Caught Traveling

Mike McShane's departure from UO basketball.

McShane's family had been lobbying McShane to leave the team for over ayear before McShane made his decision. They had witnessed, first hand, theheartache and suffering McShane's relationship with Kent had imposed on hisspirit and they further saw the limited opportunities McShane was given tosucceed and grow.

Advice from other sources also instructed him to leave the Kent runprogram. Kamran Sufi - Ernie Kent's point guard when he was the head coachfor the St. Mary's Gaels - was allowed on the court for a team practice.During some off time, McShane asked Sufi for any wisdom or advice he mighthave for him regarding Kent. Without hesitation, Sufi - a player whose teamwas coached to the 1997 NCAA tournament by Ernie Kent - looked at McShaneand told him to transfer.

To his credit McShane rejected his family's advice and the advice a pastKent player in favor of remaining loyal to his teammates and his school.McShane decided to try and rise above a very strained relationship withErnie Kent that he said included personal attacks on his character andfamily along with verbal assaults against his playing skills and focus.McShane's resolve was finally broken after the January 30 Civil War gameagainst the Oregon State Beavers. During warm-ups, McShane looked up intothe audience and noticed a familiar image - a cardboard sign that read:"McShane McSucks." It was the exact same cardboard sign he had seen in theprevious season's Civil War game in Corvallis and he laughed to himself atthe owner who had obviously tucked the sign away for a full year just forone game.

Coach Kent saw McShane chuckling at the Beaver sign and lambasted him fornot being mentally ready for the game.

Late in the first half of the Oregon State game, McShane was placed in thegame to give Darius Wright a breather. Two minutes into his stint on thecourt, McShane curled around a screen and caught a pass on the run - thereferee called him for traveling and Kent took him out of the game, neverto return onto a basketball court in Duck apparel.

After the game was over, McShane remembered the coaches telling him he had"no leadership" during the game and further blaming him for the team's lossto Oregon State, even though he played for only two minutes. "That's when Idecided that I was never playing again for this team," he said.

The following week, McShane walked into the pre-practice meeting ready totell his teammates that he was not going to play basketball with themanymore. When Kent noticed that McShane was not dressed down for practice,he asked him to come into his office. McShane followed Kent, but told himthat he was there to talk to the team and walked back out. He steadiedhimself and told his teammates that he was going to leave the team:

"I'm hangin' 'em up. I'm done. I love you guys; I love the university, theschool, the community, but I no longer want to be associated with Ernie.I'm a competitor and I need to be out competing and I don't feel I can dothat here anymore."

As he was leaving, assistant coach Don Newman wished McShane good luck butassistant coach Mark Hudson would not shake McShane's hand. McShaneremembered thinking, "That's why I'm leaving."

Kent told McShane that his departure had come as a shock to him; that hehad never had a player quit. McShane replied, "What about Tyron [Manlove],Jonathan [Nelson], André [Larry]." With that, McShane told Ernie "goodluck" and walked away. McShane walked away from his teammates, from hiscollege basketball career at the University of Oregon, and from a year ofeligibility on a Division I team.

McShane will be playing next year in Division II for Montana StateUniversity for a coach who seems to care a little more about his playersthan his personal image.