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Richard Jefferson's hardest poster he received came from an Oregon star: "I was so mad"
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- Richard Jefferson's hardest poster he received came from an Oregon star: "I was so mad"
The universities of Arizona and Oregon saw a lot of each other in college basketball during their years together in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10). Their matchups were mostly competitive, with the teams battling in high-stakes games at their respective home courts as well as on neutral venues.
Among those who got to participate in it was former Wildcat Richard Jefferson , who played in Arizona in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He played in six games against the Ducks and helped his team take their head-to-head matchup, 4-2, during his three-year run in Tucson.
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It was part of Jefferson's eventful collegiate career, where he had averages of 11.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists and capped with an NCAA Tournament finals appearance in 2001.
Success over the Ducks
The one-time NBA champion looked back on his time against the Ducks in the recent episode of "The Road Trippin' Show." With former Oregon star Dillon Brooks as a guest, Jefferson shared stories about their battles against the Eugene-based school.
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Jefferson recalled having to face a competitive Oregon team that featured fellow future NBA players Fred Jones , Luke Jackson and Luke Ridnour . He was proud to share that he and the Wildcats had the number of their Pacific Northwest rivals.
"I had great success against Oregon," said Jefferson, who played 17 years in the NBA and now works as an analyst for ESPN.
But while he had success over the Ducks, he admits that Jones was one of the players who got him bad in college with a poster dunk.
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"Freddy dunked on me, bro. Freddy dunked on everybody. We don't talk about this. Freddy and I came from the same high school class. My guard went for the steal. I came in from the block. Freddy turned that b—h over. So, that's the hardest I've ever been dunked on. And Freddy's my boy. I was so mad for sure," Jefferson recalled.
Jones went on to play eight years in the NBA after being selected 14th overall in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers . He also played with the Toronto Raptors , Portland Trail Blazers , New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers . In 2004, he won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest .
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Moving on from the Pac-10
Both Arizona and Oregon stayed in their conference even when it became the Pac-12 with the addition of Colorado and Utah in 2011. But in 2024, with the Pac-12 breaking apart following a host of conference alignments, the Wildcats and Ducks found themselves playing in different conferences.
Arizona joined the Big 12 Conference while Oregon now plays in the Big Ten.
The Wildcats have adapted well in their new conference, capturing their first Big 12 regular-season championship and tournament title last season. They also made a spirited run in the NCAA Tournament , reaching the Final Four before losing to eventual national champion Michigan.
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Oregon, for its part, has produced a mixed bag of results in its first two seasons in the Big Ten. In the 2024-25 campaign, the Ducks fared well, finishing in the top half of the standings with an overall 25-10 record and 12-8 in conference play and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Last season, though, the Ducks had a 12-20 record, 5-15 in the conference and did not qualify for March Madness.
Jefferson's battles with the Ducks may not be a lot, but they were still part of a memorable and influential conference in college basketball history – the Pac-10.
And for that, those matchups deserve to be remembered.
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Related: Richard Jefferson shares why he truly hates Duke University
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jul 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the College section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
