Oregon PreGame Discussion Thread

[DanMcQ]

I'll post links to DFW's pregame report, etc when available. For now, here are the cumulative stats YTD:

Hoyas

graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/gu/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/cumulative-stats.pdf


Ducks

www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4296&SPID=235&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=214411

[RockawayHoya]

I'm not one for comparing teams based on performances against common opponents, but I think we'll know a little bit more about where we stand and what we can expect after Vandy and Oregon face off on Wednesday night.

[theEDGEfactor]

we have a great frontcourt and they have a great backcourt and i think the 3,000 mile distance that we will be partaking in deff gives OU the advantage

[YB]

Until we learn to take advantage of our great frontcourt and our backcourt can guard someone, I take OU here.

[theEDGEfactor]

ya we dont really see it, but if we used ashanti to the best he would be a 15 points scorer- why dont we give him a chance for once?

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

This is the way I see the game:

Front court - Edge Georgetown

Half Court Offense - Edge Georgetown

Transition Offnese/Defense - Edge Ducks

Defense - Edge Ducks

Intangibles (i.e. travel/hustle/home court) - Edge Ducks

Also JTIII might still be dealing with family issues, so I would give the edge to the ducks right now. The Hoyas will be doing very well if we can take this game.

[hchoya]

I really think this is a very must win game, if we do fall it will be really tough to rebound and go to Assembly Hall and get a win from Illinois. Hope the Hoyas do well, I will be watching the game from Worcester and not going on a ski trip because of the game. GO HOYAS.... you know what the Ducks.

[RockawayHoya]

EDGE, we have given Ashanti all the opportunities in the world. He starts. He plays the majority of the game. He still can be a 15 points a game type scorer. But he has to do better defensively in order to stay on the court long enough to do that.

St. Pete, your breakdown appears to be identical with my own. I'd be ecstatic if we could pull out a win on Saturday.

[SFHoya99]

hchoya said:

I really think this is a very must win game, if we do fall it will be really tough to rebound and go to Assembly Hall and get a win from Illinois. Hope the Hoyas do well, I will be watching the game from Worcester and not going on a ski trip because of the game. GO HOYAS.... you know what the Ducks.

Never, ever, has there been a must win game in the fourth game of the season.

[williambraskyiii]

i know this is a dumb question...again...but if the Oregon game nationally-televised on FSN? Will most sports bars who have more than Full Court get this game?

[YB]

It's a big game from a confidence standpoint.

Hear me out: This is a team that expects more of itself- it knows it has all the tools- but has not succeeded the last several years, and they do not have the winning mentality yet. The swagger, the confidence. They win at Oregon, they can get back on track for a nice year. They don't and lose at Illinois, they are looking upward at success again. It might be too much to recover from mentally.

[CAHoya07]

yb said:

They don't and lose at Illinois, they are looking upward at success again. It might be too much to recover from mentally.

I don't think so. It's a long season. Clearly this game at Oregon means a lot, and if we lose here I'm not sure we can win at Illinois, but stranger things have happened. Regardless of whether we win these games, they will tell us a lot about our team, about where we are and where we need to be. That's why we scheduled them in the first place.

Let's just take it one game at a time and stop worrying. We will see the Hoyas that went 8-3 in the first 11 Big East games last year. It's just a matter of when we put it all together.

[ptldhoya]

This will be an interesting game for me as I am a Hoya and a Duck. Of course I will be there rooting for the Hoyas, but I think that either this or Illinois is easily the toughest venue for the Hoyas this year.
The home court advantage in Eugene is real, and it is one of those if the crowd gets to you early, you're in trouble kind of places.
Here's my mini-preview:
The Ducks have good backcourt play, led by JR Aaron Brooks, SO Bryce Taylor and SO Malik Hairston.
Brooks-Former McD's AA. Extremely quick PG with a really nice handle and some ability to shoot the three ball.
Taylor-Shooter with a scorer's mentality. Can stroke the three from deep and take it to the hoop.
Hairston-Former McD's AA. Very talented hard-nosed playmaker from Detroit area. This guy can do everything well except shoot FT's and will be wearing an NBA jersey in the future.

The frontcourt is improved, but this should be the Hoyas best chance
PF: SO Maarty Luenen: Talented former Oregon HS POY. Kind of a taller version of Luke Jackson who likes to hit the boards.
PF: JR Ivan Johnson: JC guy who had originally signed with Cincinatti, but was let out of his commit when Huggins got canned. Supposedly this guy is the long lost tough bigman the Ducks have always needed.
C: RSO Ray Schaefer: Raw 7 footer from Alaska. Fairly athletic, but don't expect too much play-making ability.

Intangible player to watch: SO Jordan Kent. The Coach's son just started playing because he has been playing on the football team. He is an energy rebounder/defense guy who has world class speed. Interesting note, he is the first PAC 10 athlete in over 35 years to letter in three separate sports (FB, BB, Track and Field)

Coach: Ernie Kent: In my opinion, a good recruiter, but average game coach. Has some difficulty making second half adjustments.

The Ducks preach an up and down tempo that should contrast with the Hoyas offense. Hopefully, our Hoyas can slow the game down and keep the crowd out of the game. I think that this is our best chance, because I am not sure we have the scoring firepower to keep up with the Ducks. However, the Ducks are extremely young (start one junior and four sophs), and dissapointed under the weight of high expectations last year. Like DC, fans in Eugene expect a tourney birth from their team this year.

I am headed to the game on Saturday, and will be rocking my Hoyas satin. For those of you going to the game, expect a boisterous crowd and don't expect any kind of decent legroom in your seat. The gym was built in the 20's .
Here 's some links to read about it if you're heading over, and it includes a clickable seating chart:
www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=252&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPSID=3802&ATCLID=22185
Here's some other links:
sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=1974962 www.tucsoncitizen.com/sports/college/021904d1_uamen

[theEDGEfactor]

rock i mean the way we did last year in the BE tournament- yes he did have that crucial to against uconn but the only way that we are in the game, is that he scores and passes real well which he did

[TBird41]

yb said:

It's a big game from a confidence standpoint.

Hear me out: This is a team that expects more of itself- it knows it has all the tools- but has not succeeded the last several years, and they do not have the winning mentality yet. The swagger, the confidence. They win at Oregon, they can get back on track for a nice year. They don't and lose at Illinois, they are looking upward at success again. It might be too much to recover from mentally.

They recovered mentally from getting slapped by Oral Roberts last year and by getting slapped by Illinois at home. Obviously, winning is better, but even losing to both Illinois and Oregon is not as big a deal as everyone seems to make it out to be.

[washingtonhoya]

I can't wait for this game. I was born in Springfield, just across the river from Eugene, and some family friends down there are die-hard Duck fans (but they sent a son to Georgetown, COL '05). I agree with ptldhoya, slowing the game down and running the half-court offense are going to be major advantages to the Hoyas if executed properly. Especially important is going to be cutting down on the turnovers that can lead to fast breaks. With UO being very strong in transition, keeping the game going at a Hoya pace is going to be crucial to minimizing the crowd factor.

[Bahstin]

Does Oregon have a public message board?

[ptldhoya]

Oregon does have a public message board: www.educk.com

The message board for hoops is premium content (happened after all of the issues surrounding Ernie Kent's ...ahem....marrital issues).
However, there is a general sports message board called "open season", but that one is covered in UO v. ND Fiesta bowl argument meltdown.

I believe they have a message board entitled "Pape Jam" which is supposed to be about UO's upcoming game against Illinois, but has turned into UO's de facto free hoops message board. Y'all should be able to find information there.

[nodak89]

mb6.scout.com/feduckfrm18

[Deleted]

yb said:

It's a big game from a confidence standpoint.

Hear me out: This is a team that expects more of itself- it knows it has all the tools- but has not succeeded the last several years, and they do not have the winning mentality yet. The swagger, the confidence. They win at Oregon, they can get back on track for a nice year. They don't and lose at Illinois, they are looking upward at success again. It might be too much to recover from mentally.

I agree for the most part. I've been worried all summer and fall that WE are highly overrating our beloved Hoyas. A few OOC loses will really put their resiliency to the test. Then we'll really see what this team is made of.

I'm just not sure, based on how last season ended and what we've seen so far this year, that the Hoyas are as good as the board makes them out to be.

But I'm dying to be shown otherwise!