Five of those turnovers came from freshman point guard Dominic Artis, who was the Ducks top commitment in the 2013 class as a four-star, top 50 recruit (top five PG). There are going to be some growing pains for Artis as evidenced by the turnover totals, but he was one of four starters to hit double-digits. Fellow frosh Waverly Austin also had five turnovers in 11 minutes off the bench, which is ten minutes less than what Artis played.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Fellow freshman starter Damyean Dotson also figures to be used heavily here on out, and he was the most efficient player on the Ducks in a 5-8 day with six rebounds. Tony Woods is going to be a huge part of the team’s success this year, and the top defensive big led the way with two blocks and had seven rebounds. He led the team with 14 points.

As a team, Oregon hit 48.3% of their shots and controlled the glass with 42 rebounds. However, turnovers kill teams and Oregon was down 67-66 at one point later in the game. In fact, the Ducks turned the ball over on one-fifth of their possessions. Other than that, they dominated Northern Arizona in every other facet of the game and averaged 1.04 points per possession (.92 for the Lumberjacks).

It was a solid win for the Ducks, but it was too close for comfort at points in the second-half. The MVP of the game was clearly Woods, who was solid on the glass, dominant on defense, and he was efficient on offense with a team-high 14 points.

The freshmen impressed me in this one, and it’s tough not to feel great about the future of Oregon basketball. The five of them combined for 101 minutes of action and 43 points, 19 rebounds, six assists, five steals, but also 12 turnovers.

247Sports reported that four-star wide receiver MarQuez North has co-leaders in UNC and Tennessee, and that both teams are even at the top of his recruitment. However, the Oregon Ducks could get an official visit from the top 75 2013 prospect. North has an official trip scheduled to Columbus to visit the Ohio State Buckeyes, and he also has interest in the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs. The Clemson Tigers were also mentioned as a team that could get a visit from North in the 247 piece.

It’s going to be interesting to see if the Ducks can get an official visit from him, because North is the top prospect in the state of North Carolina in this class and is a top ten wideout overall. He runs a 4.4 forty time and is a big-play threat who gets to the end zone often for Mallard Creek.

The California Golden Bears 59-17 blowout loss at home did not affect their standing with high-end three-star cornerback Cameron Walker, as the talented L.A. recruit put Cal in his final three. He has his final visit scheduled for the Wisconsin Badgers next week after visiting Cal and Boise State. All three of those teams are in his top three. Cal’s loss is definitely defensible, because an incredibly high amount of their best players were out for this game and the Oregon Ducks are just insanely good.

Walker is rated as one of the best 40 CBs in the 2013 class, a top 50 recruit in the state of California, and a top 500 recruit overall.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Tony Woods led the team with 14 points. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

After a 14-4 run from the 8:32 mark, the Lumberjacks finally took a 67-66 lead in the game with 5:44 to go and after a Ducks timeout. E.J. Singler then came back with two crucial buckets inside the paint to take a 70-66 lead. Oregon would pull away to eventually win the game with a 13-7 run after NAU took the lead.

The scoring was completely balanced among the Ducks’ starting players. Tony Woods led the offense with 14 points and seven rebounds, Singler was producing right with him with 12 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Daymean Dotson and Dominic Artis reached double-digits with 11 and 10 points respectively.

Both teams combined for 34 turnovers, the Ducks having 18 of them with Artis and backup Waverly Austin having five each. Overmatching the majority of NAU’s players, Oregon was only able to hit 68.8 percent of their free throws (22-32).

The Lumberjacks were able to keep up with the Ducks by keeping up with them in rebounding and impressive play from their guards. Michael Dunn, Gabe Rogers, Stallon Saldivar, and Dewayne Russel from the bench combined for 44 points, 13 assists, 17 rebounds, and five steals.

Oregon’s next game will be against Portland State at 6:30 p.m. PT.

Brian Spaen is the lead editor for Autzen Zoo. See his banter with other FanSided writers and love for his favorite west coast professional teams by following him on Twitter.

Read his other work on the Iowa State blog, Clones Confidential, and Lacrosse the Web.

Last season the ‘Jacks opened in Tucson against Arizona which was a 41-10 defeat to their in-state foe. Senior Cary Grossart looks to be the starter this season after throwing for 2,745 yards with 16 touchdowns.

The Todd Graham era will open with Northern Arizona on Aug. 30 at Sun Devil Stadium. Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Junior Zach Bauman who was a 1,435 rusher a season ago with 15 touchdowns including a 5.3 yard per carry average. Grossart has the second most yards from last season 64 net yards.

Junior Ify Umodu had the second most receiving yards with 667 yards returns he scored four TD’s in 2011. Bauman finished third on the team catching 29 passes for 352 yards scoring once. Sophomore tight end Dejzon Walker as a freshman he caught 22 passes good for 328 with three touchdowns.

Defensively sophomore Craig Frum is the team’s leading returning tackler bringing 45 from a season ago with 1.5 sacks and six tackles for loss. Sophomore cornerback Blake Bailey leads the defensive backs he had 43 tackles and had 3.5 TFL.

The schedule will be tough having opening road trips to Tempe and Las Vegas then in-conference trips at Montana and North Dakota. They will get UC Davis plus Cal Poly at home but in the end I think a .500 record is the best case scenario.

2012 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks Schedule –

@Arizona State 8/30
@UNLV 9/8
Fort Lewis 9/15
@Montana 9/22
Portland State 9/29
@North Dakota 10/13
UC Davis 10/20
@Northern Colorado 10/27
@Idaho State 11/3
Southern Utah 11/10
Cal Poly 11/17

Check out the entire archive of “Know the Opponents,” a series of all Pac-12 non-conference opponent previews, here.

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