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Higher Court photo by Drew Fleming Jamieson in thick of Duck men�s hoops as manager By Tim Trower Of all the people on the sideline for South Medford in the 1996 state basketball tournament, Josh Jamieson was perhaps the least likely candidate to make it to the Pac-10 Conference. Oh, he dribbled ... while filling water bottles. And he passed ... towels to players. And he shot ... glances at the coach to see how he could be of further help. Jamieson was the team manager, a position that involved far more responsibility than mentioned above but didn�t command headlines or spots on the evening news or even much respect outside the team�s framework. But it remains the foundation on which his future may rest. "It�s interesting that because of his association with me and the basketball program, he got into a niche that I don�t think he ever thought he would get into," says South coach Dennis Murphy, who maintains a close, almost fatherly, relationship with Jamieson. Now 22, Jamieson is a graduate manager for the University of Oregon men�s basketball team. The one-year, full-scholarship position has him working daily in the staff�s offices and at practice and will afford him a seat on the bench during games, home and away, as an aide to coach Ernie Kent and his crew. When Mac Court is quaking in the midst of a spirited Oregon rally against, say, Oregon State, Jamieson will be at the epicenter. "It�s a tremendous experience just going to practice every day, and that�s the truth," says Jamieson, who graduated with a degree in marketing in June from Southern Oregon University and enrolled at Oregon to pursue his masters in business administration. "We practice every day in Mac, and you can walk up and sit in the third story and just imagine what it�s like with 10,000 people in there." Since practice started Sept. 15, he�s occasionally been awestricken, but he shakes it quickly and gets back to work. He has a doggedness that would put the The Little Engine That Could to shame and an uncommon prescience that landed him on this career track. As a freshman at South, Jamieson injured a knee and couldn�t try out for basketball. Instead, he served as a freshman team manager. As a sophomore, he tried out but was cut. Rather than shrink away from the game, he returned to it because he sensed it had something to offer. "It may sound corny," says Jamieson, "but I identified that Murph was a good coach and a good person to learn from. That, and all my friends played." By the time he was a senior and in his third year as manager, Jamieson had made quite a mark. He helped coach the school�s younger teams, sat in on strategy sessions and analyzed film. He�s indebted, he says, to Murphy for giving him so much responsibility and making him "feel like a coach as a student. It really gave me a foundation for a lot of the stuff I�m doing now." The head coach didn�t have much choice. "He always acted like he was making all the decisions," laughs Murphy, who to this day calls Jamieson "The General" for his take-charge nature. Upon graduation from South and while he was attending SOU, Jamieson coached the Panthers� freshman boys team and ran the school�s AAU youth program � whose teams were appropriately nicknamed the Generals. Jamieson went to great lengths to learn about coaching basketball. He wrote to Arizona coach Lute Olson and landed a coaching spot at the Wildcats� camp. Ditto UCLA, where he served as a counselor at Steve Lavin�s camp. Ditto Oregon, where he coached at Kent�s camp. "They all provided different opportunities and good opportunities," says Jamieson, who says Olson and Lavin primarily coached the coaches who handled their camps. "I was real surprised because coach Kent was by far and away the most present at the camps. He really got hands-on with the kids and got very excited when he was coaching them." It was at the Oregon camp last summer that Jamieson inquired about staff openings and was told he�d be kept in mind. He was called to the school in August, where he interviewed and lunched with Kent and assistant Greg Graham. Jamieson left Eugene uncertain of his chances against other prospects but feeling good about the impression he�d made. The call came in early September. The news was good. "I hung up the phone and couldn�t move for a few minutes," he says. There is reason to think Jamieson should have been intimidated when he first stepped on the court with major-college players and a team that won 22 games last year en route to the NCAA tournament. "I knew I would respect them, and in turn I hoped they would respect me for the amount of devotion I have," he says, noting that having worked at college camps helped to prepare him. Or so he thought. On the first day of practice, armed with his new khaki, pocketed coach�s shorts and his sleek Oregon coach�s polo shirt, he strolled onto the floor. "I get out there and the other three assistants and the managers are out there in mesh shorts and T-shirts," he recalls. "They kind of look at me and say something to the extent that this isn�t a fashion show. "These coaches work so hard and get down and dirty. It doesn�t do me any good to have a nice polo shirt when I�m sweating in the first 10 minutes from all the jumping up and down." Jamieson�s practice duties vary from day to day. Graham considers him a catchall. "To say that he has responsibilities in one area, you can�t do that with him," says the fourth-year assistant. "He�s one person who is well-versed in a lot of areas." If Jamieson sees something on the practice floor that he thinks should be addressed, he has the coaches� ears. "It�s welcome from him because of what we�ve seen from him and what we�ve talked about with him," says Graham. "I don�t want to say he�s not your normal person in that position, but he�s very, very good. He�s seen a lot of things, has an understanding of the game and his background knowledge is very beneficial." One of the biggest contributions Jamieson makes is with computers and breaking down film. For instance, Kent might want to stress a point about the Ducks� motion offense and ask Jamieson to pick out five sequences in which the Ducks ran it well. Jamieson is effusive in his praise of the Oregon personnel, from Kent on down through the ranks. "They are great people who are willing to work with you and help you learn," he says. "I couldn�t be more impressed with their character and the way they treat each. The same goes for the players. It�s a wonderful group of players who care for each other and work with each other. "I feel like I can contribute and be a part of this." He doesn�t dribble, pass or shoot, but he�s still in the game. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.