Oregon Men Picked to Finish 3rd in Pac-10

"Ernie Kent has a veteran nucleus returning. Even without Aaron Brooks, this will be a tough team to beat out West," - Dick Vitale, ESPN

Bryce Taylor (left) and Maarty Leunen are two of four returning starters for the 13th-ranked Ducks. Photo courtesy: goducks.com

EUGENE, Ore. - Oregon prepares for the 2007-08 season with a pair of exhibition games. The Ducks host Saint Martin’s on Friday, and Concordia on Tuesday. Both games will start at 7 p.m. at McArthur Court.

Oregon was slated for a third-place finish in the annual Pac-10 preseason media poll. UCLA was picked first, followed by Washington State and the Ducks. Next were Arizona, Stanford, USC, California, Washington, Arizona State and Oregon State.

The Pac-10 poll:

1. UCLA (33) 339

2. Washington State (1) 273

3. Oregon 240

4. Arizona 238

5. Stanford 205

6. USC 184

7. California 140

8. Washington 132

9. Arizona State 81

10. Oregon State 38

ABOUT SAINT MARTIN’S:

The Lacey, Wash., college is a member of the NCAA Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Saints were 10-17 last season (7-9 GNAC). SMU features Jake Linton, a 5-10 guard who averaged 20.2 points and 5.1 assists per game and was selected as a D-II preseason All-American. The Saints also return SR F Brendan Campbell (14.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and JR F Tyler Nixon (5.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg). Saint Martin’s has two Oregonians on its roster -- Eugene’s Blake Poole (Sheldon HS) and Salem’s Kyle Smith (Blanchet HS).

ABOUT CONCORDIA:

The Cavaliers, based in Portland, Ore., are an NAIA school, playing in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. Concordia was 16-13 a year ago (8-10 in the CCC). The Cavaliers’ top returners are SR F Cody Aker (8.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and JR G Desmond Meray (8.1 ppg). The Cavaliers open their season Nov. 1 versus Multnomah Bible College and have a Nov. 3 exhibition against Portland prior to their game in Eugene.

QUOTE SHEET:

"Malik Hairston should have the monster year everyone has been waiting to see," - Athlon

"Guard Drew Viney has a great stroke from deep and can score in spurts," - Athlon

"The Ducks will score in bunches and as long as they can score in the low post and defend in the same area, expect this squad to be a factor in the Pac-10 race throughout the season," - Andy Katz, ESPN

"Ernie Kent has a veteran nucleus returning. Even without Aaron Brooks, this will be a tough team to beat out West," - Dick Vitale, ESPN

PRESEASON PICKS:

A number of national media outlets have released their 2007-08 preseason predictions, and Oregon can be found in just about all of them.

A sampling:

National - Pac-10

ESPN/USA Today Top 25 13 - 3

Athlon Elite 8 - 2

Dick Vitale, ESPN 10 - 2

Andy Katz, ESPN 12 - 3

Blue Ribbon 13 - 3

CBS Sportsline.com 14 - 3

The Sporting News 16 - 4

Lindy’s 22 - 5

collegehoops.net 34 - 6

Pac-10 Media Poll - 3

Individuals:

Malik Hairston:

Wooden Award Preseason Top 50

No. 4 best slasher, Athlon

All-Pac-10 first team, Athlon

Tajuan Porter:

Athlon "Emerging Star"

No. 9 best shooter, Athlon

All-Pac-10 third team, Athlon

Source: goducks.com

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