On the heels of last spring's Elite Elite run, by a precocious Oregon team that returned essentially intact for the 2017-18 season, UO coachdidn't want to get ahead of himself.Yes, the Ducks returned 100 percent of their scoring and rebounding production from the tournament run. No, Graves didn't think his team was quite ready to sustain its March magic over a full season, and contend for a Pac-12 title. At least not yet, he thought last fall, as the Ducks prepared for their encore."Over an 18-game schedule, double-round robin like we do?" Graves mused recently. "That's hard, for a team this young competing against really good teams that have a lot of veterans."The Ducks may indeed be young. The challenge may indeed have been tough. But Oregon is indeed Pac-12 champs, after sweeping this past weekend's road trip to Arizona and clinching an outright conference title for the first time since 1999-2000.Thus will the Ducks (27-4) enter this week's conference tournament in Seattle as the No. 1 seed. They'll play Friday morning in KeyArena (11:30 a.m., Pac-12 Network), against the winner of Thursday's game between No. 8 Utah and No. 9 Colorado. The UO women will be looking to add to what already is the best win total for a season in school history, after setting a school record by going 16-2 in Pac-12 regular-season play."It's just a credit to a really competitive, tight-knit group who's bought in, and play for each other," Graves said. "I tell you what, they keep amazing me, each and every week."Sunday's title-clinching win capped a meteoric four-year rise for the Ducks under Graves, who came to Eugene after an extended run of success at Gonzaga. Taking over a program that had won just four games two years before, Graves led the Ducks to a .500 conference record in just his second season, and followed that with last season's improbable run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, as a No. 10 seed.Graves was far from alone in leading a once-proud program back to greatness. His Gonzaga assistantsand— now head coach at Grand Canyon — also moved to Eugene.brought experience in the Pac-12 to the staff, andprovided invaluable overseas contacts. Oregon's administration invested in Graves' vision, and hundreds of diehard fans stood by the program through the transition.But it's players who win games. Graves and his staff had to sell talented recruits on a future for Oregon women's basketball that, four years ago, was but a dream.bought in, the hometown kid joining the Ducks for their first season under Graves. A year later, Spanish point guardsigned on, as did rugged forwardIt would be recruits in the 2016 high school senior class, however, that would ultimately determine how quickly Graves could turn Oregon into a championship contender. From the moment it arrived in Eugene, the staff identified that class as the potential difference-maker — then went out and signed a group of players that included 2017 Pac-12 freshman of the year, all-conference forward, and a third starter for much of the last calendar year, forwardWhen that class signed, all the staff could offer was a promise of good things to come."Coach said all four years would be great," Hebard said. "I just believed in that. And it's coming true."That is so because the staff recruited players who combine talent with character, on and off the court. They found those traits in the next class as well, which included another conference freshman of the year candidate,"We recruited the right kids," Graves said Sunday. "We don't have knuckleheads on our team, and that's what I'm the most proud of. They're obviously really good basketball players, they're respectful young women, they treat each other right, they treat the game right and respect the game. They're good students and do things the right way. It's refreshing to see that rewarded. I'm happy for them, and it's been a long time coming."Graves' eyes were reddened by tears and his voice cracked with emotion as he made those comments outside Oregon's locker room in Arizona's McKale Center. His players were touched by their coach's display."I'm so happy he takes it that seriously, and is proud of us," Ionescu said. "I'm proud of the coaching staff and us, as well. We've all worked so hard for this."The Ducks celebrated the fruits of that hard work Sunday afternoon in Arizona. They donned championship hats and T-shirts, and posed for photos with a trophy and banner celebrating their accomplishments.But their championship character was reflected not only on the court in beating the Wildcats, but in the tone of the postgame celebration. Because while they celebrated what was, the Ducks kept one eye on what's still to come."There's still a lot of season left, and we're still trying to accomplish all our goals," Ionescu said. "But this was definitely one of them."