Pac-10 Basketball Preview – Oregon Ducks
State of the Program
The 2008-09 season was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Oregon Ducks, but did anyone really see 8-23 (2-16 in Pac-10) coming? Certainly last season was one of the most disappointing of head coach Ernie Kent’s career, however most prognosticators do not foresee a repeat scenario in 2009-10. The Ducks are young, but the talent in Eugene is top notch, and a middle of the conference finish is more than achievable. In fact, the Ducks could end up being one of America’s most improved teams by season’s end.
For Oregon to meet expectations in 2009-10, improvement MUST be made defensively. The Ducks gave up 76 points per game, good enough for dead last in the Pac-10 and 314th nationally. Poor fundamentals were a big part of the problem, which is what prompted Kent to hire one of the best assistant coaches in college basketball, Mike Dunlap. Under Dunlap’s guidance the Ducks should be considerably more organized on defense.
Impact Superstar: G Tajuan Porter
How important is Porter to the Ducks? Last season, he took 20% of the team’s shots, and at times, it seemed like more than that. The sharp-shooting senior can light it up from anywhere on the floor, and he possesses the same unlimited range that Aaron Brooks had during his time in Eugene. Porter averaged 15.4 PPG, 2.5 APG, 2.5 RPG last year, and made a whopping 86 three-pointers (tied for 5th in UO single season history).
The 5-7 guard from Detroit (MI) is among the quickest players in the country, and his experience (helped lead Ducks to Elite Eight as freshman) will be huge for the younger players. While Porter is an explosive scorer, he also has a tendency to force things that aren’t there. His decision-making will be critical for the Ducks in 2009-10, especially given the dynamic players that will now be around him.
I expect Porter to lead the team in scoring again this season, but I would also like to see his assist total go up.
Needs To Have A Big Year: C Michael Dunigan
Dunigan is essentially Impact Superstar 1A. The combination of Porter and Dunigan gives the Ducks one of the most formidable one-two punches in the Pac-10. The sophomore from Chicago (IL) had problems with foul trouble throughout his freshman campaign, but he still averaged 8.4 PPG and 4.6 RPG, while shooting nearly 50% from the field.
At 6-10 242 pounds, Dunigan is a tremendously skilled post player capable of dominating on both sides of the court. The former McDonald’s All-American figures to be much improved this season, as the UO coaches have been very pleased with his off-season conditioning (lost 25 pounds and added more muscle).
I believe Dunigan will soar this year in Eugene, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him develop into the BEST frontcourt player in the Pac-10. If he can stay out of foul trouble, look for Dunigan to be a sure-thing all-conference player.
Potential Impact Newcomer: F Jamil Wilson
Michigan State and Texas made a very hard charge at Wilson during the recruiting season, but the freshman from Racine (WI) elected to play for Ernie Kent. He is an electrifying athlete with a very high ceiling, and along with Abdul Gaddy, will be one of the favorites to win Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. Rivals, Scout, and ESPN all rated him as one of the top 100 players of the 2009 recruiting class.
At 6-7 215 pounds, Wilson is a scoring wing who should help take the load off of Porter right away. He could play the three or four spot depending on the rotation in Kent’s lineup. Wilson has a great face-up game and can hit the three with consistency, which will give the Ducks a perfect complimentary weapon to the already lethal duo of Porter and Dunigan.
Wilson is one of the main reasons experts are high on the Ducks as the season approaches. While the freshman will have a steep learning curve, there is no doubt that the Ducks are a more dynamic offense with him on the court.
My Take
Clearly the talent is there, but will everything come together? After all, Oregon was talented last year too, but hideous defense and overall sloppy play kept this team from reaching its potential. I believe Kent’s Ducks will respond in a big way this season, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see this team finish as high as third or fourth in a rebuilding Pac-10. There are still plenty of question marks, but Oregon has the elite talent (Porter, Dunigan, Wilson) and complimentary role players (Longmire, Catron, Singler, Crittle) to make considerable progress in 2009-10.
Ultimately, I think this team is one year away from being truly special, but by the end of the season, the “Hot Seat” talk surrounding Ernie Kent should be a thing of the past.
Projected Pac-10 Finish: 6th Place
Oh my goodness! What an amazing post. Thank you However I am experiencing a challenge with your rss . I do not understand why I am unable to subscribe to it. Is there anyone having identical rss problems? Anybody who knows about the problem please kindly respond. Appreceiate it.
Very interesting information!Perfect just what I was looking for!
Hi my loved one! I want to say that this article is awesome, great written and come with approximately all significant infos. I’d like to peer more posts like this.
Couldn?t be written any better. Reading this post reminds me of my old room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
I can see that you are putting a lots of efforts into your blog. Keep posting the good work.Some really helpful information in there. Bookmarked. Nice to see your site. Thanks!
Couldn?t be written any better. Reading this post reminds me of my old room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
health plans may be expensive but it is really very necessary to get one for yourself::
Hey there would you mind letting me know which hosting company you’re utilizing? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different internet browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most. Can you recommend a good internet hosting provider at a honest price? Many thanks, I appreciate it!
you can avail of home loans from several companies that offer low interest rates;;
there are dining sets come in wide variety and prices, i often get the lower priced ones..
art posters are great for room decoration too, i use art posters on my bedroom as decorations.
oh well, Alicia silverstone is matured nowadays but when she was still younger, she is the sex symbol of hollywood,,
last year we bought two electric stoves that we use on our kitchen, they are nice because they do not generate smoke::
Have you ever considered adding more videos to your blog posts to keep the readers more entertained? I mean I just read through the entire article of yours and it was quite good but since I’m more of a visual learner,I found that to be more helpful well let me know how it turns out! I love what you guys are always up too. Such clever work and reporting! Keep up the great works guys I’ve added you guys to my blogroll. This is a great article thanks for sharing this informative information.. I will visit your blog regularly for some latest post.
we have different sectional sofas at home, i find them very comfortable and easy to setup..
stuffed animals are very cute and lovely, i bet that most kids and even women loves them*
leather handbags are superb, they look good and they are great as gifts too“
well, we will come back
First-class blog post it is surely. My father has been awaiting for this knowledge.
Awesome information. A+ read.
Hiya, I am really glad I have found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossips and net and this is actually irritating. A good website with interesting content, that’s what I need. Thanks for keeping this site, I’ll be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Can’t find it.
What youre saying is completely true. I know that everybody must say the same thing, but I just think that you put it in a way that everyone can understand. I also love the images you put in here. They fit so well with what youre trying to say. Im sure youll reach so many people with what youve got to say.
Great stuff from you, man. Ive read your stuff before and youre just too awesome. I love what youve got here, love what youre saying and the way you say it. You make it entertaining and you still manage to keep it smart. I cant wait to read more from you. This is really a great blog.
I would like to thnkx for the efforts you have put in writing this site. I am hoping the same high-grade site post from you in the upcoming as well. In fact your creative writing skills has encouraged me to get my own site now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings fast. Your write up is a good example of it.
hi-ya, I like all your posts, keep them coming.
Regards for helping out, great information.
Excellent post! I?m just starting out in community management/marketing media and wanting to discover how you can do it effectively – resources like this article are incredibly helpful. As our company is based within the US, it?s all a bit new to us. The example above is something that I worry about as well, the way to show your own genuine enthusiasm and share the fact that your product is useful in that case
Couldn?t be written any better. Reading this post reminds me of my old room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me.
Excellent information in regards to the Pregnancy… Really am in search of week by week pregnancy info for safety of my newborn baby… here are I discovered some beneficial details to me. keep posting pregnancy information, I’m subscribing your rss feed for long term posts.
watching online movies has been my past time this month, i really enjoy it**
almost everyone in our family have hypertension, this disease is very common among older people::
I’ve been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this site. Thanks, I will try and check back more often. How frequently you update your web site?