The I-5 Corridor Mailbag: On Kelly Graves' rebuild, the MKA floor and predicting the Ducks' Big Ten record

You had questions. I have answers in this week's I-5 Corridor Mailbag column.

A little programming note before jumping into this week’s mailbag: I’m going to be gone the next two weeks.

Wow, Tyson, where are you going?

Ok, I’ll cave since you all are being so nosey: Mozambique!

The I-5 Corridor is hopping on a plane Saturday to Seattle, then a plane to Dubai and then a plane to Johannesburg before one final commuter over to Maputo. My brother has been in the foreign service for the last decade, and while I’ve skipped making trips to see him during his years in Panama, China and Mongolia, as soon as I saw pictures of the absolutely rough conditions he has on the other side of the world —

Zach Alger photo

— I decided this is really the time when family needs to stick together.

So it’s been a bit of a busy week. I’ve had to write the most badass out-of-the-office email of my life. I’ve had to figure out how many I-5 Corridor shirts I can stuff into two carryons. I’ve had to convince my mom, multiple times, that, yes, I have my passport. I’ve also been writing ahead a little bit so you loyal I-5 Corridor subscribers don’t notice too much of a duldrum in coverage as I…fly through them.

Shane Hoffmann has a few stories on deck. I’ve enlisted my pal Andy Buhler to chip in on soccer. And I really, really hope to see some of you all still here when I get back — those first two weeks of June may see all-time story production here as I attempt to make up for The Corridor’s lack of a paid-time off policy.

But since we’re still on the clock here, let’s jump into a mailbag loaded with answers on Oregon’s Big Ten schedule, how to watch playoff hockey and the look of the Matthew Knight Arena floor.

Let’s begin, first, with one of the teams that plays on that hardwood.

Tyson- Interested in your take on Oregon women's basketball. Obviously, been a bit of a revolving door of late although Kelly Graves has picked up some significant transfers and should have Peyton Scott back for the season. Just a cyclical thing, or more or less than that? — NRosen

I was struck by something Paul Westhead said in his final press conference as head coach of the Oregon women’s team in 2013. 

Westhead went 66-92 during his five seasons with the Ducks and never made it further than the third round of the WNIT. And while his final season in Eugene was his best since his first year with the program, Oregon announced it would not renew his contract just before the team began another run through the WNIT. It was after his coaching career came to a close with a 93-85 loss to Washington in the second round that Westhead solemnly met with the media. 

“This is the coaching business. You practice between games. You play to execute and win. You don’t have many thoughts about ‘If this happens, what am I doing next?’  I’ll get up tomorrow and think about that,” he said. “It’s been a good run here. What I said about our players and staff, I mean about this university. It’s a first-class operation and they do things the right way. It’s been a nice experience.” 

Westhead said he wanted to keep coaching. He never found another job. And at Oregon, Kelly Graves’ ensuing success all but saturated any high points previously reached by the program. Graves reached the Elite Eight in his third year and fourth years, the Final Four in his fifth year and had the most talented roster in the country the year the tournament was canceled due to the pandemic. He reached the Sweet 16 the next year without Sabrina Ionescu, Satou Sabally and Ruthy Hebard. 

And all that momentum has crashed into a wall the last two seasons as the Ducks have finished eighth and last in the Pac-12, a span that’s seen Graves go from being regarded as the best coach in program history to a guy who, during the depths of this past season’s struggles, a vocal contingent of Oregon fans wanted to see become the next Westhead. 

Go figure: I found myself somewhere in the middle. The number of productive players for other programs the Ducks have churned the last two years of players is concerning, especially as the play at Matthew Knight Arena has cratered. At the same time, Graves is the coach who has led Oregon to 30 percent of its NCAA Tournament appearances in program history and 100 percent of its four charges to the Sweet 16 and beyond. He’s also navigating a new era of college sports that’s seen other traditionally successful coaches — read Altman, Dana — take time to adjust to as well. The difference there being Altman’s never had the wheels completely fall off and post a 2-16 conference record like Graves did this past season.

I’d be sounding the alarm if, like Westhead, Graves didn’t keep going about his work despite the noise. In the two months since the season ended, the Ducks have landed seven players in the transfer portal, headlined by former North Carolina superstar Deja Kelly. Peyton Scott will return after missing all but one game. He has a top-50 freshman joining this year in Katie Fiso and has already landed a commitment from 2025 top-50 player Janiaya Williams. These would be the types of moves we all would describe as transformative for a program if they were ushered in under a new coach. But they’re not. It’s Graves’ blueprint — but there is pressure on him to show that this set of plans can actually work.

For I-5 Corridor subscribers later this week: Shane Hoffmann talked with Graves for a “State of the Program” as the Ducks move into the Big Ten era.

Tyson, any insight into what the new court might look like at MKA? Having watched a ton of men's hoops on TV over the last decade, this is long overdue. It was a truly excruciating viewing experience. — Lucas Clark