First-year Oregon coach Dana Altman knows all about Arizona's Sean Miller but not much else when it comes to other Pac-10 teams and their coaches. (US Presswire photo/Scott Rovak)

Random thoughts while wondering if Sean Miller can really wait until the day after Christmas to start scheming against nemesis Dana Altman, the Oregon coach who went 3-1 against Miller when Creighton and Xavier met from 2004-07. …

When Oregon (7-5) and Arizona (11-2) open the Pac-10 season on Dec. 30 at MacArthur Court, it will be the first time Altman will coach against a Pac-10 team in his 22 years as a NCAA Division I head coach. That means Altman has coached 665 games at the Division I level and not one happened to be a Pac-10 school until now (the Ducks’ non-conference slate is also over).

Despite the unfamiliarity with the Pac-10 and its coaches, Altman, a 16-year coach at Creighton, is very knowledgeable about Miller.

After the Bluejays went to five consecutive NCAA tournaments, including a 29-5 season in 2002-03, Altman continued a series with Miller at Xavier. Altman was 3-1 against Miller from 2004-2007. Xavier’s three defeats were by a total of only 10 points.

The Musketeers had trouble with Creighton’s pressing and trapping defenses.

“They beat us up,” Miller told reporters before Xavier ended the three-game losing streak with a 79-66 win on Dec. 5, 2007. “They hit us in the mouth, and I say that in a positive way.

“One of the reasons they beat us three years in a row is their style. They really force you to handle pressure and compete at a high level.”

Other than Miller, Altman has not coached against any of the league’s coaches in his career. …

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New Oregon coach Dana Altman went 3-1 against Sean Miller when his Creighton teams faced Xavier from 2004-07 (Photo by US Presswire/Scott Rovak)

Oregon’s new coach, Dana Altman of Creighton, has coached 653 games in Division I and not one of them is against a Pac-10 school.

Conversely, Altman has coached 17 games against Mountain West teams and 14 against WAC opponents. Add to that three games against the West Coast Conference and Big Sky, and two against the Big West, and that’s 39 games against teams from the western region. But not one against the Pac-10. Why?

Easy. If you are Ben Howland at UCLA or Lorenzo Romar at Washington, for example, do you want to arrange a home-and-home with a dangerous mid-major from Omaha? What recruiting edge does a Pac-10 team have in Nebraska?

None of the existing Pac-10 coaches have coached against Altman, except Arizona coach Sean Miller.

Miller knows the kind of program Altman built in 16 years at Creighton while at fellow mid-major school Xavier. After the Bluejays went to five consecutive NCAA tournaments, including a 29-5 season in 2002-03, Altman continued a series with Miller at Xavier. Altman was 3-1 against Miller from 2004-2007.

Xavier’s three defeats were by a total of only 10 points. The Musketeers had trouble with Creighton’s pressing and trapping defenses.

“They beat us up,” Miller said before Xavier ended the three-game losing streak with a 79-66 win on Dec. 5, 2007. “They hit us in the mouth, and I say that in a positive way.

“One of the reasons they beat us three years in a row is their style. They really force you to handle pressure and compete at a high level.”

Altman, 410-243 in 21 years as a Division I coach, reportedly will be introduced as the new Oregon coach tomorrow in a press conference.

The Ducks have been in search of a new head coach since March 16, when the school announced that former coach Ernie Kent would not be retained.

In the meantime, three Oregon sophomores have announced they will transfer and have obtained a release from their scholarships: Josh Crittle and Drew Wiley (forwards) and Matthew Humphrey (guard). Wiley has already announced that he is transferring to Boise State.

Altman, who has produced three NBA players while at Creighton, has his hands full trying to convince high-profile in-state recruits Terrence Jones and Terrence Ross of Portland (Ore.) Jefferson to play for him. Ross, a 6-5 guard, and Jones, a 6-9 forward, reportedly will announce their decision April 30, and Washington is rumored to be the strongest contender, although Kentucky and Kansas are going hard after Jones.

The three NBA players produced by Altman at Creighton are guard Rodney Buford (five different teams between 1999-2005), forward Kyle Korver (who is playing with the Jazz since entering the league in 2003) and forward Anthony Tolliver (in his second season now with the Warriors).

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PAC-10 TRANSFER LIST REACHES 18

* — Dismissed from team
** — Announced transfer before spring semester