The University of Oregon won the very first Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament in 1939.  They haven't won another since.  In fact, they haven't even been that close to reclaiming the prize in the ensuing 67 years.  And there's no Bill Buckner or Scott Norwood or Steve Bartman to pin the drought on.  The equation has been pretty simple.  An endless stream of mediocre teams just does not measure up with the UCLA's, Duke's, Carolina's, Kentucky's, Indiana's, and Kansas' of the world.

And you can't blame the shoes.  Or the place they lace those sneakers up.  Oregon's home floor, McArthur Court, is nicknamed "The Pit", because the arena that houses it used to be configured so layers and layers of balconies extended out so far that the floor seemed like it was sunken somehow and that seemingly endless rows of fans hovered directly above all of the action.  Though many of those balconies have been peeled back, The Pit remains a loud, intimidating place to play.

Unfortunately, the Ducks haven't made much use of that terrific home court atmosphere in recent years.  Specifically, they've been left out of the much coveted field of 64 (or 65, if you really want to consider the "play-in game") for the NCAA Tournament the last three seasons.   There's been no March Madness in Eugene in 36 months, and the locals are starting to get cranky.

Although Head Coach Ernie Kent has an overall record 52 games above the break even mark in his ten seasons on Oregon's bench (164-112), the dreaded "what have you done for me lately"  backlash may end up taking its toll if the Ducks fail to get to the Big Dance again in 2006-2007.

There have sporadic appearances of star players in the program: Greg Ballard, Ron Lee, Terrell Brandon, and, most recently, Freddie Jones and the "Two Lukes", Ridnour and Jackson.  But none have been able to attract the national spotlight.  The one current, high-profile recruit that many thought would change all of that was Malik Hairston.

Although likely unfair given the enormous expectations, Hairston has yet to deliver on that promise.  As a sophomore last season, he averaged 15.0 points a game and shot 47.0% from the field and 37.9% from 3-point range.  And that wasn't good enough.  Now, the junior guard from Detroit has the entire weight of Ernie Kent's possible future in Eugene and the success or failure of his team riding on his shoulders.  "Put up or shut up" has arrived at this young man's doorstep, and how he answers that door will go a long way towards deciding the success or failure of the team this season.  Frankly, he's the only true difference maker for the Ducks, and the team will only go as far as Hairston takes them.

Hairston will rely most heavily on senior point guard Aaron Brooks and junior swingman Chamberlain "Champ" Oguchi to help him carry the load.  Brooks is looking for redemption in 2006-2007 after the ugly way his season ended last year.  He was suspended from the Pac-10 tournament last March for elbowing Washington guard Ryan Appleby in the face.  It was such an embarrassing and ugly incident that it will cost Brooks another two games this season.  To his credit, he didn't waste much time apologizing for his actions.  He wrote letters of apology to both Appleby and Washington Head Coach Lorenzo Romar in the locker room after he was ejected from the floor and had them hand-delivered to both immediately following the game.  And the Ducks need a resurgent Brooks for 2006-2007.  He averaged 10.8 points and 4.4 assists per game last season.

Oguchi is the team's most dangerous long-range threat.  However, he is also one of Oregon's streakiest players.  When the three's are falling for him, he's lethal.  When they aren't, he's just another guy running up and down the floor.  And that difference was never more apparent than in back-to-back games in last year's Pac-10 conference tournament.  Oguchi scored 26 and 22 points in upset wins over Washington State and Washington, connecting on 12-of-25, 3-point tries (an impressive 48%).

The front court is mostly a loss.  Center Ray Schafer is 7'0" but offers little more than four points and six fouls per game.  Forwards Mitch Platt and Maarty Leunen are low-ceiling, high energy guys who will never lack for effort but simply don't have the skills to match their collective enthusiasm.

The unknown piece of the Oregon front court is JC transfer Franz Dorsainvil. At 6'8", the Haitian native who grew up in Montreal is a high-ceiling guy with some much needed speed and hops at a premium position.  Unfortunately, Dorsainvil is having trouble sorting out some Visa issues and may not be available to the team until December.

The bench will be a little light.  Guard Bryce Taylor averaged 9.3 points a game last season coming off of the bench and will be expected to make a similar contribution this year.  Swingman Jordan Kent, Ernie's son, is also a receiver on the football team and won't be available to play for his father's team until the football season is over.  However, he is such a gifted athlete (he's also a top sprinter on the school's renowned track team) that his adjustment back to basketball should be fairly quick.  At 6'5", he's a surprisingly effective rebounder, who averaged 4.4 per game in limited minutes last season, and provides an important spark off the bench.  Another swingman, Churchill Odia, a transfer from Xavier, will also get an opportunity for minutes.

Top freshman recruits include tiny (5'6") but lightning quick point guard Tajuan Porter, likely redshirt off-guard LeKendric Longmire, and promising 6'6" small forward Joevan Catron.  Of the three, Catron's development is probably the most important, factoring in the Ducks' wafer-thin front court situation.

To say that Oregon will be a perimeter team this season is a massive understatement.  Their ability to consistently hit from long-range might well make the difference between going back to the Big Dance after a three-season hiatus and staying home yet again.  And this team knows that their perimeter game is good enough to take them places.  Last season, they finished 15-18 (7-11 in the Pac-10).  However, an agonizing eight of those losses were by three points or less, which means almost half of the team's losses last season came down to a single possession.  And the core of that team (Hairston, Oguchi, Brooks, and Taylor) is back in 2006-2007.

They'll soon find out how much closer they are to turning those close losses into narrow victories.  Oregon's first step towards March Madness starts tonight at The Pit against Lehigh.

Stats from: http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/team?categoryId=71629&redir=false

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/teamsched?teamId=2483&seasonYear=2006

http://www.goducks.com/downloads1/8203.pdf?ATCLID=214411&SPID=235&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPSID=4296

Injury and Suspension Info from: http://www.pac-10.org/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031406aae.html

http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=661191