Oregon 121, Fraser Valley 40 — Exhibition Notes

THE GAME

Oregon opened its Canadian exhibition swing Saturday night and beat the UFV Cascades 121-40. The teams traded to 9-9, then the Ducks ran off 44 straight points. Fraser Valley did not score again until the back half of the second quarter. Oregon led 66-13 at the break.

For context, this is UFV’s 5th game this summer against D1 schools.  WSU won by 26, Idaho St by 31, Marquette by 37, and Purdue by 35 (Purdue led 84-33 after three quarters though).  The Ducks won by 81. 

WHAT STOOD OUT

Overwhelming length, overwhelming defense, overwhelming work on the glass. That was the whole game. Oregon is long at every position and Fraser Valley could not get a clean look anywhere on the floor. The Cascades shot 13-of-69, 18.8%, and 2-of-30 from three.

The Ducks shot 54%, and there were so many runouts that you could argue Oregon wasn't particularly good offensively in the half court. This team has been together for about 4 weeks of summer work, so it’s not like we’re running great offense yet. But defensively, this team could be really, really good.   

Oregon played without its presumed starting center, Malique Ewin.  The Arkansas transfer had a tweak and sat out.

It is difficult to learn much from a game like this. But the Ducks played 11 scholarship guys and none of them looked out of place.

PLAYER NOTES

ANDREW MEADOW. 24 pts, 9-12 FG, 2-3 3P, 4-5 FT, 5 reb, 0 ast, 0 stl, 0 blk, 17 min.

Led the team in scoring. His defense seemed fine. What he does is take the easiest available thing: the wide-open three, or a drive he finishes well. He created nothing for anybody else. Two finishes surprised me. He caught an alley-oop thrown too short, coming across from the other side, and just spun it as a reverse layup.  He made it look easy, and it is not.. Later he went down the middle of the lane and dunked on everybody.  He’s really really clever and moves exceptionally well without the ball.  Kid can finish plays.  

FRED PAYNE. 15 pts, 4-7 FG, 7-8 FT, 4 reb, 4 ast, 3 TO, 17 min.

Started at the point, did most of his damage going to the hoop and getting to the line. Three turnovers is high, but looked totally natural handling the PG duties. That's a relief.  Payne needs to play well.  This is the spot with the least amount of backup on the roster. 

DWAYNE ARISTODE. 13 pts, 5-6 FG, 2-3 3P, 4 ast, 19 min.

Quick trigger, relaxed shot. Infinite range.  Still waiting to see if he can shoot on the move, but as a spot-up guy he's nails. Defense was good and he moved the ball well.  

TYRONE RILEY IV. 11 pts, 4-7 FG, 3-3 FT, 5 reb, 14 min.

Started. I expected more creation, or expected Oregon to go to him for it. He looked more like a finisher and a connector. Given how hard they went after him, I thought he'd have a bigger role.  

JASPER JOHNSON. 11 pts, 4-10 FG, 3-8 3P, 5 ast, 2 stl, 19 min.

He’s the defacto backup point guard. Five assists, a couple of steals, moved the ball.  He was also our bomber.  He’s going to shoot a lot of 3s for us. 

PHARAOH COMPTON. 10 pts, 4-4 FG, 9 reb (4 off), 2 ast, 2 stl, 14 min.

Better than 10 points. He is him.  He poked away three balls that I saw, grabbed four offensive rebounds, and switched onto guards, smothering them. Best big on the floor by a distance, with glue for hands. Free throw stroke looked smooth. He looked fantastic. 

TAYLOR BOL BOWEN. 6 pts, 3-8 FG, 5 reb, 3 ast, 14 min.

Looked a little forced. Most of what he made were runouts, and he had trouble finishing around the rim, getting fancy instead of going up strong. Struggling to finish against this team is a concern. He forced his threes too.

WHERE THIS LEAVES THE ROTATION

Stock up: Meadow, Payne, Compton. 

Stock down: Riley (he was fine, i just expected more) and Bol Bowen

My starting five right now: Payne, Meadow, Aristode, Riley, Compton, but Ewin and eventually Jasper might have something to say about it.