Springtime is filled with the likes of March Madness, spring training and a hangover from the NFL season. But due to the religious following that is professional football, news never ceases to stop, even during the offseason.
Recently the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens traded star wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a sixth round pick. Percy Harvin found a new home with the Seattle Seahawks in a trade involving multiple high-round picks, and free agent Mike Wallace is closing in on a five-year deal with the Miami Dolphins.
All three wide receivers are widely considered to be among the top in their positions and should hold as a significant boost to their teams beginning next season. Each of these players poses as a serious threat on the offensive side and considering this is only March, there is no telling what else is in store for this already chaotic NFL off-season.
Dana Altman wins Pac-12 coach of the year award. This was just supposed be another year. The Ducks were projected to finish middle of the conference and weren’t expected to make the NCAA Tournament. But this year, the Ducks came out with a chip on their shoulder and proved why coach Altman deserves to be considered for national coach of the year.
Coach Altman received the high honor of being named the Pac-12 coach of the year and he joined the ranks of Dick Harter and Ernie Kent as the third Oregon coach to be awarded conference coach of the year. The soft-spoken coach who is notorious for his foot stomping was without a doubt the consensus conference coach of the year and it is simply a tribute to his already successful career as head coach of the Ducks.
Every year Coach Altman has found a way to produce the best out of his players and through this process, the Ducks have overachieved year-in-and-year-out during his stay. The Ducks will head into the Pac-12 tournament as a No. 3 seed, but either way, this team will go down as one of the best in the era of Matthew Knight Arena basketball. It really was only a matter of time before coach Altman received the credit he deserves.
E.J. Singler named to all-conference team. Staying on the topic of Ducks basketball, Altman wasn’t the only one to receive honorary awards. Senior E.J. Singler was named to the all-conference team, while his teammate Damyean Dotson was named to the all-freshman team. Arsalan Kazemi also became the first Duck to be named to the conference all-defensive team.
This is one of the most complete and unique teams this town has seen and they deservingly got recognized for it. The Ducks have been led by all three of these special players and should hold as a friendly reminder of what a magical season it has been thus far. Whether or not the Ducks achieve their ultimate goal of winning the Pac-12 tournament and moving ahead in the NCAA tournament, Singler, Dotson and Kazemi can leave this season knowing they gave it all they had.
Bob Clark of The Register-Guard has the full story.