by DSH basketball columnist Brian Mahuna
The Oregon Ducks are undefeated. Still. Against the Cougars of BYU the Ducks battled through adversity in more ways than most teams could withstand in 4 games, all to scratch, claw, bite, and crawl their way back into the lead and continue their perfect season.
Let me be the first to admit, I was wrong. I predicted that the Ducks would blow out a BYU team ranked 94th in the nation in field goal percentage. A team known for fast paced, inefficient offense and not much defense. I figured the Duck’s were too athletic, too skilled at all five positions, and too physical for the Cougars to be able to ever truly impact the game in a positive way. Boy was I wrong.
Mighty Joe Young: the scintillating point guard soars for two in Oregon’s overtime win over BYU.
Of course since I made mention of their mediocre shooting percentage the Cougars decided to knock in.. Everything. They were shooting nearly 68% at the midway point of the first half and finished the half a scorching 57% from the field. The Ducks were doing little to nothing to help their cause in that half, launching ill advised three pointers and as the age old saying goes, ‘Long Shots equal Long Rebounds’ and after corralling the long defensive boards the Cougars were off to the races and scoring in the blink of an eye. The rebounding for the Ducks was poor at best, but to be fair, when a team is making shots like the Cougars were, it’s tough to really get any rebounds.
It took a halftime scolding from Coach Altman for the Ducks to realize that literally none of the BYU players were capable of guarding the Ducks off of the dribble. And while the Ducks continued to struggle from the field, they got to the Rim time after time, and while the lead often swayed between 2 and 7 points, it was apparent from the get go that the Ducks had found something to hold onto that was positive.
Hopefully this goes without saying, but a tremendous amount of credit has to go to the BYU players and their coaching staff. They continuously hit big shot after big shot, and the defensive game plan they executed was a stroke of genius. They sagged back just enough to allow them to not only guard the paint semi-effectively, but also give them an opportunity to at least contest the long jump shots the Ducks were so willing to launch. They contested shots at the rim so well in the game that as a Duck fan watching I was actually getting frustrated seeing the Ducks drive in, miss a layup, and then watch as BYU went down and hit a Jumper. The story of the first half was almost like watching the Ducks against the Beavs in the Civil War a few weeks ago. During the stretch where Mariota was struggling, and the Ducks went away from the Run game, Duck fans everywhere were screaming at their television sets to hand the Damn ball off to Tyner. That same scenario was being played out on the court. Players like Dotson and Young, outstanding shooters in their right, should have recognized early that getting to the Rim was something both of them were extremely capable of doing. Instead, the team decided shooting threes was the answer to their woes, and it nearly cost them their unbeaten record.
The Ducks literally didn’t lead the game until there was 33 seconds left in overtime. They had a chance to win the game with 1.8 seconds left and Elgin Cook at the free throw line. The game was tied at 84 and Cook missed both of his shots from the charity stripe to send the game into overtime. It was fitting. The Ducks were struggling and the Cougars knew it. After missing the free throws however, Cook stayed in the game. He was a key part in the Duck’s win even before his missed free throws. His athleticism is scary unique. He always seems to have one or two plays a game where he skies through traffic to snatch an offensive rebound, then, as quick as lightning, spring back up and put the ball up again for two points. He is a real unsung weapon for the Ducks.
All of the talk about the Ducks struggling doesn’t apply to everyone. No. There was one Duck who wasn’t intimidated by the ferocity the Cougars played with. Just like when the Ducks traveled to Mississippi to play the Rebels, Jason Calliste was the toughest Duck, never once backing down from the challenge. And in a game where the momentum never seemed to sway the Ducks way, Calliste made his own luck, played his game, and carried his team, willed his team to victory. He’s slowly becoming my favorite Duck. He’s a crafty veteran player, not discouraged with his roll as the 6th man. He knows his value to the team is that of any starter. As Jalen Rose likes to put it, he’s not a starter, but he’s a finisher. Without Jason Calliste in this game, the tone of this piece would be much different, in that somber yet terribly familiar, ‘Post-Stanford/Post-Arizona’ theme. He was incredible. He scored his career high in points. Not just as a Duck, but in his entire Career. He put up 31 points on 7/13 shooting, and was a perfect (and impressive) 13/13 from the free throw line. He also had the job, part of the time, of guarding the Cougars’ best player and leading scorer Tyler Haws. Haws scored 32 points, and was absolutely on fire to start the game. Regardless of where the defense was, Haws was knocking down shots with extreme prejudice. But Calliste was just as impressive. He was almost solely responsible for putting the BYU bigs in foul trouble with crafty pump fakes and drives to the rim. And his presence as a Duck was never more needed than it was against BYU.
The Ducks are off again until the 29th against Morgan State at 12:00 PM.
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