This just in from the Pac-10 offices in Walnut Creek…

California’s Randle Named Pac-10 Men’s Player of the Year
Arizona State’s Sendek honored as Pac-10 Coach of the Year

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., – In a vote of the 10 Conference coaches, CALIFORNIA senior guard Jerome Randle has been named the 2009-10 Pacific-10 Men’s Basketball Player of the Year, ARIZONA forward Derrick Williams has been named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year; OREGON STATE senior guard/forward Seth Tarver has been named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year; USC sophomore forward Nikola Vucevic has been named Pac-10 Most Improved Player of the Year and Herb Sendek of ARIZONA STATE is the Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Commissioner Larry Scott announced today.

The Complete Conference Honors:

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jerome Randle, California
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Derrick Williams, Arizona
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Seth Tarver, Oregon State
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Nikola Vucevic, USC
COACH OF THE YEAR: Herb Sendek, Arizona State

FIRST TEAM

Name Pos. Year Hometown
Ty Abbott, ASU G Jr. Phoenix, ARIZ
Patrick Christopher, CAL G Sr. Compton, Calif.
Landry Fields, STAN G/F Sr. Long Beach, Calif.
Quincy Pondexter, WASH F Sr. Fresno, Calif.
Jerome Randle, CAL G Sr. Chicago, Ill.
Michael Roll, UCLA G Sr. Aliso Viejo, Calif.
Isaiah Thomas, WASH G So. Tacoma, Wash.
Klay Thompson, WSU G So. Ladera Ranch, Calif.
Derrick Williams, ARIZ F Fr. La Mirada, Calif.

Second Team

Name Pos. Year Hometown
Jamal Boykin, CAL F Sr. Los Angeles, Calif
Jeremy Green, STAN G So. Austin, Texas
Calvin Haynes, OSU G Jr. Reseda, Calif.
Theo Robertson, CAL F Sr. Pittsburg, Calif.
Nikola Vecevic, USC F So. Bar, Montenegro
Honorable Mention (receiving at least three votes): DeAngelo Casto (WSU, So., F), Derek Glasser (ASU, Sr., G), Dwight Lewis (USC, Sr., G), Roeland Schaftenaar (OSU, Sr., F/C), Seth Tarver (OSU, Sr., G/F).

Pac-10 All-Freshmen Team

Name Pos. Ht. Hometown
Tyler Honeycutt, UCLA F 6-9 Los Angeles, Calif
Trent Lockett, ASU G 6-4 Minnetonka, Minn.
Reggie Moore, WSU G 6-2 Seattle, Wash.
Reeves Nelson, UCLA F 6-8 Modesto, Calif.
Derrick Williams, ARIZ F 6-8 La Mirada, Calif.
Honorable Mention (receiving at least three votes): E.J. Singler (ORE, G/F).

Pac-10 All-Defensive Team

Name Pos. Year Hometown
DeAngelo Cato, WSU F So. Spokane, Wash.
Jorge Gutierrez, CAL G So. Chihuahua, Mexico
Justin Holiday, WASH G Jr. Chatsworth, Calif.
Venoy Overton, WASH G Jr. Seattle, Wash.
Seth Tarver, OSU G/F Sr. Portland, Ore.
Honorable Mention (receiving at least three votes): Eric Boateng (ASU, Sr., C), Patrick Christopher (CAL, Sr., G), Marcus Johnson (USC, Sr., F), Nikola Vucevic (USC, So., F).

PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE YEAR

RANDLE becomes the fifth California player to earn Pac-10 Player of the Year, joining Jason Kidd (1994), Shareef Abdur-Rahim (1996), Ed Gray (1997) and Sean Lampley (2001). Randle led the Bears to their first Pac-10 title since 1960. He topped the team in scoring (18.7 ppg/4th in Pac-10), and was among the league leaders in assists (4.5 apg/2nd in Pac-10), three-point field goals per game (2.7 pg/2nd in Pac-10), three-point field goal percentage (.404/7th in Pac-10) and free throw percentage (.927/1st in Pac-10). He’s posted 20 or more points 14 times this season, including a career-high 39 at Washington State (Jan. 14). With 1,745 career points, he only trails Sean Lampley (1,776 points) on California’s all-time scoring list. He currently owns Cal career records for three-point field goals made (242) and free throw percentage (.876).

PAC-10 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

WILLIAMS becomes the sixth Wildcat to earn Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, joining Sean Elliott (1986), Mike Bibby (1997), Michael Wright (1999), Salim Stoudamire (2002) and Chase Budinger (2007). Williams was eight in the league in scoring (15.7 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (7.0 rpg), which led all Pac-10 freshmen. His numbers are more impressive in Pac-10 play as he posted 16.2 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game. He’s the first Wildcat freshman to lead Arizona in rebounding since 1979-80 (Frank Smith, 6.0 rpg).

PAC-10 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

TARVER was key in leading the Beaver defense, allowing 61.1 points per game (3rd in the Pac-10) overall, and 60.4 ppg (2nd in Pac-10) in Pac-10 play. He led the league in steals (2.3 spg) and led the team in rebounding (4.7 rpg/19th in the Pac-10). His 69 steals this season are sixth most in school history, while his 176 career steals rank seventh all-time at Oregon State.

PAC-10 MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR

VUCEVIC led the Pac-10 in rebounding (9.4 rpg) and posted 10 double-doubles this season. He averaged 10.7 points, shooting 50.4 percent from the field (8th in the Pac-10), while collecting 1.3 blocks per game (6th in the Pac-10) in an average of 32.3 minutes per game. Last season, Vucevic appeared in 23 of 35 games for the Trojans, averaging 2.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11.0 minutes of action per game.

PAC-10 COACH OF THE YEAR

SENDEK, 47, has guided ARIZONA STATE to a second-place finish in the Pac-10 race with a 12-6 league mark, 22-9 record overall. The second-place finish matches Arizona State’s best showing in Pac-10 play since the 1980-81 squad finished second with a 16-2 record. Despite losing two NBA draft picks (James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph) and picked to finish seventh in the Pac-10 race in a preseason poll of the media, Sendek led the Sun Devils to their third consecutive 20-win season. Collecting his first Pac-10 Coach of the Year honor, he now has earned Coach of the Year honors in three different leagues – Mid-American, Atlantic Coast and Pac-10. Only one other Arizona State coach has received Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors – Ned Wulk (1980). Sendek has a career record of 330-212 (.609), while his Arizona State record stands at 76-54 (.585).

THE VOTE: Coach of the Year, All-Conference, All-Freshman, All-Defensive teams and Most Improved Player are voted on by the coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for themselves or their own players for the honors.

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By David Melo
Contributor, Duck Sports News

It was Saturday, October 1, 1994 (fifteen years ago, today.) The fans had watched Oregon rebound from a 1-2 start the previous week at Autzen Stadium against Iowa, a complete turnaround on defense. The few loyal fans knew it could be a special year, while the naysayers thought the previous game was a simple day of luck. Oregon, picked by many to finish as low as 10th in the Pac-10, was 2-2 overall and heading into conference play against Mighty USC–picked by most to win the conference. The Ducks were originally 19 point underdogs, but were without starting quarterback Danny O’Neil, running back Ricky Whittle, and Cornerback Herman O’Berry; so the bets were even called off because everyone thought we stood no chance. Memorial Colesium in Los Angeles had traditionally been a place for Oregon teams to be shot down, having not won there since 1971. (Note: Oregon was without starting QB Danny O’Neil, just as in the 1971 victory without starting QB Danny O’Fouts!!)

Oregon kicked off a touchback, followed by USC beginning its powerful offense in All-American TB Shawn Walters and QB Rob Johnson. Within minutes, USC broke midfield. Every USC fan thought they already had the game won, and all the biased folks had their minds made up that ‘SC didn’t even have to play. On that very first drive, Johnson found an open receiver Ken Grace and sailed it right to his hands. Afterall, All-American CB Herman O’Berry wasn’t there to cover him. Grace went about making a catch as usual, and was bobbling it in his hands, when suddenly he realized he didn’t have the ball anymore. Young Freshman Kenny Wheaton came up from behind to steal the ball from Grace, and make a great run back into USC territory before being forced out. The first of many great defensive plays by Wheaton, so began the presence of “Gang Green” on that magical day!

Sophomore Tony Graziani made his first collegian start and began to march the offense downfield beautifully. Graziani led Oregon into the red zone, but USC’s powerful defense did force a fourth down. Freshman kicker Matt Belden sailed the ball through the uprights to put Oregon onto the board. 3-0 Oregon. On ‘SC’s next possession, “Gang Green” made it’s presence felt yet again. Grace caught the ball this time, but reserve CB LaMont Woods delivered a big hit to prevent a big gain. Chad Cota then made a big hit to prevent a first down, and on third down Gang Green’s coverage was too powerful to allow an open receiver. Alex Molden came very close to blocking a punt, but somehow the ‘SC punter got the ball off and Oregon was called for roughing the kicker. It didn’t matter, as Gang Green stepped in again! First and Second down brought up third. On third down with less than five to go, Grace was thrown the ball and caught it this time. But again, Wheaton stood in the way of the powerful receiver, meeting him face to face and wrapping him up for only a yard! ‘SC was forced to punt.

On Oregon’s second offensive series, Graziani and company marched through the USC defenders like a hot knife through butter. First, Graz was faced with a third down, when he made his first of many beautiful career runs and big baseball-like slides for a first down at midfield. On the very next play, possibly the greatest run of the 1994 season took place! All those who thought Shawn Walters would outgain Oregon in rushing were quieted by the Gang Green and Oregon’s Dino Philyaw, who ran for more yards on this play than Walters had the entire game! Philyaw ran right through the line, and raced downfield, cutting off one defender after another. Right around the ‘SC ten yardline were two defenders ready to make a big play. Philyaw made a big cut, when reserve Tight End Christian Anderson threw a terrific downfield block on the ‘SC defender. Philyaw then hurdled that player on the ground, who failed to get stop him by the feet, and fell right into the endzone for the score! 10-0, Oregon!

On the next series, USC’s offense came alive (but for the only time!) They were forced to pass due to the Gang Green holding their running game in check. Johnson and company marched right downfield with great receptions and put the ball inside the red zone. Johnson then found a wide-open future NFL-star Keyshawn Johnson to pull within three. 10-7, Oregon.

From there, Oregon and USC traded possessions into the second quarter. USC tried moving the ball, but so began the sack-masters! Reggie Jordan was about to sack Johnson, but he slipped first! Then, Walters was handed the ball when he ran into Nose Tackle Bryant Jackson who pushed him back until he was ruled down. On Oregon’s next possession, Graziani marched them downfield for their second touchdown of the afternoon. Graz threw two beautiful strikes downfield to Pat Johnson, who made an acrobatic catch, and to Dameron Ricketts into the red zone. Graz then threw into the end zone to open Cristin McLemore and Dino Philyaw who were crossing paths and both could have caught, but McLemore came up with it for the score! The two almost collided, but Philyaw put the breaks on and McLemore made the catch. 16-7 Ducks, after Belden missed his only PAT of his career.

USC attempted more drives to make it a closer halftime score, but Gang Green was too tough. Troy Bailey went back to sack Johnson, but was dodged. That didn’t matter, as Reggie Jordan was right there and dropped him for a huge loss before the half. Oregon took a 16-7 lead into the half. In the second half, USC thought they had what it took, but the fun was only beginning for the Gang Green. Drive after drive, the defense kept charging and never allowed any big runs. On offense, Graziani and company did well, setting up a field goal at the end of the third to make the score 19-7 heading into the final quarter. In the fourth, many thought ‘SC could easily score two TDs to take a lead. Too many naysayers! Oregon ignored tradition, and kept playing strong and incredible defense. Belden added another field goal to outscore USC on the day himself alone, and secure a two-touchdown lead at 22-7. In ‘SC’s attempt to mount a comeback, Silila Malepeai made a terrific sack to avoid any more points! The powerful Trojan running game was slowed to a crawl by Gang Green, managing only 31 yards all day. Gang Green forced NINE QB sacks, which could have been ten on the final ‘SC play when DE Mark Schmidt came close to a sack but the ball was thrown away to give up the ball for the final time. The entire defense to earned MVP. The talented and high-scoring Trojan offense managed only one first quarter touchdown, being far outgained by Dino Philyaw who had a +100 yard game. Graziani threw for almost 300 yards to make his first collegian start very memorable. The offense ran the ball very well to milk the clock in the second half, and the defense was too strong for Mighty Troy to maintain possession. Oregon by far dominated in the time of possession category, much attributing to their victory. Oregon was now 3-2 (as opposed to 1-2 only eight days earlier) and 1-0 in conference play in a convincing conference opener. Who knew the glory was only beginning with so much still yet to come all season! Final score: Oregon 22, USC 7!

Oregon had an equally convincing conference opener last week against Cal. Let’s remember that Cinderalla team who planted the seeds for today’s successful Oregon program. Hopefully, they can continue such success throughout this season.

GO DUCKS!!!!

Make sure to catch “The Lead Block” with The Register-Guard’s George Schroeder and Jay Jones of DuckSportsNews.com every Oregon home-gameday from 7am to 9am on 95.3 FM “The Score” in the Eugene/Springfield, Corvallis, Albany, and Salem areas.

Also, join George and Jay, along with Justin Myers, for “The Oregon Huddle” every Friday 5pm to 7pm on KUGN 590 AM.

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Join Justin Myers, Jay Jones, and George Schroeder for the “Oregon Huddle” on Friday 5pm-7pm as they preview the #6 Cal-Oregon game live on KUGN 590-AM from Legends Bar & Grill inside the Red Lion on Coburg Road.

Reach Justin, Jay, and George by phone (541-284-8571), text-message (541-357-9535), or by email (oregonhuddle @ gmail.com).

Stop by Legends Bar & Grill inside the Red Lion on Coburg Road during the show for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the #6 Cal-Oregon game. But you have to be there in order to win.

Make sure to catch George and Jay on “The Lead Block” on Saturday 7am-9am as they kick off college football gameday live on 95.3 FM The Score from Legends Bar & Grill inside the Red Lion on Coburg Road.

Reach George and Jay by phone (541-284-8571), text-message (541-357-9535), or by email (theleadblock @ gmail.com).

If you miss out on winning tickets for the game Friday night, stop by Saturday morning for another chance to win another pair of #6 Cal-Oregon tickets.

Also, George and Jay will be giving away a $20 Gift Card to Oregon Sports at the Gateway Mall and a copy of Rob Moseley’s book, “What It Means To Be A Duck”.

“Oregon Huddle”
Justin Myers, Jay Jones, George Schroeder
Friday 5pm – 7pm
KUGN 590-AM
Legends Bar & Grill, Red Lion on Coburg Road

“The Lead Block”
George Schroeder, Jay Jones
Saturday 7am – 9am
95.3 FM The Score
Legends Bar & Grill, Red Lion on Coburg Road

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Here are some Oregon-Purdue postgame interviews:

Casey Matthews:

Coach Mark Helfrich:

Coach Nick Aliotti:

Jeremiah Masoli:

Kenjon Barner:

Make sure to catch “The Lead Block” with The Register-Guard’s George Schroeder and Jay Jones of DuckSportsNews.com every Oregon home-gameday from 7am to 9am on 95.3 FM “The Score” in the Eugene/Springfield, Corvallis, Albany, and Salem areas.

Also, join George and Jay, along with Justin Myers, for “The Oregon Huddle” every Friday 5pm to 7pm on KUGN 590 AM.

If you don’t want to miss anything on the DSN blog, make sure to bookmark or subscribe to the blog.

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Here’s video from Coach Kelly’s first weekly press conference:

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Make sure to listen to “The Writer’s Block” with The Register-Guard’s George Schroeder and Jay Jones of DuckSportsNews.com every week-day morning from 8 to 10 am on 95.3 FM “The Score” in the Eugene/Springfield, Corvallis, Albany, and Salem areas.

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No SI Cover jinx, here. Move along. It’s only one of four “regional” Sports Illustrated covers for this year’s college football preview issues. Move along, now.

But even if there is a jinx…and I’m not saying there is (Jason Fife?)…those wings look pretty good.

And that’s why I have decided to dust off this blog entry from March of 2008 because the Ducks have one more Sports Illustrated cover to their credit. The Ducks now stand at five (moving past Arizona and tied with Oregon State and Stanford).

But who’s counting, right? USC and UCLA, because they have so many more to count.

Here’s the original blog entry. Enjoy.

{Are the numbers different a year and a half later? Probably. If they are, let me know. And I’ll make sure to include the updated info when I recycle this material again…in about a year and a half.)

Jay, here.

This past Thursday, Sports Illustrated opened the vault on all of their content.

Explore the 54 years of Sports Illustrated history including over 150000 stories, 2800 covers, 500000 photographs, a Wiki sports encyclopedia and links to …

Covers. Articles. Ads. Everything.

That got me to thinking: how many times has the University of Oregon been represented on the cover of Sports Illustrated? The answer? Four. (Unfortunately, I can’t count Eugene resident Brian Lanker’s 1985 Swimsuit Issue cover photograph of Paulina Porizkova.)

Then I was curious as to how that stack up against the rest of the Pac-10. Pretty well. But, as you will see, USC and UCLA are in a league of their own.

This is not an exhaustive list (because of USC and UCLA). And the cover count only represents the instances where a school is the primary focus on the cover. For example, USC’s Todd Marinovich made the cover throwing against Stanford. But Stanford really isn’t the focus (Actually, they’re kind of oblique and out of focus.). So, that doesn’t count for Stanford. And SI.com’s search feature is OK, but sometimes returns inconsistent results.

Here are the Pac-10 covers of Sports Illustrated.

Sports Illustrated Covers: OREGON – 5

Cover Dates: 06.15.70, 02.25.74, 08.13.01, 09.29.03, 08.17.09

The Ducks kind of have one more cover. Well, a lot of schools have at least one cover, sort of, with this year’s NCAA Tournament Preview edition. Kind of like “Where’s Waldo?”, where’s Malik Hairston?

Did you find him? Look right next to the “I” in “Illustrated. And, I think, that’s Malik.

UPDATE: In the comments section, Chris pointed out that Aaron Brooks was on the cover of the 2007 NCAA Tournament Preview edition (03.19.07). I kind of put this cover in the category with the above cover: it’s nice, but doesn’t count as Oregon having a cover. That’s Aaron on the basketball.

Sports Illustrated Covers: OREGON STATE – 5

Cover Dates: 10.16.61, 01.07.63, 03.05.90, 03.23.81, 09.29.03

Sports Illustrated Covers: WASHINGTON – 3

Cover Dates: 10.03.60, 10.04.71

Thanks to Alex, there is one more from 11.24.06 that did not come up in SI’s search feature.

Sports Illustrated Covers: WASHINGTON STATE – 0

Washington State joins Arizona State as the only Pac-10 schools not to have a Sports Illustrated cover. Although, I think there is a WSU player (Cowgill?) on the cover of the 2008 NCAATournament Preview edition.

Sports Illustrated Covers: CAL – 2

Cover Dates: 11.24.75, 03.29.93

Sports Illustrated Covers: STANFORD – 5

Cover Dates: 11.08.02, 03.17.97, 11.23.98, 10.07.02, 03.29.04

Sports Illustrated Covers: ARIZONA – 4

Cover Dates: 08.29.94, 04.07.97, 04.02.01, 11.25.02

Sports Illustrated Covers: ARIZONA STATE – 0

Like Washington State, Arizona State does not have a Sports Illustrated cover to its name. Unlike Washington State, though, I don’t even think they have a player on the cover of the 2008 NCAATournament Preview edition.

Sports Illustrated Covers: USC – 31

Cover Dates: Too many. First: 11.26.56 Most Recent: 11.19.07

Sports Illustrated Covers: UCLA – 35

Cover Dates: Too many. First: 01.05.59 Most Recent: 03.18.08

For more, visit the Sports Illustrated Vault.

For more on the Ducks, visit DuckSportsNews.com.

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By Jay Jones, July 10, 2008

Yesterday, Kenny & Katy talked to college football impresario Phil Steele on The Morning Sports Page with Kenny & Katy on 95.5 FM “The Game” in Portland.

In the course of their conversation, here are a few of the things they covered:

- How talented is Oregon?

- Where does Oregon rank in the Pac-10? In the nation?

- What’s the early line on the Oregon-Purdue game?

- Who’s the most improved team in the nation?

- Early National Championship prediction?

Here’s the link to the interview.

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By Jay Jones, June 24, 2008

A couple of weeks ago, Portland’s The Fan (1080 AM) had Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen on the Isaac & Big Suke show.

Here are a few of the things they talked about:

- Misconceptions about the job of the Pac-10 Commissioner

- ESPN vs. Fox Sports Network

- Pac-10 bowl affiliations

- Pac-10 expansion

- Biggest accomplishments

- Chances of a Plus-1, football playoff

- Selecting the next Pac-10 commissioner

You can listen to the interview below.

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By Jay Jones, June 10, 2008

Yesterday, the Pac-10 announced that Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen will retire on June 30, 2009.

And the Sports Idol, Justin Myers, rejoiced.

And it got me to thinking about a Sports Idol monologue from last year’s football season.

It only seems like yesterday…(Twinkling sound effect & rippling video effect)

Duck fans, here is an unbelievable story about Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen featured on the “Sports Idol with Justin Meyers” from Monday, November 5, 2007.

Take a listen here.

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By Jay Jones, June 4, 2008

The Athlon Sports 2008 College Football Annual is shipping this week.

Here’s a sneak peak at the Athlon Sports 2008 Preseason Top 25:

1. Florida
2. Ohio State
3. Oklahoma
4. USC
5. Georgia
6. Missouri
7. West Virginia
8. Auburn
9. LSU
10. Clemson
11. Texas
12. Wisconsin
13. Kansas
14. BYU
15. Arizona State
16. Illinois
17. Tennessee
18. Texas Tech
19. OREGON
20. South Florida
21. Virginia Tech
22. Rutgers
23. Penn State
24. Wake Forest
25. Fresno State

And here’s a look at the Pac-10:

1. USC (Link to preview.)
2. Arizona State (Link to preview.)
3. Oregon (Link to preview.)
4. UCLA
5. Cal
6. Arizona
7. Washington
8. Oregon State
9. Washington State
10. Stanford

Don’t want to miss a DSN Blog Exclusive, make sure and bookmark the blog or subscribe to the blog.

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