By Don Smalley
DSN Contributor
With four veterans on the floor most of the time, it amazes me that Oregon still doesn’t have a leader.
That was so evident tonight when the Ducks did not make the plays in the last three minutes in a 62-54 loss at Arizona State tonight. Oregon put itself behind the 8-ball all night by not being able to hit their three-point shots and commiting 16 turnovers.
But still, the game was tied at 49-49 with three minutes left and having a true freshman at point guard killed the Ducks. Kamyron Brown made several turnovers in the last minutes that severely hurt the Ducks. When it’s crunch time, Oregon has to get the ball in Malik Hairston’s hands or even Bryce Taylor, no matter what position they play. It’s too much to ask of Brown to lead this team on the road, in the Pac-10 and pull out a critical victory. 1-0 looks a lot better than 0-1. But Oregon is 0-1.
The game would have been an easy Duck victory if the three-pointers that usually fall for Oregon go down. But they did not and again, this team needs a leader to step up and say, “We are not going to lose.” Brown can not be that guy, yet.
Now Oregon has to forget this loss and get that all-important road split everyone in the Pac-10 talks about. But they have to go to Tucson and beat the Wildcats. After watching Arizona play the Beavers, that task may not be as formidable as it once seemed.
Oregon State, easily the worst team in the conference, gave the Wildcats fits for 35 minutes of the game before Arizona’s talent finally won out.
Arizona is gifted athletically, but from what I saw, the Wildcats don’t play much as a team and they rather shoot the tough shot than the easy wide-open jumper. They seemed confused against the zone (remind you of someone) and wasn’t very active on defense. That will cost the Wildcats down the line. It could Saturday.
Tags: arizona state, Basketball, Ducks, oregon
clint nixon Says:
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:40 pm
either Kent needs to talk to them, or someone needs to talk to Kent. I hate being critical on coaches, but this team has a wealth of experience and talent, and I’m afraid that by the time they figure it out the season is going to be over. Kind of reminds me of when Oregon loafed it through the season a couple of years back then brandon lincoln ( YES Brandon Lincoln ) stepped up and they made the pac10 tourney interesting. Hariston or Taylor need to do something. Marty has been consistent but those 2 are the ones that need to get vocal. They also need a lot more ball movement.
sj Says:
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:48 pm
No one on this team has the personality of a leader. AB came out of nowhere to be “the guy” because life experience made him grow up and get it figured out. The Ducks will be lucky to make the big dance. Not Kent’s fault. It’s just the way it is. You can’t talk, or coach, a guy into leadership.
Smalley Says:
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:29 pm
I agree sj. No one has the personality on this team to be a leader and it’s going to cost them. This “Leader by Committee” isn’t going to get it done. I don’t care who it is, but someone on this team needs to demand the ball in crunch time and win a game.
From the sound of it Clint, the Ducks did have better ball movement against the 2-3 zone. Can’t be sure since the game wasn’t on TV. The shots just didn’t fall. 2-for-14 from behind the arc and Porter was 0-for-7.