by Brian Mahuna, DSH Basketball Columnist
On a night where a few of college basketball’s best teams went down, the Duckss stood up tall once again in a fast paced, extremely entertaining basketball game filled with highlight level slams, breath taking fast breaks, and rain making three pointers (goducks.com photo).
It is worth noting that Georgetown, the very same Georgetown Hoyas that the Ducks defeated in the season opener over seas, rallied to defeat the 10th ranked VCU Rams 83-80. The third ranked Louisville Cardinals lost to North Carolina, the 14th ranked Michigan Wolverines fell to Charlotte, and number six Duke survived a very close call against a Vermont team with only one win on the season 91-90.
When the Ducks took the court against San Francisco Joseph Young was leading the team with just over 24 points a game, and had converted on 30 of 31 attempts from the charity stripe. Early on it looked like he would explode again, hitting a few quick threes and getting to the rim with ease. But something seemed off in Young when he went an eye opening 0-4 from the free throw line on his first two trips. Young went to the bench midway through the second half with 12 points on 4-9 shooting and 2-6 from the free throw line. He wouldn’t return to the game and there was some speculation as to whether or not Young might have injured himself when he was seen standing at the end of the bench with the trainers. But in a game where the Ducks got half of the production they’re used to from Young, they didn’t really need him.
Young was one of six total players from the Ducks to score in double figures, including a breakout 18 point, 6 rebound, 3 assist, and 3 steal performance from Elgin Cook. He was easily the player of the game for the Ducks and showed again why this team is so dangerous night in and night out.
The Ducks also got a big lift from Damyean Dotson. The sophomore had recently been struggling to knock down outside jumpshots, but had no such trouble against the Dons knocking in both of his attempts from beyond the arc and finished with 17 points and adding 7 big rebounds.
Jason Calliste had a big night as well, nailing all three of his shots from deep and all five of his attempts from the free throw line, finishing with 16 points.
Calliste’s own success at the free throw line was not an indication, however, of how the team as a whole shot from the stripe shooting an abysmal 23-36 from the line, a shade under 64%. Seeing the team struggle from the free throw line leaves me shaking my head and wondering how they can shoot so poorly from the line with no defenders, and turn around to knock in 11-19 three point baskets a smoking hot 57% mark from the land beyond. Coach Altman will be focusing on converting those easy shots from the stripe in practice you can be sure. In a tough game, when the three ball isn’t falling with such ease, points from free throws will either seal the win, or wash away with a loss.
The game itself started off with a back door alley-oop jam from the Dons, looking to send a message that they weren’t going to back down from the 17th ranked Ducks. It was fast paced right from the opening tip with both teams trading possessions at light speed only stopping when someone drew a foul. It was apparent right away that full court pressure was not the way to go for either team with the athleticism on display. Both teams tried it with little success as their respective presses were broken by a few quick passes and as quick as DAT in the open field there was an easy bucket and they were off to the races the other way.
San Francisco’s inside presence was a mixture of strength and tenacity from Kruize Pinkins, who led all scorers with 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the length and skill from Mark Tollefsen. Pinkins, a 6’7 230 pound junior was dominating inside, using his big frame to stake his claim to a section under the basket and once he had the ball, his pump fakes were lethal drawing multiple Oregon defenders off their feet and either drawing the foul or finishing in traffic. Pinkins finished the game 9-14 from the free throw line and was extremely effective battling inside. Tollefsen, a 6’9 200 pound sophomore lefty showed light touch on his jumper, a variety of skills around the rim, and very good athleticism on the first play of the game dunking home the alley-oop.
At the end of the day, the Ducks are still a puzzling team to observe. They haven’t made the same mistakes two games in a row, an admirable trait. One game it’s rebounding and defending. The next it’s shooting, and turnovers. Tonight the problem was defending inside without fouling, finishing defensive possesions with rebounds, and free throw shooting. The Ducks out-rebounded the Dons 37 to 36. But the Dons grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, to the Ducks 6. Pinkins alone had 6 offensive rebounds, as many as the Ducks entire team.
The Ducks, at least at this point in the season have been only slightly above the assist to turnover ratio that is desired. With 17 assists against USF the Ducks put up their highest output of the season, while losing 11 turnovers in the process. 11 turnovers isn’t a terrible number, but it isn’t terribly efficient either. The Ducks average close to 15 assists a game but also average just under 12 turnovers per game. The Ducks have relied heavily on their ability to break defenders down one on one, often finishing in traffic for acrobatic And-1 opportunities, they move the ball well in the primary break, hitting guys running the floor or kicking to open shooters, yet when the offense goes into a half court setting, and the Duck’s pace slows, a quick motion offense that brings the ball to a scorer turns into an isolation. Against a really good defensive minded team, that will begin to become a problem.
But, with all that being said, the Ducks are sitting pretty with 4 wins, and 0 losses. They will face off against Pacific on the Friday after Thanksgiving at Noon. Both the football and basketball teams will be hoping to push the pace to the limits in their respective contests and walk into the weekend with wins.
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