Kent's troops ready to roll.

Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard

All the answers seemed to be positive for the Oregon basketball team as it met the media on Tuesday with one exception.

Has Oregon coach Ernie Kent signed that new contract that was announced on April 11?

"No, I haven't got it," Kent said.

The UO coach was otherwise reticent to discuss the delay in finalizing his new contract with signatures, obviously concerned that any report in the media that there is a delay with his agreement could be used against the Ducks in recruiting.

Both Kent and Pat Kilkenny, the UO director of athletics, said that there were no disagreements to delay the finalization of the contract, only the approval of the university's legal department.

"We just need to get to it," Kilkenny said. "It's really my fault" the deal hasn't been signed.

Kilkenny said he and other UO administrators had been concentrating on getting the baseball program started and moving forward on the proposed basketball arena, and Kent's contract hadn't been the priority item that it should have been before now.

"We took advantage of Ernie's good nature," Kilkenny said. "I'm going to have to ask if we can get after it. It needs to be dealt with."

Kilkenny said the contract was in the office of Melinda Grier, the legal advisor to UO president Dave Frohnmayer, waiting for a review that all contracts must have before being signed.

"It is for sure sitting in a pile of documents," Kilkenny said. "It was just something that we felt we didn't have to have (finalized) because we had enough of an agreement in place. We're all in accord with our agreement."

As announced, the new contract included a salary of $1 million with the potential for $300,000 in bonuses and would run through the 2011-12 season, both a raise and an extension for Kent.

The coach said he has been receiving monthly salary payments since the spring based on the unsigned contract.

"They pay me. Isn't that the bottom line?" Kent asked. "It's not a holdup with me and I don't believe it's a holdup because I'm getting paid."

Kent is technically working under a contract that runs through the 2009-10 season.

The new deal puts into one document elements of the earlier contract that included the basic agreement and addendums that were added, Kent said.

While it might seem curious that Kent, as the university's second-highest-paid employee behind football coach Mike Bellotti, doesn't have a signed contract six months after the deal was announced, Kilkenny was adamant it is only a "function of time," and there is nothing remaining to be worked out.

"We have a definitive agreement," Kilkenny said. "It's me. I simply have tried to get too much done" in his first months as the head of the department.

Kent and Kilkenny reached the agreement in the wake of Oregon's successful season, a 29-8 record that saw the Ducks reach the final game of the Midwest Regional, one step from the Final Four.

The Ducks return four starters from that team for the official start of practices Friday evening.

"It is probably as veteran a team as we've had in a long time," Kent said, adding that "we'll be a little bit deeper this year."

There is the notable loss of Aaron Brooks, the point guard who led the Ducks in scoring and was a first-round selection in the NBA draft by the Houston Rockets.

"We're going to miss Aaron Brooks," Kent said. "That's a big adjustment for us and one that we're capable of making."

Also ...

Kent underwent surgery twice since the end of last season, on May 1 to repair a torn rotator cuff and Aug. 1 for hip replacement surgery. Kent also had surgery on the other shoulder for the same injury prior to last season. "It's nice to start a season with no slings," Kent said. "I have some renewed energy after everything I went through last year healthwise." ... The Ducks have added two freshmen who aren't on scholarship in John Elorriaga from Jesuit High School and Nicholas Fearn from Seattle Prep. ... Transfer Ben Voogd will be redshirted after the Siuslaw High graduate transferred from LSU ... Bryce Taylor has requested that he be listed as officially 6-feet-4, an inch less than his height in his first three collegiate seasons.

OREGON MEN'S OUTLOOK

The Schedule

Nonconference

Date Game Time

Nov. 2 x-St. Martin's 7 p.m.

Nov. 6 x-Concordia 7 p.m.

Nov. 10 Pepperdine TBA 

Nov. 11 Pacific TBA

Nov. 12 Western Michigan TBA

Nov. 17 at Portland 7 p.m.

Nov. 20 at Saint Mary's 7 p.m.

Nov. 24 San Francisco TBA

Nov. 29 at Kansas State 6 p.m.

Dec. 8 p-Utah TBA

Dec. 11 Sacramento State TBA

Dec. 15 o-Nebraska 11 a.m.

Dec. 22 at Oakland 6 p.m.

Dec. 28 Mount St. Mary's TBA

Conference

Jan. 3 at Arizona State 6 p.m.

Jan. 5 at Arizona 11 a.m.

Jan. 10 California TBA

Jan. 13 Stanford 1:30 p.m.

Jan. 17 at Washington 6 p.m.

Jan. 20 at WSU 5 p.m.

Jan. 24 UCLA 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 26 USC 6 p.m.

Feb. 2 Oregon State TBA

Feb. 7 at Stanford 7 p.m.

Feb. 9 at California 4 p.m.

Feb. 14 Washington TBA

Feb. 16 Washington State 6 p.m.

Feb. 21 at USC 8 p.m.

Feb. 23 at UCLA 12:30 p.m.

March 2 at Oregon State 7 p.m.

March 6 Arizona State TBA

March 8 Arizona TBA

March 12-15 l-Pac-10 tourn. TBA

The Roster

Oregon

No. Player Yr Ht Wt

34 Kamyron Brown Fr 6-2 170

50 Joevan Catron So 6-6 235

11 Frantz Dorsainvil Jr 6-8 260

15 John Elorriaga Fr 6-2 170

21 Nicholas Fearn Fr 6-1 175

1 Malik Hairston Sr 6-6 220

10 Maarty Leunen Sr 6-9 220

24 LeKendric Longmire Fr 6-5 200

13 Churchill Odia Jr 6-6 210

3 Mitch Platt Sr. 6-10 265

12 Tajuan Porter So. 5-6 150

45 Ray Schafer Sr. 7-0 245

4 Bryce Taylor Sr. 6-4 210

33 Drew Viney Fr. 6-7 210

2 Ben Voogd Jr. 6-2 175

The STATS

2006-07

Season totals

Games Pts. Reb. Ast.

Brooks 35 17.7 4.3 4.3

Hairston 27 11.3 6.0 2.1

Taylor 37 14.1 4.6 1.7

Leunen 37 10.8 8.2 2.1

Porter 35 14.6 1.9 2.0

Catron 36 3.1 3.1 0.8

Odia 16 1.8 0.9 0.9

All times Pacific

x-exhibition; p-at Portland Rose Garden; o-at Omaha, Neb.; l-at Staples Center, Los Angeles