Pac-10 Basketball Preview: Oregon, Oregon State

Difficult for Ducks to duplicate success; Beavers will struggle

Dec 11, 2008

College basketball fans from the state of Oregon are in for a rough season. Oregon could struggle while Oregon State seems destined for last place again.

College basketball fans from the state of Oregon are in for a rough season. The Oregon Ducks figure to take a step back from their 9-9 Pacific-10 Conference finish and NCAA Tournament berth of a year ago while the Oregon State Beavers could potentially duplicate their winless conference performance.

The following is part three of a series, previewing the Pac-10 Basketball teams from Oregon.

Kent needs to work his magic to help the Ducks improve this season

Entering his 12th season in Eugene, Ernie Kent has had an impressive run as head coach at Oregon, but he is going to have to turn in one of his best coaching efforts to make this year’s team competitive in conference. A third straight berth in the NCAA Tournament is highly doubtful.

The Ducks have stumbled out to a 4-4 start, which is even less impressive when you consider their results have included a loss in overtime to Oakland and wins over Northern Colorado (by two points) and UC Irvine (by seven).

With only two starters returning from a team that went 18-14 (9-9 in the Pac-10) a year ago, this figured to be a rebuilding year. It is doubtful they can rebuild quick enough to improve on last year’s middle of the road performance.

Two talented freshman signal promising future

The future could be bright, though, as freshmen Michael Dunigan and Garret Sim have been impressive in the early going. Dunigan, a 6-foot-10 center from Chicago’s Farragut Academy, is averaging 11.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting .576 from the field. Sim, a 6-1 guard from Sunset High School in Portland, has chipped in with 11.5 points and 3.1 assists per game while making nearly 50 percent of his 3-point attempts (16 of 34).

The littlest Duck, 5-6 guard Tajuan Porter, leads the team in scoring at 14.8 points per game. He has also made just under two steals per contest while making 22 of 55 attempts from 3-point range. Porter made a team-high 83 3-pointers a year ago.

The other returning starter, besides Porter, is 6-6 junior forward Joevan Catron. He is averaging 9.4 points, 2.9 assists and more than two steals per game. His biggest impact is on the boards, where he has improved his average to 8.3 rebounds per game, nearly three more per game than a year ago.

New head coach but so far looks like same old Beavers

Craig Robinson takes over as head coach at Oregon State after leading Brown to a school-record 19 victories last season. He won’t come close to that figure in his first year at Corvallis, as he inherits a team that had a dismal, 6-25 record a year ago. OSU went 0-18 in the Pac-10 and lost its final 21 games of the season.

The Beavers’ losing streak stretched to 25 before they defeated Fresno State, but right now they sit at 1-5. That includes a two-point loss to Howard, a one-point loss to Yale, and a 3-point loss in overtime to Montana State.

Long-suffering Beavers’ fans will have to continue to be patient as Robinson has a lot of work to do. Oregon State hasn’t played in the NCAA Tournament since 1989-90 season, when arguably the greatest player in OSU history -- Gary Payton – was the conference Player of the Year.

OSU should at least be improved

So far, newcomer Daniel Deane, a transfer from Utah, has been the leader of a balanced team. The 6-8 junior forward tops the team at 10 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, and he has also made 9 of 21 3-point attempts.

Senior 6-2 guard Rickey Claitt has moved from last year’s bench to this year’s starting lineup and is averaging 9.7 points and 3.2 assists while making nearly 50 percent of his 3-point tries (7 of 16).

Brothers Josh (6-3 junior guard) and Seth (6-5 junior swingman) Tarver return to the starting lineup from a year ago and are averaging 9.8 and 8.0 points, respectively. Seth also pulls down 5.0 rebounds per contest. The other returning starters from last year’s squad are Roeland Schaftenaar, a 6-11 junior post player from the Netherlands, and Omari Johnson, a 6-7 sophomore forward. Schaftenaar is averaging 9.2 points and 3.3 rebounds while Johnson has averages of 8.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

The copyright of the article Pac-10 Basketball Preview: Oregon, Oregon State in College Basketball is owned by Billy Rhodes. Permission to republish Pac-10 Basketball Preview: Oregon, Oregon State in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.