Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto
Wooten Grateful For Walton's Wisdom
01/31/19 | Men's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
After a chat with legendary center Bill Walton, Oregon's Kenny Wooten has a new attitude on the offensive end entering Thursday's game at Utah (6:15 p.m., FS1).
Anyone who watches an Oregon men's basketball telecast with Bill Walton on the announcing crew knows the former UCLA and NBA center can cover a wide range of ground.
From extolling the virtues of the Pac-12 — always "the conference of champions" in Walton's view — to the music of his beloved Grateful Dead, to the landmarks in whichever college town he's visiting that day, Walton can run the gamut once he gets to talking.
Late last Thursday, it was a different story. Walton had just finished calling Oregon's heartbreaking loss to Washington. He noticed UO sophomore Kenny Wooten back out on the court well after the game had ended. Walton approached Wooten to chat, and didn't mince words.
"We started talking about my work ethic," Wooten recalled. "It was about how I need to be more aggressive on my touches. When I got the ball, I wasn't really looking to score first."
Wooten had taken just three shots in the loss to the Huskies. He'd been limited to 18 minutes after picking up two early fouls, but taking only a handful of attempts was nothing new. In 15 games this season through that night, Wooten was going nearly six minutes of game action between shots this season.
After talking with Walton, Wooten went home and fired up his laptop. He searched for "Bill Walton Highlights," and immersed himself in studying the array of offensive moves Walton relied on both in college and the NBA. On Sunday, in the Ducks' next game, Wooten put up 10 field-goal attempts in 26 minutes, made eight of them and tied his career high with 20 points.
All that time studying Walton's highlights apparently paid off.
"I was just looking at how he was being aggressive, how he was scoring," Wooten said. "I felt inspired to get my offense going. And I guess it worked."
Wooten will take that lesson learned on the road this week, when the Ducks play Thursday at Utah (6:15 p.m. PT, FS1) and then Saturday at Colorado. It kicks off a critical four-week stretch in which Oregon plays seven games, all against teams below the Ducks in the NCAA's new NET rankings system — and five of them sitting in the bottom half of the Pac-12.
Oregon lost out on a couple of glorious chances to pad the résumé, in losses to UCLA and Washington at home. The Ducks can't afford to let more opportunities slip through their fingers. A newly aggressive Wooten on the offensive end should help in the effort to avoid doing so.
"When you have that kind of athletic ability — where you're able to truly jump over people — your ceiling is extremely high," UO senior Paul White said. "His jump hook is something hard to guard when he gets in the air."
From the time he got to campus, Wooten has made his mark on the defensive end. He had three blocked shots Sunday against Washington State, giving him 116 for his career and moving him into a tie with Blair Rasmussen for third all-time at Oregon in career blocks.
But the Ducks can't afford for Wooten to be one-dimensional, as they scramble to forge a new identity in the absence of injured freshman Bol Bol.
"I think he goes into games really wanting to make an impact on the defensive end," White said. "And offense, he lets it come to him. I think now with the team that we have, he needs to try and be more aggressive offensively."
Being a conscientious teammate has been a factor in Wooten's aggressiveness as well. As in, he so badly wants to do right by the team, it can detract from his own game.
"We talk to him about that a lot," UO coach Dana Altman said. "When he misses a few, he can't let that affect him. It's kind of like when he gets a couple quick fouls — he doesn't want to get that third one, so he goes in a shell. And if he misses a couple shots, he goes into a shell. Good offensive players don't do that."
Until recently, Wooten obviously didn't think of himself as much of an offensive player. But after his chat with Walton, the UO sophomore has a new outlook.
"I had to realize I could be a force offensively, and not to just think all about defense," Wooten said. "Because I really think of myself as just a defensive player. But I think I can do more."
From extolling the virtues of the Pac-12 — always "the conference of champions" in Walton's view — to the music of his beloved Grateful Dead, to the landmarks in whichever college town he's visiting that day, Walton can run the gamut once he gets to talking.
Late last Thursday, it was a different story. Walton had just finished calling Oregon's heartbreaking loss to Washington. He noticed UO sophomore Kenny Wooten back out on the court well after the game had ended. Walton approached Wooten to chat, and didn't mince words.
"We started talking about my work ethic," Wooten recalled. "It was about how I need to be more aggressive on my touches. When I got the ball, I wasn't really looking to score first."
Wooten had taken just three shots in the loss to the Huskies. He'd been limited to 18 minutes after picking up two early fouls, but taking only a handful of attempts was nothing new. In 15 games this season through that night, Wooten was going nearly six minutes of game action between shots this season.
After talking with Walton, Wooten went home and fired up his laptop. He searched for "Bill Walton Highlights," and immersed himself in studying the array of offensive moves Walton relied on both in college and the NBA. On Sunday, in the Ducks' next game, Wooten put up 10 field-goal attempts in 26 minutes, made eight of them and tied his career high with 20 points.
All that time studying Walton's highlights apparently paid off.
"I was just looking at how he was being aggressive, how he was scoring," Wooten said. "I felt inspired to get my offense going. And I guess it worked."
Wooten will take that lesson learned on the road this week, when the Ducks play Thursday at Utah (6:15 p.m. PT, FS1) and then Saturday at Colorado. It kicks off a critical four-week stretch in which Oregon plays seven games, all against teams below the Ducks in the NCAA's new NET rankings system — and five of them sitting in the bottom half of the Pac-12.
Oregon lost out on a couple of glorious chances to pad the résumé, in losses to UCLA and Washington at home. The Ducks can't afford to let more opportunities slip through their fingers. A newly aggressive Wooten on the offensive end should help in the effort to avoid doing so.
"When you have that kind of athletic ability — where you're able to truly jump over people — your ceiling is extremely high," UO senior Paul White said. "His jump hook is something hard to guard when he gets in the air."
From the time he got to campus, Wooten has made his mark on the defensive end. He had three blocked shots Sunday against Washington State, giving him 116 for his career and moving him into a tie with Blair Rasmussen for third all-time at Oregon in career blocks.
But the Ducks can't afford for Wooten to be one-dimensional, as they scramble to forge a new identity in the absence of injured freshman Bol Bol.
"I think he goes into games really wanting to make an impact on the defensive end," White said. "And offense, he lets it come to him. I think now with the team that we have, he needs to try and be more aggressive offensively."
Being a conscientious teammate has been a factor in Wooten's aggressiveness as well. As in, he so badly wants to do right by the team, it can detract from his own game.
"We talk to him about that a lot," UO coach Dana Altman said. "When he misses a few, he can't let that affect him. It's kind of like when he gets a couple quick fouls — he doesn't want to get that third one, so he goes in a shell. And if he misses a couple shots, he goes into a shell. Good offensive players don't do that."
Until recently, Wooten obviously didn't think of himself as much of an offensive player. But after his chat with Walton, the UO sophomore has a new outlook.
"I had to realize I could be a force offensively, and not to just think all about defense," Wooten said. "Because I really think of myself as just a defensive player. But I think I can do more."
Players Mentioned
Kwame Evans Jr. | Postgame vs. Portland
Thursday, December 18
Dana Altman | Postgame vs. Portland
Thursday, December 18
Takai Simpkins & Jackson Shelstad | Postgame vs. UC Davis
Sunday, December 14
Dana Altman | Postgame vs. UC Davis
Sunday, December 14
