Q+A with Addicted To Quack

Awkward elephant in the room time.  Cal versus Oregon.  The all-important question every self-respecting Cal fans wants to know:

Can Cal score more than 3 points against Oregon? 

They couldn't last time.  I'm not a sports expert (although I do enjoy a thrilling game of rounders from time to time), but I have a strong hunch that we can relate stats from one sport to another.  I'm not sure we can hold Oregon to 42, though.  Just gotta be honest with you.  Of course, if the final score is 42-3 this time we face Oregon, well, I think we'll have some major problems to work out.  Might want to take a closer look at the program, really, if that happens.

To find out whether Cal gets dominated against by the green and gold monsters north, we contacted our fowl overlords, Addicted To Quack.  They took some time out of their busy Patchouli harvest to answer some questions about the Oregon basketball team.  Find their answers after the jump and GO BEARS!

1.  Ernie Kent, stay or go?

Ah, the million dollar question. You will find Duck fans split on this but the majority want him to go and I don't think this would be a horrible thing to happen. The fanbase is at a point if the team loses, it's because of Ernie. If the team wins, it's despite Ernie. 3 games ago, we were riding high after wins against the Washington schools and we had a 6 game winning streak. After losses against the Arizona schools and Oregon State, we're back to thinking about last year and how we're going to suck the rest of the year. Personally I want to see Ernie ride out the season but there are a lot of fans that have just had it. They've been patient but just can't take it anymore. I think the magic number for Ernie to stay is around 14-16 wins but the way we've been playing, we'll have a hell of a time getting there.

2.  Garrett Sim.  How is he doing?

He's having an inconsistent year so far. In some games, he does awesome. In others, you can barely tell he plays. When he grows into his talent, he will be a special player for us but he just isn't quite there yet.

3.  What's your strategy for beating Cal, other than praying for a technical foul with 1/3 of a second left?

Basketball, at a base level, it’s a simple game. You put the ball in the hoop and we need to do that to win. Our perimeter shooting is horrible, even when wide open. It doesn't matter the spot on the floor. We have to shoot well from outside to open up our inside game and we haven't been able to do that in the last 3 games. If Cal gives us some gifts by turning the ball over, we can keep it close with some fast break points. Look for Dunigan to rebound well and get some second chance points.

4. Tajuan Porter. Why do you hate him so?

Hate is such a strong word. TP is passionate about the game and wants to do well. He wants to be the focal point of the offense and he tries too hard to take over the game instead of working within the offense. When he's on, we all love him but when he's cold, it's like watching Dennis Dixon's ACL injury over and over and over again. He pouts on the floor when things don't go his way and he gives up on defense. We thought he was going to take over and lead the team but he just didn't turn into that calming influence that we needed. He was recruited as a free flowing player during the Aaron Brooks era and it just isn't working in our schemes anymore. Mike Dunlap and Ernie have been installing some more structured offense and defensive schemes and he isn't adapting well. We want him to do well, but halfway through his senior year, the experiment can be considered a failure.

5. Other than Coach Kent, who do you want to punch in the face right now?

Such anger! We are a fairly happy lot despite our basketball season's troubles. We have a good football recruiting class, our women's Lacrosse team was picked 2nd in the MPSF, our Team Stunts and Gymnastics team begins their season, and 2 of our opponents in football next year are going through some dramatic coaching changes. If I had to punch someone in the face, there is a certain blogger in the Pac-10 that bans people randomly that could use one or five.