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Oregon Basketballers VanSlooten and Rigsby–Gym Rats Worthy of Ronnie Lee

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Drex Hikes brings us today's article on Duck basketball and gym rats.

 

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Ronnie Lee has a nice belly button. That’s what I remember from an April afternoon at Mac Court in 1974. I got a good look at his navel maybe a...

 

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Two Sites: FishDuck and the Our Beloved Ducks forum, The only "Forum with Decorum!" And All-Volunteer? What a wonderful community of Duck fans!

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Came to campus on his recruiting visit with a basketball, and never put it down.

images.jpeg

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Very fun read, Drex, and such a cool story as a student. Thanks!

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Mr. FishDuck

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Thank you Charles. Merry Christmas. 
 

Great pix of the other Luke. Yeah, he was amazing. Definitely gym rat. I always saw him as more gifted than Jackson, which in my scale of gym ratticism put Jackson one millimeter higher. 
 

Those two together. No 1 and 2. What a joy. 
 

 

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P.S. Ronnie Lee is still a gym rat at the Rec Center!  With Ron Lee , Jr., too!  We’re not the only ones who love basketball!

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The '68 team had some too, Bill Drozdiak (google him for sure) and Larry Holiday.

 

Holiday, all 6'3' of him tied up Alcindor/Abdul-Jabbar on the opening tip and dislocated his shoulder.  Went to the bench and had it put back in.  Had to waste a TO to get him back in.  Then it happened again to start the 2nd half.

 

Come spring I had a similar pickup game experience.  We were playing outside the dorms and those 2 plus Stan Love showed up and joined us.  You remember Stan Love right.  Rumor was that he signed with the Bullets for a million dollars for every point in his GPA, $500,000.00!

 

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From 11 months ago--a fun thread of Oregon basketball greats.

 

Ronnie Lee7.jpg

 

 

Mr. FishDuck

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Steven A. They sound amazing. I didn’t arrive until 1971 and never saw any of the greats who came before. That story is wonderful. Thank you! 

Edited by Drex Heikes
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Each fan has a favorite of all time. Mine is Ronnie Lee.

 

I was on the UO campus from 1968-1975 with a break ithe middle to S.E. Asia. 

 

It was common then to intermingle with athletes in the Phys Ed areas, EMU, class buildings, and intramural fields.

 

Similar to the story, one day I was looking for a handball game and Tom Graham, the amazing linebacker invited me to play with him. He was a favorite if mine, and playing several games with him is something I have remembered.

 

I married in 1972 while a student and bought season tickets to Ducks basketball. I was there when UCLA came to Mac Court for its "Lost Weekend".

 

I remain astounded until this day, 50 years later, by Ronnie Lee's performance against Bill Walton and the reigning nation champion UCLA that night.

 

Lee repeatedly drove down the middle attacking Walton. Lee whirled through the air like a gymnast.

 

Several times it seemed that he left the floor at the free throw line, sailed by Walton with the ball outstretched, gyrating through unbelievable hang time to stuff the ball as the big redhead flailed away at him. It was a show like I had never before seen.

 

The Kamikaze Kids were great to watch, but Ronnie Lee stood out for his effort, wily ways, and basketball IQ. He is worthy of Drex's "gym rat" moniker.

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One of my alltime favortite Ducks is Greg Ballard. He quietly went about being a great basketball player, maybe the GOAT at Oregon.

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And let's not forget Doug "Cowboy" Little!

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GODUCKS.COM

Oregon freshman forward Grace VanSlooten grabbed both the Pac-12 Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week awards, the conference office announced Monday.

 

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Doug "Cowboy" Little. He was a hoot. Fearless, built more like a linebacker. Terrific competitor. 

 

Notalot: You nailed it. Lee attacked relentlessly, leaving earth at the foul line and staying airborne to the basket. The slam over Walton--the single most amazing thing I have seen in sports.  I was in the bleachers up above the south basket so saw the finish through the glass backboard. I might have jumped higher than Lee at that moment. Well, maybe? 

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On 12/25/2022 at 6:45 PM, Gusduck71 said:

And let's not forget Doug "Cowboy" Little!

Not forgotten at all!  Doug was awesome!

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AD Smith

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