2009-10 Record: Oregon (16-16; 7-11 Pac-10) Returns 1 Starter

HEAD COACH: Dana Altman, first year at Oregon (410-243 career)

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP: PG Malcolm Armstead, SG Teondre Williams, SF E.J. Singler, PF Jeremy Jacob, PF Joevan Catron.

Two very bright spots for the Oregon Men’s Basketball program are 1) the arrival of Dana Altman (winner of over 400 college games) as Head Coach, and 2) the opening of the new Matthew Knight Arena (The projected construction cost of $200 million will make it the most expensive on campus basketball arena in the United States). In most cases, these would inject a high level of interest and enthusiasm leading towards the upcoming season. However, even these significant events can’t compensate for the bleak conditions of the Ducks hoops program.

For the last 16 years, Altman has successfully led the Creighton University program—making it 13 straight times to post-season play. But, Altman is not in Omaha and the Missouri Valley Conference any more. He has a major rebuilding job to undertake as he assumes the head coaching position at Oregon.  

TaJuan Porter—the team's top scorer a year ago—is gone. Five players (Matt Humphrey, Jamil Wilson, Josh Crittle, Drew Wiley and Michael Dunigan) from last year's team have defected.

Malcolm Armstead (PG—10.3 ppg) is the best returning player. Forward E.J. Singler (6.1 ppg) and guard Teondre Williams (6.4) also have experience. Because Altman and his staff pulled off some recruiting magic, some of the newcomers (Jay-R Strowbridge, Tyrone Nared, Johnathan Loyd, and Martin Seiferth) could contribute from Day 1.

Realistictly, this will be a challenging season for the Ducks, the clear pick to finish last in the Pac-10. Hopefully, the Eugene faithful will be so ecstatic about this year's football team that they won't be too critical of Altman and the Ducks as they try to get going again.

Sat, Nov 13	Denver
Sun, Nov 14	UCSB
Sat, Nov 20	San Jose St.
Tue, Nov 23	Texas Southern
Sat, Nov 27	(1) Duke
Thu, Dec 2	(15) Missouri
Sun, Dec 5	Portland St.
Sat, Dec 11	Willamette
Mon, Dec 13	Jacksonville St.
Fri, Dec 17	at Virginia
Tue, Dec 21	Idaho
Thu, Dec 30	Arizona
Sat, Jan 1	Arizona St.
Thu, Jan 6	at (18) Washington
Sat, Jan 8	at Washington St.
Thu, Jan 13	USC
Sat, Jan 15	UCLA
Sat, Jan 22	at Oregon St.
Thu, Jan 27	at Stanford
Sat, Jan 29	at California
Thu, Feb 3	Washington St.
Sat, Feb 5	(18) Washington
Thu, Feb 10	at UCLA
Sat, Feb 12	at USC
Sat, Feb 19	Oregon St.
Thu, Feb 24	California
Sat, Feb 26	Stanford
Thu, Mar 3	at Arizona St.
Sat, Mar 5	at Arizona

As the basketball world (at least Oregon, Kentucky, and Washington fans) waited for the decision of Jefferson’s Terrence Jones, it gave us a little time to put together our all-time Oregon made basketball team.  John Calipari and the Wildcats did land the Portland prep star, and Jones will join the ranks of the few Oregonians to shine on the national stage

The majority of the talent has obviously come from the Portland area, but gems have been found all around the state. From Medford to Creswell to Coos Bay, the great state of Oregon has been supplying the NCAA with a handful of quality recruits annually.

Starters

Rumors, rumors, rumors.

Who has Oregon actually contacted?

Have they actually offered the head coaching job to anybody?

Billy Donovan, Jamie Dixon, Tubby Smith, Mark Few, Tom Izzo and a number of other coaches have all been at least mentioned in Oregon’s search for the next head coach of the Ducks.

Ridiculous, hysterical, reaching, outlandish are just some of the words being used to describe the search.

Nobody knows what drives anyone else. Some are driven by money. Some by power. Others for the love of what they do.

The suggestions are that Oregon doesn’t have the tradition of the basketball powerhouses and that therefore no coach would want to go there.

A few have claimed that the situation is dire at Oregon, with a lack of talent compared to the positions those other coaches hold.

Some of the people named-leveraged more money from their current jobs, but that is to be expected. I don’t know if I have ever seen a coaching search in any sport that didn’t result in this happening a few times.

So what does the Oregon basketball job have to offer?

Despite a down year, the Pac 10 is still a power conference with a strong basketball history. The conference is home to storied programs like UCLA and Arizona.

The very first NCAA basketball champions are fromthe Pac 10. Oh yeah, that was the Oregon Ducks. While that is the only basketball title in the schools history, it's not as if they have never won the conference, the conference tournament or made strong runs in the NCAA since.

Rich history? No. History? Yes.

Part of that history is going away, though. Historic McArthur Court will be closing and a brand new arena will open. Oregon will be offering a brand new arena to a coach. While that's nice, but it may not be a huge point.

Oregon has money. Well they have a strong backer who has money. It’s not even a secret that Nike and Phil Knight have Oregon’s back. They could probably buy a lot of coaches, but of course not any or all coaches are all about money.

My question is, is the talent at Oregon really as lacking as some have suggested? No, it isn’t the caliber of Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, or many other top tier teams.

Oregon is losing two seniors this year. Porter was one of the best shooters the school has ever had. He finished his career as the Pac 10 all-time record holder for three pointers made. Catron was a solid player and contributor throughout his career that was hampered by injury his senior season.

So, what’s left?

Well, Jamil Wilson and EJ Singler will be sophomores. Both got pretty fair amount of playing time this past season. Wilson was a four-star player, but actually played less than the three-star Singler.

Next season juniors were rated the No. 16 class by Rivals in 2008. The class was highlighted by four-star players Michael Dunigan and Matthew Humphrey. Four others in that class were three-star recruits, including Teondre Williams, Drew Wiley, Josh Crittle and Garrett Sim.

Only one player will be a senior and that is LeKendrick Longmire.

There is not a lot coming in, but as stated before not much is leaving and the talent cupboard isn’t as bare as some believe.

What this also means for a new coach is that they won’t be able to bring in a lot of the talent and the kind of players they want right away.

On the other hand, the players they inherit will have experience and collectively have shown improvement with age.

Is Oregon reaching with some of coaches supposedly being considerd? Yes, just a little bit.

However, I am not so sure that all of the coaches that have been rumored or named in relationship to this job are as far out there as some have implied and I don’t agree that Oregon has nothing to offer a big-name coach.

The Oregon Duck's finished the 2009-10 season 16-16 and 7-11 in a very weak Pac-10. Now im guessing most people forgot about the great start the Duck's had in the begginning by leading the Pac-10 at one point and it looked as though Ernie was going to avoid yet another threat of being fired. The Duck's went into Spokane with a sense of urgency and confidence. Malcolm Armstead a transfer from a JC college just this year led the Duck's the whole game against the nationally ranked Washington Huskies and he made all the plays the Duck's needed at any given moment without any sign of slowing down. The Duck's kept their streak alive and led the Pac-10 at 3-0 and Armstead was the unknown hero with 21 points going 9-17 from the field. The Duck's really looked good after a rough pre-season.

The Duck's next oppenent was their arch enemy, the Oregon State Beaver's coached by newly appointed head coach Craig Robinson, Obama's brother in law were expected to be much better than last year, came into Mac Court with an attitude to knock off the king of the Pac-10. Everyone at Mac Court was fired up expecting another win against their most hated team and surprisingly came up short handed and received their first loss in the year in Pac-10 play, this was the beggining of the end for Coach Kent.

After the loss to the Beaver's the Duck's had a shaky season and finished 7-11 in Pac-10 play after losing to California in the second round of the Pac-10 Tourny. Throughout the season people kept complaining that Kent may recruit well but was a horrible in season coach and explained that this Oregon Duck team though young could obviosuly play but was being wasted because of poor coaching.

Two weeks before the Cal game there were many rumors flying around that Ernie had been unofficially fired and was told to just finish out the season. No one was shocked that this had happened and at the conclusion of the Cal game he was officially announced fired within a couple days.

The Duck's now look for a new coach and names such as Mark Few, the coach of Gonzaga and many well known names have been mentioned i believe that none of these coaches will want to come to Oregon just merely for money and the newly built arena and that we will not find many coaches better then Coach Kent, but thats just me.

No one denies that Ernie had changed the program forever and everyone thanks him for his professinalism throughout the recent tough years but for better or worse it was time for a change.

According to KVAL.com, Oregon fired head coach Ernie Kent today, ending his 13 year tenure with the University. If true (Oregon AD Mike Bellotti declined to comment on whether Kent was in fact fired, according to the AP’s Anne Peterson), this move is a long time coming in my opinion. I don’t find it surprising in the least. He led the Ducks to five NCAA Tournaments and made the Elite Eight twice, but his recruitment was inconsistent from year-to-year, his offensive scheme reeked of inconsistency, and he never even attempted to develop a big man.

According to the source named in the KVAL article, Kent was actually fired on Feb. 21. He will relinquish his duties following the season, ending his tenure just before the unveiling of the new arena, Matt Court, where the Ducks will play starting next season.

Kent had a countless number of talented players: The Lukes, Jackson and Ridnour, Freddie Jones, Bryce Taylor, Malik Hairston, Aaron Brooks, and Maarty Luenen, just to name a few. Though many teams were very successful, Kent’s philosophy wasn’t one that would work long-term. His perimeter-oriented style and lack of talent in the past few years has led to his downfall. After such a long time with one system, Oregon decided it was time to move on and bring in a new mentality just in time for the new arena.

The Ducks have won three of their past four games, including tonight’s victory over Washington State in Mac Court’s season finale.  But this streak only brings them to 15-15 overall. Before their current hot stretch, they had lost 10 of 12 games. Their roster is very inexperienced and needs seasoning, so this type of season was to be expected.

Though I approve of his firing, I am sympathetic towards Kent. If they were going to fire him, why not wait until the season is over? The Pac-10 Tournament hasn’t even started yet.

And considering the conference is awful this season, Oregon has as good a chance of any to win and clinch an NCAA berth. The Ducks clearly don’t want him opening the new arena, but let the season play out before giving him the boot.

But college sports are strange this way. Head coaches in football leave their teams before Bowl games to go elsewhere. The timing has always been odd for hirings and firings. This is no different.

Another thing I find odd about the move is that Kent has to play out the rest of the season knowing that he’s done as head coach. How deflating would that be to your psyche?

But he can’t give up. He has to do his best to prove to Oregon that they are making a mistake. And the way to do that is to light a fire under his players; instill in his young team that they can make something of the rest of their season and send him out in style.

According to sources, “Kent was dismissed after meeting with Oregon Athletic Director Mike Bellotti the Monday following the Ducks home losses to California and Stanford. In addition, Kent’s entire staff will be replaced, with the possible exception of assistant Kenny Payne.”

Kent’s record stands at 234-172 as Oregon’s head coach, an excellent record. But the bad has now outweighed the good. Even though he ran an offense that called for three-pointers galore, his teams had trouble competing on a consistent basis, and he spent more time talking to his coaches than his players during timeouts, the good Kent provided cannot be forgotten. 

Is it just me or does it seem like Ernie's been in here reading the criticisms of his coaching efforts? Last night against UCLA he made some changes (eerily similar to what I've mentioned in the past) and the Ducks were FINALLY allowed to play ball. For the first time all season Ernie didn't over-coach. He didn't substitute every 4 minutes and the players on the court actually started to get into the flow of the game.

Waiiiit a minute, don't get ahead of yourself here. Yes, I am about to give some props, but that doesn't mean Ernie should stay on as head coach. A coach of his tenure shouldn't take this long to figure his team out.

Okay, so back to some positives from last nights game. Here are my top five observations of player/coaching improvements from last night's game.

#1. Jamil Wilson finally looked like he grew a "set" and was playing, and more importantly, shooting with confidence. It's like he knew that it would be okay to miss a shot and that it wouldn't result in an instant yank to the bench. He didn't play a ton of minutes, but he was allowed to play for decent stretches and you could definitely see that he reached a level of comfort within the game that I hadn't seen from him before.This kid is going to be a baller!

#2. Get it down to the big men! Getting the ball into the post early in the game not only got Dunigan involved, but it also helped to loosen up the UCLA defense and gave the Ducks a little daylight on the perimeter. Why did it take so long for Ernie to realize that our offense was WAAAAY to perimeter oriented? Only Ernie and God know that.

#3. Ernie stuck with a core group of players who have been playing decent lately and he gave them most of the minutes. A reasonable amount of consecutive minutes on the court will give our young players confidence. Let them play through some of their mistakes, coach them during timeouts and good things will eventually start to happen. Pull them from the game and yell at them with over-exaggerated gestures on the sideline after a mistake and you take two steps backwards. 

#4. Matt Humphrey was obviously playing with confidence and Ernie stayed with the hot hand! Props to Ernie for leaving Humphrey in the game for extended minutes once he recognized that he was bringing it. Humphrey can be an overly emotional player, but last night it really looked like he was controlling his emotions much better than in the past. If Humphrey learns to play within himself and not get too up or down after a great or poor play, then he will soon be splitting time with Wilson and they will make a very potent one, two punch. Imagine these potential options.

* Wilson starts and is playing great. Humphrey comes in to give Wilson a rest here and there, but Wilson plays over thirty minutes, has ten points and six rebounds and contributes to a Duck win...or

* Wilson starts and is playing okay, but not great. Humphrey comes into the game at the 14 minute mark and hits a couple of shots. The Ducks stick with Humphrey this time, he has 12 points, four assists and a couple of rebounds and the Ducks win!

* By halftime it should be obvious which of these two has come to play or is feeling the game better that night. Roll with the hot-hand during the second half and that position is solid!

#5. Controlling the tempo of the game. Last night when the Ducks pressed UCLA, they controlled the tempo and this is when they went on runs. When Oregon let UCLA stroll the ball up the court and easily get into their half-court offense, the Bruins were winning. It was a relief to see that Ernie recognized this and then used the press to turn the volume up or down as needed. He didn't run his players into the ground, but he did put the press back on when it was needed...especially in the second half.

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but Ernie (or someone on his bench) coached a very good game last night. He put his players in a position to win, gave them time to get into the game and made the correct calls regarding defense and pressing. If only he had been doing this last year or earlier this year. Regardless of how many games the Ducks win the rest of the way...we gotta let Ernie go. The athletic department needs to do whatever it takes to get Mark Few to Oregon! With Mark Few, Matt Court and our very strong alumni, Oregon would be poised to become a powerhouse basketball school. We raised our expectations with football and look what happened. Now, let's raise our expectations of Duck basketball and start competing for the conference crown every single season.

What do you think?

The Ernie Kent debate is getting hot...really hot! If you haven't already read the article or seen the video about "Fan Burns UO Season Tickets", then let me catch you up real quick. Tom Sotelo is a season ticket holder for Duck hoops and he is angry at their level of play this season. In fact, he's so angry that he put his remaining season tickets in his fireplace to burn. You can watch the video on KEZI.com or YouTube.com. 

Naturally Tom's burning of Duck basketball tickets is eliciting some pretty strong reactions about what kind of Duck fan he really is. Some comments on the KEZI website claim that he is a fair weather fan and not a "true" fan. I couldn't disagree more. Since there are polarizing opinions on what a "true" fan really is, I thought I would give my opinion and ask yours.

A "True" Fan by Jeff Roberts

A "true" fan does root hard for their team and never, ever changes allegiance. A "true" fan does stay a fan through the good years and through the bad ones. They do not stop being a fan just because their team is losing. A "true" fan does insist that their team is provided with a competent coach and when things get really, really bad, a "true" fan does speak up and demand more! A "true" fan does not pretend like everything is okay when their team is falling to pieces. A "true" fan does not make excuses for their team when there are no excuses. A "true" fan has every right to burn their season tickets in protest when they feel like their team has given up and that major changes need to be made.

I don't know Tom personally, but I believe that he is a "true" Duck fan. I thank him for having the guts to make a stand and bring attention to something that needs to be remedied. He has every right to boycott his team in the name of a good cause before he will invest his hard earned money and valuable time again. I believe that Tom will still root and follow the Ducks and he will be one of the first to buy tickets again when Mike Bellotti fixes our coaching issue; and if that new coach ends up dragging the team down like Ernie is doing, then Tom will make a stand again!

I didn't buy Duck tickets this season, but I will still root and follow them. I will watch each game on TV. Shoot, I've been a Raiders fan my entire life and I still watch and root for them if they're on. However, I wouldn't invest one penny in that team until Al Davis sells, retires or passes on. Similarly, I won't invest another cent in the Duck basketball program until Ernie is no longer the head coach. How else will the athletic department get the point? As long as you keep allowing them to feel like they have your support, where's the incentive for them to make the necessary changes to bring respectability back to Duck hoops?

I just sat through an absolute wretched first half of Oregon basketball.

Poor shooting, poor defense, poor screens, poor rolls, poor just about everything. And you know what the worst part is?  I’m not even the least bit surprised.

This is what I’ve come to expect of an Ernie Kent coached team the last few years. Without a superstar creator to open up the half-court offense or dominate the fast break, the team looks lost.

It’s simple: No Lukes or no Aaron Brooks=no winning team.

I don’t know how much longer we have to wait before Mike Belotti and the athletic department does anything about it.

Look, I know Kent is Oregon born and bred, and there is this pipe dream that it would be some sort of basketball romance if he could lead us to the Promised Land. But he keeps disappointing us.  It’s gotten to the point where fans are starting to accept futility.

I asked fellow students today if they were going to the game tonight and the No. 1 response I got was, “There’s no point, we’re just gonna get blown out anyway.”

This is beyond the point of acceptable. When fans lose interest, even interest in being outraged, things are bad.

And tonight is my breaking point.

There was this giant facade of improvement with a 10-4 record in the preseason, but if you look a little deeper, you’ll see that we played a schedule that even Joe Paterno and Urban Meyer would cringe looking at.

Not a single ranked team played, not a single win over a team with an ounce of respectability. Their strength of schedule ranks a pitiful 167th.

When you have to decide if your best win is against Oakland or Colorado State, that’s just pathetic.

And the only reason I can think of why Kent would play a schedule so pathetic is that he wanted to pile up a bunch of easy wins to save face, and his job.

Watching this first half, all the flaws of Duck basketball are in the limelight. Thirty-five percent shooting from the field, 50 percent from the foul line, and nine threes for Arizona State? How can that be acceptable?

On offense, players are setting screens without making contact with the defenders, and then forgetting to roll to the basket. They’re starting plays 15 feet behind the three-point line, so by the time they run the play, what should be a layup is a contested fadeaway 20-footer.

On defense, they aren’t making adjustments. At the end of the first half, ASU made three consecutive three pointers. How can that happen?

Kent should take a note from wordsmith George W. Bush: “Fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can’t get fooled again.”

Oregon State lost to Seattle University by 51 points, but you know what Craig Robinson did? He and his team were ready for Oregon the next game. They were hungry for a win.

Looking at Oregon tonight, coming off a loss to Oregon State in the last Civil War in the history of Mac Court, they seem ambivalent. There’s no fire, no motivation, no sense of urgency.

Right now it’s 71-43, ASU. I’m disgusted.

In the first half, Kent called timeouts in the first half with 8:03 and 4:00 minutes left. Doesn’t he know that in less than 20 seconds, there will be a free TV timeout? If he can’t figure out these little things, it’s no wonder he can’t get his team to run an offense.

I’m sorry, Ernie Kent, but your time is through in Eugene. You can take your perpetual disappointed, incredulous, sourpuss face somewhere else.

We can’t afford to have our program at this level of apathy with a $200 million Matthew Court Arena on the way for next year.

I’m tired of you. And I’m not the only one.

I got a tweet tonight from @NorcalDuck who wrote: “Ernie Kent needs to go. It’s hard to respect the program when you can’t respect the coach.”

There’s more.

I almost went to the game tonight, but I couldn’t get a ticket for my visiting girlfriend. I just got a text from a person who offered to sell me tickets: “F@%k. I’m glad I sold those for what I did. $15 for a $28 ticket. That’s how much the Ducks are worth.”

I think that sums it up.

Goodbyes aren’t always easy, and it might be tough for Kent, but for those of us who have suffered through mediocrity and constantly underperforming teams, it will be about as easy to say goodbye as an Arizona State three-pointer.

So long, Ernie Kent. We have finally outgrown you.

You can follow Keith on twitter  or on his Facebook page.

What I witnessed at Mac Court on Thursday night was not only sad and pitiful, it was absolutely boring! If I hadn't purchased two BINGO cards, I would have left well before half-time. It turns out that I left with about ten minutes to go in the game, fed-up, sickened and pretty much over it. What a waste of an evening out.

Right from the tip-off you could see that Oregon was not getting any good shots. The PAC-10 knows exactly how to defend the Ducks and Ernie hasn't done anything to prove them wrong. With the Ducks heads down in shame and putting in a very weak defensive effort, the Sun Devils lit the Pit on fire! The Ducks have a lot of talent, but they look depressed and it was obvious from the looks on their faces that they are frustrated with what's happening on the court and even more so what's happening on the bench. Last night I saw two things that confirmed for me why Ernie should be let go...immediately!

Firstly, his offense is terrible. They are setting high-pick after high-pick against a defense that is playing a 3/2 zone defense! In a zone defense the defender is assigned to an area, not a specific man. If you set a screen, the next guy in the zone will have no problem picking up the ball handler. If you can somehow swing the ball around the court fast enough, theoretically there should be some open shots. However, the Ducks have not yet figured out how to make this work and they definitely haven't been coached on how to penetrate the zone.

Secondly, Ernie's substituting is ridiculous. He pulls players out of the game after one mistake and makes a big scene while doing it. All too often this seems to hurt the players confidence. He screams and yells at them like he's Bobby Knight, and then you watch as the players either get upset or defeated as they go to the bench. It has become very apparent that the players are losing or have lost respect for Ernie. Dunigan got pulled from the game last night after a missed defensive assignment and he was so fed-up that he didn't even want to hear what Ernie had to say. Is that Ernie's fault or Dunigan's? Sure it takes two to tango, but this scene has played out too many times over the years between Ernie and his players. He does not connect well with his players and he certainly doesn't develop them at a reasonable pace. In my opinion his players don't like the way the team is coached during games, and neither do most fans it seems.

In addition, the players are not allowed to get into any kind of groove on the court. If they are always looking over their shoulder for the next substitution, then how are they supposed to get into the flow of the game? If they are constantly worried that they'll find themselves on the bench after a missed rebound or defensive assignment, then how are they supposed to work through their adversities in order to gain confidence? Ernie substitutes like a mad scientist and it's not working!

Ernie is losing his players and the Ducks are losing fans. This season seems like it could be salvageable with a decisive decision by Mike Bellotti to fire Ernie Kent and promote Mike Dunlap immediately. Dunlap may or may not be the permanent solution, but right now the Ducks need a different voice. It's sickening to watch the ship go down. I am a life-long Duck fan and I have never felt this strongly or negatively about any Duck athletics team. If something major doesn't change in the next couple of weeks, I'm checking out until next season.

Can someone please tell me why Ernie Kent's offense consists of high pick for Porter...forced shot, no rebound. Or, high pick for Armstead, pass to Porter...contested shot, no rebound? Tajuan Porter shot twenty times on Sunday night and made only six of those shots. He missed so many because most of his shots were contested, tipped or blocked. How is it that everyone at Mac Court noticed that Porter was not playing within an offense except for Kent? Ernie just let him keep going and keep missing and keep killing the team. A one shot possession where the shot is a terrible one will not win games coach!

All of this was going down while last week's PAC 10 player of the week Michael Dunigan had only two shots and made both of them in his twenty minutes. I realize he had three personal fouls, which limited his time on the court and consequently limited the number of shots he took. However, Ernie should have gotten him the ball very early in the game. You know that at the very least Dunigan would have drawn some double teams and this would have left other Oregon players open for uncontested shots on a kick-out pass. Not to mention Dunigan would have been under the hoop for some offensive rebounds.

Dunigan's three fouls brings up another question. Why did he end the game with three personal fouls and only twenty minutes? He should have come back on the court much sooner in the second half when we were struggling for baskets and losing rebounds. He has shown that he's tough to stop and his decision-making has made huge strides this season. Besides, he might as well of fouled out early, since keeping him on the bench had the same affect.

I want Coach Kent to succeed, I really do. He has done a lot for the Duck basketball program and we all owe him a ton of gratitude for his time at Oregon. However, the more I watch the more I realize that his in-game coaching skills leave a whole lot to be desired. Losing the last Civil War basketball game at Mac Court was sad to watch and seeing Ernie get let go at the end of this season will be sad to watch as well, but getting a new coach in who knows what an X and an O are will be a huge relief.

I'd love to hear what you think...leave a comment.