Oregon’s Jones Is on a High

It can be hard to make a name for yourself when your name is Freddie Jones.

But he’ll be playing L.A. for the next two weeks, and a few more people are going to catch his high-flying act as Oregon takes its shot at a Pacific 10 Conference title.

It’s not just the Freddie Show, either.

Combined with the “Two Lukes”--point guard Luke Ridnour and swingman Luke Jackson--Jones gives Oregon one of the most underrated backcourts in the nation.

“Their three perimeter players probably are as skilled and gifted as any in the West,” UCLA Coach Steve Lavin said. “I know in the East you have Duke and Maryland, even Kansas. But in the West, I think those three players are as skilled and talented as any.”

It already has been a breakthrough season for the Ducks, whose No. 13 ranking is their highest since 1975, when Coach Ernie Kent was an Oregon sophomore.

Win one of two against USC tonight and UCLA Saturday, and Oregon can clinch a share of its first conference championship in an astonishing 57 years--though it’s far from automatic for a team that was unbeaten at home and only 3-4 on the Pac-10 road.

The Ducks will be back next week, competing in what could be a wild Pac-10 tournament beginning Thursday at Staples Center.

Until this season, if Jones was known at all outside of Oregon, it was for his dunking ability. He’s only 6 feet 4, but his athleticism is reminiscent of former Trojan Jeff Trepagnier.

What Jones has developed in his senior season is what he always lacked: consistency.

Last season, he would follow a 22-point game with a seven-point outing, or a 36-point performance with a four-point night.

But since a Dec. 2 upset loss to Portland, Jones has scored in double figures in 21 consecutive games. In his last seven, he has averaged 25 points and seven rebounds. (USC held him to his lowest output in that stretch, with 14.)

“I knew coming in this year people wanted to see me be more consistent, day-in and day-out,” Jones said. “A lot of it is conditioning. This year I’ve been in better shape than in the past. I didn’t want to leave my career here on a sour note.”

He is fifth in the league in scoring at 18.6 points a game, and is shooting almost 54%--a 7% improvement over last season, and particularly impressive for a guard who has taken more than 300 shots.

Kent credits Ridnour--the superb floor leader and three-point shooter whose stamina faded down the stretch as a freshman last season--with helping set the tone for a rigorous off-season, and Jones agreed.

“It was pretty much a collective effort, but Luke Ridnour, he’s our point guard and probably hardest worker. He took it upon himself to just lead us with his work ethic,” Jones said.

Jones also got some pointers from Michael Jordan working at his basketball camp in Santa Barbara.

“He played with us every day. Just during games a little bit, he would give me a little advice,” Jones said. “He told me to keep attacking, and work on my mid-range shot.”

The mid-range shot can help Jones make it in the NBA, but it’s his dunks that make a crowd go nuts.

“It just comes naturally to me,” he said. “I let my teammates do the rating. I’ll just tell you the ones people say: There was an alley-oop last year against Illinois Chicago--Luke [Ridnour] threw it to me behind me, and I had to extend fully and catch it to dunk it.

“And probably the Arizona State dunk this year. [Jones went up and over 6-3 Kenny Crandall as Crandall tried to take a charge.]

“Actually, my favorite thing is the athletic layup,” Jones said. “My freshman year against UCLA at home, I had a reverse layup that pretty much got the crowd out of their seats. I think it was [Dan] Gadzuric who came over, and I’d already left the floor and I had to go up and under and switch to my left hand on a reverse.”

Cue the highlight reel, because Jones’ time in an Oregon uniform is winding down.

“My whole career went by so fast. It feels like I just got here,” he said. “But it’s coming to a good end. To be in position to play for a Pac-10 championship ... I just hope I get a taste of it.”

Richardson’s Lament

Nolan Richardson’s tirade about criticism, media coverage and racism this week wasn’t completely unfamiliar to most people who have been around the Arkansas coach.

It might help to understand Richardson remembers a time in Texas when he couldn’t go to the movies in El Paso because he is African American.

In college, he was the only black player on Texas Western’s team--a few years before the school made history with the first all-black starting five to win the NCAA championship in 1966.

When Richardson played, he was left home for a trip to Louisiana because Centenary didn’t allow African Americans in its gym.

Fighting against racism and overcoming disadvantages are as much a part of who Richardson is as pressure defense. He has complained vocally in the past about the unfairness of standardized tests toward minorities and about white teams being portrayed as intelligent and black teams as athletic.

The point is, he is often right, but he is always fighting: It’s a lifelong habit.

Long after his 1994 NCAA championship team had the respect of the country, Richardson was still preaching about respect.

How he is treated in comparison to other coaches at Arkansas and by a press corps he pointed out did not include any black journalists is difficult to assess from afar.

But he’s right about this: He has earned the right to have a sub-par season (Arkansas is 13-14). He has taken Arkansas to three Final Fours and won an NCAA championship, and only six active coaches have appeared in the tournament more than Richardson’s 16 trips with Arkansas and Tulsa.

“Nolan’s a very respected man and one who says what’s on his mind,” Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith told reporters. “He’s been a trailblazer in that regard.

“I feel I’m close to Coach Richardson. He’s my mentor and has been for a number of years.... Being black and being in a place where they expect you to win every game, I probably understand his frustration better than anybody. If you don’t win every game, there has to be a reason.... You have to have a reason.”

Arkansas Chancellor John White said Wednesday night he plans to meet with Richardson over his recent remarks.

The Shark’s Long Season

It has been a disappointing season for Fresno State, where Jerry Tarkanian’s team was in the top 25 early in the season but has lost six of nine to fall to 17-12 with two regular-season games left.

In a season marked by eligibility questions at different times about leading scorer Melvin Ely and guard Chris Sandy, guard Chris Jefferies’ knee surgery was probably the biggest blow.

Though there is mild suspense about whether Fresno can do anything in the Western Athletic Conference tournament, the bigger question is whether Tarkanian--noncommittal so far--will continue coaching.

It can’t be much fun right now. In 30 seasons as a Division I coach, Tarkanian has failed to win 20 games only once, in a 16-12 season at Nevada Las Vegas in 1981. This team is cutting it close.

“They say you learn through adversity,” Tarkanian, 71, told the Fresno Bee after losing to Louisiana Tech on a buzzer-beater last week. “God, we’ve learned a lot.”

Packing Their Bags

Let the bubble talk wait a week. The so-called small conferences are beginning their tournaments, and by Tuesday night, a dozen teams will have won NCAA tournament berths.

The Atlantic Sun, Big South, Colonial, Horizon, Metro Atlantic Athletic, Mid-Continent, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Southern, Sun Belt and West Coast conferences will be complete by early next week.

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The Times’ Rankings

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