best oregon team you've ever seen? rank 'em!

[oregontrack]

a friend and i got into a debate the other day, best oregon team ever (that you've been alive to see). what're yours? the top two are probably pretty obvious, though we disagreed on the order. i said:

1. 2007
2. 2002

i argued the starting 5 in '07 was better, and while he agreed, he countered with '02 having a superior bench and the fact that if the two teams played, tajuan porter would have to guard either rid or fred jones. i concede, hilarity would ensue. but, even though 2002 probably had the better backcourt, i don't think the gap between rid/jones/jackson and brooks/tp/taylor as it would be between malik/leunen and johnson/christopherson. malik and leunen would have a field day.

3. 2000
4. 2008
5. 1995

we both agreed on the rest of the top 5. 2000 was ernie's first really good team, 2008 didn't have a great record but the pac-12 was probably the best conference in the country that year (which is why we could get an 8 seed with a so-so 18-13 record). 1995 was a hell of a team to watch. orlando williams 4 life, sons.

we both left off 2003 (rid was incredible, but that team was kind of... blah). we're both waiting to see how this team finishes.

[duckgrad99]

Not this one, but that's what makes this season so special and Altman such a good coach. Ernie Kent had several teams with more talent and teams that were better than this one, but they finished with a lousy record. I would probably have 2002 and then 2007.

[fpsduck]

Definitely Luke, Luke and Freddy. I loved watching that team play.

[dthomas=ddixon]

2002. That team had 3 top 15 picks & a legit 7'+ center. The 2008 team was such a disappointment I would have a hard time putting them on any sort of list.

[Boom]

Not this one, but that's what makes this season so special and Altman such a good coach. Ernie Kent had several teams with more talent and teams that were better than this one, but they finished with a lousy record. I would probably have 2002 and then 2007.

Care to name them?

[Boom]

2002. That team had 3 top 15 picks & a legit 7'+ center.

Agreed... Jackson, Rid, & Jones were the 3 best players in recent Oregon history. Aaron Brooks was a distant 4th.

2008 team was such a disappointment I would have a hard time putting them on any sort of list.

Disagree... 2008 was a flawed team, but they held their own against the very best competition I've ever had the pleasure to watch in the Pac 12. Every season has been a disappointment since then.

[thomas time]

I would have 02 first, Luke's and Freddy were AMAZING!!!

[Elduderino]

I think '02 clearly had more NBA talent....I'm still torn. Maybe I'm biased because that '07 team was a part of my college experience, but man they were fun to watch. If TP doesn't have an off night, and we don't run into an unfriendly officiating crew, there is no telling what would have happened in that tourney.

[buckmarkduck]

02, 07, 95, 00, 03, 08.

I would say this years team is the type of team 07 would have all kinds of problems with. 07 had no one to stop Woods down low, and Kazemi and Marty would battle it out, though something tells me Kazemi is the better rebounded while Marty the better scorer. Brooks was a better PG, but Artis would hold his own (as a FR he is far ahead of Aaron at this point). If this team, much like the 07 team, gets a easy road in the tourney they can make a run. I keep hearing the Pac 12 is down, but honestly I don't see any real dominant teams anywhere in college this year. Parity is the name of the game, and any team can make a run.

[TheMaehlMan]

I think '02 clearly had more NBA talent....I'm still torn. Maybe I'm biased because that '07 team was a part of my college experience, but man they were fun to watch. If TP doesn't have an off night, and we don't run into an unfriendly officiating crew, there is no telling what would have happened in that tourney.

Going into this thread I would have definitely said '02, but I agree that it is a tough decision. The fact that the 07 team hang really tough with Florida until effing Humphreys (I think that's his name) starting going off shows that this was truly an elite team. I'm almost positive that Oregon had the closest game versus Florida during the entire tournament.

[Boom]

02, 07, 95, 00, 03, 08.

I would say this years team is the type of team 07 would have all kinds of problems with. 07 had no one to stop Woods down low, and Kazemi and Marty would battle it out, though something tells me Kazemi is the better rebounded while Marty the better scorer. Brooks was a better PG, but Artis would hold his own (as a FR he is far ahead of Aaron at this point). If this team, much like the 07 team, gets a easy road in the tourney they can make a run. I keep hearing the Pac 12 is down, but honestly I don't see any real dominant teams anywhere in college this year. Parity is the name of the game, and any team can make a run.

2007 would absolutely destroy this team... It wouldn't even be close. Aaron Brooks as a senior would dominate Artis on both ends of the court. Artis hasn't played against an opposing PG half as good as Aaron Brooks. Tony Woods isn't someone you have to stop. He's decent athletically, but he's not an instinctive basketball player. Nine times out of ten he stops himself. The 2007 team defeated teams that had NBA level bigs on their roster. Woods would be no problem. Altman wouldn't be able to press AB and he wouldn't be able to play his zone against them.. They would light it up. Defensively I think you have to give the 2007 team a significant edge as well. Bryce Taylor was an outstanding wing defender and Malik was pretty good as well. Singler would struggle against both of them.

College basketball as a whole is down this year.. The talent level in the Pac 12 is significantly lower than were it was at in 2007.

This team would struggle to go 500 in conference against those 2007 teams.

[Elduderino]

02, 07, 95, 00, 03, 08.

I would say this years team is the type of team 07 would have all kinds of problems with. 07 had no one to stop Woods down low, and Kazemi and Marty would battle it out, though something tells me Kazemi is the better rebounded while Marty the better scorer. Brooks was a better PG, but Artis would hold his own (as a FR he is far ahead of Aaron at this point). If this team, much like the 07 team, gets a easy road in the tourney they can make a run. I keep hearing the Pac 12 is down, but honestly I don't see any real dominant teams anywhere in college this year. Parity is the name of the game, and any team can make a run.

2007 would absolutely destroy this team... It wouldn't even be close. Aaron Brooks as a senior would dominate Artis on both ends of the court. Artis hasn't played against an opposing PG half as good as Aaron Brooks. Tony Woods isn't someone you have to stop. He's decent athletically, but he's not an instinctive basketball player. Nine times out of ten he stops himself. The 2007 team defeated teams that had NBA level bigs on their roster. Woods would be no problem. Altman wouldn't be able to press AB and he wouldn't be able to play his zone against them.. They would light it up. Defensively I think you have to give the 2007 team a significant edge as well. Bryce Taylor was an outstanding wing defender and Malik was pretty good as well. Singler would struggle against both of them.

College basketball as a whole is down this year.. The talent level in the Pac 12 is significantly lower than were it was at in 2007.

This team would struggle to go 500 in conference against those 2007 teams.

I think I tend to agree.

[OregonFan4Life]

Easily the 2007 team with Brooks as a leader, and in no way is Brooks a distant 4th player behind Jones, Ridnour, and Jackson. Heck I'd put Brooks above those guys. Brooks his SR year was more of a coach than Ernie was in some ways, he got the players out running during the summer to build endurance. He made his teammates around his so much better, and without him, those guys were hardly anything despite all of their talent. I thought the 2008 team did not deserve to go in the NCAA tourney at all. It's amazing to see some players like Malik Hairston, Bryce Taylor, and Tajuan Porter only have one good year, and that was the year they were led by Brooks.

[Boom]

Having a true PG makes a big difference. The 2008 team didn't have one.

[Greenblood]

The 2002 and 2007 teams are pretty much a dead-heat for me. I probably slightly favor the 2002 team since it was the first time I felt I was really witnessing a dominant Duck baskeball team compared to most of their opponents, and they also won the regular-season conference championship that year.

Btw, here's a great site for looking up the brackets for the Dance for any year you want: http://www.allbrackets.com/. I had been trying to remember what seed the Ducks were in their Elite Eight years and see that that they were a #2 in 2002 and a #3 in 2007.

I also happen to agree that I didn't think the 2008 team was worthy of the bid they got, and felt they surely proved that in falling in the first round. Yes, I won't disagree that the conference was really good that year, but I'm pretty sure the Ducks were 8-10 in league. I felt they were very underachieving, and those that said that Ernie's teams really needed a great point guard sure looked spot-on.