This past weekend marked the all-exciting NFL draft, where dreams came true and hopes were shattered, as player after player, each hoping to turn his passion for the game into a career, waited anxiously for his name to be called. The seven-round NFL draft is loaded with strategy as teams strive to improve their rosters. Players who may have dominated …
Robinson Twins: The Ducks Developing a Dynamic Duo
Arizona, Arizona State, Georgia, Missouri, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington are just a handful of the quality programs that offered scholarships to blue-chip twin brothers Tyree and Tyrell Robinson. They are now both proud Ducks. Tyree redshirted last season, his first in the program after graduating in 2013 from Lincoln High School in …
Danny Mattingly: The Next Big Hitter
What does it take to be a dominant linebacker? Strength, agility, competitiveness and leadership, all of these qualities in combination set the great apart from the journeyman. Additionally, strong linebackers help set the tempo on that side of the ball and become the “glue” of the defense. Oregon redshirt freshman Danny Mattingly is an exciting linebacker ready to contribute this …
Theo Friedman — Freshman Walk-On — A Guard’s Guard
Relentless persistence and determination are qualities that set great athletes apart from the simply good. These qualities are also critically important to an athlete that isn’t offered a scholarship. No scholarship means a player is not guaranteed a spot on the team, but rather just a chance to try out for a “walk-on” position, and on their own dime at …
Lapray’s IQ Fundamental to Success
Basketball is a sport that has developed into a much more complex game than to those who knew it many years back. It has certainly evolved into a bigger, faster and stronger game. In such a sport which has so many essential components for both the team and individual players, principal fundamentals such as footwork, shooting and ball handling can …
Duckling Profile: There’s No “I” in Carter
Many athletes and sports fanatics have heard the phrase, “There is no ‘I’ in team.” For Ben Carter, he not only embodies this idea, but also practices it. He makes himself available to play many positions on the court, not just one. That versatility is evident in that he is more than capable of defending a power forward, while also …
Duckling Profile: For Damyean Dotson, Age is Just a Number
Many viewers and even coaches like to talk about “age” as a big factor. Competing at the high school level differs enormously compared to a Division I college level. But for some, like Damyean Dotson, age is nothing but a number. Only in his sophomore season at Oregon, Dotson has come off of an impressive freshmen year and is continuing that …
Duckling Profile: Check Out These Dominic Arti-stats
Basketball: a sport that many a casual fan judges merely by points scored. Points, however, ultimately have little to do with final outcomes. As we know, teams can score 90 points and lose, then score 65 and win. This is a complex game where, as in many sports, many interdependent movements determine success. The points scored result from, not in spite …
Duckling Profile: Arik Armstead – A Force on the Field and on the Floor
Not every high school athlete makes it in college sports, especially at the D-1 level. Success at this level requires diligence, athleticism and commitment much greater than even the most demanding high school programs. It’s a rare athlete who can star at even one college sport, but Arik Armstead has his eyes set on two. Armstead, a 2012 graduate of …
Ducks Rolling on the Road to the Big Dance
Kevin Cline With football coming to an end and basketball in full swing, Duck fans couldn’t be more excited for our 9-0 men’s basketball team, which is rolling down the road toward the Big Dance like an empty 18-wheeler with a tail wind. Last year the Ducks won the PAC-12 Conference Tournament and took down UCLA twice and Arizona once, but received only a No. 12 seed in the …