A BALL OF A LONG HAUL.

Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard

There was nary a minute Tuesday for Ernie Kent to pause and reflect on a remarkable Oregon basketball season that had come to an end 48 hours earlier.

But in between telephone calls, before an appointment for therapy on both shoulders - one surgically repaired, the other scheduled for an operation - and with packing to be done for a trip to Atlanta and the Final Four, Kent took a shot at putting it all in perspective.

`I hope people realize what an amazing run this team had,' Kent said. `They had a special year. It kept going and it kept getting better and better and better.

`I just wish it could have gone a little farther.'

It didn't because the Ducks lost to defending national champion Florida in the Midwest Regional final.

The Gators are one of three Final Four teams Oregon played this season, with a split by the Ducks against UCLA and an Oregon triumph over Georgetown, a fact that prompted CBS to sign Kent up as a guest analyst on Saturday's coverage of the national semifinals.

The coach's early view: `I like UCLA's defense, but you have to like the way Georgetown plays defense, too, and they're playing with a lot of hunger right now.

`It's going to be interesting, with all the big guys back there. They're all obviously playing well, and they've all had some good fortune to get there.'

It surely takes some of that to succeed in the NCAA Tournament, whether it's Ohio State's rally against Xavier or a last-second shot falling for Georgetown against Vanderbilt. What if UCLA hadn't held on against Indiana? Or Florida hadn't come from behind in three straight games?

Yes, Oregon was in the Elite Eight, but only after its NCAA Tournament began with a two-point victory over Miami (Ohio). Well, why figure it would be any different?

As the Ducks look back over 29 wins, it should be remembered that 14 of them were by eight points or fewer. In this turnaround season, that one portion of their record stood out above all others. A year after going 2-14 in games decided by eight or fewer, the Ducks won 10 such Pac-10 games, won their most difficult non-league games on the road by six and then seven points and then posted two of their NCAA victories by two and four points.

`The only thing I can point to as the reason for this was (that) we became mentally tough,' Kent said. `We were tough-minded from the start and it stayed that way all year, even down the stretch.'

Kent said it went back to the conditioning of last spring and summer.

`Everybody conditions, and maybe ours was tougher, but who knows?' Kent said. `It wasn't the physical conditioning as much as the mental toughness we got from it. We needed to get tougher and we did.'

It provided the Ducks with whatever it took to keep playing despite deficits, and to make the plays at the end of games. It allowed Oregon to increase its defensive intensity.

And when the Ducks did seem to hit the wall in February, it provided them something to draw on, though they had lost six of eight games and seemingly had their season teetering on the brink of collapse after being swept in the Bay Area.

What Kent did was decide to give his team an extra day off before a weekend series against Washington State and Washington. The Ducks swept the Cougars and Huskies, to start what would become a nine-game winning streak that carried through to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

`We came home from the Bay Area and we knew they had worked hard all season, they'd worked their tails off, so it wasn't a matter of pushing them harder,' Kent said. `The batteries needed to be recharged, that was all it was.'

If the Ducks hadn't responded, if they hadn't bounced back, the extra day off and the respite from conditioning would have been one of those coaching decisions that would have been second-guessed right into the NIT.

`It wasn't a gamble,' Kent insisted. `It was a feel for what they needed. It was a team that needed to be recharged.'

The schedule fell into place, Kent acknowledged, with the final two weekends of the regular season at home, and only one game that final week. That allowed more time off, and the Ducks looked like a refreshed team when they swept through the Pac-10 tournament.

Those three victories made the Ducks 10-3 in the league tournament since it was resurrected in 2002.

`I don't want to say too much about it, but it's a matter of having your team peaking at the right time,' Kent said. `With the (Pac-10) tournament, you always have the opportunity to get into the NCAA Tournament no matter what's happened before that, or you can help your (NCAA) seeding, so you want your team moving in the right direction when you get there.

`Even (in 2006), we went into the Pac-10 tournament saying, `We can wipe out our whole season and show everybody the real Oregon team.' '

The Ducks, with a losing record, went into double overtime of the Pac-10 tournament semifinals a year ago before the NCAA dream ended, and maybe it's where this season really began.

It carried over to the spring and summer workouts, and what Kent found when practices began in October was a team that was improved defensively because of its better conditioning, and seemed able to play with a smaller lineup.

`The guys were just older and stronger, and because they were tougher they could sustain (playing defense) for longer periods of time,' Kent said. `As long as we could play defense, we could play small.'

That was proven at Georgetown, Kent said, and affirmed early in the Pac-10 season with wins over top-10 opponents UCLA and Arizona.

`After we beat Georgetown at Georgetown, I felt we had a really good basketball team that could win a lot of games and get into the (NCAA) Tournament,' Kent said. `Once we got into the Pac-10 (schedule), we got more confidence and momentum and the feeling that we could really be good.'

It all kept building, with one milestone accomplishment leading to another. The Ducks ended up being ranked in the top 25 for the final 14 weeks of the season. They were the only team in the country to beat three teams during the regular season that were ranked in the top 10 of the polls at the time of the game.

Oregon went 7-3 against the top 25 this season, and 2-2 against teams in the Final Four. By finishing tied for third in the Pac-10, it marked only the fourth time in the 29 seasons of the Pac-10 the Ducks had finished that high in the final standings.

The 29 total wins matched the 1939 national title team for overall victories, one short of the school record set with a 30-15 record in 1945. Oregon's final winning percentage of .784 (29-8) is the best by the Ducks since the `Tall Firs' went 29-5 (.853) in taking that first NCAA title, and only four other Oregon teams - all between 1912 and 1928 - finished with better winning percentages than the current team.

There were a slew of individual statistics to attest to Oregon's accomplishment. As the Ducks set a Pac-10 record with 350 three-pointers, Tajuan Porter set a league mark for freshmen with 110 threes, second-most by a freshman in the NCAA as well.

Porter also led the Pac-10 in free-throw percentage at .909, a couple misses (he was 80-of-88) from the school record of .923. He did set the UO records for three-pointers overall and points by a freshman (512) while two other Ducks, Aaron Brooks (621) and Bryce Taylor (523), finished seventh and 20th, respectively, on the school season scoring list.

Brooks will be the Pac-10 scoring champion, only Oregon's second in 30 years, unless Arron Afflalo puts up a huge game, or games, for UCLA this weekend. Maarty Leunen's 304 rebounds are the most by a Duck since Greg Ballard pulled down 314 in 1976, and Leunen's total is eighth on the UO season list.

And on those numbers go.

They all added up to the team success. Since the '39 title, Oregon only twice reached a regional final before Sunday, losing to California in 1960 and Kansas in 2002.

Asked to compare his two Elite Eight teams, Kent hedged, saying `they were two different kind of teams.

`This team was really skilled at every spot, but (the 2002 team) was really skilled at every spot and they could really put up numbers. This group is a tougher defensive group.'

Which leaves it up for the choosing.

And now what? Next year starts next week, when the Ducks return from spring break and the coaches are back from the Final Four. Kent said junior college transfer Frantz Dorsainvil, delayed by immigration issues from being on this team, is expected to enroll for classes in the new term, and he'll be one of the four additions for next season along with redshirt LeKendric Longmire and incoming freshmen Kamyron Brown and Drew Viney.

`I don't know what Frantz is going to bring us,' Kent said. `I think I do, but I need to see him working day to day.'

The 6-foot-2 Brown could be especially important, as the other point guard with Porter after the departure of Brooks. Brown scored nine points with six assists and three steals as his Mater Dei team won the California state title for Division II last weekend.

To be resolved is whether Malik Hairston tests his NBA draft status. He said he'll talk with family and advisers this week, and Kent said `we'll sit down after spring break and go from there. It doesn't hurt to put your name in, go through the camps and see where you're at' in the evaluation of NBA teams.

Beyond the infusion of new players, Kent said there are several personnel matters to consider with the current roster before deciding on a style of play or lineup for next season.

`Maybe,' he suggested, seniors-to-be Mitch Platt and Ray Schafer `really come on.' He remains optimistic about the senior season for Chamberlain Oguchi; `Will he improve as much as Aaron and Bryce after down years?' Kent asked.

The coach senses Joevan Catron is `champing at the bit' to improve and be more of a factor. And surely Churchill Odia feels the same about his junior season.

His own priority, Kent said, `is you improve your players as much as possible between now and the fall. Then you take all the pieces you have and say, `Here's what I've got, and here's how it fits into what I want to do.' '

It all fell into place nicely this season, and the results won't soon be forgotten.

`I haven't had the chance yet to sit back and look at it, but I'll tell you, I think when I do, it's going to be pretty impressive,' Kent said. `It's just amazing what they've done.'

AN ELITE SEASON IN REVIEW

What an opening: Tajuan Porter returned from Detroit where he'd attended the funeral of a friend to score 27 points in his first college game. Two days later, he had 10 three-pointers and 38 points. Yes, at 5-feet-6, he could play.

An overlooked win: At Rice, in overtime. Down eight in the final minute, the Ducks scored nine points in span of 37 seconds to force an extra five minutes. After that, any comeback seemed possible, and there were many to come.

Hello, world: The win at Georgetown was the first in school history over a ranked team in the Eastern time zone. The Ducks went from one vote in the AP poll to the verge of the top 25, and a week later entered the rankings and never left.

What a rebound: Not 40 hours after Oregon had suffered its first loss of the season, to USC, the Ducks recorded their first win in 33 years over a team ranked No. 1 in the polls, taking UCLA from the unbeaten ranks.

What a follow: The Ducks recorded their first sweep of the desert in the 29 seasons of the Pac-10, following a win at Arizona State by going to Tucson and knocking off Arizona, then ranked 10th in the nation.

Not once, but twice: The Ducks beat WSU in Pullman, though they never led in the second half and didn't tie the score until the final half-second. In Eugene, Oregon came back from 14 points behind in the first half and six in the second to complete the sweep of the Cougars, then ranked ninth in the country, and start a nine-game win streak.

Perfect, just perfect: Bryce Taylor made all 11 of his shots and the Ducks finished their domination of the Pac-10 tournament by routing USC in the title game. That meant Oregon had a win over every other Pac-10 team after the Trojans had won twice in the regular season.

One, two, three: On neutral courts in Spokane and St. Louis, the Ducks defeated three conference tournament champions in Miami (Ohio), Winthrop and Nevada-Las Vegas. Only twice before had the Ducks won three times in the NCAA Tournament: in the 1939 championship season and the 2002 trip to a regional final.