SportsLine.com Report
March 17, 2000

Round 1: Coast-to-coast layup sinks Ducks

Leading 71-70 in the final seconds of overtime, Oregon had to defend the whole court, keeping Seton Hall from racing 94 feet for a good shot. But it didn't happen. Pirates guard Shaheen Holloway drove the length of the floor and kissed his layup off the glass and through the basket with 1.9 seconds to go, eliminating the Ducks in the East Regional in Buffalo.

Holloway weaved his way through a group of players, separating himself from the defense to get a clean look at the basket from directly down the middle of the lane.

"In hindsight, there isn't a lot you could do," Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. "We put our biggest, quickest defender on him in (Alex) Scales, and we double-teamed the ball in the backcourt to make him take some of the time off so it would be a hurried-shot situation."

The Ducks had to chase the Pirates on the scoreboard for most of the game, finally tying at 62 with 1:10 to go when Bryan Bracey banked in a tough, short shot. Bracey made two free throws with 12.7 seconds left, giving Oregon the lead for the second time. Rimas Kaukenas scored with 3.3 seconds left to force overtime.

"It's survive and advance," said Oregon guard Darius Wright, who had five points, four assists, and four turnovers. "That's what we had to do."

A.D. Smith led Oregon with 17 points. Scales had 16. The Ducks were making just their second appearance in the tournament since 1961.

How They Got There

The Ducks received an at-large bid after finishing a somewhat surprising third in the Pac-10 Conference. The NCAA Tournament appearance is the first for Oregon since Jerry Green led the Ducks to the 1995 tourney, and is only the sixth appearance in school history.

The Ducks started off 8-1 and encountered little turbulence the rest of the way except for a 2-3 stretch midway through the Pac-10 season, punctuated by a stunning home loss to downtrodden Washington.

Otherwise, the Ducks were consistent, as their only other conference losses were to Stanford (home and away) and at UCLA and Arizona.

Starting Lineup

• PG Darius Wright (6-0, 179, Sr.): One of the most underrated players in the country, Wright is the engine that makes the Ducks' offense go. Wright didn't put up the greatest numbers, but was one of the best clutch players around, as evidenced by his winning shot against ASU, and then making all 12 of his free throws in the win over Arizona. Wright made better than 85 percent of his free throws this year to lead the Pac-10. A heady player who shouldn't get rattled by anything he sees in the NCAA Tournament.
• SG Frederick Jones (6-4, 210, So.): A talent who struggled early in the year and was benched for a time. But he has come on strong of late, including scoring a career-high 27 in the win over Arizona. A former Oregon high school player of the year who is the most notable of Kent's in-state recruits so far.
• C Flo Hartenstein (6-9, 265, Jr.): Not much of a scorer, but a decent rebounder and defender and an inspirational player who always plays hard. He is the one true weakness on this team, however, and is the one player opponents feel comfortable leaving to double-team someone else. May have to come through a bit more offensively for Oregon to go far in the tournament.
• SF Alex Scales (6-4, 185, Sr.): A JC transfer who emerged as one of the Pac-10's best players in his second year at Oregon. Scales was huge late in the year, scoring 31 points in the win over Arizona and being named as the conference's player of the week. Scales is Oregon's most dangerous one-on-one offensive threat and is at his best driving to the basket, though he is also a decent 3-point shooter.
• PF A.D. Smith (6-8, 233, Sr.): A four-year letterman who grew up in Eugene watching the Ducks, he is the last real link to the Jerry Green era. Smith suffered a broken cheekbone at USC on Feb. 26 and was first ruled out for the year. But he put on a protective mask and was able to play 25 minutes in the win over Arizona, scoring eight points and grabbing four rebounds, and is likely to return to the starting lineup for the NCAA Tournament. Green is somewhat similar to Stanford's Mark Madsen in that he isn't the prettiest player, but he does all the right things at the right times. He is Oregon's best rebounder and best post-up scoring threat.

Keys to Success

The Ducks may be the most exciting team to watch in the Pac-10. They like to run whenever possible and seem to play their best when the most is at stake.

Oregon's fast-break offense, which led to a ton of easy baskets, allowed the Ducks to lead the Pac-10 in field goal percentage for most of the season before settling into third behind UCLA and Stanford. Oregon's frenetic pace also forced opponents into more than 17 turnovers a game, third-most in the conference.

Oregon is at its best when forcing turnovers and running. But when forced into a half-court game, the Ducks don't fare as well. They don't have the greatest inside game, especially at center where Flo Hartenstein is almost a non-threat to score. At 30.8 percent, the Ducks also ranked last in the Pac-10 in 3-point shooting this year.

Oregon isn't the greatest defensive or rebounding team in the nation, either. It grabbed only 34 rebounds a night -- next-to-last in the Pac-10 -- and allowed teams to shoot almost 43 percent, fifth in the conference.

One of the big reasons for Oregon's success in close games, however, is that it made better than 74 percent of its free throws -- by far the best in the conference.

The Coach

Ernie Kent was already a big favorite in Eugene when he took over three years ago, having played for the Ducks in the mid-70s as part of Dick Harter's Kamikaze Kids. Kent, who came to Oregon off a successful stint at St. Mary's of the California, has only enhanced his reputation since, by making his team fun to watch and embracing the school's basketball history.

Oregon has always had one of the best homecourt advantages in the country thanks to ancient Mac Court, a tiny gym that seats barely more than 9,000 fans.

Kent's predecessor, Jerry Green, wanted to bulldoze the place and build a modern, new arena. But Kent loves Mac Court and is trying to bring back its glory days of the 70s, when Harter's teams sold out almost every game. It appears to be working -- Oregon played to 90 percent capacity this year, averaging better than 8,000.

Kent did have a few rough moments his first two years at Oregon, particularly when four players quit the team in a two-month span last year. But Kent said that was simply the inevitable weeding-out process that happens any time a new coach takes over, and this year's success is proving him right.

The Bench

The Ducks have only 11 scholarship players on their roster, thanks in part to the players who left during and immediately after last season. And what's on the bench isn't the greatest around, as Kent has seemed more than happy to go with his starters almost all the way recently.

JC transfer forward Bryan Bracey may be the best of the bunch. A 6-7, 215-pounder, Bracey had some great games off the bench this season, including a 10-for-10 night at Washington, and may have to start if Smith can't go. Otherwise, the Oregon bench sometimes didn't do a whole lot -- the Ducks got only 12 points off the bench in the 86-81 win over Arizona, with eight coming from Smith.

JC transfer guard Ben Lindquist started in place of Jones for a while early in the season, but has been rarely used down the stretch. JC transfer forward Julius Hicks, expected to be a bruising presence inside, instead has played softer than hoped and also has done little recently. JC transfer guard Anthony Norwood also hasn't done much recently.

Sophomore Chris Christoffersen is a 7-foot-2 center who could be called upon should Oregon run into a big team in the tournament. But he has barely played this season.

Big things were expected of junior guard David Jackson, a transfer from Utah, but a knee injury sidelined him most of the season and he didn't play in the win over Arizona.

Offense

Oregon likes to play at a fast-tempo. Wright pushes the ball up the court at every opportunity, with Scales and Jones filling the wings. When those three are clicking, the Ducks are tough to beat.

Oregon isn't at its best when forced to play a half-court game, as Smith and Bracey are the only real post-up threats, and Scales and Jones have each struggled at times with their outside shot.

The lack of a low-post presence is probably Oregon's biggest weakness as it heads into the NCAA Tournament, which makes the return of Smith all the more important.

Defense

Oregon likes to pressure with its guards as much as it can to force opponents into an up-tempo game. But that also allows opponents to get easy baskets.

With the 6-9 Hartenstein the biggest player on the roster save for the little-used Christoffersen, Oregon would seem to be in trouble if matched against a big, physical team in the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks did play Stanford relatively tough in each game, losing by 14 and 15 points, but staying close most of the way before allowing the Cardinal to pull away at the end.

The Ducks seemed to have a knack for getting the key stop when really needed, especially late in games.