Final
Porter, Oregon look for strong start in opener
Nov 10, 2007 - 1:59 PM Pepperdine (0-0) at No. 13 Oregon (0-0) 7:00 pm ESTEUGENE, Oregon (Ticker) -- Tajuan Porter has some pretty big shoes to fill.
Porter and 13th-ranked Oregon host Pepperdine in its season opener on Saturday.
Porter, who averaged 14.6 points last season playing the off-guard position, will take over the point guard duties in the absence of Aaron Brooks.
Porter is one of four returning starters from an Oregon squad that went 29-8 last season and won the Pac-10 tournament title.
But the one starter that is gone, Brooks, may have been the most indispensible. The three-year starter averaged 17.7 points with 4.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds to help the Ducks to the Midwest Regional Final.
Porter was also a key contributor to the run as he helped the Ducks set a new school record with 350 3-pointers. His 110 3-pointers set a school record and were the second-most ever by a freshman in NCAA history.
Porter set another school-record by hitting 10 3-pointers in an early-season victory over Portland State and made at least four shots from the arc 12 times last season.
While his scoring prowess is unquestioned, how Porter adapts to the role of distributor will be a key factor in how much success Oregon has this season.
He will be joined by guards Malik Hairston and Bryce Taylor and forward Maarty Leunen - all seniors. All four players averaged double figures in scoring. Taylor averaged 14.1 points, Hairston 11.3 and Leunen 10.8.
Leunen was tops in rebounds at 8.2 per game, followed by Hairston (6.0) and Taylor (4.6).
As for Pepperdine it has only three players on the 15-man roster that saw action last season. Returning players account for only nine percent of last year's scoring. In all, there are nine new players, including seven true freshmen.
Jason Walberg, a 6-4 senior guard, averaged 14 points last season and is the top returning scorer.
Oregon is 3-1 all-time against Pepperdine. The two teams haven't played since the 2002-03 season.
- WORLD VISION INVITATIONAL
NCAA BB WORLD VISION INVITATIONAL
FINAL 1ST 2ND TOTAL
--- --- -----
PEPPERDINE 23 47 70
OREGON (13) 53 47 100 FINAL
Nov 10 9:00 PM - WORLD VISION INVITATIONAL
NCAA BB PEPPERDINE 23
(13) OREGON 53 HALFTIME
Nov 10 7:55 PM
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