the Ducks can’t hit their threes, what are they going to do?

Teams have tried to use that philosophy against the Ducks for many years. Oregon has always been a perimeter-type team, or at least as long as Ernie Kent has been here. For some reason, the defense has been lacking this season. But they played a good defensive game in Tempe. They only allowed 62 points for the night. In 90 percent of their games, the Ducks would definitely win if they hold their opponent in the low 60’s.

DSN: Don, they didn’t “allow” 62 points. ASU could only score 62 points. There are quite a few teams in the Pac-10 that are able of scoring many more than 62 points.

I don’t know. Arizona State has been able to put up big numbers this season, just not on a consistent basis. That’s what happens when you start two freshman, two sophomores and a junior. Oregon, on the other hand, hasn’t been consistent either. It’s all mental right now for the Ducks. For some reason when it comes down to the waning minutes and the game is still in doubt, Oregon is lost. I wouldn’t have thought that after the big Kansas State game.

DSN: It might be mental. But worse than that, it could be heart.

I have a hard time believing that Aaron Brooks took all the heart from this team when he graduated. The things that were hurting Oregon didn’t show their ugly heads last night. The Ducks didn’t start slow. The Ducks were playing defense and the Ducks were even hitting some free throws. It could be turning around for Oregon.

DSN: Don’t confuse an opponent’s lack of offense for a team’s defensive presence.

We’ll find that out Saturday when Oregon play the Wildcats. If Oregon can hold Arizona down some, we’ll know Oreogn is playing some good defense. Offensively, the Ducks just were not knocking down the long shot. If those shots present themselves at Arizona (which I suspect they will), Oregon will mostly likely make them. Arizona doesn’t like to hustle on defense and if the Ducks move on offense, they will score.

DSN: This is going to be true all season. They are going to go the way of the three-pointer.

It’s been that way for 10 years. The Arizona game is not a must win, but 0-2 in this conference isn’t good. That 0-2 could turn into 0-4 really fast. There are no gimmies in this league. Even Oregon State gave Arizona problems.

DSN: It is a must win…because there are no gimmies.

I suspect Oregon might surprise a few people in Tucson and right the ship for a while.

DSN: Don, it’s very possible that the Ducks will surprise a few people. But is it going to be a good surprise? I don’t think so.

Call me at 1 pm and we’ll see.

Tags: Arizona, Basketball, Ducks, oregon