Oregon has been down for awhile and 2008-09 doesn’t look good for them. They lost 2 Srs including a solid player in Chapadelaine. Then Nurse left the team suddenly after last season along with one of their European imports. Adding to their losses, Soph Guard Nia Jackson tore her ACL and is lost for the season.
The Ducks have 12 players including 5 foreign, 3 frosh and a JC transfer. None of the newcomers are highly rated, nevertheless they do have promise.
In the Post position are two solid players and they are only in their 2nd year. 6-4 Ellyce Ironmonger, now there’s a name for a banger in the paint, and 6-5 Nicole Canepa return for the Ducks. Ironmonger averaged 6.5 points and 5 rebounds per game while starting about half the games. Canepa, from San Francisco, averaged 7 points and 4 rebounds per game as she started about half the games. She was also Honorable Mention all PAC 10 Frosh last season. There were a few games when both started, so something we might see again this season.
Ellie Manou is a 6-3 frosh who played a lot at the 4 position despite battling injuries last season. She averaged 7 points and 5.5 rebounds. Another 4 is frosh Amanda Johnson, 6-2, from Santa Rosa. Johnson averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds a game as a High School Sr. She scored over 2,000 points in her High School career.
Oregon lists 4 players on their roster as F/G so I’ll assume one of them will play the 3. JC transfer Lindsey Stafford is a 5-10 Jr who has had rebound success at the High School and JC level despite being 5-10. Stafford averaged 17 points and 9.5 rebounds per game last year, and as a High School Sr averaged 22 points and 15 rebounds. Being 5-10 will be hard for her in the PAC 10 at the 3, although a number of teams will be playing with 3 Guards.
The other 3’s are Rita Kollo a 6-0 5th year Sr. Kolla played two years of JC, a year at Oklahoma State and then sat out last year under the transfer rule. She scored 21 points per game in JC as a Soph and 10 points per game on Hungary’s U21 team in 2007. She brings some talent, but will be in her first and last season. Victoria Kenyon is a 6-2 Soph from Australia. Kenyon redshirted her first season at Oregon, and last year scored 3.6 points and 2.5 rebounds a game. She started 12 of the Ducks’games last season. Tatianna Thomas is a 5-11 Soph who saw little time last season, but was rated as the 40th best Guard as a Sr in High School. Incoming 6-0 Frosh Jasmin Holiday rounds out this group, although Holliday is listed only as a Forward on the Ducks roster. Holiday averaged 14 points and a solid 11 rebounds a game last year as a High School Sr.
Oregon returns two good Guards, 5-8 Jr Micaela Cocks and 5-6 Jr Taylor Lilley. Also they have added 5-6 Frosh Darriel Gaynor. Lilley is Oregon’s best player, having averaged 13 points per game last season and was named 3rd team All PAC 10. She’s also an excellent Three Point shooter, hitting 74 last season, 35% and is already 6th on the all time Duck list in Three Pointers made. Cocks averaged almost 7 points per game. Frosh Gaynor is the only true Point Guard on the team, She averaged 11 points and 6 assists per game last year in High School.
Little or not so little known facts: Lilley is the choice of most as the best dancer. Gaynor was a Travel teammate of Stanford’s Lindy LaRocque and has a sister playing for the Houston Comets. Cocks, of course, was a Tall Fern with Jillian in the Olympics.
The big question for Oregon: Who plays the Point? Gaynor, a frosh, is the only one with experience and that’s High School level. Or Lilley or Cocks?
Oregon has a pretty good non conference schedule, so they’ll come into league play prepared. Women’s Basketball is still pretty exciting in Oregon, they average 2,600 at home. But do they have the players to make a run to the top 5 in the league?
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