2004-05 MBB Wrap: Ducks Record Fourth Straight Winning Season
The 2004-05 season left everyone -- players, staff and certainly fans -- wanting more than what the final results showed. The ledger read 14 wins and 13 losses and a 6-12 mark in the Pac-10.
But there are positive ways to look at the year -- 12 of the 13 losses came against teams that made the postseason in 2005 (9 NCAA, 3 NIT). And seven of those losses came by 10 points or less, which might be expected from a young team with no seniors to carry it through the rough spots.
FOUR WINNING SEASONS IN A ROW . . . In spite of the disappointment that comes with dropping 10 of its last 13 games, Oregon did register a significant accomplishment in gaining its fourth winning season in a row.
BUT WHAT HAVE YOU DONE LATELY? . . . What it means is that Oregon is one of only three Pac-10 schools with a winning record each of the last four years -- Arizona and Stanford are the other two. And then there are these facts:
*Oregon is the only Pac-10 school outside of the "big three" (Arizona, Stanford, UCLA) to win the league title in the last 15 years (2002).
*Oregon is the only school from the Northwest that has won a Pac-10 title (2002) and the Pac-10 Tournament (2003) since the tournament’s inception in 1987.
*Oregon is the only school from the Northwest to have reached an NCAA regional final (2002) since 1999.
It takes considerably more than flash and fireworks to put those accomplishments in your ledger.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE . . . Four straight winning seasons isn’t all that common in Eugene -- that’s something the Ducks haven’t done in nearly 30 years. Coach Jim Haney’s last four teams (1975-78) went 21-9, 19-11, 19-10 and 16-11, respectively. And for those keeping track, that’s seven straight .500 or better seasons for coach Ernie Kent (1999-05). That’s the second-longest span of its kind in school history, surpassed only by the eight .500 or better seasons accumlulated by W.J. Reinhart in 1934 (17-8) and 1935 (16-12) and continued by Hall of Famer Howard Hobson through the 1941 campaign (1936/20-11, 1937/20-9, 1938/25-8, 1939 NCAA Champions/29-5, 1940/19-12, 1941/18-18).
PAC-10 HONORS . . . Oregon’s Malik Hairston and Bryce Taylor were named to the 2005 Pac-10 all-freshman team, while sophomore guard earned all-Pac-10 honorable mention status. It was the first time two Ducks have made the all-freshman team since Luke Ridnour and Luke Jackson in 2001.
DUCKS LEAD IN ALL-PAC-10 FRESHMEN . . . Since 2001, no school has produced more all-Pac-10 freshmen than Oregon’s five: Luke Ridnour and Luke Jackson in 2001, Aaron Brooks in 2004 and Malik Hairston and Bryce Taylor in 2005.
ACADEMIC ACCOLADES . . . Sophomore Jordan Kent was named to the Pac-10’s All-Academic second team for his 3.11 GPA in Business Administration. It is the sixth year in Ernie Kent’s eight seasons that Oregon has placed a player on the Pac-10’s all-academic squads.
QUICK HITS...A brief look at 2004-05 highlights:
* 1,000-point Freshmen. Oregon’s five freshmen combined to score nearly 1,000 points in 2004-05. The five (Malik Hairston, Bryce Taylor, Maarty Leunen, Chamberlain Oguchi and Ray Schafer) totalled 992 points collectively on the 2004-05 season.
* Mr. 300. For the first time in school history, Oregon had two freshmen score 300 points in the same season. Malik Hairston scored 355 points, while Bryce Taylor added 314.
* Rookie Production. Oregon’s six newcomers accounted for more than half of Oregon’s offense (37.5 ppg/52.9 percent) and 44 percent of its rebounds (15.2 rpg).
* Babes in Toyland. Oregon’s five freshmen logged 94.0 minutes per game -- that ranked sixth nationally and second in the Pac-10 to UCLA, whose freshmen averaged about 102 minutes per game. Georgia, with nine freshmen, led the nation at 128 minutes per game.
* Defense Stays Strong. Oregon held 15 opponents to 70 points or lower in 2004-05.
* Deep Bench. Oregon played at least 10 players in 25 of 27 games (and 12 in 12 of the 27).
* Future Four. Oregon’s four true freshmen all scored in double figures to lead the Ducks to a 69-66 victory Feb. 12 over Washington State. Chamberlain Oguchi and Bryce Taylor both scored 12, while Malik Hairston and Maarty Leunen added 11. And it was Taylor’s short jumper with 1:01 remaining that put the Ducks ahead for good. See p. 4 for more on Taylor.
* Jordania. Jordan Kent’s 19-point, 16-rebound performance Feb. 10 versus Washington marked the sophomore’s first career double-double and he flirted with becoming the first 20-20 player at Oregon since Greg Ballard had 41 points and 20 rebounds against California in 1977. The 16 rebounds was the highest by a Duck this season.
* Free Bird! Oregon attempted a school and McArthur Court record 54 free throws Feb. 10 against Washington (making 33). The previous school record was 51 (vs. Boston U., 12-9-88) and the old Mac record was 50 by Oregon (vs. Seattle, 12-7-74). The two teams also combined for 67 fouls, one shy of the Court record -- Washington’s 36 fouls was a Husky record.
* 20-20. When Aaron Brooks (21 points) and Malik Hairston (20 points) each scored 20 points Feb. 5 at Oregon State, it marked the first time Oregon had a pair of 20-point scorers in the same game since Jan. 2, 2004, at USC (Ian Crosswhite -- 22 points, James Davis -- 21 points).
* Numbers Game. Six times this season, Oregon’s starting five wore the lowest numerical combination possible on their jerseys (0, 1, 2, 3, 4). The number 00 is also legal, though teams may not have both a 00 and a 0 on their active roster.
* For the Defense. Oregon held 11 of its opponents below 40 percent shooting from the floor. Overall, the Ducks allowed opponents to shoot 43.7 percent from the field. See p. 3 for more.
* The Taylor’s Tale. Bryce Taylor’s 26 points at Washington State on Jan. 15 was the fourth-highest scoring effort ever by an Oregon freshman. See p. 4 for more.
* Sophomore Topper. Aaron Brooks’ 34 points vs. USC (nine-of-13 shooting/four-of-seven from three-point range) matched Ron Lee for the highest single-game scoring effort by a UO sophomore. See p. 4 for more.
* Drive 55. Oregon’s 55-52 win Jan. 15 at Washington State marked the first time in Ernie Kent’s tenure that the Ducks won when scoring less than 60 points. The Ducks last won a game when scoring in the 50s Feb. 18, 1996 (55-52 vs. Washington).
* Sharp Shooting. Oregon hit 60.7 percent (34-of-56) from the field Nov. 27 against Marshall. That was Oregon’s best shooting effort since hitting 61.5 percent from the floor (43-of-68) Dec. 21, 2002, in a 115-77 win against Washington State.
ABOUT THE 100TH SEASON . . . This was the 100th season (not year) of Oregon basketball. The first year the Ducks played basketball was 1902-03. There were three seasons the school did not field a team for various reasons (1904-05, 1908-09 and 1915-16). Please see p. 42 in the 2004-05 Oregon Media Guide for more details.
PAC-10 LEADERS . . . Oregon ranked among the top half of the Pac-10 in scoring defense (71.1 ppg), field goal percentage (.464), field goal percentage defense (.437), three-point field goal percentage defense (.329) and rebound margin (+2.6). See page 3 for more rankings.
NON-CONFERENCE STREAK AT MAC . . . Oregon has a 31-game non-conference winning streak going at McArthur Court. The last non-conference team to stop the Ducks at home was Cal State Northridge Dec. 11, 1999 (79-77); none of the current Duck players have ever lost a non-conference game at Mac.
1,000 GAMES AT MAC . . . The 2004 NIT second round game versus George Mason on March 23, 2004, marked the 1,000th contest that Oregon has played at historic McArthur Court. The Ducks are now 648-356 all-time at Mac. McArthur Court opened in 1927 and is the second-oldest Division I facility in the nation; Fordham’s Rose Hill Gym is the only one that is older.
DEFENSIVE DUCKS . . . As mentioned on p. 2, Oregon’s defense was the most reliable component of its game in 2004-05. The Ducks held 11 opponents below 40 percent shooting from the floor. Lost among Oregon’s offensive woes against Arizona State on Jan. 22 was the effort at the defensive end. The 64 points scored was a season low for the Sun Devils. Oregon also limited player of the year candidate Ike Diogu to 10 points -- matching his career low. Oregon held its first four opponents this season below 40 percent from the floor. That marked the first time Oregon had done that in four straight games since 1992-93 against Alaska-Fairbanks (37.0, 12/9/92), Idaho (32.3, 12/12/92), Missouri-St. Louis (34.3, 12/19/92) and Pacific Lutheran (37.1, 12/21/92).
