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46 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, February 25, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend January 30, 2004 Southern Oregon University�s Jared Abell is a big reason why the Raider basketball team is off to an 8-3 start in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Understated excellence is Abell’s way Unassuming Raider sophomore forward possesses versatile game that speaks volumes By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune ASHLAND — He doesn’t mind coming off the bench. He, in fact, prefers it. He doesn’t enjoy be singled out for a story. He’d rather the entire team share the spotlight. Advertisement He doesn’t want to make a big deal of his asthma. He dismisses it as "slight" and "not even a problem anymore." Really, Jared Abell doesn’t want to stand out in any way. Too bad. He does. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound sophomore forward is a big reason why the Southern Oregon University men’s basketball team is off to an 8-3 start in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. The Raiders (13-12 overall) enter this weekend’s homestand tied with Oregon Tech for second in the league, two games back of 10-1 Albertson. SOU faces Evergreen (4-7 Cascade) at McNeal Pavilion at 7:30 tonight, then Northwest (2-9) at the same time Saturday. The Raider women (5-13, 4-6 Cascade) precede the men with 5:30 clashes against the same opponents each night. Abell turned in one of his finest performances in SOU’s last outing, when he scored 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and grabbed seven rebounds to boost the Raiders to an 83-81 win at Concordia. "He did that in different ways," says Brian McDermott, SOU’s eighth-year head coach. "In the first half, he knocked down two 3- pointers and had a couple of transition buckets. In the second half, he got his points on free throws and dunks." That effort marked Abell’s fifth straight game coming off the bench, a stretch in which he’s averaged 13.6 points per game. "I like coming off the bench better, and (McDermott) knows that," says Abell, who has started 19 of the Raiders’ 25 games. "I just feel like I can come in and give a spark." Abell’s season marks are 13.3 points and 5.0 rebounds — both of which rank second on the team behind Shea Washington (19.1 and 8.9, respectively) — in 24.3 minutes per game. He’s shooting 50 percent from the field and 35 percent from 3-point range. Those are all improvements from a year ago, when he produced 9.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game. "I think the biggest improvement has come in his strength," McDermott says. "He worked really hard in the off-season in the weight room. ... It’s helped probably his confidence as much as anything. He’s just like a different guy, a different player." Abell’s style is different, too, as his size, versatility and shooting touch make him a tough matchup. "He’s got such range," McDermott marvels. "It’s a difficult deal for opponents. He’s a guy who plays inside and can play inside, but then comes out and stretches the defense so much. He can go 3 or 4 feet past the 3-point line. He opens things up inside." Abell, whose reluctance to talk about himself is apparent, says he finds most his points in the paint. "I like being around the basket, as far as for offensive rebounds or post moves here or there," he says. "I’ll shoot it if I’m open outside, but most the time, I’m just gonna go inside." There are times when Abell’s reserved personality may keep him from shooting as much as McDermott would like. But the coach says those nights are dwindling. What remains steadfast is Abell’s compassion. "I don’t know how to put this without it sounding awkward, but he’s just a sweet man," McDermott says. "He’s not gonna hurt anybody. He just wants to be with people and do the right things all the time. He’s just playing because he likes it and wants to fit in and have fun doing it." If Abell sounds maybe more mature than your average college sophomore, that’s because he is. The 21-year-old attended Oregon State for two years before joining the Raider program. He graduated from Prineville’s Crook County High in 2000, when he earned co-Intermountain Conference MVP honors and second-team all-state accolades after averaging 24 points per game. As a junior, Abell scored 35 points in a loss to South Medford at the Abby’s Holiday Classic. Abell initially walked on with the Beavers, then under Ritchie McKay’s guidance, but only played for a month. "After I played that month, I just kinda did school and kinda figured some things out," Abell says. "Then I went to school another year and got my things straightened out and figured that I wanted to play again." Former SOU point guard T.J. Caughell is a good friend of Abell’s, and Abell started showing up at Raider road games up north. "All of the sudden, after one of the games, he says, ‘I’m ready,’" recalls McDermott, who thought he was going to get Abell to come to SOU out of high school. "‘I’m ready to come down and play for you.’ And I said, ‘Really? Well, I’m ready for you.’ "It was all just him coming to terms with what he wanted. ... He’s so focused. He’s had his chance to go through those years when you’re trying to figure out what you want. It’s amazing when you tell him something, how hard he works at it." Abell’s freshman season was affected by the discovery of asthma, which also hampered him at the outset of this season. "It just started last year, when I started playing again, so I don’t know if it was the time off or..." Abell says. "I was having trouble breathing. I was having a little bit of an anxiety attack, I think. "Christmas break rolls around, and that’s two, three months into the season, and I got it checked out, and they said it’s most likely this and gave me something to fix it. ... It’s not that bad. It’s like a once-in-a-while-type thing. But when it does happen, it’s not very good." What is good is Abell’s game, which is complete with what McDermott says has to be the most dunks in the Cascade Conference this winter — ironic, considering his understated personality. "His hands are so big, and he holds the ball so well," McDermott explains. "He had one dunk this year where he was actually under the net, and he came out and dunked it. He gets some dunks that other people just don’t get." Just don’t try to tell him that. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! 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