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More Oregon Basketball Coverage

Slap in the Face for Ernie Kent

By Kyle Mallory

PMall15239@aol.com

May 20th

Programs on the rise, like the University of Oregon, are for whatever reason, under more scrutiny if they sign a big name player.

Last week the Ducks landed their biggest basketball recruit – Malik Hairston -- since signing Ron Lee back in the kamikaze kids’ days of the early seventies.  Upon the signing of Hairston, many detractors said the Ducks paid too steep a price to get him.

Hairston flew a private jet to Eugene since he wanted to make his trip just 24 hours instead of the normal 48.  This fact has caused several administrators and even respected college basketball journalists such as Andy Katz of ESPN to say that “Oregon sure rolled out the red carpet for him,” or the obligatory “this is just too steep a price for a University to pay for an athlete.”

Ernie Kent heard all these comments and deemed them a ‘slap in the face’ to his program.  Afterall, Kent abhors the use of private jets to sign or lure athletes to Eugene.  The reason Kent used the private jet was simply so Hairston could make the quick 24 hour turn around that he wanted to make.

It is almost as if teams who aren’t Duke, Carolina, Connecticut, Kansas or Syracuse need to have excuses ready if they sign a big name player, particularly if that player has shunned a big name program to go to a program striving to make a name for itself.

In this particular case, Hairston chose the Ducks over the Jayhawks of Kansas, which prompted many to think the Ducks had to have done something over the top.

Why?

I am tired of the scrutiny smaller schools receive because big name players are supposed to want to go to “big name” schools and if they don’t, well, there must be something fishy. 

Hairston said that frankly, one of the reasons he chose the Ducks was the opportunity to ‘Carmeloize the University.’  The other reason, also stated with a great deal of sincerity was, ‘to play for Coach Kent.’

This, make no mistake about it, is why Oregon is on the rise.  The close relationship with Nike doesn’t hurt, but Ernie Kent is the reason why Oregon basketball is competing on a national level to sign the best prep players in the country.

The past four years have seen Kent sign three McDonald’s All American – Luke Ridnour, Aaron Brooks and now Malik Hairston – an unprecedented run.  Kent’s run and gun philosophy and the freedom he gives his players are a big attraction for big time prep athletes.  Kent also coaches the USA summer basketball amateur team giving him a great deal of recognition and rapport with high school players.

Don’t look for anything sinister about Kent’s recruiting because that simply isn’t Ernie.  To say that Kent has done something extravagant to nab Hairston is, as Kent so bluntly put it, ‘a slap in the face’ to the program. 

Give Kent and coaches like him a break.  It is tough enough to compete with the tradition rich schools like Duke, Connecticut, Carolina, Kansas or Kentucky.  Making smaller schools explain how they signed a top player makes it that much more difficult.