Ducks confident without Ridnour.

Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard

Welcome to Oregon basketball without Luke Ridnour.

Which comes a year after the Ducks had to deal with replacing Fred Jones after he had gone to the NBA.

Which, to hear the Ducks tell it, is simply the way it is in college basketball.

`Man, we were in the same situation when Freddie Jones and Big Chris (Christoffersen) and all those guys left,' UO senior James Davis said. `How are we going to replace that? How are we going to replace Freddie Jones? Same scenario.

`We reloaded, we regrouped and we're all just going to step up like we did last year. The pieces are all there. We've just got to put the puzzle together and we'll be in great shape.'

The task of forming this Oregon team starts in earnest Saturday, when the NCAA says practices can officially begin. The Ducks have been participating in individual workouts with coaches this month, and there were about eight weeks during the summer when the players were in Eugene at the same time, going through conditioning workouts together and playing pickup games.

`We're farther ahead than in previous years,' Davis said.

Thursday was Oregon's media day, and about three things stood out:

Matt Short, the 7-foot sophomore, was getting around on crutches with his left leg in a protective boot because of a hairline fracture of an ankle bone. If he stays on schedule, he'll make the transition from workouts in the pool to light running to playing basketball by mid-November.

`He'll be behind in basic conditioning and he'll miss out when we'll be putting in some new things, but he'll give us an added lift when he comes back,' UO coach Ernie Kent said.

Nike's problems with Oregon uniforms aren't limited to football. The yellow top that 7-foot Ray Schafer was wearing for the team photo was short the C in his last name, but at least it was on his back and out of view of the camera lens.

Maybe that's how it goes for freshmen. As Schafer also pointed out, under a picture of him in the media guide, it says he's from Jacksonville, Fla. He'd always thought he was from Wasilla, Alaska.

And, there was no Ridnour since he left a season early for the NBA, and was drafted in the first round by the Seattle SuperSonics.

`We'll certainly miss Luke Ridnour,' Kent said. `But it will be exciting to find out where our destiny lies.'

The Ducks should have reason for optimism, the coach said. Among the four seniors are the league's best three-point shooter (Davis), last season's newcomer of the year (Andre Joseph) and a candidate for the Pac-10 player of the year in Luke Jackson.

Plus, Kent said, the Ducks will be `one of the biggest teams in the country' with the two 7-footers and four other Ducks 6-8 or bigger, plus the 6-7 Jackson. That size is balanced, Kent said, by the Ducks having `the potential to be the fastest team I have ever coached.'

There's experience, with eight lettermen, and certainly athleticism with the likes of Jackson, Joseph and Jordan Kent on the wings. Minutes might be the most difficult thing to find for this group.

`If ever there was a year when we were going to play numbers, it's this year,' Kent said.

Coming off consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, with a Pac-10 regular season title in 2002 and a conference tournament title in 2003, Kent said this Oregon team should be one of the six teams that can contend for the Pac-10 crown in 2004.

`We've got a good shot at winning it,' Joseph said. `You've got to look at our depth. I think we're a better team than we were last year as a whole. It's going to be an interesting season.'

There seems to be local support for that view of the Ducks. As of Thursday, Oregon had cut off season-ticket sales at 5,709, an increase from the 5,119 sold last year. What single-game tickets are left will be put on sale a week from today.

The Ducks play their first exhibition game Nov. 9, and the counting opener is Nov. 21 against Fresno State.

`The diversity of this team is going to be good,' Kent said. `It's growth potential is enormous ... everything is kind of there.'

Except for the experienced point guard, where the assignment falls to freshmen Aaron Brooks and sophomore Brandon Lincoln, the latter after playing less than 10 minutes per game in the 26 games he appeared as a freshman.

Brooks, Kent predicted, `will show he can handle' the role of running a team, with the support of Lincoln.

`I think we'll be better this year because we have a pass-first point guard, so the rest of us will get more shots,' Joseph said. `We're missing a great talent but we'll have more chemistry this year.'

Davis said the key for both young point guards will be `just don't try to fill Ridnour's shoes and live up to his expectations. There isn't anybody going to do that, just like there wasn't anybody who was going to be Freddie Jones last year.

`They left a great legacy, but this is a new team and a new day. It's not like this is new to us. Freddie was a huge loss and Ridnour is a huge loss, but last year we had success (without Jones) and this year we're just going to have to rally together.'

CAPTION(S):

Coach Ernie Kent, talking with Jay Anderson (left) and Andre Joseph on Thursday, says this could be the fastest Oregon team he's had.