SB Nation - Darren Collison

[UPDATE] More Thoughts On Drew Gordon's Departure From Howlandwood

Nestor — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:36:21 -0000

Well looks like we have a lot on our minds tonight. The first thread on Drew Gordon's departure is all filled up. Instead of updating that post, thought it would make more sense to throw up a fresh post, where folks can continue the discussion.

LAT's David Wharton posted excerpts of Gordon's tweeter messages today:

This morning, he told his Twitter followers: "waking up early.. sleeples night.. man its tough.. lots on the mind."

That was followed by a message in the early afternoon.

"to all my supporters and fans i apreciate all you done and im sorry but i set back is a set up for a great come back!!" he wrote.

I am all for student athletes taking advantage of the tools available by social media outlets, but I just don't see the utility of posting that information on twitter.

John Wilner from the San Jose Mercury News offered up the following quotes from Gordon's family:

"The UCLA system is very methodical, and Drew is better as a transition player,'' said Gordon's mother, Shelly. "When you spend that much time and effort on something, you have to feel some gratification.

"We wanted to make the change now rather than wait and hope the situation gets better. The timing is terrible: It looks like he's leaving because they lost a bunch of games. But that's not what happened.''

Gordon told UCLA Coach Ben Howland on Monday morning, 12 hours after he scored two points and grabbed one rebound in a loss to Long Beach State. But he had been pondering the decision for weeks.

Not exactly sure what she means by "situation." [UPDATE: it looks like we now have a little better understanding of the situation, discussed more after the flip] That could only lead to more baseless speculation. Anyway, wherever Gordon ends up, we should all wish him luck tonight.

As for us, I think we are going to be all right. This is going to be a very rough season. I know we are UCLA and the sentiment is we can't have rough seasons. However, in my book Howland has earned a lot of room given what he has accomplished in Westwood.

I had a gut feeling something wasn't right with Gordon's time at UCLA. I remember two years ago when JS did a reverse dunk on a break away and then did a little showboating. Howland immediately took him out after that play and chewed him out. He didn't do much of that rest of his time at UCLA (okay he slipped a little here and there but he really cut it out a lot). He seemed to make an earnest effort to do what Coach Howland asked him to do and in return he got the mins on the court.

There is reason why Howland got emotional on senior days for DC, JS, and PAA. Those three might not have been the most athletic players Howland had in his six+ years in Westwood, but they (at least from what I was watching) seemed to give everything they had to get on the same page as their head coach. Not sure if I can say the same about Gordon after what I have seen in his appearances in a UCLA uniform

As much as I enjoyed watching Gordon's active energy on the court, I never really got the sense that he was a Howland kind of player. Something didn't seem to fit amidst all the constant yelling and screaming after every dunks, blocks, getting out of position on defense, taking wild shots not within the flow of the offense. Perhaps Howland is just too old school for kids like him or perhaps some of us are too old school to appreciate today's athletes such as Gordon (Man, am I sounding like a geezer?).

Anyway, we will wait to see more news come out on this story. My gut tells me this didn't happen all on a sudden. This had to be building up and I have to think Howland had taken all the steps internally (i.e. disciplining if necessary by having him sit out at practices) before getting to this step. Either way, I really hope the remaining sophomores from Gordon's class gets the message. It is way too early to form any kind of impression on this year's freshmen class. However, given what we have seen from Holiday, Gordon, and rest of their entering class, something seems to be off. I hope they will make an earnest effort now to learn from the examples classic Ben Ball warriors such as DC, JS, PAA, AA, LRMAM, RW set before they left Westwood. They will get their due mins on the court during games, if they listen to Ben Howland, D up, rebound, and play within their limitations on offense during practices.

For now, I believe Howland will do everything he can to get this right. He might not get it all resolved by the end of this season. However, for the long term I think he will get the program back on track. Given what he has given to UCLA for last six years, I am going to keep my faith and keep traveling with him until we finally get to our desire destination (banner number 12). As I said, it might take a while, but I am more than willing to be patient after the job Howland has done last few years in Westwood.

GO BRUINS.

UPDATE (N): As pointed by number of posters in previous thread, it looks Howland indeed tried to make it work with Gordon. He suspended him for two days from practices this week:

UCLA center Drew Gordon decided to leave the team after Coach Ben Howland quietly suspended him for two days of practice this week, his parents said.

Yet instead of trying to learn his lessons, it looks like Gordon wanted to move on. The quotes from his parents as noted by poncho are telling:

"It came from the frustration of being with UCLA and losing to the teams they were losing to," Gordon's father, Ed, said. "With the talent that's on the UCLA team, there's absolutely no reason for that to happen."

Uh, really? Were these guys watching the same team as we all have been last few weeks? Ed Gordon goes on:

"His athleticism always has shined more in an up-and-down tempo," Ed Gordon said. "That's not exactly what the UCLA system is about."

Uh, yeah. He didn't really show much in terms of ability to shoot consistently beyond 5 feet. He also played frequently out of control. Anyway, whatever works for the Gordons. We wish them luck.

However, now I feel even better about the decision Howland made today. GO BRUINS.

Monday Merges Into Tuesday, Thanks To A Marathon

Chris Dobbertean — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:00:14 -0000

by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Drew Gordon and UCLA start the ESPN Tip-Off Marathon at midnight Eastern Tuesday..(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

View full size photo »

Starting at midnight Eastern with Cal State Fullerton at UCLA, ESPN will run more than 24 straight hours of college hoops. Since I'm nuts for this stuff, I'm going to try to follow the bulk of the marathon over at SBNation.com. However, since I'll be sleeping from the time I get home from work until some point in the Titans-Bruins tilt, I won't be able to catch any of Monday's action. Expect to see a Monday night recap at some point on Tuesday morning.

After the jump, I'll provide a comprehensive look at the marathon, culled from my earlier piece about it (with some updated information). I'll also have a brief rundown of the other games on the Tuesday slate.

ESPN has the bulk of the action overnight and during the day. Right after the clock strikes midnight on the East Coast (a perfectly reasonable 9 p.m. Pacific time tip), UCLA hosts Cal-State Fullerton. It will be the first chance for most of America to see how the Bruins cope after losing Jrue Holiday, Alfred Aboya, Darren Collison, and Josh Shipp. The Titans meanwhile lost Big West POY Josh Akognon and his 24 points per game and have six new faces (including 3 D1 transfers) on the roster.

In the 2 a.m. Eastern slot, St. Mary's, without Paddy Mills but with fellow Aussie Andrew Dellavedova attempting to fill the void, faces San Diego State, a team that will again challenge in the Mountain West, even though they only return one starter, F Billy White. The Aztecs knocked the Gaels out of the NIT at the end of last year.

Hawai'i again gets a 4 a.m. Eastern game. Last year, the Warriors defeated Idaho State in a game that was in overtime when I woke up at 6 Eastern. This year, it's another Big Sky opponent for UH, Northern Colorado.

According to Andy Katz's Daily Word, this will be the first time ESPN has ever carried games at 6 and 8 a.m. Eastern. The 6 a.m. offering, features a rising St. Peter's squad hosting a Monmouth side that's been down of late. My quibble with this matchup is the location, as the Hawks are opening up a new arena this year, yet they're on the road for this one. Go figure.

The 8 a.m. game could be a real donnybrook, however, and it takes place just a couple of miles from where I spent my first few years. Niagara, who finished behind Siena in the MAAC last year and is ready to challenge them again hosts Drexel, the team I foolishly picked to take the CAA's auto bid late last year. The Dragons problem then was scoring (61.7 ppg), an issue that won't get better as they lost their only double-digit scorer, Scott Rodgers, to graduation.

At 10, Clemson visits Liberty, a game that would've been more attractive had Seth Curry not transferred to Duke. The Tigers lost Terrence Oglesby to Europe, but gained Trevor Booker's younger brother Devin. He and 6-9 frosh Milton Jennings (a McDonald's All-American) give Clemson a significant post presence.

There is a nice little matchup in the East Coast lunch hour, as CAA contender Northeastern visits MAAC power Siena. Even though the Saints lost Kenny Hasbrouck to graduation, they return their other four starters (watch Edwin Ubiles closely). Bill Coen's Huskies also return four starters, including G/F Matt Janning.

At 2 p.m., Arkansas-Little Rock visits Tulsa, the team many think will usurp Memphis as the standard bearer for Conference USA.

Temple-Georgetown game, follows at 4 p.m. The Owls will be challenged this season without Deonte Christmas, while the Hoyas look to improve on last season's disappointment.

ESPN2 gives viewers a second option at 5:30 Eastern. Pitt hosts Binghamton in a preliminary game in the CBE Classic, where the Panthers are already guaranteed a trip to the finals in Kansas City. This game won't be quite as competitive as originally thought, thanks to the scandal that decimated the Bearcats' roster.

The 6 p.m. offering is the East regional final of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Barring a huge upset, Duke will take on Charlotte or Elon.

At 7:30 on ESPN2, it will be the first of two from the Hall of Fame Classic in St. Louis. (Save yourself $200 and watch this doubleheader at home.) Arkansas, a program that's been in a bit of turmoil during the offseason, takes on Louisville, another team that's been the focus of a lot of offseason news.

At 8 on ESPN, Gonzaga visits Michigan State. The Spartans are among the favorites to make it to Indy, while the Bulldogs will be good, even with the loss of four starters and a boatload of new recruits. This may not be the time to watch them, however.

If the TV action isn't enough, you can also see Northern Illinois-Illinois online at 8.

ESPNU picks up another CBE Classic preliminary that's not really a preliminary at 9. Duquesne, who--don't laugh--will build on last year and be a serious challenger in the A-10 this year--even without the services of leading scorer (and only loss) Aaron Jackson, visits Iowa. The Hawkeyes, just like they every year under Todd Lickliter, have personnel issues. Leading scorer Jake Kelly transferred to Indiana State and PG Jeff Peterson, the no. 3 scorer on the roster, transferred to Arkansas.

ESPN has the second Hall of Fame Showcase game at 10 p.m. It's a rematch of that 2008 National Championship game that the NCAA wants to wipe from our collective memories. Preseason No. 1 Kansas takes on Memphis in one we can only hope is as memorable as the game that didn't happen (but really did).

If you're still conscious at 11:30 Eastern, you can watch the final of the West regional of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Arizona State--presuming they knock off Texas State--will take on Cal State-Northridge or TCU in the final game of the day.

Here's a quick look at the non-marathon games slated for TV.

UConn should feature in the NIT North Region final which will air at 7 on the Big East Network and Full Court.
UNC Asheville at Tennessee (select FSN outlets/Full Court, 7)
Bowling Green at Xavier (FS Ohio [outside of Cavaliers' territory, 7:30)
Fairfield at Maryland (CSN Washington, 8)
UT-Martin at Missouri (FS Midwest/Full Court, 8)
Louisiana-Monroe at Oklahoma (Full Court, 8)
Fresno State at Northern Arizona in the West Coast Classic (UniversityHouse/FS Arizona/FCS Pacific, 8:30)
Columbia at DePaul (Lakeshore/SNY/Full Court, 9)
New Mexico at New Mexico State (Full Court, 9)

Visit Matt Sarz's College Sports on TV site for games telecast only locally or online.

Roundup From BN Walk: Aikman's Weekend, Stokes Interview, Umodu's Writeup & Other Notes

Nestor — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:00:29 -0000

More photos » by JOE RAYMOND - AP

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Let's start the week with one last shout to Troy Aikman was officially enshrinement at the College Football HOF in South Bend, Indiana this past weekend. That's a picture of Aikman hanging out on his float at the Enshrinement Parade. In case you missed it probably the biggest story from all the festivities (at least for our purposes here on BN) was Aikman's comments about standards for success for a UCLA quarterback (beat U$C & get into the Rose Bowl) in Westwood.

While Aikman's legacy at UCLA by his own account was "incomplete" he still achieved immortality at the next level and given the way he has been making an effort to stay in touch with his alma mater, that "incomplete" resume is not going to stay in the way of him being remembered as a football legend from UCLA.

Moving on to the present, kids like Reginald Stokes - another out of state Bruin football player like Aikman - are now working hard to reestablish UCLA football program in Westwood. Why I am talking about Stokes? Because he sat down for a pretty cool interview with the official site. Stokes who is a redshirt Junior from football player from Montgomery, AL, had somewhat of a breakout season in 2008, seeing action in 11 games and making five starts. He shined in his first career start against Oregon, when he was credited with five tackles and also blocked a field goal attempt. More on the interview after the jump.

Stokes specifically talked about his huge breakout performance against Oregon and what the last regular season game means to the UCLA program (also referenced by Aikman this past weekend)

Q: Last season, you had a breakthrough game against Oregon. How did it feel to have such success in your first start?
A: It felt great to have my first start in college football against a good team like Oregon. Throughout the week at practice I just wanted to make sure I knew the game plan for the week and concentrate on my responsibilities. I also wanted my teammates to feel comfortable with me being out on the field with them for a full game instead of having to come in as a substitute. I got great advice from a former teammate, defensive end Justin Hickman, who told me what he did and how to get ready for a game. He also told me what I needed to work on. I also talked to fellow teammate and roommate Alterraun Verner, who also gave me some helpful tips on how to prepare for a game. Blocking the field goal was a big relief after having missed an assignment on the previous series that gave Oregon a big play. I knew I had to do something big to make up for it.

Q: You earned a starting position against USC this past season. Talk about the deep rivalry between UCLA and USC and how it felt to be out on the field for that game.
A: Well, me being from Alabama, I didn't really know much about the rivalry until my freshman year when I experienced it firsthand. Seeing the fire and intensity in my teammates' and coaches' eyes the week of the game really showed me what the rivalry was all about. It made me want to be that much better so I could help UCLA win that game in the years to come. Even before entering this game, I knew it was going to be a war from all of the publicity. What made me play harder was knowing that I was out there with friends who were raised watching this rivalry, and I wanted to help them feel the same way the previous Bruins felt after winning the game a couple of years before. When running on the field, you can feel the passion and the pride that take place during this game. The crowd has so much energy that you can feed off. But once the game starts, I really don't notice the crowd because I will be in that mindset that nothing around me matters but the calls and signals that I have to know for that particular play.

You can read rest of the interview here.

Stokes talked about his game day rituals which includes riding the same bus with Darius Savage, Terrence T.A Austin, Al Verner, Christian Ramirez and Tobi Umodu, who he came into UCLA with. Well speaking of coming into UCLA Tobi had some interesting takes in his weekly editon of "Keeping it Bruin." Tobi wrote about unique expereinces UCLA athletes go through as freshmen when they arrive in Westwood:

WESTWOOD—Freshman year of college is always a bittersweet time for any student because they have to leave everything they know behind, but on the other hand they are excited about all the new experiences they will encounter.

For athletes it’s a bit of the same except they not only have to deal with the pressure of coming from a high school to a college academic field, they must deal with a transition in the athletic field also.

In high school every athlete was the biggest thing on campus. Everyone knew their name, the teachers gave them breaks in class, and the future wasn’t in question because a scholarship already let people know your destination. Coming into college a lot of athletes experience uncertainty for the first time and start to worry about whether things will pan out just like they did in high school.

"My freshman year was definitely a learning experience. Athletically I had to adjust to new coaches, a new training environment, decreased training hours, and a new team oriented aspect of competing. Academically I entered college after having taken a year of school off to focus on my athletic goals. Classes were definitely challenging and provided a much different learning environment," said junior gymnast Marcy Burnholtz.

Now as interesting as Tobi's take is, I wonder how the experience for students who often come into UCLA, somehow end up rooming with super star athletes from high school. I know most of times football, basketball players usually end up rooming together, however, there are times students have to room with student-athletes. While I was at UCLA few of couple of my friends ended up staying with football players up in Saxon suites and it worked out ok for them because the guys they were staying with were really cool.

Still there are interesting stories around the country when regular students have to room with huge student atheletes. For example, read through the series of posts entitled "Livin Large" on the blog Basketbawful. They are a hilarious series of posts (you need to start at Part I) of some kid from Purdue who somehow ended up rooming with a seven foot dude from the Boilerplayers basketball team. The experienes are so awkward, yet ridiculously funny.

For some reason, the story made me think of Johnathan Ogden, while he would come into Puzzles for dinners (yes Puzzles was our makeshift cafetaria when Sunset Village first opened in Fall of 1991). FWIW Ogden was always incredibly gracious and would usually come in with Sharmon Shah, who eventually changed his name to Karim Abdul-Jabbar. Karim was a great kid too. Good memories.

Speaking of good memories, let's end the walk with another video from New Orleans Hornets featuring DC and their other rookie Marcus Thornton:

Marcus thornton and Darren Collison Tour (via dadadrizzeee)

Apparently DC rolled his ankle in his last summer game but to date has been performing as one of the best rookies during summer ball. As we will keep mentioning over and over, we never get tired of watching and reading about one of our all time favorite UCLA Bruins (not just Ben Ball warriors) here on Bruins Nation.

GO BRUINS.

Roundup From BN Walk: Trojans Laughed At ESPY, DC's Hot Start, Summer Ben Ball & Other Notes

Nestor — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:05:59 -0000

Let's start our walk this Thursday with a little note from ESPY awards. I never waste my time watching that show because it seems silly and to me it seems to pretty much symbolize what has gone wrong with WWL (which spends lot more time on showbiz aspect of sports than zeroing on pure athletics and pure competition ... perhaps a post for another day). Anyway, going back to the ESPY apparently Samuel L Jackson was hosting the show last night and had this to say Mark Sanchez:

"I admire you for leaving USC so early to go to the NFL. Most people wouldn’t want to take a pay cut like that."

Does someone have a youtube of that moment? Have been looking for it but haven't stumble into it. If you do please post in the fanshots. Not sure who was writing Jackson's lines last night. Obviously that one wasn't all that difficult given it's becoming somewhat of an open secret joke in all of college sports.

Staying with football as hicallliber fanshotted, incoming RB Dalton Hilliard will have knee surgery. From the OC Register:

Incoming freshman running back Dalton Hilliard will have right knee surgery Friday, a UCLA spokesman confirmed today.

Hilliard has a "loose body" floating around in his knee, which the Bruins’ medical staff believes is from a pre-existing condition, the spokesman said.

The 5-11, 195-pound Hilliard is one two running back signees for the Bruins, who saw two running backs transfer following spring ball.

Good luck to Hilliard. From what I have heard he might be ready for the start of the season. As always, we just want to make sure he doesn't rush back. RB position is going to be one of the most competitive sports this August, where we have decent depth. The most important thing for Hilliard will be to focus on rehab and get fully healthy because he has the potential of having a solid future at UCLA.

Speaking of bright future, DC is making hell of a first impression in the NBA summer leagues (emphasis added):

Darren Collison (NOH): The Hornets' first-round pick has brought the discipline and patience of his UCLA pedigree to the pro game. He matched George Hill mano-a-mano in his first game, then came back Tuesday night with 23 points. He's also a perfect 16-for-16 from the stripe in his two games.

Somewhere Coach Howland is smiling. More Ben Ball news and other notes after the jump.

Also in the department of summer hoops, Ben Ball warriors are going at it in Howlandwood:

A pair of pickup basketball games broke out at the Student Activities Center courts today.

Incoming freshman forward Reeves Nelson teamed with Drew Gordon, James Keefe, J'mison Morgan and Michael Roll. Nelson looked particularly strong driving to the paint. Gordon, who suffered a knee injury at the USA U19 team trials in late June, seemed to be just fine - showcasing his leaping ability on a few dunks. Roll was the primary ball handler, while Keefe and Morgan manned the paint.

Former Bruins Ryan Hollins and Earl Watson were on a team together, while incoming freshman Mike Moser played on another.

Hmm. I hope DG is a little careful at these games. He plays with no fear and wreckless abandon. Hope he is fully healthy (and if that's the case it's great news). As for RN I can curious to see how he looks this October. The reports I have read on him ranges from a redshirt freshman candidate (read raw prospect) to someone who could give us solid mins this coming season. Either way it is going to be fun to see all these young guys form a new nucleus of a whole new edition of Ben Ball warriors.

Lastly, speaking of summer sports in Westwood, if you are a huge fan of soccer you might want to know, Inter Milan, the legendary soccer club from Italy is practicing at UCLA this summer (HT Westwood Wizard). Farzad Mashood from the Daily Bruin has a cool practice report. We get that no everyone likes soccer but there are lot of soccer fans here on BN and its especially relevent to us given how incredibly strong both our men and women's team have been over the years. So, if you want to blog about this kind of news and give us updates via fanshots or fanposts, don't hestiate. We'd love to read about any sports that has a connection to UCLA.

GO BRUINS.

Roundup From BN Walk: Guerrero's "Power", Umodu's Weekly Writeup, Love's Tweets & Other Notes

Nestor — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:05:57 -0000

Let's start our Monday walk checking in with Dan Guerrero. As silverlakebruin pointed out over the weekend under Dan Guerrero's leadership last week NCAA changed its summer rules so that college coaches could spend more time with the student athletes. It seems DG's influence in the NCAA is getting noticed as couple of days ago he was mentioned as one of "the nation's most poweful in college sports" by the Orlando Sentinel. From yet another summer "list":

12. Dan Guerrero, UCLA athletic director and incoming chair of the NCAA Men's Tournament selection committee.

As David Wharton from the LAT notes:

By the Orlando Sentinel's reckoning, Guerrero places at No. 12, just below the likes of network television executives, conference commissioners and NCAA President Myles Brand. He is the only athletic director to make the top 20.

Now in his eighth season in Westwood, Guerrero is the incoming chair of the NCAA men's basketball committee.

Only two coaches made the list -- Florida football Coach Urban Meyer at No. 13 and Kentucky men's basketball Coach John Calipari at No. 14.

While DG deserves a lot of kudos, we need to note that being mentioned one of the most powerful officials in the NCAA (albeit the article mentions "college sports") might not be seen as all that significant given how erratic, incompetent and impotent NCAA has appeared in last few years in enforcing its own rules. Plus, while lot of us are happy as of right now with the state of UCLA athletics, we are keeping a close eye on how he execute the renovation of Pauley Pavillion among a number of important projects, which also includes building solid foundations for both our football and baseball programs. So we will see how it all works out in the coming years since DG's record is not yet complete at UCLA. To continue with our walk come with me after the jump.

Speaking of the football program, Tobi Umodu has his weekly writeup on UCLA athletics up on the Canyon News. For this edition Tobi interviewed couple of the unsung heros in the football squad. He talked to Leandro Barbosa, a walkon junior linebacker about his role in the team:

Q: Do you think your role on the team is an important one?

A: "I think my role, whether it be on scout team or whatever, [is being] considered part of the team. It’s important because I’m working as part of the team not just working for myself."

Q: It is worth it, working as hard as you do for almost nothing, and do you enjoy it?

A: "I personally really enjoy working out and playing football. I feel it’s worth it because it is way bigger than just the game of football in helping me prepare for the game of life. If I can get through this I know I can make it later on."

And then asked sophomore gymnast Brianna McCulloug, who also serves as a manager of the football team about her contributions to the program:

Q: How do you feel about your role on the team?

A: "I’m a part of the team and I feel like everything I do is appreciated"

Q: Your situation is a bit different from a walk-on because you’re a manager, but you still have to endure the same workouts as anyone else. Why do you think it’s important to work just as hard as they do even though you will not be doing the same things during matches?

A: "I feel whatever you do, you should give 115 percent. Even though you think you are not getting any recognition doesn’t always mean people do not see how hard you are working and what you are doing."

As Tobi notes later hopefully that kind of attitude and commitment will rub off on all their team-mates and make them work even harder during the off season.

While we are on the topic of working hard, DC had a great debut for the Hornets summer league team this past weekend. Even though his team lost by a score of 86-92, DC had 19 points, six assists and five rebounds. More details over the Hornet's NBA blog.

Lastly, since we are talking about the NBA, let's end the following video from KL, who recently spoke to ESPN reporters about art of tweeting:

Note how he gives UCLA props at the very end. KL once again displaying even though he was with us only for one year, in spirit he is a Ben Ball warrior for life.

GO BRUINS.

Roundup From BN Walk: ATV Update, Spotlights On Bruin PGs & Other Notes

Nestor — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:31:09 -0000

Let's start our Friday roundup by checking in with ATV who has put up his third blog post of this summer. As he did with his previous two posts ATV started out with an update from his Romanian class and some tidbits from the off-season 7 on 7 drill. He gave a shout out to incoming freshman Alex Mascarenas:

In football, training has picked up a bit in the weight room with numerous PR's being hit in all aspects which means we are striving for success. The outside conditioning has stayed competitive with the offense and defense going at it to show each other their stuff. Our afternoon workouts have also been going well. Everyone is attentive to their assignments and the players really want to learn, especially the young guys. They are asking questions and trying to help us right away! Hopefully, some of them come through. Alex Mascarenas had a nice interception last week, displaying good hands! But everyone in general has been performing well.

Read rest of his notes here.

Moving on to Ben Ball there is a good piece by Steve Megargee on Rivals.com about potential "new impact players" for college basketball next season who were coming off the bench this past season. Steve mentions JA as someone who might serve notice in 09-10:

Jerime Anderson, Soph., UCLA: Somebody has to run the Bruins' offense now that Darren Collison and Jrue Holiday have been drafted. Anderson seems like the most likely candidate. UCLA coach Ben Howland noted Anderson's outspoken nature and leadership potential after the season. He averaged just 8.6 minutes per game as a freshman and scored in double figures just twice, but he certainly has plenty of potential. Rivals.com rated Anderson as the No. 37 overall prospect and the No. 7 point guard in the 2008 recruiting class.

I think the key thing for JA will be to do his best to be steady and not get too high or low after individual game performances. I expect him to have a roller coaster season (along with the rest of the team) particularly early in the year. And now that I look back at it I really appreciate the fact that Coach Howland did what he could to make sure JA got in as much PT as possible as DC's backup (knowing full well that Jrue Holiday was making a pit stop at UCLA). There is no doubt that JA will have his share of tough moments in the coming season. He will need to battle through it and keep getting up for each game by focusing on defense. I am excited to see what this kid can do in the coming years in Westwood. JA will certainly have no shortage of role models to look up when it comes to previous Ben Ball warriors shining as pgs. More after the jump.

We have talked about DC a lot lately. It looks like JF has been having his version of a spectacular month both on and off the field. Fresh off winning the NBA championship, it looks like JF cleaned up in Las Vegas. It was our LV Bruin who first broke the news, spotting JF in "a hoodie and sunglasses" at WSOP. Pretty soon rest of the traditonal media followed as stories of JF rocking it at WSOP appeared in the LA Times (always two steps behind), the OC Register, and Poker Listings. Apparently JF is a natural at this:

"I've never played online," he said. "I played one day before I came here. The day before I flew out to Vegas I went to the casino in L.A. and played just so I knew what was going on at the table."

"I got lucky early and now I'm starting to get the hang of it."

Farmar is faring pretty well, considering there aren't too many players in the field with the lack of experience he's working with.

As insomniacslounge mentioned JF (at the time insomniac posted) was 25th among a field of 6,494 entrants. Oh and JF is also hosting a charity golf tournment in next 10 days with James Worthy, Jack Nicholson and some other celebrities helping out the community. Not too shabby.

Lastly, speaking of not too shabby if you haven't done it make sure to offer best wishes and congratulations to tasser10 for the arrival of LittleMissTasser10. It's all too surreal because I will always think of Tasser10 as the same kid who I hung out with from my very first day of class at UCLA. Times ... they are flying ... way too fast. Congrats against Tasser.

GO BRUINS.

First Impressions: DC In NOLA

Nestor — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:42:13 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

The Latest Ben Ball Warrior Soaking It In The NBA

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DC went down to NOLA yesterday along with Marcus Thornton (Hornet's other draft pick) to meet Coach Byron Scott, Chris Paul, the Hornets organization and experience his new city as the member of his first employer after college. As always he was pitch perfect wrt to perspective on how he fits in:

"When Chris Paul comes out of the game, it's not just about me running end-to-end," Collison began. "It's about me stabilizing the offense, making sure everybody's getting the ball and making sure I'm doing the right things so they won't have so much of a drop-off."

On the challenge he is going to face as an NBA rookie:

"It's not going to be easy my first year," he said. "There are going to be a lot of trials and tribulations, but I'm looking forward to it. Whatever the coach asks me to do, I'm going to give my best. Preparation is always going to be there."

And of course how being a Ben Ball Warrior prepared him for the NBA challenge:

"Staying four years at UCLA is definitely going to be helpful," said Collison, who graduated with a history degree. "Every day, every team wants to beat UCLA because you're UCLA. That's going to get the best out of me and it did. There's not one night I had to take off, and if I did take off, I would get embarrassed."

Of course reading DC's comments I couldn't help but think about the hype around a certain draftee with UCLA affiliation. Here we have DC talking about how much more he has to learn in his latest challenge while just few weeks ago we were reading about how Jrue Holiday is already a Chris Paul type of player.

People might get uncomfortable with this kind of compare and contrast but not doing it will be ignoring the elephant in the room. As always if you don't like reading our perspectives no need to read it or hang out here in BN. You can always stick with the polished press releases with feel good stats that are posted on the official site (which made Karl Dorrell and Steve Lavin look like legit head coaches).

Can't wait to see how it all unfolds for DC. I will certainly be checking At The Hive often (just like I check in over at Big Cat Country) to keep tabs on one of my favorite Bruins (not just Ben Ball Warriors) of all time.

GO BRUINS.

Ben Ball Roundup: UCLA = PointGuardU, Collison's Night & Other Draft Notes

Nestor — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:04:21 -0000

More photos » by Seth Wenig - AP

DC's Big Night In The Big Apple

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Still feeling jazzed this morning about how it all worked out for one of the great Bruins of all time. While it was amusing to see how the much hyped Jrue Holiday (who never lived up to his reputation of being an all world basketball player out of high school and failed to display the will and passion to win and defensive intensity necessary to excel in Coach Howland's basketball program) kept dropping out of the lottery round, the best part of the night was to see a sharp dressed DC up on that podium.

DC became a special Ben Ball warrior last night elevating him to another level beyond AA, JF, RW, LRMAM and KL. He becomes the first four year player under Ben Howland to get drafted in NBA's first round and I think that is pretty significant. Most of you have already read the emotional tone DC struck when he was asked about his four years at UCLA. You can't put any price around those words and you can bet DC will officially now serve as the perfect posterboy for Coach Howland's UCLA program when he is going out to the living room of parents of elite recruits who are looking to UCLA as more than just a one year stop at a five star hotel with a basketball gym. Oh and with DC's selection we can officially start calling Howlandwood PointGuardU with alums such as JF, RW and Baron Davis already shining in the league.

Going back to DC, as Dohn notes in his coverage today he is going into a great situation and he sounds prepared and well briefed about his new team:

"I didn't know if it was for sure I was going there, but I did know a lot about their organization," Collison said. "I didn't know they were going to pick me up until the minute before I got picked."

Collison, who played four seasons and went to three Final Fours with UCLA, said he knew the Hornets were highly interested because coach Byron Scott was in contact with him several times. He was the Hornets' only draft pick and will back up Paul, who averaged 10.4 assists, but also 40.2 minutes per game.

"Everybody in this generation wants to learn from the (best) point guards, Chris Paul or (Utah's) Deron Williams," said the 6-foot Collison. "I have an opportunity to compete against him every day in practice and get better. I know the reason they drafted me is because they needed help for that second string to take the load off him."

So one of my favorite Bruins (I am talking not just about Ben Ball) gets to learn from one of my favorite Lakers of all time. DC is fired up to play for Coach Bryon Scott:

Collison, in particular, knew that New Orleans was interested but did not think the Hornets would pick him so high. He enters seemingly perfect circumstances, backing up Chris Paul. There won't be as much pressure to produce while he learns from Coach Byron Scott and one of the best point guards in the game.

"It's a great situation," Collison said. "The draft board went exactly how I wanted it to go."

Coach Howland also made the same points in UCLA's official release:

"Darren is going to be in a great situation in the league, playing for an outstanding coach in Byron Scott and playing behind maybe the best point guard in the NBA," UCLA head coach Ben Howland said. "I'm really happy for both these kids and just real excited for them. It's a great situation for Darren."

Great situation indeed. More on DC in the official site which notes DC became the 106th UCLA player to be selected in NBA draft history (UCLA is the all-time collegiate leader in NBA Draft selections, since 1948). UCLA has had at least one player taken in the NBA Draft for the last 13 years (since the 1997 draft), which is the longest streak in the nation.

As for the other player with UCLA affiliation(on paper) in the draft, Jrue Holiday sounded fairly clueless about his new team, the 76ers:

"They're a young team, they definitely get up and down," he said. "It definitely fits my description, an up-and-down point guard who loves to run, loves to pass."

Uhhh. If Jrue had used the Google he would have known that 76ers are actually going to run a Princeton offense this season under Eddie Jordan. If you are an UCLA basketball fan, I don't need to go on and describe how a Princeton "offense" works. It should be burned into your brain for rest of your life. Oh, another note Jrue is going to be playing for a retread NBA basketball coach, who just got fired from the Washington Wizards. Jrue isn't the only one who sounds unprepared and clueless in this situation. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Tonight, Stefanski spoke about Holiday. Reading between the lines, it sounded like Stefanski (76ers Generam Manager Ed Stefanski) didn't think Holiday would come in right away and earn all kinds of playing time, but he did say he was impressed with Holiday's defensive abilities and added that defense might be a way for Holiday to find some playing time.

LOL. I guess Stefanski or his staff didn't do their due diligence and watched the tapes of oh I don't know - the last game that Holiday played in a UCLA uniform right in their backyard? Guess they didn't bother looking up his tapes against A.J. Abrams and James Harden either. Oh they also drafted him without even watching him workout in person:

They took Holiday without watching him workout:

''When (his advisors) thought he'd go in the top 10, he cancelled,'' said Tony DiLeo, the Sixers senior vice-president/assistant general manager. ''We interviewed him in Chicago (at the predraft combine). We studied him. He fits our team.''

LOL at the line of his "advisors" thinking he'd be a top 10 pick. Guess they were the one who told Holiday to spin out of that by saying they were coming in from a perspective where Holiday would be a late first round/early second round pick? Holiday and his new team are already off message and out of sync with each other:

Only minutes after Holiday was selected, assistant GM Tony DiLeo said the Sixers did not expect Holiday to make an impact this coming season. A few minutes later, on a conference call from Madison Square Garden, Holiday said he disagreed with that, saying he expects to contribute right away.

Note the contrast with DC's comments above.

Good luck to him and hope he has "fun" playing infront of the warm and cuddly fans from Philadelphia. I am sure they are going to be very undesrtanding if he lollygags on defense, shies away from pressure and is afraid to step in big games (no doubt the Philly fans will not get tired of the lines about how he was just deferring to his more experienced team-mates when passing up wide open Js he is supposed to make). Whatever.

The most important thing out of last night is once again how it all ended for DC. As for his team-mates - JS and PAA - Coach Howland as always is thinking with optimism:

Howland said he expected both to receive invitations to NBA summer camps.

"Both of those kids will probably end up playing on NBA summer league teams," Howland said. "Both have good situations already on the table from high-level European (teams) if that doesn't work out for them."

I am not too worried about them either. It will work out all right with them and they have that degree to fall back on.

GO BRUINS.

[UPDATED] Special Ben Ball Open Thread: 2009 NBA Draft Party

Nestor — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:00:20 -0000

Another NBA draft night. Hopefully it will be another night to celebrate the ever expanding NBA family of Ben Ball warriors here on Bruins Nation.

We know the NBA markets itself as the place "where amazing happens" but there is not much doubt about UCLA being the college basketball program where amazing begins. In case anyone needs a reminder per the datapoints our friends at Rush The Court looked up last July, UCLA has been the number 1 college basketball program in America since 1949 among schools with the most NBA draft picks.

We had an incredible draft night last year with KL, RW and LRMAM. Expectations are a little mellower this year. However, that shouldn't dampen the enthusiams to celebrate the contibutions of three incredibles seniors one more time here on Bruins Nation:

Graphic Credit: A Huge Thank You To Erkki Corpuz

The spotlight is obviously on DC, our floor general for last three years. If it all goes well it could be great night for him culminating after four incredible years in Westwood. We know JS and PAA are longest of long shots. However, as mentioned above it shouldn't by any means diminish the gratitude we all feel for the impact they have had on UCLA basketball helping Coach Howland rebuild our program.

The draft festivities get started tonight at 4 pm PST. WWL is all over it and you can follow ESPN's coverage online over here.

So best of luck to DC, JS and PAA tonight. They will have the whole Bruin Nation pulling for them. On that note fire away in our 2009 NBA Draft Party thread.

GO BRUINS.

UPDATE (N): Congrats to DC!!! He goes to New Orleans Hornets at number 21 spot. Earlier in the night Jrue Holiday despite the relentelss hype of being a lotter pick dropped down to number 17, going to Philly. Some early tidbits from UCLA athletics tweeter feed:

UCLA now has six first-round draft picks in the last four years. No one in the nation has more (pending the end of tonight's first round).

Coach Howland is classy and incredibly proud:

What a great day for UCLA Bruin players again! 2 more 1st round picks. Congras to Darren and Jrue. The whole team watched it in my office.

And we are all watched right here on BN. Now here is to wishing JS and PAA luck rest of the way and congrats one against to DC! GO BRUINS.

Some Last Second Analysis

atthehive — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:18:51 -0000

Three guys I didn't talk much about- Tyler Hansbrough, Darren Collison, and James Johnson- are being linked with the Hornets, just hours before the draft.

Where do they fit on the spectrum I described a couple days ago?

Tyler Hansbrough

He's the Tim Duncan of college fist pumpers.

I mentioned briefly that his rebounding numbers were mediocre. That's still true. It's obviously a real flag for a guy that's known for grit. He doesn't block shots, and he has no wingspan, two more knocks against the hustle theory.

But what's he good at? There has to be some reason why so many people are high on him, right? Right. To me, while "grit" is the word everyone uses to describe him, a lot of teams think his scoring abilities could be for real. And though his floor percentages and his range are mediocre, this could very well be true. The reason is his ability to draw fouls. I can't believe I didn't see this until today, but here are his free throws attempted/possession in a four year college career: 52%, 55%, 54%, 53%. That's super consistent, and way, way better than any other prospects available to the Hornets (it's actually way better than most anybody in the draft, if you're wondering). Of course, as with Ty Lawson, you have to wonder how much the UNC system influenced this. The bottom line is I still wouldn't move him above the Blair/Lawson/Thornton/Maynor/(Daye?) range. But if he is our pick, getting that foul drawing ability at #21 wouldn't be a bad haul.

James Johnson

The reason I didn't talk about Johnson earlier was that most mocks had him in the 10-15 range. But he's been slipping as of late. This is more because other prospects are moving up, not due to any missteps by Johnson.

At first glance, he doesn't really fit a need. He's projected to be a SF/PF- which was what David West was projected to be- but he doesn't have West's bulk or even height. I'd be surprised if he is not entrenched at small forward a couple years down the line. His biggest attribute is that he's creative in terms of scoring. He has nice little flip shots with either hand from a good five to six feet, and this is evident in a 57% effective percentage. He doesn't really have range, but he has good ball skills overall. The downside is that he does not draw fouls effectively. At 24% last year, he posted a rate less than half of Hansbrough. He doesn't bring the rebounding ability that West did either. I can't imagine New Orleans is looking at Johnson seriously. He feels redundant and seemingly doesn't bring very many new skillsets.

Darren Collison

Collison was a guy I loved but didn't talk about since he seemed behind the Hornets' range. But I saw a post on HornetsReport today- "As for my friend in player personnel in NO, he is still very confident that Collison will be the pick but they are going back over the tape on Blair as they are starting to think he is a guy who might be there unexpectedly like Julian was." I don't know if it's true or not, but I guess it could be.

Collison played starting point guard at UCLA the last two years, but for the second year in a row, the guy who played alongside him will be drafted ahead of him, as a point guard (last year- Westbrook, this year- Holiday). He's got very strong fundamental skills. He was one of the top passers in college basketball at a nearly 40% assist rate, and though he had a high 20% turnover rate, I think assist:turnover ratio is a more important statistic in college basketball than turnovers alone. He shot a wild 52% from three last year, before dropping to 40%. He draws fouls at a substandard 30% rate, but he wasn't required to be much of a scorer in his offense. The added bonus is that he's an excellent defender. We've seen some terrific defenders come out of UCLA in recent years- Ariza and Mbah a Moute come to mind- and I think Collison could be great in the NBA.

Collison would be a reach at #21, for sure. If he is indeed the target, the Hornets were foolish not to get a deal done with Portland, who had too many picks for their own good. But Collison's stock may not be reflective of his value, and this would be a highly safe pick.