Ridnour bulks up, strengthens Ducks

By Greg Schain
Daily Bruin Reporter

Luke Ridnour gained 12 pounds during the off-season.

No, he didn’t stuff himself with french fries, burgers and
banana splits.

Rather, Oregon’s star sophomore point guard spent the
summer on campus, taking summer school courses during the day and
embarking on a stringent workout program at night.

Working out helped turn his scrawny 6-foot-2, 165-pound frame
into a respectable 177 pounds, and has taken his game to a new
level.

“(Ridnour) went out and changed his body and got
stronger,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “He lived
in the weight room over the summer.”

And his newfound strength is showing itself on the court.

The sophomore point guard is averaging 15.1 points per game,
more than double the 7.4 points he averaged his freshman year.

Those 7.4 points per game helped him win the Pac-10 Freshman of
the Year award, but Ridnour started to break down toward the end of
the season. Over his last five games, all important conference
matchups, he averaged just 3.8 ppg and didn’t display the
flashy ability that he had shown earlier in the season.

“So I decided to do something about it,” Ridnour
said. “I lifted all summer to bulk up. I got pretty tired and
worn out last year, but now I’m a lot stronger than I
was.”

Ridnour also convinced some of his teammates to stay in Eugene
and work out with him.

Fellow sophomores Luke Jackson and James Davis went on
Ridnour’s program and the three developed a unique friendship
that has helped shape the team’s special chemistry.

“All of us staying down here for the summer was
great,” Davis said. “We got to bond and work out
together, and it has helped us gel.”

That is an understatement.

The No. 13 Ducks are on the verge of winning their first
conference title in 57 years.

To put it in perspective, the last time Oregon won a conference
title in basketball was when the Pac-10 was called the Pacific
Coast Conference, and World War II was still being fought.

And when the NCAA Tournament kicks off in mid-March, Oregon will
likely receive a bid, making just their third appearance in the
past 40 years.

But Ridnour doesn’t feel his team’s work is done
just because they will have reached the tournament. He feels his
Ducks have a serious shot at winning it all this year.

“Everyone is excited, but not too excited,” Ridnour
said. “We still have plenty of work to do.”

Even if Oregon doesn’t win the NCAA Tournament, Ridnour
won’t feel that the season was a complete failure.

He knows his performance this year has been a turning point in
his career. His confidence is at an all-time high, and he has
emerged as one of the leading point guards in college
basketball.

“I finally realize what it takes to win,” Ridnour
said. “I have so much more confidence now.”

Other teams have taken notice of his confidence. Arizona State
head coach Rob Evans said he doesn’t want to match up with
Oregon in the Pac-10 Tournament if he can avoid it.

“The fact that Ridnour is playing as well as he’s
playing makes (Oregon) a very difficult team to beat,” Evans
said. “Everyone can score, from every position.”

UCLA point guard Cedric Bozeman agrees. When Bozeman matched up
against Ridnour in Eugene on Jan. 31, Ridnour scored 12 points and
recorded six assists in helping to lead the Ducks to an easy 91-62
win.

Bozeman was shut out in the game, going 0-4 from the floor.

“Ridnour’s very good,” Bozeman said. “I
think of him as a shoot-first point guard.”

And a point guard who is helping to make Oregon basketball
history.