Ducks Face No. 24 Michigan in Brooklyn
Fresh off an impressive win over Toledo on Friday, the Progressive Legends Classic moves to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn where Oregon will meet No. 24 Michigan Monday at approximately 6:30 p.m. Pacific.
THE STARTING FIVE
1 The Ducks posted an impressive 78-68 victory over preseason MAC favorite Toledo on Friday to give head coach Dana Altman his 100th victory at Oregon.
2 Back to Brooklyn. The Progressive Legends Classic will mark the first time Oregon has played in Brooklyn in 67 years. The Ducks last appeared in the borough during the 1947-48 season, falling to LIU-Brooklyn 49-47. Overall, this is Oregon’s first trip to New York since the 2004 Postseason NIT final four at Madison Square Garden.
3 Speaking of that trip to MSG, the 2004 NIT was the last time Oregon and Michigan squared off. The Wolverines were victorious in that national semifinal 73-58, in what was Luke Jackson’s last game as a Duck.
4 New York State of Mind. Assistant coach Kevin McKenna is an alum of the Brooklyn Nets, having played two stints with the team in 1985 and 1987-88 when it was based in New Jersey. McKenna also won a World Championship as a rookie with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982. Assistant coach Mike Mennenga has Empire State connections as well. He was an assistant at Canisius College the past two seasons before joining Oregon’s staff.
5 Joseph Young, the top returning scorer in the Pac-12, was one of seven Pac-12 players named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 on last week.
YOUNG SHARP AT THE STRIPE
One of the top free throw shooters in the nation, Joseph Young is at it again in 2014-15. He’s perfect in three games (18-of-18). A year ago, he was the Pac-12’s free throw percentage leader at 88.1 percent. What’s more impressive, Young had only five misses in Pac-12 play (86-of-91).
NEWCOMER COUNT
Eight new players made their Oregon debuts during the season opener versus Coppin State. Dillon Brooks, Dwayne Benjamin and Ahmaad Rorie all started. Brooks had 14 points and six rebounds, Rorie had 10 points and three assists, and Benjamin added seven rebounds and three points. Jordan Bell came off the bench to lead the team in rebounds with 12, while Casey Benson scored 12 points with three assists and three steals. Walk-ons Tim Jensen, Charlie Noebel and Anthony Piganelli also played.
ALTMAN REACHES 100 WINS AT OREGON
Dana Altman has led Oregon to 100 wins in the last five seasons. Altman joins Basketball Hall of Famer Howard Hobson as the only two men to have coached Oregon to four consecutive 20-win seasons. Altman also has the best three-year record of any Duck mentor, having won 76 games the previous three seasons. The previous UO records of 94 wins (4 years) and 74 wins (3 years) were both held by the Tall Firs squad that won the 1939 NCAA Championship. Under Altman, the Ducks have a 60-11 record (.845) at Matthew Knight Arena.
DUCKS BREAK MKA RECORDS
Oregon made a Matthew Knight Arena record 41 field goals in the season-opening 107-55 win over Coppin State. The previous record was 38 versus Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 29, 2012. Then the Ducks tied the MKA record for three-pointers attempted with 33 Monday versus Detroit.
DUCKS SIGN TOP 100 RECRUITS
Kendall Small and Trevor Manuel, both national top 100 recruits, have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Oregon men’s basketball team next season, head coach Dana Altman announced. The 6-foot, 170-lbs., Small from Anaheim , Calif., scored 21.1 points per game as a junior for Mayfair High School. He also averaged 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.4 steals per game as he ascended to the nation’s No. 84 ranked player according to ESPN. “It’s always exciting to be able to bring a player of Kendall’s caliber into your program,” said Altman. “Our staff did a great job identifying Kendall as someone who will be a really good fit for our team. He comes from a really good basketball family and I think our fans will really enjoy watching him play.” Manuel, 6-9, 215-lbs., power forward from Lansing, Mich., received four stars and a rating of 93 from 247 Sports. He was also the No. 90 player nationally and the No. 25 power forward according to 247 Sports. ESPN.com also rated Manuel a four-star recruit with a grade of 80. Manuel, who will play his senior season at Everett High School in Lansing, Mich., spent his junior year at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, where he helped that school finish the year 41-4 and advance to the championship game of the Dick’s National High School Tournament at Madison Square Garden. Before that, he won a Michigan state title as a freshman with Sexton High School in Lansing, and earned Class B All-State honors as a sophomore after averaging 12.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. “Trevor is a very talented young man who will not only fill one of our needs in the front court, but has a tremendous upside,” said Altman. “He comes from a terrific family and is really just starting to scratch the surface of his potential as a basketball player.”
YOUNG NAMED TO WOODEN AWARD PRESEASON TOP 50
Joseph Young was one of seven Pac-12 players named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 on Monday. The top returning scorer in the Pac-12 was joined by Brandon Ashley, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Stanley Johnson of Arizona, Chasson Randle of Stanford, Josh Scott of Colorado and Delon Wright of Utah.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
The Ducks’ non-conference strength of schedule is impressive. In the Progressive Legends Classic alone, the Ducks will face No. 24 Michigan and either No. 12 Villanova or No. 15 VCU in Brooklyn. Oregon also meets Illinois and Toledo, which are among teams also receiving votes, during the non-conference slate. In conference play, the Ducks will meet No. 2 Arizona twice, No. 25 Utah once, and have four games against league opponent also receiving votes in the preseason poll.
YOUNG TOP IN SCORING AMONG PAC-12 RETURNEES
Joseph Young is the top returning score in the Pac-12, having averaged 18.9 points per game in 2013-14. He scored 643 points as a junior, which was the fifth-highest total in school history. After netting 643 points last season and 916 in two seasons at the University of Houston, Young needs to score 441 points this season to reach 2,000 in his collegiate career..
PRESEASON PICKINGS
Oregon was picked to finish eighth in the Pac-12 preseason media poll, ahead of Arizona State, USC, Washington State and Oregon State. Nationally, Oregon received votes in the USA Today preseason poll.
HOME OPENING STREAK CONTINUES
Counting Oregon’s 107-65 victory over Coppin State last Friday, the Ducks have now won 17 straight home openers. Oregon last dropped a home opener at the beginning of the 1997-98 season, 56-54 to Portland State. The Ducks’ 107 points was the second-most ever in a season opener.
SHARP-SHOOTING COOK
Statistically speaking, Elgin Cook had one of the best shooting seasons in school history in 2013-14. He made 57.5 percent of his field goal attempts (77-of-134), which was the third-highest percentage on record. Included in that was an 8-of-9 performance for 23 points against BYU in the NCAA Tournament.
DUCKS LEAD PAC-12 IN SCORING, FREE THROW PCT.
Oregon led the Pac-12 and was sixth nationally in free throw shooting at 77.2 percent in 2013-14. Oregon also led the league in scoring at 81.9 points per game (eighth nationally). It was the fourth time since 1960 that the Ducks have paced the league in scoring and the first time since 2007-08 (76.6 ppg). Oregon claimed the league’s free throw percentage crown for the first time since taking the honors in back-to-back season in 2001-02 and 2002-03. Individually, Joseph Young was the conference’s free throw percentage leader at 88.1 percent. What’s more impressive, Young had only five misses in Pac-12 play (86-of-91).
NBA DUCKS: RIDNOUR NEARS UO NBA MARK
Oregon alum Luke Ridnour (2000-03) entered the 2014-15 season needing to play in 20 games to become the all-time leader among Oregon alumni in NBA career games played. The current leader is Greg Ballard, who played in 802 NBA games from 1978-89. Ridnour, in his first season with the Orlando Magic, is in his 12th season in the NBA, which ties NBA all-star Terrell Brandon for the longest career among UO alums. If Ridnour appears in Orlando’s next nine games, he would pass Ballard on Dec. 3 when the Magic play at the Los Angeles Clippers. The other Duck alumni in the NBA is Aaron Brooks (2003-07), who is in his first season with Chicago and his seventh season overall.