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[h4]By John Hunt, The Oregonian[/h4][h5]March 06, 2010, 6:38PM[/h5]
KVAL is reporting, midway through the second half of Oregon's regular season finale against Washington State, that Ducks coach Ernie Kent has been fired.
According to the report, athletic director Mike Bellotti fired Kent on Feb. 22, after home losses to Stanford and California. The firing will take effect, according to KVAL, when the Ducks wrap up the 2009-10 season.
Kent, 55, was completing his 13th season as Oregon coach. He was the dean of Pac-10 coaches and the Ducks’ all-time winningest coach. Saturday’s win was his 234th at Oregon and 324th overall, counting his six years at St. Mary’s.
Under Kent, Oregon’s 18th coach, the Ducks made the NCAA Tournament five times in the past nine years – the only Oregon coach to make it to the NCAAs five times – and made it all the way to the Elite Eight in 2002 and 2007.
His tenure was marked by average seasons sprinkled with highly successful ones. He had a winning conference record only four times, most recently in 2006-07.
Any discussions of Kent’s coaching accomplishments and value to the program have to include his players’ graduation rate. The Ducks have the Pac-10’s highest NCAA Academic Progress Rate (975), almost 50 points higher than the average Division I team.
Kent was the school’s first African-American head coach, in any sport. He began his Oregon career as a player in 1973-77, one of the “Kamikaze Kids’’ under coach %#$! Harter.
Kent has coached current NBA players Luke Ridnour, Aaron Brooks and Malik Hairston, as well as Maarty Leunen, Luke Jackson, Fred Jones and Bryce Taylor, who are playing professionally.
I'm glad for what Ernie did in raising the profile of Oregon basketball, but he couldn't sustain it and couldn't coach up the talent that was there.
[/h1]
[h4]By John Hunt, The Oregonian[/h4][h5]March 06, 2010, 6:38PM[/h5]
KVAL is reporting, midway through the second half of Oregon's regular season finale against Washington State, that Ducks coach Ernie Kent has been fired.
According to the report, athletic director Mike Bellotti fired Kent on Feb. 22, after home losses to Stanford and California. The firing will take effect, according to KVAL, when the Ducks wrap up the 2009-10 season.
Kent, 55, was completing his 13th season as Oregon coach. He was the dean of Pac-10 coaches and the Ducks’ all-time winningest coach. Saturday’s win was his 234th at Oregon and 324th overall, counting his six years at St. Mary’s.
Under Kent, Oregon’s 18th coach, the Ducks made the NCAA Tournament five times in the past nine years – the only Oregon coach to make it to the NCAAs five times – and made it all the way to the Elite Eight in 2002 and 2007.
His tenure was marked by average seasons sprinkled with highly successful ones. He had a winning conference record only four times, most recently in 2006-07.
Any discussions of Kent’s coaching accomplishments and value to the program have to include his players’ graduation rate. The Ducks have the Pac-10’s highest NCAA Academic Progress Rate (975), almost 50 points higher than the average Division I team.
Kent was the school’s first African-American head coach, in any sport. He began his Oregon career as a player in 1973-77, one of the “Kamikaze Kids’’ under coach %#$! Harter.
Kent has coached current NBA players Luke Ridnour, Aaron Brooks and Malik Hairston, as well as Maarty Leunen, Luke Jackson, Fred Jones and Bryce Taylor, who are playing professionally.
I'm glad for what Ernie did in raising the profile of Oregon basketball, but he couldn't sustain it and couldn't coach up the talent that was there.
