The Ducks men’s basketball team lost to Arizona 87-77 to take their record in the Pac-10 to 0-11. A lot of people are calling for head coach Ernie Kent’s head, but I am not one of them. Even if the Ducks match the Beavers’ record futility of last season, I still don’t think Kent should be fired. I’ll explain.
This year, the Ducks are young and inexperienced. Even though they had some good recruits, there is a huge difference between playing in high school and playing in college. Next year, the Ducks will be good. The year after, they’ll be very good. And the year after that, they’ll be rockin’ the rims at Matt Court. Even though the coach has influence on how a team performs, it’s the players who control the outcome of the game. This year, there are no other weak teams in the conference, and that means no easy wins. I think the Ducks can still win a game on their Washington trip, a game when Cal and Stanford play at Mac Court, and the Civil War in Eugene. It won’t be easy, but I think it’s possible.
In 12 seasons as head coach, Kent has become the all-time winningest coach in Oregon history, he has led his team to two Pac-10 Tournament titles, five NCCA Tournament appearances, and two Elite Eights. That last stat should jump out at you. The only other Pac-10 team to have that kind of success is UCLA, and the Bruins are in the hunt for the NCAA title year after year.
This season, the Ducks are not good. Kent himself called the team “weak.” The players will get better, and Kent should be there to lead them back to greatness. He’s done it before and he can do it again. There is only one person who should be opening the doors to the Matthew Knight Arena in January 2011, and that’s Coach Kent.
