Front-Running Ducks Provide History Lesson

After seven Pac-10 games, Oregon is in first place.

That might not be a shock to those who have seen the Ducks play this season. But for those who have watched the Ducks play for the past half-century it is.

You see, it has been 46 years since the Ducks were in first place in the conference after seven games. In 1954, the Ducks shared the lead in the Pacific Coast Conference North Division with Oregon State. This year, the Ducks are 6-1 and tied with Stanford, USC and Arizona.

The Ducks’ 15-3 record is the school’s best since they started 14-2 in 1938-39 en route to the NCAA title.

And the reason for their rise to the top of the Pac-10 and into the top 25 isn’t that difficult to figure out the Ducks have top talent in four of their five starting positions.

“Oregon has more weapons right now than Arizona or UCLA,” USC coach Henry Bibby said following the Ducks’ win over the Trojans. “This team is better than people think. They’re the (best) running team in the Pac-10 right now.”

Oregon has two players, A.D. Smith and Alex Scales, averaging 15 points per game. Point guard Darius Wright is third in the conference in assists (5.28 per game) and has learned when to push it and when to set up the offense. And off the bench junior forward Bryan Bracey is 23 of 30 in the last four games and shooting 67 percent on the season.

Then there is overall team play. The Ducks have learned what shots they should take and when they should take them. That has allowed them to take over the conference lead in field-goal percentage (50 percent), despite that they shoot 30 percent from 3-point range.

Oregon also is the conference’s top free-throw shooting team at 74 percent.

“Ernie (Oregon coach Ernie Kent) has done a great job of designing an offense that fits them,” said Arizona coach Lute Olson. `They are probably the most athletic team in the conference in terms of the perimeter three guys (Scales, Wright and Freddie Jones). They are just great athletes. It doesn’t look like any of them have ever seen a shot they don’t like and that’s how Ernie wants them to play.”

That’s not how Olson will want the Ducks to play when they match up with Arizona today. With only seven scholarship players, two of whom are run-and-gun freshman guards Gilbert Arenas and Jason Gardner, Olson knows he must dictate the pace of the game from the start or Oregon could push Arizona out of the Pac-10 lead.

Of course, Kent has his work cut out as well. The Ducks have won only three times in the McKale Center, the last victory coming in 1985. Arizona has also won 16 of 17 over the Ducks.

“We have the depth and firepower to play with Arizona,” said Kent. “The question is if we have the composure to play with Arizona.”

Player of the week

Oregon forward A.D. Smith was named the Pac-10 player of the week after averaging 16.5 points, six rebounds, two steals and two assists in Oregon’s wins over UCLA and USC. For the week Smith shot 55 percent (16 of 29) from the floor.

Road rules

There is no place like home, unless of course you happen to be in the Pac-10. So far, Pac-10 teams are 16-20 at home in conference games this season and 20-16 on the road. Washington State and Oregon State are winless at home. Washington, Cal and UCLA each only have one homecourt win. And Oregon and Stanford, the two toughest places to play in the conference, have also been beaten at home. Both are undefeated on the road.

One thing that may fix Cal’s 1-4 home record is more fire alarms. So far, the Bears have had three fire alarms in the new Haas Pavilion. (Only one was before a Pac-10 game.) The Bears won all three games.

“I’m going to buy some stock in fire alarms,” Cal coach Ben Braun said. “They’ve been pretty good to us.”

News and notes

Oregon State needs to go 5-6 for its first winning season since Gary Payton left… . During its four-game slide, Arizona State has had to play three ranked teams after they had lost in the previous outing (Arizona, UCLA and North Carolina State)… . Stanford is 24-4 in road games the last three seasons, including 18-3 in the Pac-10… . Through seven Pac-10 games, Oregon State is 0-5 at home and 2-0 on the road. Through seven games last year, the Beavers were 4-0 at home and 0-3 on the road… . USC set a Pac-10 record by hitting 20 3-pointers in their win at Oregon State… . Eight Pac-10 freshmen are averaging double digits in scoring… . Deon Luton is Washington’s leading scorer this year with 13.5 ppg. But the senior has yet to lead the team in scoring in 11 road contests… . Stanford’s Jarron and Jason Collins have shot a combined 20 of 22 from the floor in the last two games… . Cal’s 34-point margin of victory over WSU last week was its largest league win since it beat WSU 98-57 in 1973.