It’s fun to trash talk SC but they’re going to be really good in a very short time. Riley is a great offensive mind and recruiter.  He is also no stranger to coaching in a pressure cooker. OU fans are as demanding as SC fans. Future Oregon/SC games should be prime time games. 

On 4/16/2022 at 12:22 AM, Jon Joseph said:

I've got the game ready to tape as I play even more bad golf. Thank you.

I hear you. I’m so bad I have to get my ball retriever re-gripped after every round.

Watch the QB1 season where Rattler was featured. He spews toxicity. I think that playing in the SEC will be a humbling experience for him and it will likely highlight many more of his character flaws.

If Doug Brenner is going to get $100M for years being taken off of his life the he owes me $50M for having to sit through the 2016 Alamo Bowl and watch him single-handedly blow a 31 point lead.
 

Yes, it was all his fault that I aged 20 years that night.  I’m sorry, but Jeff Lockie started every play from the squatted position while picking the ball up off the turf. It’s hard to read a defense, set your feet, and then throw an accurate pass in those conditions.

This is also OT, but Highland Park HS has quite a notable alumni base. Clayton Kershaw, Angie Harmon, Jayne Mansfield and John Hinckley Jr. to name a few. 

Good recruiters know what kids want. They want to be treated like kings, they want the best gear and facilities, and they want championships. But, most of all, they want to go to the NFL. 
 

The NFL is the biggest driving force behind the transfer portal mayhem. Everybody wants to start because it brings exposure. Exposure brings scouts. 
 

Right now, the SEC schools can sell that. So can Oregon. That’s why Mario got highly ranked classes. The new staff has to be able to coach their players up well enough to get them draft worthy. The exposure will come because of the Oregon brand and winning tradition.
 

However, it could all go away very quickly like we saw with Helfrich. If coaching, recruiting or scheme falters then exposure, winning and brand will follow.

Roy Williams was happy to let Butch Davis take the fall for the academic misconduct that ran rampant through the UNC athletic program. He got canned and they vacated his wins for two seasons.  I already lumped Roy Williams in with the likes of Pitino, Carroll, etc. as his players were just as guilty. Butch was the sacrificial lamb.

On 4/6/2022 at 12:07 AM, Nautique Duck said:

This is looking at things from some pretty Yellow and green colored glasses. You know that wright is the only coach in the final four with any ethics? Hubert Davis is a first year coach. The ducks and Nike have never helped encourage a player to come to Oregon financially? I’m a huge duck fan, but we sound totally self righteous if we believe we haven’t played these games too.
 

And jay wright somehow is not doing this at Villanova? On what grounds? Much more likely that he is doing the same thing every other successful coach is doing. I agree we shouldn’t be lauding the nobility of krzyzsewski, but it’s not like the ncaa is super effective at finding and exposing all the fraud going on across college sports. 

When I see the investigations then I’ll change my tune on Oregon, Gonzaga and Villanova. As far as football goes, Chip cheated and we’re lucky we didn’t get hit harder.

On 4/5/2022 at 1:31 PM, Jon Joseph said:

Scoreboard?

 

Ethics in big time CBB may be an oxymoron? He brought it upon himself but it is amazing for KU to win a title when recruiting under the NCAA gun for 4+ years. 

 

Not a lot of these KU guys will be playing in the NBA. Question his ethics? I get it. But Self is one of the best coaches in CBB bar none. The NCAA runs him off and many the NBA team will be ready to sign him up.

You’re correct. He cheated and it worked for him because he won a national championship. Just like John Calipari, Rick Pitino, Roy Williams, Pete Carroll and Barry Switzer. He wouldn’t even have the team he has now if not for the NCAA slow rolling their investigation.

On 4/5/2022 at 2:24 AM, DUCKED said:

Are we allowed to call people scumbags on here?

 

Self just guided Kansas to a national title and presided over one of the biggest second half comebacks in championship game history.

 

And, yes, he reportedly has done some shady things, which without question is wrong, but using the term “scumbag” seems at odds with the culture of the Forum With Decorum.

I stand by my assessment of his attitude toward coaching ethics. Kansas was 4 for 14 on layup attempts in the first half. If they make their high percentage shots they don’t have to come back. 

DAT had the ability to change direction without losing speed (se WSU TD in 2011). That’s what made him so difficult to defend. However, his burst from standing still to full speed was something to behold. His 91 yard TD against Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl is still a thing of beauty.

Bill Self is another scumbag who can’t seem to follow the rules, so it’s a showdown between two schools with a rich history of fraud. The only coach in the Final Four with any ethics is Jay Wright. Maybe one day Altman and Few (Duck alumn) will make it back and return some class to the championship weekend. And yes, I know Mark Few has had his personal issues with his DWI. I still think he’s an ethical coach.
 

Also, it’s well known about Coach K’s cheating, but Grant Hill came from a very prominent family. His parents could have afforded to buy him a very nice car. I can’t imagine his dad letting him accept a car for playing for Duke.

Some say this Glaucoma guy refereed in the Super Bowl. Niners fans sure think so.

On 3/6/2022 at 10:11 PM, Steven A said:

Wait till he finds out there aren't any catfish in the Willamette.

He’s going to soil himself if he ever hooks into a sturgeon. He’s going to have to hit the lower Willamette for one of those, though.

He’s actually doing a very “Western” thing. Fishing addiction is just as big a disease in Oregon as it is down South. The tug is the drug.

It all depends on QB play. The Ducks have great WR’s, but if the QB has a habit of throwing to the other team then they may need to lean on the run.

Oregon’s problem is getting too freaked out in clutch time. They always seem to play really good against great teams then falter at the end. Yes, I’m still salty about the Final Four game against UNC.

On 2/19/2022 at 9:46 PM, Charles Fischer said:

I disagree with just about everyone on this, as not only did he snub us in recruiting, but enjoyed it.  Now he is going to come back and take important PT from the young-guns who need on-the-field experience?

 

No thanks.

I’m with you on this. I would’ve let Cota walk-on. That’s about it. He had his chances to prove himself at UCLA and was a below average player.

On 2/19/2022 at 6:52 PM, Axel said:

Thanks, 30Duck, for posting this well-written piece. I'm also in agreement that Chad Cota's transfer to Oregon will pay positive dividends. 

I thought he had already played at Oregon and then for the Colts in the NFL.

I agree with Fentress.

On 2/17/2022 at 2:09 PM, Duck1984 said:

In theory, or with a cupcake opponent for a first game, this strategy could work.

 

With Georgia as the season opener, the best performing QB at the end of Fall camp has to start.

Nix is known for beating better teams in the home opener at a “neutral” site. Well, he’s done it once anyway.

Where does Dye and Verdell fit in? They’re up there, but they couldn’t electrify Autzen like LMJ, KB, LGB, JJ or JStew could. I would probably put them 4th behind these guys and the Morris/Smith combo. BTW, Travis Dye shirts are selling on the Duck Store site at a steep discount. He’s even modeling them. I still don’t know how I feel about a Trojan modeling Duck gear. Even if his name is on it. Send the remaining shirts overseas with our 2022 Pac-12 Championship shirts.

This….

 

….Because of this.

On 2/17/2022 at 4:13 PM, shawnski said:

My favorite part of the James - Barner story is that the Ducks were short at RB after Blount was suspended from the Boise game.

 

Coaches asked if anyone played RB in high school.

 

A backup DB named Kenjon Barner raised his hand, and the rest is history. 

 

 

Then he scored the eventual game winner against Purdue on a 3rd and very long.

On 2/14/2022 at 12:13 AM, DUCKED said:

Any word on UCLA receiver Chase Cota? Oregon would be a nice place to close out his collegiate career. 
 

His dad played for the Ducks in the early 90’s, and his cousin Brady Breeze did very well his senior year when Cristobal finally put him at safety for the Pac-12 championship game, followed by the Rose Bowl where he was named defensive player of the game.

 

Cota has been in the portal for a month??

He was underwhelming at best during his time in Westwood. I wouldn’t burn a scholarship on him. He could walk-on though.