BearTalk

The Oregonian is reporting that Oregon coach Ernie Kent has told his players he will be out after this season.

Kent and his players just want to keep their season going, and columnist George Schroeder of the Eugene Register-Guard says finding the right coaching fit isn’t easy.

If it’s true that Kent already has given his players the news, his next loss will be his last. The Ducks open Pac-10 tournament play tonight against Washington State at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The game will be on CSNBA at 8 p.m.

Oregon (15-15, 7-11) certainly could take that game. The Ducks have won three of their past four, including a season sweep of the Cougars. Oregon beat WSU74-66 just four days ago. Plus, the Cougars (16-14, 6-12) are skidding into the offseason, having lost six of seven.

If the Ducks prevail tonight, they become Cal’s opponent in Thursday’s 2:40 p.m. quarterfinal game. Kent, of course, spent two seasons as part of Cal coach Mike Montgomery’s staff at Stanford in the early 1990s. He used that as a springboard to become head coach at Saint Mary’s, which he guided to an NCAA bid in 1997.

From there, Kent returned home to his alma later, where he’s coached for 13 seasons. Oregon won the Pac-10 regular-season title in 2002, cpatured Pac-10 tournament crowns in 2003 and ’07 and advanced to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and ’07. He is Oregon’s winningest all-time coach.

But the Ducks finished last in the Pac-10 last season and spent much of this season in the cellar before climbing into a tie for eighth. Oregon is opening the new Matthew Knight Arena next season, and needs to create some buzz and momentum as the new era begins.

Kent is a good man and has been a good coach. He doesn’t cheat, has recruited well, he cares about his players and he graduates them. He is not unlike former Cal coach Ben Braun in those ways.  In both cases, there simply weren’t enough victories at the end.