Young Calls Own Number For Game-Winning Shot Against Utah
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
LAS VEGAS ? In one corner was the Pac-12's coach of the year. In the other, the conference player of the year.
With 7.2 seconds left and Friday's conference tournament semifinal game tied, UO coach Dana Altman wanted Casey Benson to bring the ball up and pass to Joseph Young coming off a screen. The Pac-12 player of the year had other ideas.
"I want to bring it up," Young told Altman, the coach recounted later. Figuring there was enough time for Young to race up court and drive to the basket, Altman deferred to his player's judgment.
Young didn't end up making it to the rim. Instead, he pulled up a few feet short of the three-point line, with Utah's 7-foot Jakob Poeltl leaping at him, and drilled a three-pointer to give Oregon a 67-64 victory over the No. 17 Utes on Friday night.
When Young asked for the ball, at the end of a hard-fought, back-and-fourth dogfight, Altman had no qualms. Neither did Young's teammates.
"We have the utmost confidence in him," said UO freshman Dillon Brooks, whose 14 points included a couple of crucial buckets in the final eight minutes. "He's always the first one in the gym, last one out, taking threes every time. Once I seen him shoot that shot, I knew it was going in. And I was ready to run after him and grab him."
The jubilant Ducks dog-piled on their leader. After making the biggest shot of the year, Young's mind had turned to defense at the bottom of the pile.
"I was just making sure I didn't bust my lip or anything," Young said with a smile a few minutes later. "I just covered up. It's a good feeling, though."
Altman continued to be rewarded for trusting in the development of his team, which has made massive strides since embarking on the 2014-15 season with just two experienced veterans. In Thursday's quarterfinal win over Colorado, he resisted the urge to use a timeout when the Ducks trailed early, trusting that his newcomers just needed time to adjust to the Pac-12 Tournament stage. Oregon responded by matching the tournament record with 59 second-half points.
On Friday, freshman Jordan Bell made the most of Altman's trust. The freshman fouled out in 11 ineffective minutes Thursday, and had four fouls late in the game Friday. But he blocked two shots on the same Utah possession in the final two minutes, setting the stage for Young's heroics.
Altman also stuck by Young, after the UO senior was called for charging with 12 seconds left. That led to Delon Wright's game-tying free throws, but Altman went right back to Young to hit the winner.
"We fought at the end," Young said. "I had the turnover at the end, but my teammates didn't give up on me. They kept their composure and we made a play at the end, won the ballgame."
In doing so, the Ducks earned the right to play for the tournament title against mighty Arizona, the regular-season conference champs. The Wildcats had a similarly hard-fought battle Friday with UCLA, before pulling away to win.
Oregon lost 80-62 to Arizona in Eugene on Jan. 8, and then 90-56 in the desert three weeks later.
The Ducks hope their improved defense and rebounding since then will show Saturday. "We've made progress," Altman said. "And we'll find out how much tomorrow night."
The reality is, Arizona's size and athleticism makes this a formidable challenge. "We're just going to have to compete," Altman said. "We'll go into the game pretty loose. They have beaten us bad twice, so our guys will be loose. We'll tell them to go swing away and have fun with the game."
The Ducks swung away with Utah on Friday. Young landed the knockout punch. And it sure was fun.
