They played with little confidence or chemistry the past two seasons. Their long-time coach didn’t receive a contract extension like he always does. The new arena remains on the drawing board. Two of the nation’s most desired recruits, raised in the state, went elsewhere.

Why is Oregon basketball suddenly the talk of the West Coast if not more far-reaching perimeters?

Luke Ridnour didn’t bolt the Sonics and decide to come back and play his senior year at his old school, did he?

Basically, these Ducks grew some tail feathers. The same guys who finished 15–18 last season and 14–13 the year before have figured out how to put their considerable talents to good use and the results have been dizzying — they’ve piled up 16 victories in 17 outings, beating three ranked teams, including then-No. 1 UCLA.

Another positive outcome on Thursday night at home against the Stanford Cardinal (11–4 overall, 3–2 Pac-10), and Oregon will have its best opening record in 80 seasons.

“These guys have weathered the adversity and it has catapulted them in the other direction,” 10-year coach Ernie Kent said.

The Ducks, 4–1 in Pac-10 games, have turned their fortunes around by doing things unconventionally. They go small, starting four guards to go alongside a lone forward. They get out and run after previously floundering around in the half court.

A year ago, playmaker Aaron Brooks was full of mistakes, designated shooter Bryce Taylor had lost his starting job and people scoffed at the notion that Malik Hairston was NBA bound.

Brooks now plays like Ridnour, cleverly keeping the ball moving when he’s not tossing in game-winning shots at or near the buzzer, which he’s done twice, personally responsible for upsets of UCLA and Arizona. He’s leading the Pac-10 in scoring at 18.3 points per game.

Taylor no longer has big hair, just big games. He’s had double-figure outings in every game except one, dropping 21 points on Arizona last Sunday.

Hairston, a wunderkind from Detroit supposedly one-and-done with college basketball, is now in his third Oregon season, albeit one interrupted by assorted injuries. He’s healthy enough to play again after missing 10 games, the last five with a bad heel. His importance to the Ducks is hardly understated elsewhere. He led his team in scoring the past two seasons.

Add to those three backcourtmen the explosiveness of 5’6” Tajuan Porter, a high school teammate of Hairston’s, and the board work of Marty Leunen, the Pac-10’s leading rebounder at 10.2 per game, and the Ducks are enjoying a true renaissance.

“They’re really sharing the ball,” Arizona coach Lute Olson said. “It doesn’t look like anyone is concerned about getting his points. They have a guy in Brooks who is next to impossible to stop with his quickness. With Hairston back, they’re a lot tougher than before. They’re a veteran ball club.”

Brooks, who would be the early leader for Pac-10 Player of the Year consideration, applauds the new dedication, if not more emphasis on conditioning in restoring the Ducks to Ridnour-like success levels.

“It wasn’t going the way it was planned,” Brooks said of his earlier Oregon years. “We got away from what we were doing. We have got back to running. I don’t think the system fit us before. We wanted to be a running team, but I don’t think we were doing things to make us a running team.”

It doesn’t seem to matter now that Oregon, which already counts victories over Arizona (13–3, 4–2) and UCLA (15–1, 4–1), hasn’t started building a new arena to replace 80-year-old McArthur Court, which coincidentally was opened the last time the Ducks were 16–1; or that Medford’s Kyle Singler and Beaverton’s Kevin Love chose Duke and UCLA rather than the home state program.

With the rash of unexpected good times in Eugene, everyone outside the program is enjoying the moment. Any caution comes from within.

“We still need to continue to work,” said the Ducks’ Kent, who likely needed a season like this to retain his job. “We don’t know if it will be taken away.”

In the consolation bracket in Los Angeles, the Wildcats and Bruins face each other on Saturday in what actually has promised all along to be a tournament-styled game. UCLA, however, needs the services of sophomore forward Josh Shipp, out recently with a hamstring injury, or points will come at a premium for this team.

Washington State and Washington get together on Saturday in Pullman, where the rejuvenated Cougars are 8–0 as part of their sparkling 15–3 ledger (4–2 in league). They were 11–17 last year. They haven’t had a winning season since 1996, four coaches ago. They rely mostly on juniors who play tough defense and do special things, foremost guard Kyle Weaver. He turned in the league’s first triple-double in three seasons and the first one ever for the Cougars, supplying 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists last Saturday against Stanford.

On the other hand, the visiting Huskies (11–6, 1–5) have floundered lately with highly touted but young talent. They haven’t won a road game in five tries, and here comes another one across the state.

“I don’t see this as we’re outmatched, that the world’s coming to an end,” Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said, trying to remain hopeful. “We’re really close, really close. We’ve just not been good enough to win those games. Maybe against Washington State we turn the corner.”

Elsewhere, California (11–6, 3–2) remains resilient, splitting with the Washington schools, without injured 6’11” center DeVon Hardin; USC (13–5, 3–2) will try to bounce back from a tough loss against UCLA; Oregon State (9–9, 1–4) feels relief after breaking into the league win column against Arizona State, and the bottom-feeding Sun Devils (6–11, 0–6) continue to suffer, losing seven consecutive games under new coach Herb Sendek while sporting the Pac-10’s only overall losing record.

Rising Team: Oregon
The Ducks are 16–1, already holding victories over UCLA and Arizona, and now host the Bay Area schools at their rollicking yet aging McArthur Court. They’ve proved they can play with anyone, anywhere.

Falling Team: Washington
The Huskies have lost five of six league outings, four on the road, including two in overtime. They lost five all of last season. Youth is more of a problem than anticipated. These guys probably won’t survive Saturday’s game at Washington State, either.

Player of the Week: Aaron Brooks, G, Oregon
For the second consecutive week, the senior dropped a Top 10 team with a buzzer-beating shot, banking in a floater with two seconds left to hand Arizona a 79–77 defeat at home.

Freshman of the Week: Robin Lopez, C, Stanford
The big guy outplayed the more celebrated Spencer Hawes of Washington, coming up with a season-high 17 points and blocking four shots, including two attempted by Hawes.

Stat of the Week
14–13–10. Kyle Weaver’s triple-double for Washington State was the first in school history and first in the league in three years. He also had six steals, four shy of quadruple-double.

Five overtimes. In three weeks of play, the league has had five games that needed an extra session to settle things. The league record for a season is 13 in 1986.

They Said It
“He said at three o’clock in the morning he’s changing diapers now rather than playing Nintendo.” — Oregon coach Ernie Kent, discussing the newfound maturity for Brooks, who recently became a new father.

Key Upcoming Game
Arizona at UCLA. Two ranked teams, veteran teams, teams with enough weapons to make a Final Four appearance, meet on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins are 9–0 at home this season.

Dan Raley covers the University of Washington and Pac-10 basketball for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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