• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

By Greg Schain

Daily Bruin Reporter

Luke Ridnour gained 12 pounds during the off-season.

No, he didn’t stuff himself with french fries, burgers and banana splits.

Rather, Oregon’s star sophomore point guard spent the summer on campus, taking summer school courses during the day and embarking on a stringent workout program at night.

Working out helped turn his scrawny 6-foot-2, 165-pound frame into a respectable 177 pounds, and has taken his game to a new level.

“(Ridnour) went out and changed his body and got stronger,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “He lived in the weight room over the summer.”

And his newfound strength is showing itself on the court.

The sophomore point guard is averaging 15.1 points per game, more than double the 7.4 points he averaged his freshman year.

Those 7.4 points per game helped him win the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year award, but Ridnour started to break down toward the end of the season. Over his last five games, all important conference matchups, he averaged just 3.8 ppg and didn’t display the flashy ability that he had shown earlier in the season.

“So I decided to do something about it,” Ridnour said. “I lifted all summer to bulk up. I got pretty tired and worn out last year, but now I’m a lot stronger than I was.”

Ridnour also convinced some of his teammates to stay in Eugene and work out with him.

Fellow sophomores Luke Jackson and James Davis went on Ridnour’s program and the three developed a unique friendship that has helped shape the team’s special chemistry.

“All of us staying down here for the summer was great,” Davis said. “We got to bond and work out together, and it has helped us gel.”

That is an understatement.

The No. 13 Ducks are on the verge of winning their first conference title in 57 years.

To put it in perspective, the last time Oregon won a conference title in basketball was when the Pac-10 was called the Pacific Coast Conference, and World War II was still being fought.

And when the NCAA Tournament kicks off in mid-March, Oregon will likely receive a bid, making just their third appearance in the past 40 years.

But Ridnour doesn’t feel his team’s work is done just because they will have reached the tournament. He feels his Ducks have a serious shot at winning it all this year.

“Everyone is excited, but not too excited,” Ridnour said. “We still have plenty of work to do.”

Even if Oregon doesn’t win the NCAA Tournament, Ridnour won’t feel that the season was a complete failure.

He knows his performance this year has been a turning point in his career. His confidence is at an all-time high, and he has emerged as one of the leading point guards in college basketball.

“I finally realize what it takes to win,” Ridnour said. “I have so much more confidence now.”

Other teams have taken notice of his confidence. Arizona State head coach Rob Evans said he doesn’t want to match up with Oregon in the Pac-10 Tournament if he can avoid it.

“The fact that Ridnour is playing as well as he’s playing makes (Oregon) a very difficult team to beat,” Evans said. “Everyone can score, from every position.”

UCLA point guard Cedric Bozeman agrees. When Bozeman matched up against Ridnour in Eugene on Jan. 31, Ridnour scored 12 points and recorded six assists in helping to lead the Ducks to an easy 91-62 win.

Bozeman was shut out in the game, going 0-4 from the floor.

“Ridnour’s very good,” Bozeman said. “I think of him as a shoot-first point guard.”

And a point guard who is helping to make Oregon basketball history.

Comments

Post a comment