Father beams as son shines against OSU.

Byline: Ron Bellamy / The Register-Guard

Jordan Kent had just finished a live TV interview on the floor of McArthur Court, and radio was next, but first his coach was there with words of congratulations.

And then a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Those were both from the dad," Oregon coach Ernie Kent said later. "He got a bumped fist from the coach when he came out of the game, but those were from the dad."

Both coach and dad had every reason to thrilled with - and for - Jordan Kent on Saturday afternoon, as the redshirt freshman forward from Churchill High School was a difference-maker in Oregon's desperately needed men's basketball victory over Oregon State, 81-74 in the Civil War.

He had career highs in points (nine), minutes (23) and steals (three). He had three rebounds and an assist, and with 1:02 remaining, when the Ducks were up five and the Beavers couldn't wait to foul him, the 40.9 percent free-throw shooter this season (9-of-22 going into the game) knocked them both down.

"Don't they understand this kid has been in so many big meets with the pressure on him, to jump 25 feet, to win four state championships?" Ernie Kent wondered. "He's been through all that, and I was proud of the way he stepped up."

A breakthrough game? Certainly, this was Jordan Kent's best game as Duck, in a freshman season that was bogged down by a sprained left ankle on Oct. 18, and what it did was showcase what a special athlete the young Oregon track star is, and what a special basketball player he could be.

Jumping and dashing in Oregon's half-court trap, he forced turnovers, changed the tempo, fueled the crowd.

Good thing for the Ducks that the coach persuaded the dad to let him play more, and those arguments are usually the dad lobbying the coach.

"It's been hard for me, because you've got to separate the parent and the coach," Ernie Kent said. "And as a parent, it's been hard, because you've been kind of protective. You don't want him to get hurt again, you want to make sure he's healthy for a great track season.

"And yet the coach in me says, `You've got to play this kid, because he changes the game when he comes into the game.' And I talked to my staff about this in the last couple of days - we've got to let him play. Yes, his shot's not there yet, but he does so many other things, defensively, rebounding, getting his hands on steals, a blocked shot, he passes the ball and all those things.

"He deserves to play because he can help us."

And, in a very unique way, no Oregon player can want to help the Ducks more.

That's not simply his team, but his father's livelihood; that wasn't simply a vital win for the Oregon basketball family, to keep NCAA Tournament hopes even slightly realistic, but a fairly important win for Jordan Kent's family; the Civil War might be a big deal to all the Ducks, but it's even more to a Eugene kid who knows how difficult the Civil War loss in January was for his dad.

Pressure?

"Not yet," Jordan Kent said. "I know as I step up in the leadership position in the next couple of years that there will be a lot more pressure. Just being the coach's son, and looking at how many great things my dad did at this university, you just want to duplicate his success here."

Jordan Kent isn't the stereotypical coach's kid. He didn't grow up a gym rat, isn't the coach-on-the-floor type yet. He's a national-caliber track and field athlete for the Ducks - he'll run the 200 in the spring and compete in the long jump - and his track talent is still ahead of his basketball skills, and he's still determined to do both sports.

"He's a better athlete than I was, a better player, and a much smarter student," said Ernie Kent, the Kamikaze Kid of 30 years ago.

The question will always be how much doing two sports limits Jordan's potential to excel in one sport. His two three-point attempts Saturday, adrenalin-infused, were so errant that they over-shot the hoop and missed everything.

You have to figure that when he can knock those down consistently, he'll be the complete package, an impact player in the Pac-10, a star rather than a role player. But how many jump shots a day should he shoot, as Luke Ridnour did, to get to that point? And will there ever be enough time?

Something to watch, in the seasons to come, as you watch an athlete truly worth watching.

CAPTION(S):

Jordan Kent played a key role in Oregon's Civil War victory Saturday.