February 10, 2025
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Life in the Big Ten for the Oregon Ducks
Tannen: '[Graves] took over a program that was on life support'
On the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, host Missy Heidrick dives into the state of affairs for the University of Oregon’s women’s basketball team in their first season in the conference. She speaks with Steve Tannen from Sports Radio 95.3 in Eugene, Oregon — home of the Oregon Ducks — to talk about Oregon’s experience in the conference, the team’s general progress, and more.
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Heidrick opens the show by asking Tannen what the conference transition has been like, for both the athletes and the fans. “When they first made the move, it was heartbreaking, because the Pac-12 dissolved,” Tannen said. But, Tannen and others soon recognized the enormity of the new conference. “I don’t think I realized how big it was until football season,” he says. “It’s exceeded all expectations.”
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Later on, Heidrick asks Tannen to talk about the career and legacy of Kelly Graves, the head coach of the Oregon Ducks for 11 seasons. “First of all, I think it’s important to know that [Graves] took over a program,” Tannen says. “It was on life support.” Tannen provides more context about the program before Graves took over, how he came to the role, and how he’s transformed the team.
Heidrick and Tannen close out the show by discussing what Oregon alum Sabrina Ionescu has been able to for the program and the school. “I’m telling you, Sabrina is that rare athlete that uplifts everything and everyone she’s around,” Tannen says. And, for Tannen, it helps that Ionescu went to New York, his original stomping grounds, to bring home a title with the Liberty.
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