Tajuan Porter/AP photo Ed Reinke
We continue our preseason assessments of Pac-10 men’s basketball teams with the team we expect to finish seventh, Oregon.
Washington State and USC have already been previewed (see Washington State preview here; see USC preview here), as we look at the conference teams in inverse order of predicted finish. Stanford will be previewed last, which is also where we expect the Cardinal to wind up.
At No. 7 we have Oregon, which was the youngest and worst team in the conference last season and will be slightly older and slightly better this season.
One of the most important additions was assistant coach Mike Dunlap, who was an assistant at Arizona last season and could have been the Wildcats head coach last season if he wanted. He comes to Eugene with a reputation for player development, and head coach Ernie Kent needs some of that.
The only certain starter is Tajuan Porter, and Kent insists he will keep Porter at the point-guard spot this season after failed attempts to make him a point guard in the past. Porter’s shoot-first, think-second mentality does not lend itself to the position, but apparently he is modifying his game to fit the role. We’ll see.
His game does fit the uptempo style Kent wants to play. He plans to press for 40 minutes, which means the Ducks will be back to their high-scoring ways. It also means a lot of players will see court time.
Highly touted freshman small forward Jamil Wilson will probably start and could be the team’s No. 2 scorer this season (behind Porter), and he may be good enough to push the Ducks up a few spots in the standings.
Of course, the Ducks thought the same thing last season with 6-10 center Michael Dunigan, who did not have as big an impact as a freshman as everyone expected. His status on this year’s team has not been established. Dunigan has lost quite a bit of weight, which should help him keep pace in the Ducks’ fast-paced style, but he did not do much in Oregon’s first exhibition game and it’s questionable whether he will even start.
It looks like guard LeKendric Longmire, the team’s No. 2 scorer last season, and Joevan Catron, the Ducks top rebounder a year ago, could be in the starting five, and junior college transfer forward Jeremy Jacob will get quite a bit of court time, too.
The three factors for Oregon are: 1. How well can Porter handle the point-guard duties? 2. How big of an impact will Wilson have? 3. Will Dunigan turn into a productive Pac-10 player?
The Ducks’ nonconference schedule is soft, so they should come into Pac-10 play with a pretty good record, but we still think they are lagging, which is why we pegged them for seventh.
For more Bay Area college sports, see jakestakeonsports.com.
See also:
RANKING SCHEDULE STRENGTH OF PAC-10 MEN'S TEAMS
APPEL NAMES PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
RANKING THE SCHEDULE STRENGTH OF PAC-10 WOMEN'S TEAMS
STANFORD'S MEN'S SCHEDULE A LITTLE TOUGHER
STANFORD WOMEN ATTEMPT 39 THREE-POINTERS IN EXHIBITION
TWO CAL FRESHMEN COULD MAKE BEARS CONTENDERS
STANFORD WOMEN UNANIMOUS PICK TO WIN PAC-10
STANFORD WOMEN ATTEND POINT-GUARD COLLEGE
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