SB Nation User Blog: everett

Game-day Thread?

everett — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:09:38 -0000

This should do until the real one goes out.

Blackout:

Was the blackout thing just a rumor? If they meant to publicize this and make it happen, they failed! Everyone I have talked to this morning ( who doesn't waste hours on sports blogs) said they didn't know anything about it. When Penn State is doing a white out, everyone in the country knows, and it works. So I am a little sad.

Unis:

Excited about the unis.

Arizona:

I have heard spreads from one point to one touchdown. hopefully this is an exciting game. if it is not exciting, we better be up by a million.

J will to get the start?

Buthol report that he is; I trust him (didn't even click on the link).

Masoli:

is going to have a good game, i can feel it. He came out of his shell a little last week, and if he has worked out some of the accuracy bugs, we may be in for a good one.

GO DUCKS!!!!!

Byrd tossed from practice, may be disciplined.

everett — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:46:08 -0000

Byrd tossed from practice, may be disciplined.

Not really sure what happened here. The article says Boyd threw Blount down, and a scuffle started from there. Byrd apparently got out of control and was tossed.

I really hope Bellotti doesn't suspend Byrd.

Men's Basketball -- Ducks 116 Raiders 71

everett — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:13:33 -0000

What a difference a week can make.

The Men's Basketball team played the Southern Oregon Raiders tonight in their second and final exhibition game. I didn't know what to think coming in to this game, and had a fair amount of apprehension, one, after the scary performance last week, and, 2, that we were set to play a school that has had "University" status for almost a whole decade, and not just one measly term like NCU. My fears were completely dashed though, when the score was 23-3 about five minutes in to the game. The game never really got closer than that.

The Good

Once again, it was the Freshman who really inspired this week; it could be because our team is predominately made up of Freshman, or it could be that we had some pretty huge gaps in our recruiting classes the past few years. Probably both. Either way, there is going to be a lot of minutes played by the yungins this year, so pray for them. Overall this was a much better week than last; the final score is probably a fairly accurate reflection of the overall tone of the game.

Offensively, the boys seemed way more in rhythm this week. Their plays seemed well orchestrated and competently executed. Our point guard rotation was more effective this week. Players moved off of the ball well for the most part, and were much more often in useful places as opposed to in the way of play development. Screens were getting set at the top of the key, and plays were developing well from there. It almost looked like they had done it before.

Defensively, the Ducks were able to contain much better than last week. SOU was having trouble making anything work (at least in the first half), and their frustration was apparent. more great blocks this week; at one point Catron and Crittle teamed up to send a ball into the crowd: half a block each I suppose.

The Bad

Not a whole lot bad to say about today. Coach Kent is obviously using these exhibition games to test out different player combos and see what is going to work and what is not once we start playing for money, so I wouldn't put too much stock in this stuff. Just some observations:

On offense, player control is probably going to be an issue all season; with the exceptions of TP and Drew Wiley (surprising to me on the latter) no one looked in control the majority of the night. Nearly everyone looked surprised to have the ball in their hands at some point of the game.

On D Oregon looked really bad at times in the second half. Granted, they were up by a fair margin, but still... They didn't execute on several turnover opportunities, which always really burns my cookies. SOU put up a lot of uncontested pull up jumpers, which would be expected if they were a NCAA D1 team, but alas they are an NAIA D2 team. So, not so great here, but it was way better than last week.

Notes

Dorsainvil was suited up, but sat out most of warmups and never moved off of the pine. Injured? Benched?
TP started at the point this week, and was fairly effective there. His downcourt vision appears to be improving, as he played very well in the transition; getting the ball up the court and into open players hands. Additionally he penetrated really well, and was able to keep defenders several feet back. Defensively, I can't help but think that we are in for a long season if Porter can't figure out a way too stick with these scrappy PGs.
Garret Sim was my major positive of the night, as he played a lot of minutes, and passed and shot the ball well. Coach Kent gave him quite a few minutes at the 1, but he really played much more effectively at the 2. Running the Ball, Sim just never showed any quickness or explosiveness, which even my wife noticed.
Voogd, on the other hand, had a really great game at the Point. I am excited about Ben; he moved the ball well, directed plays confidently, and seems really quick. If he can dial his shot in, he is going to be very effective.
With no Dorsainvil, Dunnigan and Crittle got all the Center minutes, and both looked really good this week. Dunnigan got the start, and the majority of the minutes, which was deserved as his play was a lot more polished this week. He lead the team with 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Crittle had a good game as well, playing tough down low. He has a knack for playing the post, and uses his body well to make points for himself.
Takimoto said last week that Drew Wiley was Luke Jackson 2.0. He really looked it tonight. Drew hit some really composed looking threes, and played excellent both on and off the ball. He's backing up Catron for now, but no reason he can't play the three as well.
Longmire and Dunnigan have been practicing. These two guys had awesome chemistry tonight each hitting the other with no-look passes for momentum points at different times. Longmire was another player that looked transformed on the floor tonight; he played aggressively and smart most of the night.
Humphrey: the only part of tonight's game that was not an improvement over last week's was Humphrey's play. He hit two big threes, but he also missed two lay-ups (one of which was followed by a HUGE dunk by Drew Wiley that garnered the biggest applause of the night). Humphrey probably just had an off-night, but he really looked like he was trying to force things. Until he gets settled he may have a tough time.
Starters: Porter, Humphrey, Longmire, Catron, and Dunnigan

Men's Basketball: Ducks: 82, Beacons: 56

everett — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:03:51 -0000

Editors note: AtQ reader everett wrote a great piece on the recent Oregon Basketball exhibition game. It's quite detailed and long, covering the team, as well as all individual players. Check out the whole piece after the jump.

The Ducks played the powerful force known as the Northwest Christian University Beacons in their first exhibition game of the season. I had the pleasure to be there, and thought I might share my reactions.

The Bad

The ducks came out flat-footed, and clunky. they made NCU look like Gonzaga in the first half. At one point the Beacons were up 14-7, and the score was 30-25 in favor of the Ducks at the end of the first half in which the Ducks shot 12/32. Worse, the Ducks were out-rebounded 39-38. Ouch.

On offense,the Ducks were out of sync at times and just plain atrocious at others. They had trouble executing plays, passes were made for cuts that never happened, and there was maybe three successful screens set all night.

It is clear that the defensive issues they had last year have not been settled in the off-season; TP didn't have the strength to stop their bigger point guard, and Brown was not quick enough laterally to be effective against their smaller guard. There is no real center on this team; the Ducks are not a big team, and while that didn't play a big role tonight, no doubt it will in the future as we play teams with aggressive centers who can score.

Oh yeah... Did I mention that 8 out of the 15 guys ion the bench tonight were Freshman?

The Good

After a 5-0 run by the beacons, to start the second half by tying the game at thirty, the Ducks decided to start playing some basketball. Now, NCU is no basketball powerhouse, but at this point (I and the rest of Mac Court) was ready for any sign of life; the boys delivered.

The Ducks shot 20/30 from the floor in the second half which was a relief; there was offensive execution, and more times than not plays ended in points. Defensively they played much more effectively in the second half, and were able to frustrate the Beacons offense with double teams that often resulted in steals or blocked shots.

Surprisingly the Freshman stole the show. TP dazzled the crowd with some pretty threes toward the end of the game, but it was the youngins that garnered the most applause. There was not one of them that looked Pac-10 ready, but I was impressed by their athleticism, and willingness to make the game happen.

Veterans:

Catron:

The clear leader of the team. In warmups, Catron appeared to be the only player having fun. On the floor he played with a confidence and swagger that carried the team at times. He is still the same old Catron with the ball in his hands: sort of clumsy, but his willingness to take a shot is always nice.

Porter:

The little guy looked really good once he got his thing going tonight. He a few stop-and-pop plays tonight that reminded me of 06-07 Porter. His shot is not going to be a problem. Defensively Porter is going to have the same difficulties he has had in the past; he is not big enough to really challenge a shot, and he was even getting beat on crossovers tonight.

Brown:

Lackluster. That would be my one word description of browns play tonight. He didn't look bad, he just didn't look good. he was not looking to penetrate with the ball in his hand, and was not moving effectively off the ball. Notably, Brown got the start at point guard while TP was initially in as the 2. I know he played a lot of PG last year, but I was surprised to see him get the start.

Dorsainnvil:

My pick for performance of the night. 10 points and 5 rebounds in 11 minutes. He had trouble with fouls as usual, and he played against a midget, but it was nice to see him show up anyway. He has gained some moxie in the offseason, and if I'm not mistaken about 15 pounds of muscle as well; he was big last season, but looked outright huge tonight.

Odia:

Same ol' Odia tonight. Consistent yet unremarkable, Odia should be a big part of our offense this year, and I'm sure he should average more than 1.8 ppg.

Longmire:

Not what I expected out of Longmire. I told my wife prior to the game that I thought he would be the leading scorer tonight; perhaps almost completely as a result of my high expectations, Longmire was unimpressive. That being said he played aggresively, and confidently, so we'll see.

Voogd:

It was good to see Ben play a little tonight, but I don't see him playing a huge role this season.

Freshman:

Michael Dunigan:

Earlier I said that there is no real center on this team, and no doubt you will say "how bout Dunigan?" Well, at 6-10 he's the biggest thing we got; unfortunately he is r-a-w. Dunigan looked like he has the ability to live up to his hype, but he is not there yet. He was often sloppy on D, picking up wholly unnecessary fouls, but he was also fairly dominant at times blocking one shot about 5 rows up. Be excited, but patient with this one.

Crittle:

The other "center." He may have played C in high school, but not at this level; I just don't see it, he's not big enough. Crittle played a little cleaner than Dunigan, and I think that the two will be a great big combo at some point down the road. He was fairly effective with the ball in his hand, and defensively he was dominant (again, we were playing midgets). He is pretty deep on the depth chart for now, but I think he will still get some minutes.

Humphrey:

The third Mean Streets guy, Humphrey was the only player who was notable in the first half. He showed range and control hitting back to back threes, and I thought for just a minute he was going to take the game over. He didn't. Still, Humphrey could see quite a few minutes this season as the fourth or fifth guard.

Williams:

Perhaps the most obvious feature of our team, as evidenced by tonight's game, is that we are really loaded with mid-level talent at the two. Williams, good as he is, is going to have to play the high post (as he did most of the night) to be a productive part of this team. He shot the ball well, and showed some toughness slashing with out the ball in his hands.

Sim:

Of the Freshman getting significant minutes tonight Sim was the least impressive. He was ineffective with the ball in his hands, and had trouble distributing the ball to his team.

So... Thats it. I think it is gonna be a fun season. Thanks for reading. Goodnight.

Chung to wear #29 to honor Doxey

everett — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:35:35 -0000

The Ducks have announced that Patrick Chung will wear Todd Doxey’s No. 29 jersey for Saturday’s game against Washington. The fifth-year senior captain, who is the physical and emotional leader of the secondary, had a special connection with Doxey in that the late redshirt freshman was thought to be his eventual successor at the rover position.

http://www.goducks.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1569715

Chung is such a classy dude; I'm really glad he changed his mind about that whole NFL thing.

New Student Ticket System

everett — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:23:34 -0000

Well, the first round of online availability only Student Tickets are out. So far 3 out of 9 people I have talked to did not get tickets; only one of them admitted to logging on late (and by late I mean 30 minutes after first availability).

I have mixed feelings on this issue. The hours, upon hours, upon hours of my undergrad spent waiting in line make me feel that it is a little cheap that people can just instantly log on to a computer and have a ticket, but as a law student, there is absolutely no way that I could spend the necessary time in line to get a ticket anymore.

I think the new system will be good in the long run, but we'll see. The true test will be how many unclaimed tickets there are for W.

The current rule is that if you miss two games that you get a ticket for, you are not allowed a ticket for the next game. I think this may be a bit lenient; why not penalize missing one game that you had a ticket for, with a chance to appeal?

No clue what I'm talking about? Heres the rules:

http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&KEY=&ATCLID=24631

Looking forward

everett — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:54:00 -0000

What are we gonna do with all these twos? Will Bayless ever be able to play the one effectively? Time will tell if the pieces of the puzzle are gonna fit, in the meantime It might be fun to consider some future moves KP may or may not be considering.

The blazers probably have three starting shooting guards right now, so we'll say that one of them is almost certainly gone prior to summer league 2009. Who else? Martell has got tons of potential, but IMO may be one of the more movable players on the team, so he'll be in the package. And finally, can we get a point guard? we are gonna have no Franchise, and no Raif, so the room is there. A real PG in Portland would be so sweet, and we could let go of one of our not quite starters in either Blake or Sergio.

Possible offer:

Rudy/Bayless, Martell, Sergio/Blake and a pick or two, cash, etc... for???

Is a big name PG possibe? CP, or Williams? Who else might be a prospect?