Tamir ready for another Duck hunt.

Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard

It's not as though Amit Tamir isn't a good player most of the time. The 6-foot-11 California sophomore averages 17.1 points and is among the Pac-10 leaders in three-point shooting and free-throw shooting percentages.

And certainly he has big games against other teams, the latest being his 27-point performance that included seven three-pointers against Oregon State on Thursday night.

But there's nothing quite like a game against Oregon to bring out the best and brightest performances from Tamir, the next opportunity being tonight's 6:05 game in McArthur Court.

`I think the fact that I did good against them makes me feel a little more hyper before the game,' Tamir told a Bay Area reporter this week.

He also joked that `the fans (in Mac Court) might give me a warm welcome because I did good against them. It might be exciting and it might also get me hyped again over there.'

That's about the last thing the Ducks need. In three previous games against Oregon, Tamir is averaging 27.7 points and shooting .652 from the field. He scored 39 points against the Ducks last year to set a record for a Cal freshman and 25 in a Cal victory over Oregon earlier this year.

`I think I started on the right foot, started good against them in the first game,' Tamir said. `Maybe I felt good with the matchup or the type of game they play, but I can't point a finger at something that `this is the reason' or whatever.'

Tamir has gone inside and out on the Ducks. He's made almost three-quarters of his three-point attempts and almost two-thirds of his two-pointers. He's got an .867 (13-of-15) free-throw percentage against the Ducks.

Good as he usually is, he's great against Oregon, for whatever reason.

`If somebody else can figure it out, I wish they'd let me know,' Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. `Sometimes players just end up playing well against a particular team. They have that breakout game, like Tamir did against us last year, and then they look forward to playing that team again.'

Tamir is a difficult player to defend, with his size to post inside and outside shooting ability to roam the perimeter, and the 23-year-old Israeli is mature and experienced enough that he's seen about every type of defense and defender and understands how to respond.

The Ducks can't throw too many gimmicks at him anyway because there's a need to account for Joe Shipp, the Pac-10's leading scorer at 21.1 points, and Brian Wethers, who was a couple points over his average with 16 in the previous game against the Ducks. USC put its emphasis on Shipp and Wethers, and freshman point guard Richard Midgley responded with 23 points.

Oregon would seem likely to open the game with 6-8 Robert Johnson, Oregon's best post defender, on Tamir, though that would take Oregon's best rebounder away from the basket when Tamir steps out for a three-point attempt. To combat that, OSU assigned 6-3 point guard Lamar Hurd to Tamir in the second half Thursday, but if the Ducks go small on Tamir, won't he simply start posting up and using his size to score inside?

`He presents matchup problems for a lot of teams,' Kent said. `We're obviously going to have to do something to combat that because he's been a thorn in our sides the last two years.'

Another option would be to give the defensive assignment to 6-11 freshman Ian Crosswhite, the Duck most like Tamir. Crosswhite almost drew a starting assignment Thursday against Stanford, but the Ducks instead went with 7-foot Matt Short after Crosswhite was late to an afternoon shootaround after napping too long, Kent said.

In 18 minutes as a reserve against Stanford, Crosswhite scored 14 points and had five rebounds, and he is Oregon's third-leading scorer (10.6). In an inconsistent season, however, Crosswhite wasn't a factor in the earlier meeting against Cal, fouling out in 18 minutes.

`I've got to get in the right mentality to go in there and bruise away,' Crosswhite said. `It's taken me a while to realize how tough you have to play in this conference. I was used to playing outside a lot more and now I'm playing inside all the time.'

TAMIR VS. THE DUCKS

In three games against Oregon, California sophomore Amit Tamir has enjoyed great offensive success.

Game FG 3FG Pts

1/10/02 ... 8-14 3-4 19

2/9/02 ... 14-19 5-6 39

1/9/03 ... 8-13 2-4 25

Averages ... .652 .714 27.7

CALIFORNIA AT OREGON MEN

Oregon (16-5, 6-4) Starters

Robert Johnson, 6-8 Sr. (8.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg)

Luke Jackson, 6-7 Jr. (16.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg)

Matt Short, 7-0 RFr. (2.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg)

James Davis, 5-10 Jr. (10.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg)

Luke Ridnour, 6-2 Jr. (19.3 ppg, 6.3 apg)

California (15-4, 8-2) Starters

Joe Shipp, 6-5 Sr. (21.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg)

Amit Tamir, 6-11 So. (17.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg)

Gabriel Hughes, 6-10 Jr. (2.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg)

Richard Midgley, 6-1 Fr. (9.3 ppg, 2.9 apg)

Brian Wethers, 6-5 Sr. (14.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg)

Time: 6 p.m. PST

Radio/TV: KUGN-AM (590). Televised live on the Oregon Sports Network (KEZI locally).

Tickets: All tickets sold.

CAPTION(S):

O r e g o n b a s k e t b a l l UO MEN VS. CALIFORNIA McArthur Court 6:05 p.m. today KEZI-TV KUGN-AM (590) The Associated Press California's Amit Tamir has averaged 27.7 points and shot 65 percent from the field against Oregon in three games. His Bears face the Ducks tonight.