Thursday, January 30, 1997

M. HOOPS:

Oregon team full of talent but unable to pull out of Pacific 10 conference slumpBy Emmanuelle Ejercito

Daily Bruin Staff

The UCLA men's basketball team will visit McArthur Court to take on the University of Oregon tonight, bringing shoulder pads and helmets with them.

Two seasons ago, when the Ducks defeated the Bruins in Eugene, fans stormed the court and began hitting the UCLA players. But the taunting and bruises don't intimidate the Bruins anymore.

"Our freshman year it was kind of hard, but we get a kick out of it now," junior forward J.R. Henderson said. "Fans before the game were calling us every name in the book. It's kind of funny now. As long as they don't storm the court; (if that happens) we'll probably get into a brawl or something."

But if Oregon fans storm the court this year, it may be more out of frustration than jubilation.

If one had to guess the way the Pacific 10 would stack up at the midway point of the conference season, one would probably assume that the situation would be reversed. The Ducks would be near the top of the conference and the Bruins (11-5 overall, 6-1 Pac-10) would be mired in mediocrity. However, it appears that nonconference records don't foretell Pac-10 success.

UCLA entered Pac-10 competition with a nonconference record of 5-4, but is now on a four-game conference winning streak, sitting alone in first place. Meanwhile, the Oregon faithful haven't had anything to quack about.

Oregon kicked off the 1996-1997 season with a bang, winning all nine of its preseason games. And it seemed that their success would continue into the Pac-10 race, as the Ducks drubbed Oregon State 91-69 in their conference opener, extending their winning streak to 10 games. The perfect 10-0 record, which was Oregon's best start in 22 years, propelled the team to a national ranking of 17.

But then things started to fall apart. Oregon proved hapless in conference play, losing its next four games against the Washington and Bay Area schools. A split against the Arizona schools last week brought the Ducks' conference record to 2-5 and their overall record to 11-5.

"I think Oregon is a much better team than their 2-5 conference record indicates," UCLA head coach Steve Lavin said. "They're dangerous and they're experienced."

The experience comes in the form of three starting seniors: center Bob Ramaker, point guard Kenya Wilkins and guard Jamal Lawrence. Together they account for 34.3 points per game.

Wilkins, one of the best point guards in the conference, is currently averaging 15.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. However, Oregon has not taken advantage of Wilkins' ability to set up plays, as the Ducks have been averaging only 1.6 passes per possession.

"We certainly have the capabilities," head coach Jerry Green said. "It's just a matter of being patient on offense. It's been the one thing where we've helped other teams beat us. We've got to play together as a team, but lately we've shot it so quickly that the individual part of it starts showing up and not the team part."

At the same time, the Bruins of late have been passing the ball more, looking for the open shot.

"We spend 30 minutes a day on passing and catching against pressure," Lavin said. "Our guys are beginning to enjoy the thrill of the pass. When they start to get excited about ball movement and man movement, then the selflessness really comes to the forefront."

While the Bruins are looking for another win to increase their Pac-10 lead, the Ducks are hoping that this game will be the watershed for their season.

"It's time to get it back in gear for us," Green said. "And the only thing that we have control of is the game with UCLA."

JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin

J.R. Henderson and the rest of the Bruins were somewhat intimidated by the Oregon fans two years ago, but now they enjoy the taunts.