The path Mike Moser took to Matthew Knight Arena hasn’t been easy — it’s fraught with roadblocks, detours and life-changing decisions. Now at the University of Oregon, his third school in five years, Moser’s journey has come to an end 110 short miles from where it began.

Moser was born in Dallas, Texas, and adopted by Jeanne Moser, a single mother of two in Portland.

She’s now the mother of five, four of whom were adopted.

Moser’s family is from all over the world. His older brother Danny is Brazilian. His younger brothers Antonio and David are Mexican. His cousins were adopted from Haiti, India and the Philippines. They’re all are from different backgrounds yet have a special and unbreakable bond few can relate to.

“That family is very special,” Marcos Montas, Moser’s childhood friend said. “They’re kind, they’re loving. I couldn’t say enough good things about that family.”

Jeanne raised her children as a single mother while working as a program manager at local Catholic churches and running a restaurant in northeast Portland. Roses Ice Cream has been a staple in Portland for over 60 years — and in Mike Moser’s stomach for as long as he can remember — especially the bacon burgers with cheese and Oreo milkshakes.

While looking after a handful of youngsters and running a business, Jeanne said she attended every one of Moser’s basketball games throughout high school.

“I just know the bond that we have,” Moser said. “The love that’s been developed between (my mom) and my family over the years … it feels kind of unexplainable.”

Moser grew up without a father, but his mother may as well have been mom and dad, according to Montas.

“His mom is a superstar,” Montas said. “She just has a huge heart … she is seriously amazing. I don’t understand how a single mother could do everything that she did. For all he knows, his mom is mom and dad.”

Jeanne added that Moser’s coaches were father-like mentors for him.

“He probably had the best support group and mentors that I’ve ever seen,” she said. “They’re very good mentors and they really care about the kids.”

Moser played AAU basketball for i5 ELITE, a program started by Kumbeno Memory and former NBA player and current San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Ime Udoka. Memory gushed over Moser’s tireless work ethic and desire to keep improving.

“He just had a ton of passion for the game and was willing to work hard,” Memory said. “He had a whole lot to learn but he was willing to and he showed up every day. He was in the gym with me five, six days a week throughout all of high school.”

According to Montas, Moser was the definition of a gym rat growing up, spending entire days in the gym and playing multiple games for different teams.

“That’s what he did,” Montas said. “Then when he wasn’t doing that, we were eating.”

The hard work paid off and Moser was well-known in the basketball community long before he decided to play for the Ducks. As a standout at Grant High School, he led the Generals to the 2008 6A state championship and finished his career as the school’s all-time leading rebounder. He was named Oregon’s Mr. Basketball and earned AP honorable mention all-American honors to conclude his high school career and was left with the first of many decisions: where to play college basketball.

ESPN.com ranked Moser as the 55th best prospect in his class of incoming freshmen in 2009 with a scout grade of 92 out of 100. Moser ultimately elected to play at the University of Arizona under legendary coach Lute Olson. He was joined by fellow star recruits and eventual NBA players Solomon Hill and Derrick Williams.

The same weekend Moser visited Arizona, Olson retired after 25 years of coaching the Wildcats.

“It was weird because I had found out the news that he was retiring the day of my visit,” Moser said. “It was kind of unsettling not knowing who I was going to play for (the) next year. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

Moser de-committed and visited four schools in the next two weeks — one being Oregon, before settling on UCLA. The Bruins had made three trips to the Final Four in the past four seasons, have the richest history in college basketball and boasted the eighth best freshman class.

In Moser’s freshman season, UCLA got off to an uncharacteristically bad start, losing seven of its first 10 games, including an embarrassing 27-point defeat to the University of Portland.

The Bruins finished the year 14-18 and on the outside of the NCAA tournament for the third time in 22 years. Moser averaged less than five minutes per game. In search of more playing time and a better supporting cast, Moser made another change of plans.

He transferred to UNLV and reminded everyone why he was a top recruit. After sitting out a season to fulfill his required red shirt year, Moser averaged a double-double, leading the team in points and rebounds per game and piloted the Runnin’ Rebels to a 26-9 record and a fifth NCAA tournament berth in six years.

His confidence and NBA Draft stock were high, but Moser elected to stay in school for another year to complete his undergraduate degree.

“Ultimately I really think I wanted to finish school,” Moser said. “I felt like I had come so far … as an NBA prospect I didn’t think one year would make too much of a difference.”

Moser was a preseason all-American. UNLV was ranked 18th and had the seventh best recruiting class in the nation that included Anthony Bennett. All of the pieces were in place for Moser to go out on top.

Prior to the start of the season, Moser got hit with a hip flexor and dislocated his elbow the next month, forcing him to miss seven games. He averaged 10 minutes less per game and his stats were essentially cut in half. UNLV made another tournament appearance but was ousted in its first game.

Frustrated, Moser wanted to come home for his final season of eligibility.

Degree in hand and the maddening desire to succeed irking at his will, Moser elected to transfer to Oregon over Gonzaga and Washington. He was one of head coach Dana Altman’s six transfers to begin the season.

“The way (Altman) puts guys in a position to be successful … and really I just wanted to get back home,” Moser said regarding his decision to transfer to Oregon. “My family’s here. I missed them a ton and being away from home for four  years kind of got old. I just wanted to get home.”

Through 19 games at Oregon, Moser has stood out. He’s shooting career-best percentages and putting up numbers similar to his sophomore season. The Ducks have a chance to replicate their success from a season ago and Moser’s NBA hopes may have been revitalized.

But most importantly, he’s home, doing what he loves in front of the people he loves after a long and unexpected journey.

Jeanne couldn’t be happier about Moser being close to home, allowing her to attend more games.

“It’s great,” Moser said before cracking an embarrassed smile. “She comes up to every game going crazy like she always does. I go home every chance I get.”

Follow Madison Guernsey on Twitter @guernseymd

Even though Rick Lindfors has lived with Type 3 von Willebrand disease his entire life, he has always had a passion for sports. In fact, the disease pushes Lindfors to excel at doing what he loves.

Von Willebrand disease is a genetically inherited bleeding disorder that inhibits blood clotting, resulting in longer, more severe bleeding episodes. Lindfors is missing the von Willebrand protein that helps platelets coagulate and platelets themselves, a common trait of type 3 von Willebrand, the most severe type. Both of Lindfors’ parents have type 1 vWD but were unaware until he was born.

“When Rick was born he received a cut on his forehead during birth and that continued to bleed,” Rick’s father Jon said. “One of the nurses thought it would be a good idea to have him tested for a bleeding disorder. That was the first time we had heard of the disorder.”

Lindfors grew up in Minnesota and participated in various sports, including baseball, tennis, lacrosse and snowboarding. Being an extreme sport athlete, snowboarding presents the biggest risk to Lindfors since internal bleeding and hemorrhaging are major dangers for anyone with von Willebrand.

Lindfors has learned to cope with his disease, and preparedness is part of his daily routine. Before participating in a contact sport, Lindfors must take a dose of his medication, which is taken intravenously through self-injection and then packs a precautionary dose.

As one of the presidents of UO Snow, Lindfors still regularly participates in snowboarding. Two seasons ago, he tore his ACL after over-shooting a spine ramp. The injury could have been dangerous, but because Lindfors was prepared it was nothing more than a typical torn ACL.

Other than scars and the occasional bruise, there’s little visible evidence that von Willebrand is as serious as it is.

“I didn’t really know he had it until we went on a cabin trip and he had a big medical bag and explained it to me,” Briggs Chapman, co-president of UO Snow, said. “I thought wow, this is a serious condition.”

As a lacrosse goalie in high school, Lindfors would have bruises on his arms and legs for weeks at a time. He required steel domes in his forearms that passed medicine to his heart through a tube, resulting in small but clearly noticeable scars below both of his inner elbows. He had nose bleeds hourly.

Despite all of that, Lindfors uses his disease as fuel to continue snowboarding. He said it is a part of college he can’t live without, adding that he can’t allow himself to get caught up in any of the risks involved.

“If I go about my daily life thinking about it then I’m just not going to push myself as hard. I like to say, ‘If you ain’t bleedin’, you ain’t tryin’.’ When I go up to the mountain I want to push myself. I can’t really worry about it,” he said.

Follow Madison Guernsey on Twitter @guernseymd

The Ducks take on the Beavers on the road this week. These are the guys to watch on the court when Oregon takes on Oregon State in Corvallis:

What to Watch For

Oregon:

The Ducks have lost three straight games after starting the season 13-0 and have struggled on defense. In their three losses, Oregon allowed 92.67 points per game while opponents shot 53.8 percent from the field. Not only is Oregon dearly missing the inside presence of Tony Woods and Arsalan Kazemi, but opposing shooters are getting open looks from the outside and connecting.

While their defense has been noticeably porous, Oregon continues to shoot well and ranks third in points per game with 88.4. The Ducks are also the best three-point-shooting team in the Pac-12, and 10th best in the country at 41.4 percent. The Ducks have three players shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc.

Oregon State:

The Beavers will enter Sunday’s game with a 9-7 record, having played some disappointing match-ups early this season to the likes of Coppin State, Akron and Hawaii. Like the Ducks, Oregon State shoots very well from the field (49.7 percent), but they allow almost as many points as they score.

Oregon State is gigantic. Five players check in at 6-foot-10 or taller including freshman seven-footer Cheikh N’diaye. As a unit, Oregon State blocks 4.6 shots per game.

But with so much size and lights-out shooting, what’s the Beavers’ biggest problem? Turnovers.

Oregon State is tied for 288th in the country in turnover margin at -1.9, due in part to nine underclassmen and Roberto Nelson, who turns the ball over almost three times per game.

Who to watch

Oregon: If there was such thing as a the sixth man of the year, Jason Calliste would be a top candidate. The senior transfer hasn’t started a game this season, but is a superb all-around players who always makes veteran decisions and few mistakes. Calliste is fourth on the team in scoring (11 points per game), and leads the team in free-throw shooting (88.8 percent) and three-point shooting (56.1 percent). Transfers Joseph Young and Mike Moser have been standouts for Oregon, leading the team in scoring at 18.8 and 14.6 points per game, respectively. Both players consistently shoot well and fill it up from outside. Moser also pulls down a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game.

Oregon State: Roberto Nelson is Oregon State’s best player by far. The guard leads his team in scoring with 21.4 points per game. He takes an absurd amount of shots, but also draws a ton of fouls and converts at the line 87.8 percent of the time.

One of the big men, Eric Moreland, recently came off a suspension and is averaging 9.3 in both points and rebounds in his first four games. Other major contributors are Devon Collier, who’s shooting 62.7 percent from the field and the 6-foot-10 Aussie, Angus Brandt.

Keys for Victory:

Oregon

Force turnovers. Oregon State will make shots but can’t hang on to the ball. Playing aggressive defense won’t hurt the Ducks in this case.

Oregon State

Play big. Several Beavers dwarf every Duck, so if Oregon State can find a way to penetrate inside and take advantage of the mismatch, they’ll likely fare better. Much of it will depend on Nelson’s willingness to give up his own shots, though he does average four assists per game.

A late rally had a win within Oregon’s reach, but Dominic Artis’ layup as time expired bounced off the rim and sealed the 82-80 win for Stanford.

The loss is Oregon’s third in a row after starting their season with 13 straight wins and drops them to 1-3 in Pac-12 play. Stanford improves to 10-5 on the season (1-2 in conference).

The Ducks were down five with three minutes to play and kept Stanford at bay, trading baskets until Elgin Cook came through with a huge defensive play in crunch time that saved the game for Oregon, at least temporarily.

Cook denied Josh Huestis’ dunk attempt with under a minute to play and the Cardinal leading by four. Artis finished on the other end with a three from the corner to bring Oregon within one.

Following a Stanford timeout, Anthony Brown made one of two free throws to inch Stanford’s lead to two. A Johnathan Loyd-missed jumper with nine seconds left looked to spell the end for the Ducks, but Chasson Randle missed both free throws after being fouled, giving Oregon one last possession. Artis drove through the lane and put up a contested layup attempt that bounced around the rim before falling into Dwight Powell’s massive hands as the final buzzer sounded.

“We had good  looks,” head coach Dana Altman said following the game. “Johnny [Loyd] had an uncontested 10, 12-footer there and (Artis) got all the way to the rim and we just didn’t make them. We put ourselves in that position defensively by not getting stops when we needed them.”

Oregon’s defense couldn’t stop Stanford from making shots, but many of them were contested. The Cardinal shot 52.6 percent from the field, including 62.5 percent in the second half. Brown finished with 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting and always seemed to have a hand in his face. Randle added 23 points and six rebounds on an 8-for-14 shooting night. The only Stanford player who didn’t have a solid shooting performance was Huestis, who went 0-for-7 from the field.

Mike Moser led Oregon in scoring with 24 and grabbed six rebounds.

Oregon shot almost as well as Stanford from the field (52.2 pct), made more free throws and more threes than Stanford, yet found themselves on the losing end.

“I wish I had an answer for you but I don’t,” Jason Calliste said on what went wrong. “I don’t know. We did everything right. The only thing that bit us was the turnovers.”

The Ducks turned the ball over 15 times leading to 20 Cardinal points. Sunday marked Oregon’s first loss when committing more turnovers than their opponent (4-1).

“The turnovers in the first half really put us in a hole,” Altman said. “The turnovers throughout the game (were) 15 to 7, that’s eight extra possessions for them and they had 11 more shots than we did because of those.”

Defense and ball control are clearly two things Oregon needs to work on moving forward, especially with a three-game road swing coming up. The Ducks travel to Oregon State on Sunday and then visit Washington and Washington State during the week.

When Altman was asked about the psyche of the team, he said, “It’s not good,” but said the team’s psyche wasn’t good at the end of last season before winning the Pac-12 Tournament.

“Our character will be tested,” said Altman of the upcoming road trip.

Follow Madison Guernsey on Twitter @guernseymd

The Oregon and Stanford men’s basketball teams are both off to disappointing starts in conference play. The Ducks have lost two straight after beginning their season 13-0 and are 1-2 against Pac-12 foes. The Cardinal are 0-2 in conference after losing to California and Oregon State and are 9-5 on the season despite a wealth of talent. Their only meeting of the regular season is on Sunday.

The Ducks have continued to put up points and rank third in the NCAA in scoring at 88.9 points per game. Their defensive flaws have been exploited, though. Oregon ranks 298th out of 345 Division I teams and last in the Pac-12 in scoring defense, giving up 77.4 points per game. They’ve allowed 196 points in their last two games, both losses, and are “not very good,” defensively, as head coach Dana Altman so eloquently put it following the 96-83 loss to Cal Thursday night. The inside presence of Tony Woods and Arsalan Kazemi from a season ago has yet to be replaced, evidenced by their terrible defensive rating.

Stanford is average on offense and defense but specialize in shooting and shot-blocking. They nearly match the Ducks in shooting efficiency, converting 48 percent of field goals compared to Oregon’s 49 percent. The Cardinal also make 40.6 percent of three-point field goals, besting Oregon’s 40.4 percent. The second best shot blocking unit in the Pac-12 (5.6 BPG) is led by senior, Josh Huestis who swats 2.36 shots per game. Huestis, Dwight Powell and Stefan Nastic can torture Oregon inside, all shooting at high rate and taking up space.

One clear advantage Oregon has over Stanford is at the free throw line. The Ducks are making 77 percent of their free throws, which is best in the Pac-12 and eighth best in the country. Stanford makes 70.6 percent but has two very reliable free throw shooters in Anthony Brown (81.8 percent) and Chasson Randle (81.4 percent). The Ducks are led at the charity stripe by Jason Calliste (89.3 percent), Johnathan Loyd (86 percent) and Joseph Young (85.6 percent). Stanford commits over 18 fouls per game, which should give Oregon ample opportunities to convert from the line.

Tip off is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena.

Follow Madison Guernsey on Twitter @guernseymd

– Oregon football will have at least three newcomers in practice this spring, as two transfers and one freshmen enrolled at the University for winter term. Cornerback Dominique Harrison, linebacker Johnny Ragin and wide receiver Jalen Brown are the first early enrollments for Ducks football. Harrison is a transfer from Contra Costa College (California,) and has three years of eligibility remaining. Ragin is a Wilsonville, Ore. native and spent his freshman season with Cal, playing in eight games primarily on special teams. Brown is a four-star wideout from Phoenix, Ariz., the Ducks’ only wide receiver commit thus far.

– Freshman golfer Thomas Lim finished tied  for third at the Patriot All-America tournament at Wigwam Golf Resort in Litchfield Park, Ariz. The four-day event is invitation only and was a 54-hole tournament featuring All-Americans from the NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA and AJGA. Each of the 84 participants represented a service member who died in the act of duty. Lim represented Oregon native Lt. Colonel James L. Wiley of North Bend. Lim shot even par in the first round, 3-under in round two and 4-under in the final round, giving him a chance to win the tournament. Senior Kyle Westmoreland (Air Force) defeated senior Toni Hakula (Texas) on the sixth playoff hole to win the prestigious tournament.

– The Oregon men’s basketball team suffered their second straight loss Thursday night, losing their Pac-12 home opener to California 96-83. The Ducks’ unbeaten streak ended Sunday at Colorado. The men are now 1-2 in conference play. Thursday’s loss was Oregon’s 12th straight to Cal dating back to the 2008-09 season. Cal’s Jordan Matthews recorded a career-high 32 points to lead the Golden Bears offensively and teammate Justin Cobbs added a double-double with 20 points and 11 assists. Joseph Young led the Ducks in scoring with 29 points. Oregon’s next game is at home Sunday against Stanford. Cal travels to Oregon State.

– The men’s hoops team officially added transfer Brandon Austin, who will be eligible to play next winter. The 6’6″ wing has enrolled at the university and will be eligible as a redshirt freshman next season. Austin was at Providence College but never played after being suspended and left the program. Austin is the sixth basketball player to commit to Oregon next season along with Casey Benson, Jordan Bell, Dwayne Benjamin, Ray Kasongo and Michael Chandler.

Follow Madison Guernsey on Twitter @guernseymd

Oregon vs. California

California (10-4, 1-0) visits Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday to open Oregon’s Pac-12 home season. The Bears are led by seniors Richard Solomon and Justin Cobbs and junior David Kravish. Solomon is averaging a double-double per game this season with 11.5 points and a Pac-12-leading 10.5 rebounds. Solomon (6’10”) and Kravish (6’9”) will be tough matches for the undersized Ducks’ front court.

Oregon manages to out-rebound its opponents by 3.2 boards per game but could have trouble keeping Cal’s size off the glass and off the scoreboard. Kravish and Solomon have the best shooting percentages on the team at 56.7 percent and 54.7 percent. Cobbs is among national leaders in assist to turnover ratio (2.86) and assists per game (5.9) and leads the team in scoring with 14.4 points per game. California freshman Jabari Bird suffered a sprained ankle and will be out for Thursday night’s game, as will Ricky Kreklow, severely hampering Cal’s perimeter defense. Bird was averaging 11.3 points per game and shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc. Kreklow was scoring 6.4 points per game.

Key for Cal: Slow down Oregon’s offense.

The only way to do is to  outscore the Ducks and hope they have a poor shooting night. Their size in the middle won’t affect Oregon’s outside shooting success.

The Ducks (13-1, 1-1) are coming off their first loss of the season and will play a much-needed home game for the first time since Dec. 29. Their scoring average is third in the nation, falling percentage points short of first at 89.4 points per game. Senior Johnathan Loyd hasn’t looked back since taking over starting duties for the suspended Dominic Artis. The 5’8” guard ranks in the top 20 nationally in assist to turnover ratio (3.18) and assists per game (6.4) and is shooting career-best percentages from the field (49.3), threes (37.0) and the charity stripe (87.0). Oregon ranks in the top 15 nationally in all three shooting categories. Loyd and Cobbs will match up well and surely be competing against one another. Junior transfer Joseph Young leads the team in scoring at 19.1 points per game and rarely misses from anywhere. Fellow transfers Richard Amardi and Mike Moser will be dealt the task of containing Cal’s big men down low.

Key for Oregon: Convert perimeter shots.

With Kreklow sidelined and a significant height advantage in the post for Cal, Oregon will need to rely on their sharp shooting from distance.

Oregon vs. Stanford

The Cardinal (9-4, 0-1) wrap up Oregon’s brief homestand Sunday afternoon. Stanford has suffered four early losses but played a tough non-conference schedule, beating No. 10 UConn on the road and losing to Pittsburgh, BYU and Michigan. Junior Chasson Randle leads the scoring attack with 18.4 points per game and shoots well, as does junior Anthony Brown, who leads the team in three-point shooting (54.3 percent) and free throw shooting (80 percent). Senior forward Dwight Powell is having a down shooting year from the outside but is still dropping 14.4 points per game and pulling down 7.5 boards. Powell and Stefan Nastic are towers in the middle, with the front court anchored by one of the nation’s best shot blockers in senior Josh Huestis, who leads the team in rebounding with 8.2 per game.

Key for Stanford: Use size to its advantage. The Cardinal’s front court severely outsizes Oregon’s, and they have tons of athleticism to go with it.

Oregon struggled to contain Huestis last year, as he recorded double-doubles in each meeting. Huestis, Powell and Randle carried Stanford offensively but Oregon managed to split the season series. Moser, Amardi, Elgin Cook and Waverly Austin will all need to guard down low and step up defensively. Randle, Brown and Huestis can all let it fly from deep, so Oregon’s perimeter defense will have its work cut out.

Key for Oregon: Keep a consistent big man rotation. Fresh legs will help keep Stanford’s size in check, as Oregon will need to rely on its athleticism and speed to out-hustle the Cardinal.

Follow Madison Guernsey on Twitter @guernseymd

It has been an uphill climb for UO Snow, the University of Oregon’s club freestyle ski and snowboard team. With the 2014 season approaching, membership is at an all-time high despite numerous challenges.

UO Snow disbanded following the 2007 season but was re-booted in 2010 by Jeff Fadness and Ty Huard. Since then, membership has steadily grown and now stands at 50, nearly doubling the total of 27 from last season. For presidents Briggs Chapman, Rick Lindfors and Melina Zamalloa, managing the large team will be uncharted territory, but all three are excited and have high hopes for what has so far been a snow-less winter on the Oregon slopes.

Lindfors said they plan to get to the mountain every weekend during winter term and into spring. He plans to enter the team in Mt. Bachelor’s inter collegiate regional competition the first weekend of spring break and to bring the Campus Rail Jam Tour to Eugene for the first time since 2008.

Naturally, as one of the many club sports at Oregon, finding funding and a high level of interest are obstacles the team has to overcome. UO Snow has partnered with Berg’s Ski and Snowboard Shop and Tactics Board Shop to premiere movies and raise funds by mutually promoting one another.

“They’ve been great. They’ve been fun to work with,” Lindfors said. “We’ve had some great fundraisers off of their films. It’s a partnership.”

In the past, attendance and commitment issues have caused UO Snow to waste funds on cancelled vans and other resources. A new policy will reward members who follow through on their commitments and discipline those who don’t. With the expanded membership, UO Snow won’t be able to fit the entire team into the vans rented through the university’s motor pool. However, they encourage members to car pool and will have help from Berg’s and Tactics, which charter buses to the Willamette Pass and Mt. Bachelor.

Another issue facing UO Snow is visibility. Fundraisers, special events and video productions can only do so much. Getting the word out can be difficult for a nontraditional club sport.

“People didn’t know about us,” Chapman said.

That visibility will be more difficult to achieve now that club sports won’t be allowed to furnish apparel with the signature Oregon “O” or any of the font used by Division I athletics.

“It’s a liability issue with athletics,” Zamalloa said. “We have students who travel around the world. If they get in trouble, athletics doesn’t want to receive phone calls blaming them.”

Lindfors said the font helps club sports associate themselves with the community of student athletes but added that is isn’t anything the team can’t overcome.

Selecting the team may be the biggest challenge of all for UO Snow. Without a mountain readily available at a moment’s notice, there aren’t opportunities to hold tryouts and let applicants showcase their skills. Because of that, the selection process heavily leans on how committed to the team an applicant is.

With over 70 applications turned in for this season, the captains — who also act as coaches — had tough decisions to make.

“There’s no way I can tell how skilled someone is,” Zamalloa said. “My personal focus is mainly on dedication.”

“Responsible students are what make any student organization better,” Lindfors added.

There is no snow yet, but the team is staying committed to building UO Snow and getting on the mountain one way or another.

“We might go bounce on trampolines,” Chapman said.

Follow Madison Guernsey on Twitter @guernseymd

GOOD

– Four-star safety Bishard “Budda” Baker announced via twitter his commitment to play for Oregon football next season:

I AM OFFICIALLY COMMITTED TO… pic.twitter.com/JYReedT483

— budda baker (@buddabaker32) December 20, 2013

Baker joins four-star cornerback recruit Arrion Springs as highly touted secondary recruits to commit to the Ducks. Earlier on Friday, Springs foreshadowed the good news coming Oregon’s way:

It's gonna be a good day for #GoDucks

— Arrion Springs (@A_Springs4) December 20, 2013

And this, 20 minutes before Baker’s announcement on twitter:

It's almost time #GoDucks

— Arrion Springs (@A_Springs4) December 20, 2013

Baker is the seventh four-star commit for next season, and the Bellevue High School running back/defensive back may play offense next year for the Ducks.

– Oregon baseball is ranked sixth in the first preseason poll for the 2014 season. The Ducks ended 2013 with a loss in the Regional Final to Rice and are returning several key players, including preseason third team All-America selection Cole Irvin. Oregon also boasts the sixth best recruiting class, headlined by catcher Alex Jackson and lefty pitcher Matt Krook. The Ducks host top ranked Cal State Fullerton from February 28 to March 2, their first home series of the season. Other Pac-12 schools ranked in the top 40 are No. 4 Oregon State, defending College World Series Champions No. 15 UCLA, No. 22 Arizona State, No. 24 Arizona and No. 26 Stanford.

– Oregon women’s basketball clobbered Southern University 130-90 Wednesday night, extending their winning streak to five games. The Ducks will look to continue their hot play Friday night at home against Cal Poly. The Mustangs  (6-5) are led by 6-foot-5 senior center Molly Schlemmer, who’s averaging 17.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best 53.1 percent from the field. Oregon (7-2) will lean on freshman record setter Chrishae Rowe and sophomore Jillian Alleyne, who’s averaging a double double per game with 20.3 points and 13.6 rebounds. The Ducks have one more non-conference game before beginning Pac-12 play at Stanford January 3.

BAD

– Just as the Oregon men’s basketball team got Ben Carter and Dominic Artis back from suspensions, A.J. Lapray and Brian Crow may both miss time due to injuries. Head coach Dana Altman said he would “see how they handle practice,” but that Crow is “out for a while.” Lapray is a true freshman from Salem’s Sprague High School and has appeared in two games this season. Crow is a junior walk-on who formerly played at Sonoma State and has seen action in five contests. Oregon (10-0) plays BYU (8-4) Saturday night at Matthew Knight Arena.

UGLY

– The Washington Huskies football program is investigating possible NCAA violations against assistant coach Tosh Lupoi, who allegedly paid for a recruit’s online classes and tutoring. Former Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian hired Lupoi in 2012 and could add Lupio to his staff at USC, but now that is also in question in lieu of the allegations.

Follow Madison Guernsey on Twitter @guernseymd

Oregon baseball is ranked sixth in the first collegiate baseball poll of the preseason. The Ducks finished their 2013 campaign 48-16 including a trip to the Regional Final of the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.

Key returning players include preseason third team All-America selection Cole Irvin (LHP), infielder Mitchell Tolman, starting pitcher Tommy Thorpe and reliever Garrett Cleavinger. The Ducks did lose some players early to the pros, including first baseman Ryon Healy, outfielder Brett Thomas, closer Jimmie Sherfy and pitcher Cole Wiper, but add incoming freshman Matt Krook, who was drafted by the Miami Marlins but didn’t sign.

Oregon landed the sixth best recruiting class in the nation according to Perfect Game USA via GoDucks.com. The class includes catcher Alex Jackson, the nation’s third best overall prospect.

Oregon will host top-ranked Cal State Fullerton at PK Park from Feb. 28 to March 2, the first time head coach George Horton will face his former team at home.  The Ducks lost two of three to the Titans last spring in Fullerton.

PK Park will play host to other ranked opponents. No. 24 Arizona will visit on May 2 for a three-game series, followed immediately by a visit from No. 4 Oregon State on May 6. The Beavers travel to Eugene again on May 20 to wrap up the Civil War series.

Follow Madison Guernsey on Twitter @guernseymd