Young Ducks Eager To Make NCAA Debut Friday
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
From his seat in the second row of folding chairs arrayed about the Founders Club in Matthew Knight Arena, UO head coach Dana Altman leaned forward to take in Sunday's announcement of the NCAA Tournament bracket.
The Ducks had won nine of 10 games to close the regular season, then two more to reach the final of the Pac-12 Tournament, all but assuring themselves a spot in the NCAA field of 68. This would be Altman's 14th trip to the Big Dance, but his sense of anticipation Sunday was palpable.
The Ducks watch Sunday's selection show.
"It never gets old," Altman said, moments after Oregon had been announced as the No. 8 seed in the West Region. "I'm as excited now as I was the first time, in 1987. It's an unbelievable feeling to be included."
The Ducks (25-9) will face ninth-seeded Oklahoma State (18-13) on Friday in Omaha, Neb. The game will be televised by TBS, and tip off at 3:50 p.m. PT.
Altman's 14th NCAA Tournament appearance will include four players making their second straight trip. Joseph Young was a starter and Elgin Cook was a key bench player during last season's two-game run, while Jalil Abdul-Bassit and walk-on guard Theo Friedman made brief appearances in the Ducks' victory over BYU.
For the vast majority of the UO roster, however, this will be the first time experiencing March Madness. Thus, even though the Ducks were confident Sunday they'd see their name on the bracket, a freshman like Jordan Bell sat in the front row watching the televised announcement in the Founders Club, filming it with his phone.
"Watching the selection show, watching March Madness, and now actually being a part of it, it's mind-blowing," said another freshman, point guard Ahmaad Rorie. "It's a dream come true."
Though they gathered to watch the selection show Sunday, the Ducks had a day off from practice a day after losing to Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament final, and another Monday as finals week began at the university. They practiced in their home arena Tuesday afternoon, a spirited workout before the team was scheduled to depart for Omaha on Wednesday.
"We had a little bump in the road at Arizona," junior wing Dwayne Benjamin said. "But we'll get back to practice, fix the problems we had and we should be ready to go."
As a kid, Benjamin's first love was football. The JC transfer switched his focus to basketball in recent years, and prior to the selection show Sunday he tweeted, "A long time dream is going to come true soon."
A few hours later, the dream had been realized. "That whole process was pretty much like a dream come true," Benjamin recalled two days later, prior to Tuesday's practice. "It's something you always dream about, playing college basketball. It was pretty exciting."
As a native of Tacoma, Wash., Rorie was holding out hope the Ducks would be placed into a segment of the bracket playing in Seattle for the first two rounds. From coaches to players, the entire program had hoped for that, in an effort to get as many Oregon fans as possible to the games. (The university is hosting games played in Portland, and thus the Ducks were ineligible to play there.)
Getting slotted in Seattle didn't come to pass. But, Rorie said, "I'll take my chances somewhere else. Either way, we'll be fine."
As a high school player, Rorie admired Michigan's Trey Burke, who led the No. 4 seed Wolverines all the way to the national championship game. Now, Rorie is wrapping his head around the idea that he'll play Friday on that same NCAA Tournament stage.
"It's still mind-blowing," Rorie said. "Each day I'm coming in, trying to work hard. It's going to be crazy stepping on that court, though."
