Can a Recruit Save Ernie Kent’s Job?
Posted on 02. Feb, 2010 by Keith Becker in Oregon Ducks
Wroten is a standout from Garfield High School in Seattle.
Among the countless Twitter rumblings I came across today, these two tweets from Matt Prehm of DuckTerritory.com (@Prehmmr) stuck out like a sore thumb:
- 2011 Top 5 BB recruit Toney Wroten JR has informed me UO dropped in his list because of job stability w/Ernie Kent and concerns of firing.
- Wroten had Oregon as his favorite, but dropped them down. This was before the UCLA and USC games. Wroten is very impressed with Kent.
First of all, I’m not exactly sure which characteristic of Kent’s has impressed him, but putting that aside, is this news something Athletic Director Mike Bellotti should consider when deciding Kent’s fate this off-season?
Wroten, who’s listed at 6-4 and 180 pounds, is ranked the No. 2 point guard and No. 9 player overall in the country, per Rivals.com, describing the prep star as “an electric athlete with great size for his position, Wroten has the ability to take a game over at any moment.
“Slashing to the basket is his forte, but he can also heat up from the outside. A physical point guard, he has excellent court vision and provides a formidable presence on both ends of the court.”
Impressive.
Trust me, I want Wroten just as much as the next guy, but is having him for one year – he is almost surely a one and done type player – worth delaying the end of the Kent era at Oregon by at least two seasons?
I don’t think so, and especially not when we’re adding him to a team that isn’t exactly “one player away”.
Sure, there’s the possibility his commitment would bring more top players with him, but until Kent proves he can consistently get his team to the tournament (and not just the Pac-10 one), I don’t think John Calipari will have to lose sleep worrying about losing any of his recruits.
With this weekend’s sweep of the Los Angeles schools and the Wroten news, Kent’s status is curiously looking up.
Is a top-5 recruit worth an extension to the Ernie Kent era?
realist
02. Feb, 2010
who is it you see as the savior of the program since you seem determined that coach Kent, the winningest coach in the history of the program should be fired? Are you under some delusion that any number of high level coaches are salivating to come to Oregon? Under coach Kent the program has prospered and is likely to continue to given the upgrades in facilities that coach Kent had no small part in bringing to fruition.
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Keith Becker
02. Feb, 2010
I think that Oregon would open the checkbook up to get a top level coach, especially with what’s at stake next year. We definitely have a good amount to offer: Nike money, the new stadium, workout facilities, the Jaqua temple. Ernie Kent deserves praise for all that he did for Oregon, and he did a lot, but I think he has stalled and can’t win without upperclassmen NBA-level talent. I would love to see Lavin or even St. Mary’s Randy Bennett coaching Oregon next year.
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Coastal Duck
02. Feb, 2010
It’s not like this is the last “elite” kid that is ever going to have the Ducks “high on his list” –
Ernie would be a great recruiting coordinator, but Xs and Os have never been his strong suit – and that’s the kind of head coach we are in dire need of.
Just sayin’.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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ChrisR
02. Feb, 2010
Save Ernie!
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Robbie G
02. Feb, 2010
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Quackdaddy
02. Feb, 2010
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sozeduck
02. Feb, 2010
A kid needs to decide what school fits him the best. A coach may or may not be there the whole time. So, in a word, no I wouldn’t save Kent just to get a specific recruit. I hope the young man has really looked at Oregon and if he has he’ll see it as a really great place to go to school, get an education and play basketball. Or not.
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Bruce
02. Feb, 2010
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Michael
02. Feb, 2010
Quackdaddy -
I want to elaborate on your correct point of “no player development. ever”
i think AB is the perfect example though. but only in the sense that his development came from himself. it was his natural trajectory to be as good as he was. kent did nothing to bring that to fruition. look at his elite 8 squads. they are dominated by juniors and seniors who all have played in the nba. (ridnour, jackson, jones and hairston, leunen, taylor, and AB). so i think all of those players found out how to be great (whether together or individually) on their own, over time. not because of ernie’s x’s and o’s.
other than tajuan porter (who has since fallen off a cliff) there have been minimal young (ie freshman) contributions over recent years.
so quackdaddy, i certainly agree with you. just taking it a step further. he brings in the talent but hopes that they will figure it out after a few years.
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Robbie G
02. Feb, 2010
Freddie Jones was a lot better his senior year than he was when he started. Ernie developed Bryan Bracey into a player who could actually get drafted. Luke Jackson wasn’t on any jet plane to the NBA before he came to Oregon. Ridnour was significantly better his third year than he was as a freshman. You can’t just say Aaron Brooks had a kid and that’s why he matured. If that’s the case, maybe Ernie should just encourage his players to punch hoops hard enough to break bones, then progress to punching people, then knock up a girl and they will be mature and ready for the next level. Give me a break with that nonsense. Brooks developed into a leader on the floor because he matured and grew accustomed to the plan that Ernie laid out.
Whether you like it or not, these players buy into what Ernie is selling, he’s money with the parents, and he’s made Oregon a legit basketball program that the #2 high school recruit would actually think about playing for.
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dfb
02. Feb, 2010
Ernie Kent will save his own job, or not. The reality is Oregon has never had a good basketball “program” until Ernie became it’s coach. They have had good seasons, but not a good program. Harter came close to a good program but he was never going to stay here, being a college coach wasn’t his forte’. Since Harter (and really before him) Oregon has had good “X’s and O’s” coaches but one was fired (Monson) because he couldn’t recruit well enough to win, and the other left as soon as he had success. I don’t care if a coach is good at X’s and O’s, or is a good recruiter, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that he wins consistently, gets to the tournament relatively often (relative being relative to Oregon’s history in basketball) and does better than that occasionally. I would also like the coach to run a clean program in which the players are a credit to the University… Wait….we already have that in Ernie Kent…..hmmm….never mind….
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Keith Becker
02. Feb, 2010
The Ducks in Alton Baker park disagree with you!
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jOe
03. Feb, 2010
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J.Deere
05. Feb, 2010
Bruce,
By leaving a comment on this article you have clearly accessed this website. So according to your own comment, you lack common sense?…Just asking…Next time, before you insult someone, you should be careful how you do it.
And Kent needs to go.
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Jaddilac
10. Feb, 2010
Ernie Kent scares me; he could win three out of the next seven games and save his job. However, it seems that if we get Wroten because he saves his job, it might be a good thing. I say this because Mark Few is not jumping on our bandwagon next year. We have the best chance of getting him in the 2012-2013 season when our players are juniors and seniors. So, if Kent gets us to the NIT this year, we get Wroten and open up Matt Court with a big name player, it is worth it to keep him around. This is not to say that I don’t want him gone, I do… but if we can’t get few and we lose Wroten by firing Kent, what was the point. All of this, however, hinges on him at least having a .500 record this year. If he doesn’t do that, Bellotti will feel too much pressure from the media and he will have to do it, the decision will be made for him.
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