Featured image courtesy of Kevin Cline.
The Oregon Ducks will once again support the troops, but this time it will be on the hardwood instead of the gridiron, this time in the Armed Forces Classic. The second installment of the classic is a part of ESPN’s Veterans Week and will feature the Ducks facing off against the Georgetown Hoyas.
I know the game isn’t for a few months, but the opportunity is exciting and a little early preview is much appropriate. The event will be an excellent opportunity for both teams, each looking forward to promising 2013-2014 seasons.
Dotson created a lot of buzz this past season.
Georgetown is coming off an impressive 2012-2013 campaign, finishing 25-7 after winning a share of the Big East title as well as earning a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament preceding an early departure in the opening round in an upset to Florida Golf Coast University.
Oregon went 28-9 and won the Pac-12 Tournament before advancing to the Sweet 16 in the tournament, where they fell by national champion Louisville.
The matchup of two top-flight programs can only lead to one question: What team has more to gain from this victory?
Georgetown will benefit from the game because Oregon is now on the national scope of basketball and a win will aid in their resume for later tournament seeding. However, I believe the Ducks have much more to gain from the experience.
One big reason is because the Ducks too would like to feature a win versus a top-contender on their schedule but the others are more minor details that I believe will better the team in the long run but these cannot be seen on paper.
A few key components to Oregon’s success are now graduated and some experience is lost but the Ducks and head Coach Dana Altman have done a good job filling the apparent holes in the roster with a good mix of transfers and recruits but the team will still be very young.
What Oregon lacks in experience, they make up for in the early leadership of their backcourt. Damyean Dotson and Dominic Artis were one of the best guard tandems in all of college basketball last year and it showed after a small mid-season slip occurred after Artis suffered a foot injury. The two stars look to lead Oregon back to winning fashion and Georgetown is a great way to start as they prepare for an even more competitive Pac-12 Conference.
Dominic Artis
Another thing to gain from the game is a boost in morale. In all my years as a college sports fanatic, Georgetown has always been a top contender in basketball and a win against them is always impressive.
Yes, the game is more for the troops, but it is also an amazing opportunity to show the basketball world that Oregon basketball is here to stay. The matchup is set for November 8, at a location to be announced. Last year’s event featured unranked Connecticut pulling off the upset against No. 14 Michigan State on the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
Featured Photo at the top provided by Kevin Cline
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Bryan Holt is a 20 year old junior at the University in Oregon looking to major in Journalism and Communications with hopes in pursuing a career as a sports writer or analyst.