| 27 March 2011
There’s more to the Oregon Ducks three-game series duel with the Creighton Bluejays for the College Basketball Invitational than just a battle between two red-hot teams. It is particularly significant because it marks the return of Ducks head coach Dana Altman to Creighton on Monday.
The Bluejays, a team orchestrated by his recruits, know his style of play. Altman, likewise, knows the strengths and weaknesses of his former players. Something has to give.
"They know all our stuff," Altman said, as reported by The Oregonian. "We put a few wrinkles in for Joevan [Catron], but coaches don't change philosophy, so what we do is what we've been doing. Yeah, I know their guys, but they know our system, so that's a wash."
Creighton, which finished fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 22-14 record, averaged 66 points during the season but has scored 89 points per game in this invitational. They have won all three games by double-digits, victorious by 10, 11, and 18 points.
Their attack has been very balanced with a deep and efficient bench and productive starters. Freshman and leading scorer Doug McDermott leads the Bluejays, averaging 15 points per game. He is flanked by center Gregory Echinique, who has scored in double-figures the past three games after struggling at the end of the regular season.
This duo has a tremendous point guard feeding them the ball in junior Antoine Young, who dished ten assists in their previous game and averages five on the season.
The Bluejay's bench trio of guard Josh Jones, forward Wayne Runnels, and center Kenny Lawson Jr. scored 30 points on 12-18 shooting in dismantling Central Florida. Oregon’s bench has been outscored 67-20 in the invitational thus far, so containing their second unit will be key for the Ducks.
That’s not their only worry. Creighton has a significant height and size advantage. Echinique, who wasn't coached by Altman as a transfer from Rutgers, is 6’8”, 270 points, while Lawson Jr. stands 6’9”, 250. Considering Catron, at 6’6” 245 pounds, constitutes as Oregon’s bulk keeping those two in check while staying out of foul trouble will be a tough task.
Not surprisingly, the Bluejays offense lives around the rim. “Our offensive game starts and ends with getting the basketball inside and trying to get easy baskets," McDermott said in The Oregonian's article. "When we've been able to do that, we've been a very good basketball team; when we haven't, we've been a very average basketball team."
The Ducks have struggled to defend inside at times this season, as well as in transition. Altman professes defense, and when they have been intelligently aggressive they have succeeded. They must against Creighton, and bring the same intensity on the offensive end.
That offense starts with Catron, who has three double-doubles in the tournament, and E.J. Singler. Oregon’s guard-oriented offense needs to not only shoot well from the perimeter but also have the wherewithal to drive and try to get Creighton’s centers in foul trouble.
Every team Oregon has faced has been a challenge. Creighton will be no exception, with Altman’s return just one of many storylines attached to the CBI final.
photo: daylife
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