The New GuyFriday, November 21, 12:45 p.m. PT
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| Coach Kent at the podium at the Pac-10 media day's group interview session. |
It’s been a crazy first month on the job, and I am just now finding time to post my first blog entry. In my first four weeks I worked the Oregon media day, Pac-10 media day, two home exhibition games and two non-conference regular-season home games. Now we are in southern California and then on to Hawaii for what amounts to a seven-day road trip. Let’s just say, I’ve hit the ground running.
Greg Walker already posted a blog entry on the Oregon media day, so I will spare you any redundant information. If you haven’t glanced at it, take a look here.
Let us open with Pac-10 media day, which took place Oct. 30 at the Hilton in Los Angeles. Some big names in college basketball joined Oregon’s Ernie Kent and Tajuan Porter at the one-day media session.
Tony Bennett (Washington State), Tim Floyd (USC), Ben Howland (UCLA), Lorenzo Romar (Washington), Herb Sendek (Arizona State) joined Kent as the familiar coaching faces at the media
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| TP with Fox Sports Net. |
From a media standpoint, the Oregon crew had it down. Coach Kent, the longest tenured-coach in the league, knew what to expect and when to expect it. Kent, in his 12th season at the helm at UO, has done enough interviews to predict what the next question will be. From a media relations standpoint, he made my job very easy.
TP was also in a comfort zone, fielding interviews from several media outlets. Here he is with Fox Sports Net’s Jen Mueller for a player spotlight which will air at some point this season.
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| TP takes the wheel on the return flight. |
I’m not going to lie to you, I was slightly nervous about TP handling the jet. That was until I looked over at Coach Kent – who seemed un-phased by his junior guard leading the way.
Once we hit the ground in Eugene, it was back to work again as the exhibition schedule was just days away. The Ducks started slow against Northwest Christian, before pulling away for an 82-56 victory in the first of two preseason contests. UO dominated the next exhibition, cruising to a 116-71 win over Southern Oregon.
Bring on the regular-season. Northern Colorado, of the Big Sky Conference, came to McArthur Court with their A game last Friday. The Ducks, who shot a treacherous 33.8 percent from the field, held a double-digit lead at the seven-minute mark in the second half. But the Bears wouldn’t fade away –
pulling close before eventually falling 66-64. UO won the game despite having its two stars, Tajuan
Porter and Joevan Catron, finish just
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| Coach Kent and Josh Crittle assist a fan's photo op request with TP. |
points.
Oakland was next on tap, a Monday night game at Mac Court. The Ducks struggled from the field again, shooting just 38.5 percent on the game (22.2 percent in the second half). Despite a couple of stand-out performances from Catron (13 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists) and freshman sensation Michael Dunigan (15 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks), UO dropped a close overtime decision.
This brings us up to date. Like with any airport travel, the delays are inevitable. Oregon was scheduled to leave around 3:30 on Thursday, instead the team loaded the plane at around 6 p.m. After a short pit-stop in San Francisco, the team arrived at John Wayne Airport in Orange County a little after 9 p.m.
Friday’s game with UC Irvine is the first road test for the squad, and it kick-starts a five-game road stretch that includes three games at the 2008 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational and a road game at Utah.
More to come from the islands, technology permitting ...
