Walker's Locker
March 22, 2008
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? We didn’t expect to find ourselves sitting at the terminal at Little Rock International this Saturday morning, but that’s the harsh reality of the NCAA Tournament. By the end of the first round, half the teams’ seasons are done. By the end of the weekend, it’s down to 16.
Had Oregon defeated Mississippi State last night, there would have been no consolation in losing to Memphis tomorrow; no being satisfied with just one win. There will always be that hunger for one more win. And another and another.
When the final loss comes that ends the season, no one is truly ready for it. You can’t prepare yourself for the heartache you feel when the clock reads 0:00. No one likes to end their season with a loss. And there’s only one team that gets end it season the way it wants ? the one that wins six straight games in March. It is an extremely difficult accomplishment.
So the last by the number blog starts with that number:
*1 ? As in what I wouldn’t give to see Maarty Leunen, Malik Hairston and Bryce Taylor play one more game in an Oregon uniform. The realization that those three will never wear the green and yellow again gives me a lump in my throat. Think how unfamiliar it will be seeing any other name on the back of these jerseys: #1 Hairston, #4 Taylor, #10 Leunen. Those names and numbers have been synonymous with Oregon basketball for the last four seasons.
It’s been an honor watching every game these guys have played the last four years, and even more so seeing them persevere through disappointments their first two seasons to be part of back-to-back NCAA Tournament teams their last two. They (along with Aaron Brooks) will take their rightful place in Oregon basketball lore along with the Tall Firs, Ron Lee and Greg Ballard, and Freddie Jones, Luke Ridnour and Luke Jackson as the core of some of the greatest Oregon teams of all time.
I will miss Bryce going to the hoop off the dribble and playing tough defense against the opposition’s best player. I will miss Malik working the baseline ? man did he own that stretch of real estate, using the rim to screen opponents from blocking his crafty lay-ins. I will miss Maarty and his 903 rebounds ? more on that number later. I hope he realizes that he carried the pride of every Oregonian each time he went up for a rebound against a bigger player and every time he hit a three or worked his defender for a three-point play. It is extremely appropriate that Maarty scored his career high against the Beavers ? 32 points ? because this is one native son that the State of Oregon will be proud of for a long time.
I will also miss Mitch Platt’s humor and levity in the locker room. I can’t even begin to describe how significant it was to see him play meaningful minutes his senior season after watching how hard he worked to come back from injury ? redshirting his third year in college and enduring torturous work outs at the hands of assistant coach Kenny Payne; sessions that completely reshaped Mitch’s body and led to his important role off the bench in 2007-08. And I will miss how Ray Schafer’s big personality captured the Pit Crew as they adopted him as one of their own. He must have inspired at least 100 signs during his career.
On to the heavy stuff:
*4,830 ? Total number of career points scored by Oregon’s five seniors. Of that, 4,338 belong to Malik Hairston, Maarty Leunen and Bryce Taylor.
*903 ? Maarty Leunen’s final career rebound total. That ranks second all-time at Oregon to All-American Greg Ballard. Only Leunen and Ballard have scored 1,000 career points and grabbed 900 career rebounds for the Ducks. Further, Leunen became just the 25th player in Pac-10 history to reach 900 career rebounds. Think about that for a moment; of the thousands who have played in the Pac-8/Pac-10 for the better part of a century, only 25 have tallied 900 rebounds. Leunen is one of them.
*439 ? Career three-pointers made by Hairston, Leunen and Taylor. All three finish their careers ranked among the school’s all-time top-15 in scoring.
*537 & 372 ? Number of career games played and started, respectively, by Oregon’s five seniors. On his own, Maarty Leunen played in 127 games. That’s the most by any Oregon player since the barnstorming days of the 1940s.
*734, 326 & 212 ? Number of career assists, steals and blocks compiled by the senior class.
*5 ? Pairs of shoes needed to be filled next season.
-GW
If you have any questions, comments or observations for Greg, please send an e-mail.
Long Day Numbers
March 20, 2008
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? The first full day at the NCAA Tournament here in
Arkansas was filled with meetings, practices and interview sessions.
For some administrators, the day began with an 8:30 a.m. meeting
(that’s 6:30 a.m. Pacific), followed by a trip to the Waffle House
across the street for breakfast.
The team held a practice at a local high school in the morning and
then spent some time at Central High School, a living piece of American
Civil Rights history honoring the Little Rock 9 this afternoon (if
you’re not familiar with it, search for it on Wikipedia).
Just in case anyone was wondering, Oregon’s route from the team
hotel, the Crowne Plaza, to Alltel Arena takes the bus on Interstate
630 East past the Central High School site to I-30 East where the
President William J. Clinton Presidential Library can be seen on the
banks of the Arkansas River. Alltel Arena is actually located in the
city of North Little Rock, which is separated from Little Rock by the
Arkansas.
In evening, Oregon went to Alltel Arena for their mandatory interview sessions and shootaround.
So that brings us to today’s numbers:
*22 ? Maximum number allowed by the NCAA for the official team party, including players, coaches and managers.
*17 ? Number of seats on each teams’ bench (22 minus the five players on the court).
*2 ? Sets of uniforms packed for this trip: green and black. What
will the Ducks be wearing tomorrow? Well, you’ll just have to tune in
and see.
*13 ? Questions asked of Maarty Leunen and Bryce Taylor during their interview session at Alltel Arena.
*13 ? Questions asked of Ernie Kent during his interview session.
*40 ? Minutes in duration of Oregon’s practice time at Alltel Thursday.
*46 ? Cans of Coke in the Oregon locker room
*43 ? Cans of Diet Coke in the Oregon locker room
*42 ? Cans of Sprite in the Oregon locker room
*96 ? Bottles of Powerade in the Oregon locker room (Powerade was the only beverage consumed by the Duck players)
*1 ? Arkansas native sitting right behind the CBS announcers with a big Oregon hat on cheering enthusiastically for the Ducks.
*100 ? Approximately, autographs signed by Tajuan Porter, Maarty
Leunen, Ray Schafer and the rest of the Ducks for an appreciative
Alltel Arena crowd following this evening’s practice.
-GW
By the Numbers
March 19, 2008
SOMEWHERE OVER THE GREAT PLAINS ? A little introduction is probably
necessary as this is a first for GoDucks.com. We’re on a charter flight
bound from Eugene to Little Rock, Ark., for Oregon’s first round NCAA
Tournament game versus Mississippi State on Friday.
We’re launching a new feature on GoDucks.com, the long-awaited
“official” insider blog. Look for posts periodically throughout the
NCAA Tournament and beyond from the likes of Joe Giansante, Jerry
Allen, Mark Hudson, Oregon players and me, Greg Walker. We’ll be
blogging and posting video and audio more and more goodies in the
coming weeks and months as we explore more outlets to get our fans “on
the inside” through the use of new media and our web partner JumpTV.
Now on to the blog:
I am the assistant director for media services and of my myriad
duties, one area that always seems to be of interest to fans is
statistics. So with out further ado, here’s a look “Inside the
Numbers.”
*110 ? Oregon’s official travel party. That includes players, coaches, administrators, support staff, band and cheerleaders.
*14 ? Players making the trip. Yes, there are 15 on the roster, but
per NCAA rules, junior guard Ben Voogd is not allowed to travel as he
redshirts this season after transferring from Louisiana State.
*1 and 90 ? Ages of the youngest and oldest passengers on the
flight. Youngest honors goes to 18-month-old Jack Hudson, son of
assistant coach Mark Hudson, while the most senior member on the flight
is Admiral John Dick, U.S. Navy, Ret. The Admiral, as most of you know
was Oregon’s leading scorer versus Ohio State (16 points) the year the
Ducks ? aka the Tall Firs ? won the very first NCAA Championship,
played in 1939.
* 7 ? Different uniforms worn by Oregon this season.
* 8 ? Number of trumpets on the plane (well, in luggage anyway).
* 50 ? Pairs of socks packed by the Ducks’ student managers
* 28 ? Pairs of basketball shoes (2 for each player).
*Donald McDonald ? That’s the name of our official team host in
Little Rock. I know that’s not a number, but is there a more
appropriately named host for a team with the nickname Ducks?
*1850 PSI ? Pressure exerted by senior center Mitch Platt,
notoriously not a great flyer, gripping the seat in front of him on the
roller-coaster decent into the Little Rock airport.
*39 ? Birthday celebrated by Oregon Executive Senior Associate
Athletic Director Renee Baumgartner today. Allegedly this is the fourth
time she’s turned 39.
* 4 - Number of Haagen Dazs bars reportedly consumed by Voice of the Ducks Jerry Allen on the four-hour flight.
And it’s appropriate to end this first blog with the number...
* 5 ? That’s the number of seniors student-athletes on the team who
have already graduated; it’s also the number of NCAA Tournament
appearances Oregon has made under head coach Ernie Kent.
-GW
