Jan, 23, 2013; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks center Tony Woods (55)] blocks a shot against the Washington State Cougars at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

Lots to get to in this week’s edition of Oregon LinkedUp.

First some quick news on Oregon Basketball’s Senior Center Tony Woods. The Pac 12 had decided not to suspend him for his elbow hit to the head of Washington State’s Brock Marion from Saturday’s game. Oregon won in OT 79-77. 

On another good note for Duck Basketball, Senior E.J. Singler on Sunday became the winningest player in Oregon Basketball History. I thought it was somewhat appropriate that he had the two free throws to win the game for the Ducks in OT. The Ducks(21-5, 10-3 Pac 12) face Cal(Thursday 6pm, ESPN2)  and Stanford(Saturday 5pm, Pac 12) this week at Matthew Knight Arena.

In the Latest edition of ‘Bracketology’, Joe Lunardi has the Ducks in the Austin Bracket facing off as a 6 seed, facing 11 seeded Iowa State in the First Round. Round 2 opponents are 3rd seed Mexico or 13 seed Harvard.

More Brackets: Andy Glockner from CNNSI has the Ducks as a 5 Seed facing 12 Seed Middle Tennesse State(Sun Belt) in Round 1 in the Austin, Texas bracket. Oregon would face either 4 seed Marquette or 13 seed Louisiana Tech in Round 2.

Oregon Duck Baseball returns home to PK Park after a 4-0 Series Sweep of Hawaii in Honolulu. Starting Pitcher Jeff Gold was hit in the ankle after pitching 4 and 2/3 innings. No word on the status of his next start, which would Monday, February 25th vs Loyola Marymount at PK Park. Game one is slated for Friday, February 22nd. First Pitch 6pm.

Some Oregon Football News – the folks over at the Mo Center have received some new hardware in the mail. The 2013 Fiesta Bowl Trophy has arrived and is now on display. I wonder who paid the shipping on that one? The Register Guard has a good read on how Walk On Quarterback Dustin Haines is contributing to the team, off the field.

For the Oregon Women’s Basketball team the road to the end of the season doesn’t get any easier, but at least one player is getting some recognition from the conference, on a consistent basis – and Freshman Jill Alleyne, This Week’s Pac 12 Freshman of the Week, is also the Freshman rebounding leader. She heads to the Bay Area this week with her teammates to face off with Cal(Friday 6pm, Pac 12) and Stanford(Sunday 4pm, Pac 12).

The Oregon Women’s Track and Field team looks to continue their dominance making a three spot move in This Week’s Poll, up to #2 right behind LSU. With the Indoor Track and Field Championships less than a month away (March 7th and 8th in Fayetteville, Arkansas) they are coming on at the right time. The Oregon Men’s team had a slight setback and fell this week from 8th to 11th.

In Olympic Track and Field News, Olympic Gold Medalist Ashton Eaton will have the opportunity to speak at the Oregon Senate. Eaton took the gold medal in the Decathalon in the Summer Olympics in London last year.

Finally, Oregon Softball, who started the season 8-2 heads to Palm Springs, California this weekend to take on teams from across the US in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Senior Jessica Moore in last weekend’s series in the Easton Classic in Las Vegas went 1-1 with 9 strikeouts in 11.1 innings. Oregon Catcher Alexa Peterson has the hot bat early in the season hitting .636 with 7 hits, 2 doubles, a home run, 7 RBI’s and a walk. Sophomore Outfielder Janie Takeda is hitting .588 on the season with 10 hits, two doubles and five stolen bases.

Duck Softball heads to Palm Springs this week (March 22-24) for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic and will face five teams: Virginia(Friday), Cal Poly, Nebraska(Saturday) and UNLV, San Diego State(Sunday)

Oh, and on a side note – if your a coffee drinker like me and need to clean your Keurig, here’s a link for how to do it.

-JP

Other Links:

Oregon Zoo Otter Learns to Shoot Hoops, The Oregonian

Pac 12 Spring Dates, ESPN

Around Pac 12 Basketball, Bob Clark, Register Guard

Oregon Ducks This Week:

Jan. 3, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA: Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Less than a month before Signing Day, Chip Kelly departed for the Philadelphia Eagles. Oregon did not panic with is jump to the NFL and quickly hired Mark Helfrich to replace Kelly. Aside from visiting recruits, Helfrich has been busy making some hires of his own. He has brought in Wide Receivers Coach Matt Lubick, who is one of the best teachers in the nation at that position. Helfrich has also brought in a new Defensive line Coach in Experienced Ron Aiken to replace the popular Steve Azzarino, who left to pursue other opportunities.

With the coaching staff mostly in tact, it was time to focus on the Class of 2013. There are several wavering still, but we’ll focus on the ones committed to playing for the Ducks in the Fall.

There are several positions of need for Oregon on Offense (Running Back, Offensive Line) and across the Defense.

The top committed recruit in this class is Thomas Tyner. The Beaverton, Oregon native and All American in his Senior season (11 games) rushed for 3,415 yards and 47 touchdowns. His average was over 310 yards per game.

I believe his talent could make him the Ducks feature back in 2013. He could take over the starting role perhaps by the start of the Pac 12 Season.

 

 

Thomas is one of the top 2-3 running backs in the Country for 2012-13.  His 10.38 100 meter makes him one of the fastest men in the world and he is a legit 6’0″ plus and could be 215 this season. – PrepProfiles.com

Another Running Back commit that decided on Monday night to not play for the Ducks is Dontre Wilson(DeSoto, Texas). Wilson has made a commitment to play for Urban Meyer and Ohio State.  As a runner and receiver in 2011 he rushed for 767 yards and 15 touchdowns and caught 12 passes for 246 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Shortly after Oregon hired Lubick they had another commit from Two sport athlete Wide Receiver Devon Allen,(Phoenix, Arizona) who according to reports already had a scholarship for Track and Field at Oregon. It looks like he will also play football as he takes the scholarship from the departed Bryan Bennett who left for more playing time.

The Oregonian wrote a piece on JUCO  Linebacker Joe Walker(Wilmington, California), 6 foot 3, 230 pounds. He committed to play for the Ducks in December. Walker injured his shoulder in 2010, and took a medical grayshirt the following season. According to Fentress, he is already enrolled on classes at the U of O and looks to work toward a spot left vacant by graduating seniors Michael Clay and Kiko Alonso.

Finally seems to always be looking for speed on both sides of the ball and they found JuWaan Williams(Tucker, Georgia). At 6’1, 180 pounds Willams runs the 40 yard dash in 4.65 seconds. He is listed as an Athlete as it is not known on which side of the ball he will be best utilized.

In Other Recruiting News: (Updated 02/04/12)

Rob Moseley from the Register Guard is reporting that the Ducks may now be at the front of the line for Four Star Offensive Lineman Cameron Hunt(Corona, California). Hunt was previously committed to Cal when Jeff Tedford was coach, but that is no longer the case. Hunt would be the fifth offensive lineman in this class, as the Ducks go heavy at a position where they were unable to sign a prep recruit last year.

According to AddictedtoQuack.com, Oregon has locked up another Running Back Kani Benoit, a Three Star rusher out of Phoenix Arizona. He is the 18th Commitment for the 2013 class.

It was reported that the Robinson Brothers, Tyree and Tyrell commits for the Ducks are visiting other schools, most recently to the Washington Huskies.It looks like they may remain with Oregon.

More on recruiting as we get closer to National Signing Day on Wednesday, February 6th.

Recruiting Stories from Around the Pond:

Aaron Fentress, The Oregonian, Oregon Ducks Football Recruits Look Past Changes and Uncertainty

JT Light, Addicted to Quack, Ducks Get Super Bowl Rings, Basketball Bounceback, Signing Day Approaches

Ted Miller, ESPN, Oregon Recruiting Stays Strong

Justin Phillips is Sports Reporter for Newsradio 1120 KPNW in Eugene, Oregon

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Jan. 3, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA; Kansas State Wildcats wide receiver Chris Harper (3) runs the ball against Oregon Ducks defensive back Erick Dargan (4) during the first half while playing the Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

In a Press Release from the University of Oregon, Head Coach Mark Helfrich has hired Ron Aiken as Defensive Line Coach. He replaces popular coach Jerry Azzarino, who left to pursue other opportunities.

Ron Aiken, who spent the past six years among the most respected defensive line mentors in the NFL while accumulating 23 years of experience as a defensive assistant at the Division I and professional levels, has been named defensive line coach at the University of Oregon, according to the Ducks’ head football coach Mark Helfrich.

“Ron Aiken is an icon in the defensive line community,” Helfrich said. “His vast experience – coaching in all phases at the high school, college and pro level – will complement our current staff.

According to GoDucks.com, during his NFL tenure, he played a role in the development of three-time All-Pro defensive tackle Darnell Dockett, who led the league’s interior linemen in quarterback sacks in 2007 (9) and 2009 (7), and tied the franchise record for most sacks in a single season by a defensive tackle the former year. Aiken also aided in the emergence of defensive end Calais Campbell, who led or shared the team lead in QB takedowns in 2011 (8), 2010 (6) and 2009 (7) before pacing all Arizona linemen in 2012 (6.5).

Justin Phillips is Sports Reporter for Newsradio 1120 KPNW in Eugene, Oregon

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