SB Nation - Josh Shipp

Shaking Up The Core: Thoughts On Changing Up UCLA Basketball's Starting Lineup/Rotation

Nestor — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:06:09 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Jerime Anderson is not getting it done with an A/T ratio of 1.18, shooting 50% (!) from the FT line, 23% from 3 point line (35 % overall), and yet averaging 29 mins per game

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So here I go.

I have seen 4 regular season games this year. 5 if I count the second exhibition game against Humboldt State, which I saw via the pathetic online feed from the official site. Based on what I have seen so far here is the starting lineup that seems to make sense:

I think for the short term Howland needs to make two critical moves:

Bench Dragovic for rest of the year (duh) limiting him not much more than 10-12 mins per game
Bench Anderson and limit his mins to not more than 15 mins per game.

More on these two points and other thoughts on how Howland needs to shake up the current core of starting rotation after the jump.

Let's start with the obvious problem, which is the crazy amount of minutes Howland keeps wasting on Dragovic. Nikola Dragovic might be the most startling enigma during Coach Ben Howland's 7 years in Westwood. It simply doesn't make any sense how Howland continues to give this kid special treatment despite his total failure (and no I couldn't care less about his meaningless rebounding statistics) on the court. Time after time we have seen Howland using a quick hook whenever dealing with an underclassmen. We have seen him inserting and then pulling a freshmen or sophomore for making simple defensive mistakes or turning the ball over on the offensive side. Yet, with Dragovic (and in some cases with Josh Shipp from last season), we have seen Howland giving special treatment to an upperclassmen, who clearly doesn't play up to the standards of a Ben Ball warrior on the court (I will not even touch Dragovic's off court issues).

The only explanation I can think behind Howland giving Dragovic mins is that he is hoping that he somehow regains his shooting touch like he did to a certain extent against Pac-10 teams last year. However, numbers don't lie. He is shooting less than 20 percent from the 3 point line this season. Last year, after he got hot during the Pac-10 games, he still shot less than 39 percent from the 3 point line. He is an atrocious defender and he has never shown anything that indicates that he has a natural feel for the game. Yet, he continues to get the mins.

At this point, after what he did against Mississippi State, Howland will send wrong message if he starts Dragovic tomorrow. To me it's a no brainer that Howland takes Dragovic out of the lineup. Now the guy I would start would be James Keefe and here is my explanation for it. I think Brandon Lane has more upside than Keefe. However, I would at least give Keefe the start, because Keefe despite being tentative has a better feel for the game than Dragovic. I think it might make sense to start him and then bring in Lane off the bench. Keefe is better than Dragovic when it comes to shot selection (he has better FG%) and he understands Howland's offense and defense much better than Dragovic. Keefe's problem has been on the FT line and just being too tentetive (which goes back to Howland having a quick hook for all the other players except for some one like Dragovic).

At least with Shipp, I understood a little why Howland let him get away with defensive relapses. Josh Shipp had courage and also a knack for making big shots when it mattered. He was fearless and I thought was a game. Dragovic? Well, I think Bellerophon was off the mark, when he called Dragovic a "scrub" for his effort (or lack there of) on the court. He has shown as much as guys like Ryan Walcott and Travis Reed, to merit starting mins on the court, which is nothing.

Moving on to the point guard situation. This one is obvious. Here is bruinponcho:

The biggest problem is that his lineup and rotations make no sense. As soon as I saw JA in the starting lineup with MR at small forward, I knew this was a loss. JA is not a starting point guard, period. MR is not a small forward. We have lots of big guys and only three guards, go with a bigger lineup.

ML and MR should each be playing 30 minutes a game with JA playing 10 minutes backing up ML and MM playing 10 minutes backing up MR. JA and ML should never be on the floor at the same time. Ever. Their games are too similar in that there only offense is driving and neither can shoot. Used appropriately and in conjunction with a shooter like MR, this can be effective. But you cant have both JA and ML out there together when JA’s game is just an inferior version of ML.

And Meriones called for this, well back in April:

Backcourt size — Can anyone remember when we started a both-6-5 backcourt? Didn’t think so. Malcolm’s hustle and length and Roll’s experience in CBH’s schemes should do wonders to negate any possible lack of waterbug quickness. Worse comes to worst, we bring in JA to check smaller guards and fight pace with pace, but at least we START with the size advantage, for a change.

Note Meriones did have Dragovic in the starting lineup but being the wiseman that he added this:

Caveat: this would hinge ENTIRELY on whether Drago can put in a full summer of workouts and improve his defensive rotations.

Uh, I think from what we have seen this year we don't have to discuss Drago's defensive rotations any further.

I have to say I was dumbfounded that Howland even started Anderson last game after seeing how much more effective and energetic we were against Kansas, when Lee got the start. It doesn't make any sense how this kid continues to get more than 20 mins per game, given he cannot shot, cannot drive, cannot make FTs (!!!), and most importantly cannot defend. Jerime might be working hard. However, given what we have seen from the court, we are not seeing the results. I think it is time for Howland to dramatically reduce his mins, so that Anderson can reflect on how he can be more efficient, smart in practice and focus on how he can improve game by game.

Going back to our rotation, Honeycutt needs to start next game. After watching two games, it seems like he probably has the most upside as the natural scorer in this team. He is also a rebounder (8 in last game, 6 against Kansas). I think it is time for Howland to ride Honeycutt and Nelson, just like he rode on the freshmen talents of JF and AA in their first two years of Westwood.

I get that Howland is trying to win every game. However, from what we have seen its clear that the current core which includes major mins for Dragovic and Anderson, is not the winning formula. It is time for Howland to shake up his current core. He needs to do that by starting Lee at the 1, user Moser's athleticism to back up the 2-3 spot behind Roll and Honeycutt, take out Dragovic from the lineup at the expense of increased mins for Lane and some Keefe. I have to say I have also been impressed with the effort Morgan has given in recent weeks. I think he has clearly earned some backup mins at the 5. I am hoping he can turn up the intensity even few more notches and he might be able to salvage his career in Westwood, just like Ryan Hollins did before he was done in Westwood.

Lastly, people who are feeling uncomfortable with the criticism of Coach Ben Howland on BN needs to chill out. None of us are even going anywhere close to calling for Howland to step aside. There is no discussion of "coaching candidates" that are actually happening on other UCLA online communities. All we are doing is offering our frank thoughts and analysis on what we see wrong with our program. We have been in Howland's corner all this time. We will give him all the benefits of doubt. However, don't expect us to stay quiet and be blind homers when we see something is wrong.

All we are doing is offering our analysis and thoughts. So with that said the thoughts above are my impressions on what Coach Howland needs to do address the current concerns with our hoops program. While the measures suggested are steps to address the short term concerns, I believe they can also help to steady the program, paying dividends for the long term, bringing back where Howland took us in recent history. We can get there again and it will require Coach Howland to adjust, adapt, recalibrate, just like Coach John Wooden did during his time in Westwood.

GO BRUINS.

[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)

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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.

More Thoughts (And Questions) On The Upcoming Ben Ball Season

Nestor — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:00:49 -0000

More photos » by Jae C. Hong - AP

ND, MR, MM & JA signing autographs on media day. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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Let's continue with the story lines on the Ben Ball warriors coming out of Media Day. One thing I am already liking about this upcoming season is the absence of incessant chatter from the local (and national media) driving the narrative that UCLA basketball season is a bust if there is no Pac-10 championship or drive towards the Final-4. Don't get me wrong. I want the Bruins to win the Pac-10 title every season and make a hard charge to the Final 4 (and banner number 12 and beyond) in every post season. However, the reality - especially in today's world of one and done ballers - it is not going to happen every year and there will be times when the Bruins will be in semi-rebuilding and reloading mode.

Well this is one of those years during which observers both inside and outside the BN are not going to expect a lot out of UCLA in terms of conference championships or deep run in the Dance, but we do have a team that has the potential to develop into something fun to watch and achieve a result somewhere in between what Howland accomplished between his second and third season at UCLA (something beyond just a 1st round tourney team but not necessarily a Final-4/Pac-10 championship team). Where the Bruins end up will depend on number of factors.

We will have to find out what kind of transition JA makes as the full time floor general replacing DC (who made a fantastic transition taking over for JF). From the LA Times:

Anderson expected to be a factor last season but got boxed out by Collison's decision to remain in school one more year. As a result, he played only 8.6 minutes a game.

The sophomore is eager to make up for lost time. "I definitely know how to run a team," he said. "This year, I'm going to be allowed to do that."

From what I saw in JA last year I saw a kid who certainly has the tools to become a good floor general and get the ball to his talented team-mates. However, the question I have in mind is his defensive mindset. How good and aggressive will he be defensively and generate pressure on the opposing guard. He did struggle at times during last season. For some reason I have bad memories from the Wasington game at Pauley (even though we won that game) of moments when DC left the court. I am hopeful that JA is going to grow into his new role and get to work out the kinks during the non conference. He will get to do that against very tough competition which will include dates with the Jayhawks at Pauley and a solid Mississippi State team in the Wooden Class. JA is not the only question mark around this team though. More after the jump.

I am also wondering who will emerge as the go to guy in this team in terms of when we really need a key bucket. Last year it was all about DC, JS and PAA. The year before ... well we had options such as KL, RW, LRMAM along with DC and JS. Of course we had the AA/JF core in preceding years. Who are going to be the scorers this year? JMM thinks everyone is ready to step up:

"It makes it a lot easier - we don't have to just look for 'that' guy," Morgan said, after the team serenaded legendary coach John Wooden on video, celebrating his 99th birthday. "Last year it was, 'We're in trouble, we need to go to Darren, we need to go to Jrue, we need to go to Josh.' Now I feel like we can go to anybody on the team and they can take care of business."

I love his enthusiasm but we will have to see. It will be interesting to see how ML emerges this season. Part of me still wishes he got more time last season, especially given JH's tendency to take time off on defense. I think ML has the natural ability to one of those guards who will be able to create offense with his athleticism (within the frame work of Howland's scheme) by attacking the basket and also connecting from the outside. I also like the energy he brings on defense (at least based on what I saw from last year. In addition to ML, another kid who could provide some scoring punch right off the bat is TH who is thankfully allright and was cleared to practice. From Jon Gold in the Daily News:

Honeycutt enters the season as the hottest ticket in the group (of freshmen), rated the No. 3 small forward by Scout.com, a double-double force from nearby Sylmar High. He was cleared to practice on Wednesday after re-aggravating a stress fracture in his back during the summer.

"I'm going to have that mentality that I have to go in there and do whatever I can for the team," Honeycutt said. "Whether it's score the most or lock up the best player. A lot of people say there's not really a go-to-guy - I'm going to try to be that guy this year."

The combination of TH and other highly regarded freshman - MM from Oregon - is going to be fun to watch. From what I have heard and seen (from his couple of games on television) he strikes me as a little more polished version of LRMAM when he came into college. However, I have no expectation that MM will produce the same way as LRMAM who was just an athletic FREAK in his first year at UCLA. However, if MM can bring that defensive energy and we can combine that with TH and ML's athleticism, it could be something really fun to watch.

We will also probably get long range bombs from MR and ND. However, we will reall need MR to step up in big conference games and ND to toughen up his defense (and build on his tangible improvement he demonstrated last season.

We also have quesitons at the 5 spot and who is going to fill the big shoes left behind by PAA. From the LA Times:

As the heart of last season's team, Aboya brought grit and tenacity to the middle.

"It's a very tough thing to match," Howland said. "Especially on the defensive end of the floor where he made up for other people's mistakes because he drew so many charges."

Sophomores Drew Gordon and J'mison Morgan will compete to replace him, along with senior James Keefe, who started at power forward for part of last season. Freshman Anthony Stover is in the mix.

Injuries hit Keefe (shoulder) and Gordon (knee) this summer; both are working to get back to full strength. Morgan, looking trim after an out-of-shape freshman year, still has much to prove.

Well there are lot of questions here. We will have to see what kind of shape JK and DG are in early in the season. Coaches have to be careful about how they work them in early on. We have talked anough about JMM's footwork and need to play better defense. The report in terms of how hard he worked off season to get in better shape is certainly encouraging.

AS is a definite curiosity. Have heard great things about his athletic ability but I think we can expect him to be pretty raw and unpolished early on. We will also have couple of other freshman forwards in BL and RN (who MR described as a "bull" in the LAT report linked above). I think those guys will definitely get a chance to compete early on but it will all depend on how they pick up on how to play Ben Ball D. So the whole team is going to be a collective work in progress to say the least and they are going to need every out of conference game to develop chemistry among themselve and get accustomed to Coach Howland's style and demand of playing basketball. What we do know is that Coach Howland is going to have some pure athletes to work with.

The group of freshman and sophomore he has now are collectively more athletic than the group he had when the freshman group of DC/LRMAM/PAA/MR/Ryan Wright joined up with AA/JF/LMR/JS. So that said here is the biggest question I will leave everyone with. Will the current batch of Ben Ball warriors play with the same passion, desire, determination and intensity we saw from the crew led by AA and JF in their second year in Westwood? I think the answer to that question will have a lot to do with what kind of season we have this year in Howland.

GO BRUINS.

Roundup From BN Walk: Last Weekend Without UCLA Football

Nestor — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:58:45 -0000

Well this is our last weekend without UCLA football. The fun starts on Monday with UCLA football holding its media and then first practice begins at 3:30 pm which is open to public. We have posted UCLA's practice schedule here multiple times already this off-season. So not going to post it again. However, if you want to take a look you can find it over at the official site. I am sure many of you from here will be out there sometime this August. If you are once again I will make the ask for sharing what you are seeing via pictures/posts/fanshots with rest of us here on BN.

As for pre-season football related news we are still seeing various rankings and award watch list coming out. The USA TODAY Coaches' Top 25 college football coaches' poll was released late last week. Not a lot of surprises. Florida is the number 1 with Longhorns and Sooners rounding up the top-3 spots. The Trojies who continue to skate free seemingly taunting an impotent NCAA and Pac-10 checks in at number 4. As for other Pac-10 teams in the top-25 Cal checks in at number 12 and Oregon at 14. Good for them. UCLA surprisingly checks in the "other receiving votes" category with 14 votes. That's more than enough respect for a team that went 4-8 and could have easily gone 2-10 with 2 wins coming against prolly two of the worst teams in the history of the conference. Just saying. I know if things went the other way we could have won 2 more games. Anyway, the full rankings are posted over at WWL.

One of the main reasons UCLA is getting a bit respect while flying under the radar is because of seniors like ATV. More after the jump.

ATV was just named on the Jim Thorpe Award preseason watch list:

The 2009 Jim Thorpe Award preseason "watch list" announced today includes 31 of the nation's best defensive backs as the leading candidates for this year's trophy, including UCLA senior cornerback Alterraun Verner.

Verner, a pre-season All-American, led the nation in passes defensed in 2008, averaging 1.67 per game. He also ranked second on the Bruin team with 73 tackles and made two interceptions.

The Thorpe Award is one of college football's most sought after and prestigious awards. It is named after history's greatest all-around athlete, a man who excelled as a running back, passer and kicker on offense, but also was an awesome defensive back. Recognized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame simply as "The Legend", Thorpe also played professional baseball and won Olympic gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon.

More on the official site (if you really care about reading up on how this award process works).

Hopefully ATV will experience the same success in his last year in Westwood as world champion Jordan Farmar. A brand new video is up on YouTube land of JF and JS giving back to their community via Matel's Children Hospital at UCLA:

Jordan Farmar Lifting Spirits Where It's Most Needed (via ESNEWS)

Really cool stuff and yes serves up as another example how UCLA student athletes tend to be a little different from Senora Ross's scholars from cross town.

GO BRUINS.

Aboya & Shipp's Next Adventures

Nestor — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:07:51 -0000

Remember Coach Howland told us not to worry too much about PAA and JS. Looks like they already have some nice options lining up from them. First, Dohn gives us the news on PAA. He is looking to try out with Mavs. If that doesn't work out, it looks like he will end in Europe making some decent change:

The agent for Alfred Aboya said the former UCLA center will play for the Dallas Mavericks in the Las Vegas summer league, which begins July 10.
Bouna Ndiaye said during the summer league he will meet with representatives from at least five European teams, and he expects Aboya to agree to terms with one of them by the end of the month,
"We'll do something were there is an out in the contract to play in the NBA," Ndiaye said.

PAA could make as much $200,000 annually playing for a European team either in Spain, Turkey or France. Speaking of decent amount of change, JS apparently already has an offer to play in Italy and a summer camp invitation from the Bulls. Per Dohn:

While I am told UCLA wing Josh Shipp has an offer of more than $200,000 to play in Italy, I am also being told he really wants to give the NBA a shot and may go that direction. A source told me Shipp has an invitation to play for the Chicago Bulls in a summer league.

Either way, best of luck to both PAA and JS from Bruins Nation.

GO BRUINS.

James Johnson to participate on Chicago Bulls summer league team

MRickman84 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:32:56 -0000

via www.nba.com

The 16th pick overall, Wake Forest's James Johnson, will be playing on the Chicago Bulls summer league team as he transitions his game from college to the pros. The Bulls will kick off their summer session on July 14 against Golden State and will play four more games from the 15th to the 19th.

The Bulls summer roster reads like an ACC all-star team, with notables including Johnson, DeMarcus Nelson, Julius Hodge, Brandon Costner and AD Vassallo. Also on the team are players like Taurean Green, Taj Gibson, James Augustine, Luke Zeller, Nick Lewis and Josh Shipp.

[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.

BN Roundup: NBA Draft Night & Football Recruiting Updates

Nestor — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:13:41 -0000

This should be a big day on Bruins Nation. We are getting set for the NBA draft night. We will have an open thread up around 3 pm PST to follow all the festivities from NYC. We are hoping it will be a good night for DC and who knows perhaps there will be a miracle and JS will get picked in the second. While PAA is the longest of long shot, we will still use the thread to pay one more tribute to him and our other two seniors. Also, later today around noon PST, rye will be posting something very special concerning about our baseball team. I think you will want to come back for that.

Now let's get to some of our news and notes for today. Greg Biggins fom ESPN had a nice write up on the two commitments Neuheisel picked up earlier this week. Wesley Flowers told Biggins how staying close to his family was an important factor in his decision:

"My grandmother has raised me since I was three years old," Flowers said. "She wanted me to stay close by and her sister lives in Los Angeles. I have a lot of other family in Los Angeles as well so it's cool to have a nice support group. Plus Tevin will be with me and like I said, we're real close and always wanted to play together.

"I still want to take my trips, just to have my fun but my commitment is solid. I know I want to check out Washington and a few others. I've only been outside of California one time so I want to see what's out there but I'm solid with UCLA and excited to be a Bruin for sure."

Flowers is also willing to be flexible in terms of where UCLA coaches plug him in:

"So I camped on Sunday and did my thing and they liked me a lot. I worked out at both end and tackle and they asked me where I wanted to play in college. I said I'll play wherever helps the team win. I told them they were the experts and I trusted they would put me in the best place to maximize my ability. I have a frame for defensive end but could easily put on 40 pounds and play tackle so we'll just see how it goes."

Per Biggins Flowers will be playing "all over the line" in his senior year at Edison. So he is on track to develop as multidimensional lineman before coming into UCLA. As for Nottingham the word Biggins used is "polished":

He's very polished and will have a short learning curve when he gets to college, compared to most high school signal callers, because of the coaching he has already received and the pro-style offense he plays in.

As he continues to work out his mechanics, look for Nottingham's arm strength to improve as well. He has a college frame right now, is very accurate and understands where to go with the football.

As I said yesterday it is going to fun to find out what he can do when he is ready to compete for the starting job in about 2-3 years at UCLA. Staying on the topic of recruiting, look who was camping at UCLA:

The youngsters began their camps at UCLA today, and proud papa and former USC star Keyshawn Johnson was there to watch his son, Keyshawn Jr., participate.

LOL. One of my best college sports memories was to see our football team repeatedly beating up Meshawn's bunch from South Central. Of course now if his son wants to come over to the good side we will gladly welcome him just like we did with Tevin McDonald. Still it will be especially hilarious to see Meshawn having to put on a UCLA polo (just like Bill Walton had to out on those ugly red polos during Arizona games few years ago) if Keyshawn Jr. ends up in Westwood. Either way best of luck to the kid.

Speaking of athletes who are all about "me" Jrue Holiday opened his mouth again about life being not "fair" under Coach Howland:

Holiday is a viable option for the Knicks at No. 8. Holiday said Howland initially told him he would be the backup point guard when Collison was out of the game, but that didn't happen. "I didn't complain about it,'' Holiday said. "I asked him if I could play point a bit. But life isn't always fair."

Well few points here to add context for poor poor Mr. Holiday.

Many of us here including yours truly suggested earlier this past season perhaps Howland should have plugged in Holiday a little more at the 1 spot since he seemed to be a natural at him. However, Coach Howland used JA to back up DC for one major reason: he knew Holiday was going to leave after one year in Westwood. He didn't want UCLA to be in a situation going into next season where the roster wouldn't have anyone with legit college experience at the 1 spot. Coach Howland used JA as the backup because he wanted to get him a little seasoned before his sophomore year. In other words, Coach Howland used JA at the 1 spot over Holiday because he had his team's best interest in mind.

So for Holiday to mouth off to the press that "life isn't fair" because he didn't get to play pg at UCLA is just selfish and obnoxious. Yeah, like we are going to sit around and feel sorry for a primadonna who is about to make millions based on sheer hype without ever proving himself at the college game. Whatever.

Anyway, we will see how the NBA draft unfolds tonight. As mentioned up top we will have an open thread up starting around 3 pm PST. Here is to a good night for Ben Ball warriors who always put the team and the four letters above their own interests.

GO BRUINS.

Update On One Of The Kings Of Westwood: Ed O'Bannon SHINING In Real Life

Nestor — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:00:18 -0000

We just had an awesome graduation weekend in Westwood (and there was the winning of banner number 15). If you want to get a sense of how it all went read some of our posts and fanshots from the weekend here, here, and here. Coach Howland didn't hide his enthusiasm celebrating the graduation of JS, DC, and MR:

I'm out in front of Pauley high-fiving 2009 graduates. What a great class. Josh and Mike are about to walk. Another beautiful day in L.A.

Well, every day is a beautiful day in Westwood.

Anyway as we had been talking about our recent graduates and with the NBA draft night looming this week, Dave Sheinin, a staff writer for the Washington Post wrote a very timely and interesting article on Ed O'Bannon (HT bruinhoo). For the long time readers on Bruins Nation, you guys know how we all feel about Ed O. In our eyes he will always be one the Kings Of Westwood. For those of us who were lucky enough to attend UCLA in the early 90s, we have an eternal emotional bond with Ed O (and the O'Bannon family in general) we can't really put in words (although I have tried hopelessly to encapsulate it before). So, perhaps you will understand how I was getting goosebumps when I was reading about what Ed O has been up to his current life.

We have already read stories about Ed O now living out in Henderson, Nevada, working very hard in his current professional career as car salesman. What we didn't know was the difficult transition Ed O made from his professional basketball career that never panned out to living his current life to a profession, which he might have not dreamt out of college (or when he was a kid). But guess what? Just like Ed O shined when he was in Westwood, he is doing just fine and making all of us proud.

The article is very long and I urge all of you to read it. I will share some of the parts that stuck out to me. I was struck by Ed O's recounting of how he felt as an LA kid when he was drafted by the New Jersey Nets:

In a way, by quitting the NBA he was merely fulfilling the destiny that, in hindsight, appeared unavoidable to him from the very day he was drafted. That spring day in Toronto in 1995, with his girlfriend (now his wife) sitting beside him, this L.A.-born, L.A.-raised and L.A.-forever kid watched the cameras swoop in on each prospect just before NBA Commissioner David Stern announced their names, and, as the Nets' turn approached with the ninth pick, prayed they didn't descend upon him.

But they did.

"I'd had a pretty good workout with [the Nets], and I said to myself, 'Watch it be my luck -- I'll go from UCLA to New Jersey,' " O'Bannon says. "And sure enough, the cameras come and focus on me just as New Jersey's pick is about to be called. And I'm just like, 'I can't believe I'm going there.' [...]

"I wanted so bad to go to Portland, or Phoenix," he says. "It didn't have to be the Lakers. I wasn't greedy. Just give me Utah or Denver, somewhere in the West, where I could shoot home on an off day. People who don't get homesick won't understand what I'm saying, but that's how I felt, and because of that I just never got comfortable."

"That's the honest truth. Right then and there, my stomach dropped and I started to get homesick."

Can anyone discount the factor of being homesick or what it means for a UCLA kid to play out in the West Coast? I sure hope not after seeing how Baron Davis revived himself by playing for the Warriors and of course how Ariza has come of age with the Lakers.

Also, Ed O never got comfortable because he never got accustomed to playing at the 3 spot in the NBA, while he shined in college playing the 4:

By 1998, having been traded twice in a little over a year, O'Bannon was sick of the NBA, sick of getting just 16 minutes of playing time per game, sick of the bump-and-grind Eastern Conference style, sick of coaches trying to make him into a shooting guard when all he had ever played was power forward.

Then of course there was his physical issues stemming from the knee injury he suffered right before his freshman year in Westwood, which the Post article details in the story.

Still despite all the difficulties and challenges Ed O has endured through his professional basketball career (see the map from Washington Post, charting his journey), he has moved on:

"I refuse to look at any 'what-ifs,' because I love to sleep," O'Bannon says, his 6-foot-8 frame clad in a Findlay Toyota-logoed polo shirt and a pair of khakis, "and if I looked at it that way, I'd have a lot of sleepless nights."

It wasn't easy for him, but he has done it with a sense of direction, that should make everyone in the UCLA community incredibly proud:

Rosa O'Bannon, who is a counselor at Chaparral High School in Las Vegas, declined to be interviewed for this story, saying through her husband that she didn't want to "rehash the past." For Ed O'Bannon, however, rehashing the past is somehow therapeutic.

"It's disappointing to me to this day that I didn't play until I was 40," he says. "I wasn't an all-star. I wasn't a Hall of Famer. Those were all goals I had as a kid. So that's disappointing. I'll admit that. It's the truth. But once I decided I didn't want [to play] anymore -- in that respect it's not disappointing at all."

O'Bannon probably brought in close to $7 million in his career, counting the original Nets contract and all those cobbled-together one-year deals overseas, paid out in lira, pesetas and zloty. Thankfully, Rosa made sure he socked some of it away. When he decided to get a job -- or, rather, when Rosa decided he would get a job -- it wasn't so much for the money as for the sense of direction. He needed to get out of the house. He needed something to do.

You can watch Ed O sharing his perspective in the video Wash. Post. also put up to accompany this story.

So, Ed O has done pretty well. According to the story, Ed O has been promoted 4 times in his four years at his job at Findley. Not bad. As for Rosa, I remember how I used to run to Ed O and Rosa in our senior years in college. The two specific memories I have of them together is running into them at the Kerkhoff Coffee House where they were getting their snacks before heading off to study for Finals. They always had their priories straight, not to mention incredibly gracious, humble and sweet whenever you said hello to them and wish them luck both in finals and on the court.

To me Ed O is more of a hero for what he has done off the basketball court. Not that many individual who has experienced the money and glory from professional sports has the courage to walk away. Not only Ed O did just that he worked away at it (just like he did with fierce and relentless determination to come back from his devastating injury his first year at UCLA) with the help of your family and turned himself into an MVP in real life.

Lastly, Coach Howland and Coach Caldwell please take note of this part of the story:

He works six days a week, and on Sundays the kids -- Aaron, 15; Jazmin, 12; and Edward III, 10 -- like to get him out on the court, where, he says, "we get after it pretty good." Jazmin is already 6-2 and, in her father's words, "a real athlete," and it was her sudden passion for basketball -- she's the star of her middle school team -- that rekindled her father's.

"I would love to coach. I would love to coach [Jazmin], at whatever level she's at," he says. "There's absolutely no doubt I'd love to be involved in basketball again. I've been away from it long enough, and I'd love to get back in."

Uhm, needless to say we want those O'Bannons at UCLA and it would be great if we can make all out effort to make sure Ed O is part of the program. His love for all matters blue and gold is unquestioned:

Ed O' Bannon 8 Clap (via uclafan11)

Now Coach Howland (and Caldwell) need to make sure they do their part to explore every practical options that would keep the O'Bannons connected to UCLA. The legacy of Ed O is an indispensable part of Bruin lore. We can never forget him. As far as I know, he will always be one of the Kings of Westwood.

We love you Ed.

GO BRUINS.