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Long Beach St. 49ers @ Kentucky Wildcats: Pre-game

Truzenzuzex — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:29:38 -0000

Will we see more of Liggins great "d" today?

Today at the unusual time of 1:00 PM, the Long Beach St. 49ers of the Big West conference make the long trek from Long Beach, California to the Bluegrass to take on the Kentucky Wildcats.

Here are the particulars of the 49ers season so far:

Rank and Records	LBSU	UK
RPI	#47	#12
Strength of Schedule	#21	#156
Overall	6-5	12-0
Conference	0-0	0-0
Home	3-0	7-0
Away	2-3	1-0
Neutral	1-2	4-0
Top 25	0-3	2-0
RPI Top 50	1-3	2-0

The 49ers' notable games so far have been defeats at the hands of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the West Virgina Mountaineers, the Clemson Tigers, and the Texas Longhorns. Long Beach St. does have one significant win, over the UCLA Bruins on a neutral floor.

The 49ers have won three of their last five games, and come into Rupp Arena off a loss at the Loyola Marymount Lions. The 'Cats are giving up about 20 points in this game, for those who care about such things.

The Long Beach St. Roster

Long Beach St. 49ers Basketball Roster

	#	Pos.	Comments	W	H	College
Larry Anderson	21	G	Starter/Major contributor	200	6-5	sophomore
Lin Chang	11	F	-	235	6-9	sophomore
Andrew Fleming	50	C	-	290	7-0	senior
Stephan Gilling	33	G	Starter/Role Player	205	6-2	senior
Jerramy King	20	G	-	170	5-11	freshman
Arturas Lazdauskas	10	F	-	239	6-7	senior
Jules Montgomery	1	F	-	195	6-9	freshman
Brandon Nevens	5	G	-	210	6-3	senior
Eugene Phelps	2	F	Starter/Role Player	213	6-6	sophomore
Greg Plater	3	G	Role player	165	6-1	junior
Kyle Richardson	34	F	Role player	222	6-7	freshman
T.J. Robinson	15	F	Starter/Significant contributor	210	6-8	sophomore
Sean Starkey	23	G	-	185	6-4	junior
Mike Vantrimpont	14	C	-	220	7-0	freshman
Casper Ware	22	G	Starter/ Major contributor	175	5-10	sophomore
Tristan Wilson	32	G	-	203	6-5	junior
Jesse Woodard	24	G	Role player	193	6-1	sophomore

Long Beach St. Team Statistics

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
T.J. Robinson	11	33.6	6.2	10.6	58.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.6	7.6	60.7	2.7	8.0	10.7	0.6	2.7	0.6	0.2	2.1	17.0
Larry Anderson	11	32.5	4.1	9.5	42.9	0.6	2.3	28.0	4.0	6.0	66.7	1.8	2.0	3.8	3.9	3.5	2.4	0.5	1.5	12.8
Stephan Gilling	11	29.4	4.5	10.4	43.0	3.5	7.8	45.3	0.4	0.7	50.0	0.5	1.0	1.5	0.9	0.8	0.8	0.1	2.3	12.8
Casper Ware	11	32.0	3.8	9.6	39.6	1.2	2.6	44.8	3.4	4.8	69.8	0.5	2.3	2.8	5.6	3.6	1.9	0.0	2.5	12.2
Eugene Phelps	11	28.5	3.6	6.1	59.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.6	2.9	56.3	3.4	3.6	7.0	1.0	1.8	0.8	0.5	3.3	8.9
Greg Plater	11	20.7	3.3	7.7	42.4	1.8	5.4	33.9	0.5	0.6	71.4	0.4	1.8	2.2	1.5	1.2	0.8	0.3	1.4	8.8
Jesse Woodard	7	9.1	0.6	2.1	26.7	0.1	1.0	14.3	0.7	0.9	83.3	0.0	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.9	0.0	0.1	1.1	2.0
Arturas Lazdauskas	6	10.2	0.8	1.3	62.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	100.0	0.8	1.2	2.0	0.7	0.2	0.2	0.3	2.2	2.0
Kyle Richardson	9	6.2	0.4	1.0	44.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.6	1.0	55.6	0.6	0.3	0.9	0.2	0.6	0.2	0.0	0.7	1.4
Mike Vantrimpont	4	2.5	0.3	0.3	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.5
Andrew Fleming	9	4.7	0.1	0.4	25.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.3	1.0	1.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.4	0.9	0.2
Lin Chang	7	4.6	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.4	0.7	1.1	0.1	0.3	0.0	0.1	1.1	0.0
Jerramy King	5	3.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.6	0.0	0.2	0.0

Four Factors Analysis (from Kenpom.com)

	Kentucky		Long Beach St.
Category	Offense	Defense	Offense	Defense	D-I Avg
Adj. Efficiency:	116.4 [15]	91.1 [48]	107.6 [77]	95.4 [98]	100.0
Adj. Tempo:	69.0 [160]	68.6	71.1 [77]	68.6
*Four Factors*
Effective FG%:	55.5 [21]	44.3 [51]	50.8 [111]	52.4 [274]	48.9
Turnover %:	23.3 [276]	20.5 [188]	21.3 [186]	19.1 [264]	21.0
Off. Reb. %:	45.9 [1]	30.4 [86]	30.8 [241]	34.3 [220]	33.0
FTA/FGA:	40.7 [100]	27.3 [28]	42.2 [79]	27.4 [29]	37.4
*Miscellaneous Components*
3P%:	42.1 [14]	35.4 [214]	36.3 [115]	30.5 [59]	34.2
2P%:	52.9 [46]	39.3 [9]	49.1 [127]	55.3 [322]	47.7
FT%:	69.9 [128]	67.3 [140]	65.6 [247]	67.9 [153]	68.4
Block%:	7.9 [108]	20.7 [3]	8.3 [128]	5.3 [303]	9.2
Steal%:	11.0 [252]	10.3 [139]	9.8 [168]	9.6 [181]	10.0
*Style Components*
3PA/FGA:	26.0 [294]	36.2 [272]	31.4 [196]	30.5 [116]	32.6
A/FGM:	55.1 [147]	53.3 [165]	52.6 [192]	54.4 [198]	53.8
Defensive Fingerprint:	Inconclusive		Inconclusive
*Point Distribution (% of total points)*
3-Pointers:	23.5 [248]	35.9 [18]	26.4 [179]	22.6 [294]	27.2
2-Pointers:	56.1 [88]	46.9 [307]	52.2 [177]	62.3 [8]	52.1
Free Throws:	20.4 [179]	17.2 [296]	21.4 [138]	15.1 [328]	20.7
*Strength of Schedule*
Components:	99.7 [212]	100.8 [208]	112.3 [2]	95.5 [19]	100.0
Overall:	0.4700 [216]	.5000	0.8658 [2]	.5000
Non-conference:	0.4700 [227]	.5000	0.8658 [3]	.5000
*Personnel*
Bench Minutes:	27.3% [279]	32.1%	21.6% [336]	32.1%
Experience:	0.92 yrs [332]	1.69	1.47 yrs [245]	1.69
Effective Height:	+2.5 [31]	0.0	-1.3 [259]	0.0
Average Height:	78.7" [8]	76.6"	75.6" [295]	76.6"

Analysis

The 49ers have played a very tough schedule, and have given a good account of themselves in most of them. Ken Pomeroy's site has the 49ers ranked at #80, which is by far the best team Kentucky has played since UConn.

Long Beach St. takes good care of the basketball, and they get to the line a lot. As with most teams that UK has played this year, they are much smaller than Kentucky. Like Kentucky, they are a young team, starting only one senior and four sophomores.

Like Kentucky, Long Beach St. likes to get up and down the floor, although their pace numbers are slightly lower than that of the Wildcats. They shoot the three-point shot adequately, but they defend it remarkably well, holding opponents to around 30% from the arc. The 49ers take more shots from the arc than UK does, which is as you would expect for a team like this.

Overall, Kentucky's size and skill should be too much for them, but don't look for the Wildcats to run over the 49ers like they did the Drexel Dragons. This team can play, and they are capable of pulling the upset.

Projected score: UK 80, Long Beach St. 64.

Is Pete Carroll At War With Mike Garrett (In A "Dirty" & "Crumbling" Trojan Program)?

Nestor — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:04:58 -0000

Seems like it is every man for himself over at Southern Cal. That's the read I get from TJ Simers column today in the LA Times, which seems like nothing more than planted shots at Mike Garrett from Chetey Petey. Simers becomes yet another columnist from the Trojan Times which shows sympathy for poor Petey, completely overlooking his role as the head coach of a corrupt football program by going after his boss Mike Garrett. Get this. Simers paints Chetey as a "victim" just like - wait for it, wait for it - Timmeh! (HT EJBruin):

Every time I run into the USC athletic director he takes off running, only now beginning to understand why -- obviously the administrator in training for the next controversy to plague his athletic department.

Former USC basketball coach Tim Floyd told The Times recently Garrett abandoned him when Floyd had his problems.

"Mike's reputation took precedence," Floyd said. "All loyalty, all support stopped."

Here we go again, Pete Carroll now on the spot, the perception nationally the Trojans' football program is out of control, if not in need of an NCAA spanking, and Garrett is nowhere to be found to assist the guy who saved his career.

So all mighty Petey needs an "assist" from Mike Garrett? I wonder who is giving Simers this idea?

Simers does paint quiet a picture though of a "crumbling" Trojan program:

Seven years ago this week, the toughest question facing Carroll and his No. 5-ranked Trojans was why had they all welcomed O.J. Simpson to an Orange Bowl practice.

That was considered a controversy, Carroll taking some heat after saying, "It's great to see O.J. come out," the Trojans hugging Simpson and many asking for his autograph.

Here's how things have changed: Everyone wants to know whether McKnight will ever again be welcomed to a USC practice, the unranked Trojans preparing for the Nut Bowl, practicing at City College of San Francisco where Simpson played, but -- in what might be considered the only sign of progress of late -- honoring Simpson's memory with a tour of Alcatraz.

And ultimately puts the onus on both Garrett and Chetey:

Each question adds to the suspicion that USC football is dirty, crumbling or has lost its focus.

A school with an athletic director, who has a spokesman read a statement to the media while sitting a few feet away, does nothing but introduce Mickey Mouse behavior into the discussion.

The nature of the sports fan makes it very simple, more expected of Carroll now after giving everyone everything they could want the last seven years. It's on him.

However, Simers doesn't admit how it was him and rest of the traditional media all those years who kept looking away, when one allegation after another was piling up. Now it looks like while Simers is trying to make up for lost time, he is also pointing to something nastier going on inside Heritage Hall: an all out civil war within the dirty, out of control, and the most morally corrupt program in recent history of college athletic. If there is karma, this should be only the beginning.

GO BRUINS.

Big 12 Pac-10 Hardwood Series Tally FINAL TALLY

Evan Pfaff — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:15:10 -0000

The Big XII claimed their first Big 12 Pac 10 Hardwood Series championship.

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Big XII Wins Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series!

Official Tally

Big 12 - 9

Pac 10 - 3

Game dates, times and recaps listed below the Jump

(All times Central)

Sunday, November 29

Nebraska - 51
USC - 48
Recap

Thursday's Games

Texas Tech - 99
(12) Washington - 92
OVERTIME
Recap

(2) Texas - 69
USC - 50
Recap

Baylor - 64
Arizona State - 61
Recap

Friday's Games

Oregon State - 74
Colorado - 69
Recap

Saturday's Games

Missouri - 106
Oregon - 69
Recap

Kansas St.- 86
Washington State - 69
Recap

California - 82
Iowa St. - 63
Recap

Sunday's Games

Kansas - 73
UCLA - 61
Recap

Oklahoma 79
Arizona 62
Recap

Wednesday, December 16 Games

Oklahoma St - 71
Stanford - 70
Recap

Tuesday, December 22 Games

Washington - 73
Texas A&M - 64
Recap

UCLA Plays Vintage Howland Defense In Crunch Time, Comes From Behind To Beat Colorado State

Nestor — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:54:48 -0000

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

Malcolm Lee was sloppy with the ball and a little off on his shooting, but found a way to contribute with 16 pts and 7 boards

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For a while tonight it was looking like same old story for this year's UCLA Bruins. Howland's Bruins were stumbling, bumbling away heading towards what appeared to be another frustrating night at Pauley. With about 11:46 left in the second half, Bruins fell behind by a score of 46-54 (that's right by 8 points) on our own home court. Then all on a sudden our guys locked down on the Rams, figuring out how to play the old school Howland defense (at least that's what I could make out of the atrocious, choppy online feed). Bruins went on a 24-7 run over a period of 8+ mins to take a 71-61 lead with 2:45 left in the game. The final score was 75-63 for UCLA (now with a record of 4-7) over an 8-4 Colorado State team, which to date stands out at the guttiest win of this Howland coached Bruin team.

Can't offer a lot of analysis and commentary on this game tonight considering most of us following it away from Pauley were doing it via a sorry online feed, slow SBN platform (our apologies for all the weirdness but the tech team is working through it), and the game tracker. It looked like we fell behind early on because of extremely sloppy ball handling by our backcourt. Malcolm Lee turned the ball over 6 times while Anderson did it on occasisons, combining for 11 of our team's 19 turnovers. However, we were able to overcome the sloppiness thanks to our defensive aggression and also clutch FT (18 for 23) down the stretch.

The player of the game tonight - you guys ready for this? - I think was Nikola Dragovic. Fresh off his court appearance Dragovic put together probably his most consistent game of the season scoring a team high 17 points, pulling in 7 rebounds, and making all of his freethrows (including 3 straight in clutch situation when he was fouled on a 3 point attempt in second half) tonight. He was also smart in his shot selection tonight picking his spots from the 3 point line. Reeves Nelson had another big game in his young freshman season chipping in with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Some quick additional thoughts after the jump.

I mentioned above how Lee and Anderson were terribly sloppy tonight which played a huge part in our poor start. Lee still finished with 16 points but he had poor shooting night connecting on 4 of his 11 shot attempts. I think Jerime even though picked it later in the second half had another below average performance as our starting point guard looking lost, tentative and frankly not making very good decisions with the ball.

I didn't see much from Honeycutt tonight. Lot of that has to do with not being able to watch the game well because of the online feed. Same way can't really make any conclusions on Bobo even though he looked lost in the only possession I got to watch without the feed freezing up. On the other hand Lane in his 11 mins tonight looked ok making a smart pass, while also looking confident in his FT shooting (finishing with 4 points). Speaking of looking ok, big ups to Michael Roll, who cleared looked a little slowed down because of his flu, but found a way to gut it out and chip in with 11 points, including being able to stay during crucial mins late in the second half despite picking up his 4th foul.

The great thing about the victory tonight is it will give our guys confidence because they now have a legit come from behind win against a decent Rams teams on their resume. At the same time it will give Howland and his coaches more opportunity to teach away and to work on fixing the mistakes being made by our young backcourt.

With that I hope we can hear more from the comment section and perhaps via fanpost from those who were at the game. Christmas eve is almost here. Let's start celebrating it with a gutty win by our Bruins tonight. Fire away.

GO BRUINS.

Ben Ball Gameday Roundup: Red Hot Rams (Colorado State) Visit Pauley

Nestor — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:34:46 -0000

More photos » by Nick Ut - AP

Continued Distraction: Dragovic, left, appears with his attorney Jon Bryant Artz on a felony assault charge in Los Angeles County Superior Court Monday, Dec. 21, 2009

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Our basketball team gets back into action tonight by taking on the red hot Colorado State Rams. Under Coach Tim the Rams are off to an 8-3 start to open the 2009-10 season, which is their best start through 11 games since the 2006-07 season (9-2). They are already just one win shy of their entire win total from the 2008-09 season. They are also streaking into Pauley with a 4 game winning streak, coming off a 64-56 victory Sunday night against Northern Arizona (previous stomping ground for Coach Howland). In other words, it doesn't sound like Bruins are going to have an opportunity to breathe easy before heading for a short two day Christmas break.

Bruins and Rams also have a bit of history between them (not during Howland era though). This is the 7th meeting between the two programs as the series (surprisingly is) tied at 3-3.The last meeting was a classic debacle from the nightmarish CHP era when the 18th ranked Bruins choked in the semifinals of the Pearl Harbor Invitational in Laie, Hawaii by a score of 55-54 in a disgustingly ugly basketball game. The Bruins are 3-1 all-time against the Rams in Los Angeles and 2-0 in Pauley Pavilion. Rams only win in LA was a 69-68 decision, coming in during the 1961-62 season against Coach Wooden. That years our Bruins reached the Final 4 that season, losing to eventual champion Cincinnati in the national semifinals. Of course that is not going to happen this year (reaching the Final-4 I meant).

Coach Howland I am sure has the Rams well scouted but he wasn't giving away much during his weekly press conference (even if he did the local writers are too obsessed with covering the latest updates on Dragovic's ongoing legal problems). Anyway, here is what Howland had to say about the Rams that was published in the LAT:

The Rams (8-3) have a deep bench and will probably show a mix of zone and man-to-man defenses, Howland said.

Freshman guard Dorian Green, averaging 15.2 points, leads the team.

"He's a really good shooter," Howland said.

We have a little more on the Rams after the jump.

Dorian Green is not the only Ram standing out during their win streak:

During Colorado State’s four-game winning streak no players have stood out more for the Rams than freshman G Dorian Green, junior F Travis Franklin, and junior G Adam Nigon. Green had led the team in scoring at 16.5 points per game, while averaging 3.8 rebounds per contest. Franklin ranks right behind Green, pouring in 15.5 points per game. He leads the team in rebounding at 5.8 per contest. The duo has combined to hit 48 of 66 attempts from the free-throw line during that stretch. Nigon, who entered this season with a career scoring average of 2.9 ppg., is also in double-figures scoring at a clip of 10.3 points per game during the Rams’ winning streak. He is leading the Rams in three-point shooting, hitting 8-of-17 attempts for a .471 percentage. Green is the only other player to hit a trey for the Rams during that stretch, hitting 40 percent (8-for-20) from beyond the arc. Nigon also leads the Rams in assists during CSU’s streak, dishing out 12 helpers, more than double any other player on the team.

I haven't seen the Rams at all this season. However, going through their notes and stats it sounds like Franklin and Nigon have made big strides as juniors this season:

Nigon heating up
Junior Adam Nigon entered the season averaging 2.87 points per contest through two seasons. This year, the guard is averaging 8.2 points, and has already eclipsed his point total from all of last season. Nigon is shooting at a 41 percent clip from both the floor and three-point range. During a five-game stretch from Nov. 29 to Dec. 12, Nigon averaged 11.6 points, including a career-high 17 against Montana, helping the Rams to a 4-1 record during that stretch.

Seeing double
Junior F Travis Franklin recorded his second career double-double performance in the Rams’ victory over rival Colorado (Dec. 10). Franklin tallied 22 points, his second 20-point effort of the season, and capped off the double-double performance with 10 rebounds to help CSU to the 77-62 victory. Franklin shot 7-for-9 from the field and 8-for-10 from the free-throw line, while adding a block and two steals against the Buffs. Franklin also recorded a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) nine days earlier in the Rams’ 70-63 loss at Northern Colorado (Dec.1).

Despite their impressive record, the Rams might have some chinks in their armor. They are not a very good shooting team (at least early this season) and have a tendency to turn the ball over. They are trying to use the Holiday break from school to work on getting into some kind of offensive rhythm:

he Rams (7-3) are playing better defense in Miles' third season with the team than they did the first two, limiting opponents to 38.9 percent shooting and pulling down an average of 6.6 rebounds a game more than their foes.But the spread offense he introduced last season needs work. Colorado State University is shooting just 42.4 percent from the floor and scoring only 69.9 points while committing an average of 15.9 turnovers a game. Opponents are averaging 4.4 assists a game more than the Rams.

That was before their game against Northern Arizona. Their offensive performance remained spotty as they were shot only 39.5% from the field (2 for 11 from the three point line) while turning the ball over 18 times (Lumberjacks turned it over 20 times themselves).

So perhaps this is a game in which we will hopefully can see the Bruin defense spring into action from the opening tipoff and our guys sustain it for the entire 40 minutes. Obviously we are going to be looking for the same things we have been looking in previous games which are at least an above average serviceable outing from Anderson, Dragovic, while seeing extended minutes from Honeycutt, Nelson and Lane. It will be interesting to see how much PT Roll gets since he is apparently recovering from a flu.

The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 pm PST. It will not be on television. It will be available online. We will throw up a game thread, which hopefully will help folks to follow the action as best as they can.

GO BRUINS.

Coach: "Only You Know If You Succeed"

Guest Blogger — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:29:21 -0000

More photos » by Nick Ut - AP

Coach

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The following are excerpts from Wooden On Leadership, a present I picked up for X-mas. I was reading it yesterday while flying home from snow covered DC. For some reason the following grafs from Coach about his team from 50 years ago (pp. 11-13) really struck me and wanted to share it with rest of you. I highlighted the parts, I also marked up in the hard copy while I was reading it. Oh if you don’t have a copy of Coach's book, you can pick it up by going here. Anyway, here is Coach talking about his 1959-60 UCLA basketball team. GO BRUINS. -N

In 1959-60, UCLA struggled to stay above .500, and, in fact, we had to win our last game of the season to finish with a record of 14-12. From a win-loss point of view, it was the worst year I’d ever had as head coach at UCLA. Some fans began to grumble about our "poor" results": "The program is mired down," some said, "Wooden can’t win in the postseason"; "UCLA doesn’t have a post-season." And there were other things said along that line. I had a different opinion.

The 1959-1960 season had been a success and pleased me a great deal, especially when I recalled a prediction made by Sam Balter, a well-known broadcaster and sports writer. In assessing UCLA’s chances at the start of the year, he said, "I’ll push a peanut with my nose down The Miracle Mile in Beverly Hills if UCLA isn’t below .500 this year." I received no calls from anyone who disagree with Sam’s prediction – and for good reason.

The preceding year – 1958-1959 – UCLA had been third in our conference. Four of our five starters on that squad wouldn’t be returning, including future Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson, Denny Crum (later to coach Louisville to two NCAA national championships), and Walt Torrance, perhaps the best player on the team.

I’ve often said that as a leader I’d rather have a lot of talent and little experience than a lot of experience and little talent. In 1959-1960 we didn’t have much of either. And there was an additional handicap beyond our control.

A few years earlier, the football programs at UCLA and some other schools in the conference had been hit by scandal: Payments to athletes had exceeded the conference’s strict limits the football programs at the schools involved in infractions had been placed on probation, and part of the penalty included a strict restriction on postseason play such as the Rose Bowl.

The penalty against UCLA applied not only to football but to all sports including basketball, even though we had played by the rules. Thus, for a time, UCLA basketball had been ineligible for any postseason tournament play. Some athletes with considerable basketball talent who might have attended our school no doubt had stayed away. All this – lack of experience, limited outstanding talent, ineligibility, and more – impacted on our ability to outscore opponents.

Therefore when I reflected on the 1959-1960 season with its 14-12 record and the sizable obstacles we faced, I was of the opinion that our team might have gotten my best coaching up to that point in my career. And nobody knew it but me. That was fine.

I also believe those student-athletes under my leadership came as close to reaching 100 percent of their potential as some of the later UCLA teams with perfect 30-0 seasons. The 1959-1960 group just didn’t have the extreme level of talent that championship teams possessed. However, I do not judge success based on championships; rather, I judge it on how close we came to realizing our potential.

Consequently, in looking back at all 27 years I coached the Bruins, I wouldn’t put another season ahead of 1959-1960 for what we achieved in that regard. I have great pride in what we accomplished that season.

The team had come very close to achieving the formidable task of maximizing their abilities individually and as a unit. We stuck together, worked hard, ignored what was beyond our control, and perfected – or tried to – those things that were under our control. Our team achieved success.

And yet the critics were complaining. (Sam never got around to rolling that peanut down the street with his nose). We were a success, but nobody understood it except up. But us is what mattered.

- Coach John R. Wooden

Pac-10 Weekly Wrap: Finally, a quality win!

Nuss — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:50:33 -0000

More photos » by Joe Nicholson - AP

Why is this man smiling? Because he's been the best player in the Pac-10 for the conference's best team, that's why.

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After a couple of weeks off, the Weekly Wrap is back. I wish I could say that a lot has changed in the three weeks since I wrote the last one of these, but unfortunately it hasn't. The Pac-10 did finally pick up a quality out-of-conference win -- from the most unlikely of sources in USC -- but it did little to offset the perception that this is a weak Pac-10 after numerous missed opportunities.

It's a perception that's not likely to change, despite the conference now being ranked the fifth strongest nationally by kenpom.com (just ahead of the SEC, if you can believe that). If you look at the standings, it's pretty easy to see why. The conference has about five good to really good offensive teams, about five good to pretty good defensive teams, but only two that combine the two (Washington, Cal and ASU). Everyone else is good at one or the other, leading to some pretty uneven performances.

There are some big games on the slate tomorrow night: Cal at Kansas, UW vs. Texas A&M, WSU vs. LSU, and Stanford at Texas Tech. If the Pac-10 is going to get more than just a couple of bids come March, it needs to plant a seed in the minds of the committee that it's just a young conference that is getting better as the season moves along. Winning most or all of those would do wonders for the perception of the conference.

If Cal can beat Kansas -- or, at least, lose a thriller -- all of a sudden, beating Cal in conference means something.

On to the rankings! There hasn't been a lot of movement the past couple of weeks, but I have a feeling that might change by this time next week.

1. Washington
Rank last week: 1
Record: 7-2

The Huskies are still on top, but I sure would feel a lot better about it if they'd actually beat someone away from Hec Ed during the nonconference season. The loss to Texas Tech was a toss-up, but losing in Los Angeles to Georgetown -- in the manner they did -- raises some serious questions about Washington's toughness without Jon Brockman in the middle.

There have been hints of it against other opponents (Montana, Cal-State Northridge), but the Huskies have been able to overwhelm those opponents with their athleticism. Not so against the Hoyas. They've got a tough one against Texas A&M tomorrow, but again, it's at home. In fact, the Huskies don't leave Hec Ed again until Jan. 8.

Bright spot: Quincy Pondexter is finally, truly, unequivocally delivering on the promise he held as one of the top recruits on the west coast lo these many years ago. (Just take a look at his individual stat rankings over at kenpom.com.) That he's not receiving more pub nationally probably is due to the lack of a signature game in a signature win for the Huskies. But if he keeps this up, it won't stay that way for long.

Question mark: Pop quiz time: Where do the Huskies rank in the Pac-10 in adjusted offensive efficiency? First? Third? Try fifth -- behind (in order) Cal, Arizona State, WSU and Oregon. This team has just frankly not been that great offensively, exceeding 1.10 points per trip just three times this year. This is something to keep an eye on, because while the Pac-10 has been bad, there are some really good defensive teams in there. USC showed this week what a great defensive team powered by a fluky shooting night can do to a good team.

2. California

Rank last week: 2
Record: 6-3

The Bears have played three games in three weeks -- their tilt with Kansas tomorrow will be their first in 13(!) days. They started off with a loss on the road to New Mexico -- certainly not a bad loss, per se, but not great for a team that many thought could be the dominant team in the Pac-10 -- then finished up with dominant wins over Iowa State at home and Pacific on the road. They haven't been on TV much in these parts, so I don't have much insight to add; I will be catching the ESPN360 replay of tomorrow's game on Wednesday, since I'll be at the WSU/LSU game.

Bright spot: Theo Robertson is back. Need I say more? An offense that's already very good will get even better -- if he can stay on the floor.

Question mark: Tomorrow night is bigger than big for Cal. If they can hang with -- or outright beat -- the Jayhawks, the Bears' ceiling likely becomes a No. 2 seed. If they get blown out? Maybe a No. 3, but more than likely a No. 4 or No. 5, since there just don't remain any chances for great wins on their schedule. (Sorry, Huskies -- you no longer qualify.)

3. Arizona State

Rank last week: 3
Record: 8-3

The Sun Devils just keep chugging along, showing that experience just might be the difference maker for this team. They did lose to Baylor at home, but only by three while giving up 69.0 effective field goal percentage. It's a loss that smacks of the kind of loss that teams featuring zone defense suffer from time to time. Of more import to me is the nice win against a good San Diego State team. Still pretty clearly the third best in the conference, and the Pac-10's best chance for a third at-large bid if they can separate themselves from fourth place once league play starts.

Bright spot: Derek Glasser has been doing his best Taylor Rochestie on steroids impersonation this year. They're similar in so many ways, but Glasser's shooting has been insane -- his offensive rating is currently 130.5 with a high assist rate. He's been better than I ever thought he could be.

Question mark: There's a saying in football that the defenses often start out in front of the offenses at the beginning of the year. Well, in college basketball it seems experience starts out in front of inexperience, and that's the case with ASU. Which makes me wonder: Will this team continue to get better? Or will they get passed by other teams that would seemingly have more talent as they gain more experience?

4. Washington State

Rank last week: 4
Record: 8-2

Well, the Cougs missed an opportunity at Gonzaga, got whipped by K-State and soundly beat Idaho and Portland State. The funny thing is that we all thought this was going to be a roller coaster. While there aren't any "good" wins on the slate, there aren't any bad losses, either. That's a pretty enormous testament to what Ken Bone is doing. If the Cougs cap the nonconference slate with a win over LSU, it has to be considered a rousing success. The Cougs are a solid No. 4 in these rankings.

Bright spot: Marcus Capers. Come back this afternoon to find out why. (We call that a teaser in the news biz!)

Question mark: The Cougs are one of those teams that feature a very good offense, but so-so defense. Hence, all the attention we pay to the defense -- it really could be the difference maker in terms of getting this team to the postseason. Signs point to the defense getting better, although some of that might be explained by simple regression in terms of opponents' 3-point shooting. We'll learn more tomorrow against a team that's as athletic as we are.

5. USC

Rank last week: 9
Record: 5-4

Too big of a jump here after whipping Tennessee at home, you say? Too much value placed on one very good shooting night from a bad offensive team, you say? Well, at least they've shown that they can do it, which is a heck of a lot more than we can say for most other teams. After all, look at five through 10 in this conference and tell me who deserves to be higher than USC.

That's what I thought.

Bright spot: It's not a total fluke the Vols shot just 2-of-22 from 3-point range against the Trojans -- they're 23rd nationally in effective field goal percentage allowed (although it has been built mostly on stingy 2-point defense). Kevin O'Neil is following the Bennett rebuild blueprint to a T: Play superlative defense until the offense catches up.

Question mark: Will the offense ever catch up this year? It has been positively horrendous at times, and one good night doesn't make us believe everything is OK.

6. Oregon

Rank last week: 6
Record: 6-4

They can't beat a decent team on the road (Mizzou, Portland) and can't beat a decent team at home (Montana, St. Mary's). I guess they get credit for nearly beating the Gaels, but I know most people were expecting a lot more out of this team -- especially Duck fans. There have even been rumblings that it's time for Ernie Kent to go. I'd like to take this moment to remind everyone that I said I thought the Ducks wouldn't be very good until next year, and I stand by that statement.

Bright spot: Freshman Jamil Wilson has a knack for rebounding (14.1 OR% and 19.3 DR%) and blocking shots (3.5%). So that's nice.

Question mark: Will Kent's job status become a distraction? Especially if they win their last two nonconference games (as they should) and then start off Pac-10 play 0-2 coming through UW and WSU on New Year's weekend (as they might)?

7. Arizona

Rank last week: 5
Record: 4-5

The Wildcats have played the second-toughest nonconference schedule in the Pac-10, and it shows. These guys needed a patsy-filled schedule as bad as anyone, and instead they've played the likes of Wisconsin, Vandy, UNLV, Oklahoma and San Diego State -- all losses. They played tough in Maui and play well at home, but their last two games on the road have been convincing losses (OU and SDSU).

Bright spot: Jamelle Horne is rebounding like a power forward (21.3 DR%), despite being roughly the size of Klay Thompson. It's part of the reason the Wildcats have been surprisingly effective on the glass despite none of their actual big men rebounding like big men.

Question mark: Five times this year, the Wildcats have scored less than .92 points per possession (1.0 being average). Four of those five were against the good teams on their schedule. That's a scary thought heading into conference play.

8. Stanford

Rank last week: 7
Record: 5-5

We know moral victories don't really count. But losing by one at home to Oklahoma State and by eight on the road at Northwestern -- two teams that should be in the top half of their conferences -- says something about the way Johnny Dawkins has his Cardinal fighting. They are not going to be an easy win for anyone once Pac-10 play starts.

Bright spot: Landry Fields is really good -- so good that I'd probably place him in the No. 2 spot behind Pondexter in the Pac-10 POY race at the moment.

Question mark: Will the Cardinal keep bringing their A-plus effort if they don't soon get a favorable result? They've got a chance to get one tomorrow against Texas Tech.

9. Oregon State

Rank last week: 8
Record: 5-5

No shame in losing on the road to Nebraska. But Illinois-Chicago? Really? It seemed like the Beavers finally had some things figured out after beating George Washington and Colorado. Then the pitiful effort on the defensive glass against the Flames. They now possess arguably the two worst losses in the Pac-10. This is a tough, tough team to figure.

Bright spot: The offense seems to be coming around -- above 53 effective field goal percentage in five of the last six games. That's pretty good.

Question mark: Now that the Beavers have kissed any chance of an at-large bid goodbye -- and make no mistake, that was the goal heading into the season -- will they pull it together enough to be consistently tough in the league?

10. UCLA

Preseason rank: 10
Record: 3-7

The Bruins are yet another victim of aggressive scheduling. Normally, that's not a problem for the Bruins, but it's led to them losing six of their last seven, five of those by double digits. I'm tempted to say this could happen to anyone with enough early defections, but can you honestly picture North Carolina or Duke or Kansas sinking to these depths under their great coaches? That's what's so weird about this.

Bright spot: The Bruins really do seem to be getting better, even if it's not reflected in the win column. I watched them play Notre Dame on Saturday, and while the Irish aren't exactly a great team, they're a solid Big East squad, and the Bruins competed. They do seem like they still care.

Question mark: Just how much potential is there for the Bruins to improve? Certainly, they're not as bad as they've shown. But I just don't see the kind of talent on the floor I once did. Unless Ben Howland knows something I don't know, this is a bottom half of the conference team, even if they start playing significantly better.

Does Ben Howland's Current Rotation Give UCLA Best Chance To Win?

Nestor — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:51:32 -0000

bruinponcho wrote in our Notre Dame post game thread:

The main thing holding this team back is 1) solid offensive play, and 2) rebounding.

The wonderful thing is that the solution for both is the same: start TH in place of JA. ML goes for 29, MR goes for 19, and what does JA have, 1 point on 0-2 (including an airball by five feet) and 1-2 free throws. Hmm, which one doesn’t belong. Conversely, TH is a prototypical small forward who is a great rebounder. Remember, he played center in high school which shows with his craftiness around the rim. TH is also the perfect compliment to RN in that as much of a workhorse RN is, he is undersized. But with TH playing in the frontcourt alongside RN and ND, we suddenly become much longer and athletic. Plus, this will help out MR so he won’t be guarding someone much larger than him.

The other major issue is that our weakside rotations are awful. Sure MR is going to get beat off the dribble, but everyone does. The problem is that the rotations after someone penetrates are either too slow or non-existent leading to easy layups. This was the one thing that JK did bring to the table and without him there it is very noticeable. RN is getting better at this and got screwed on a couple of charge/block calls today.

I just want to zero in on point number 1 for now. I really think Coach Ben Howland owes more than a standard coachspeak explanation to the UCLA basketball community about his inexplicable but predictable rotation at this point of the season.

Right now from what I see (and I think majority here will agree with me on this point) we have 2 potential NBA talents on our roster. No, they are nowhere ready to play at the next level but if they do live up to their athletic potential Malcolm Lee and Tyler Honeycutt have a very good chance to join other Ben Ball warriors representing the four letters in the NBA. So, wouldn't it make more sense if Coach Howland shaped his rotation that optimized their minutes on the court? Instead, during the Notre Dame game on Saturday, we saw Honeycutt's minutes go down from his previous outing earlier in the week (TH logged 18 mins against Irish while putting on a show during 22 mins against the Aggies).

Despite the due criticisms we have directed towards Dragovic (who did shoot us out of the game early in the second half against Notre Dame), it's our point guard position currently handicapping our offense and not doing much to jump start our defense. Jerime Anderson might turn out to be a serviceable Pac-10 point guard some day but he is not getting it done. Wouldn't it make sense for our team if Howland has Malcolm Lee running our point, move Roll to the SG spot and slide Honeycutt to the 3? Wouldn't it make sense if that change is done during next couple of games so that the team is ready with that rotation by the time Pac-10 games started?

We have seen over the years how Coach Howland doesn't waste much time to take out his freshmen if they make any little mistakes on either end of the court. I don't understand how he doesn't treat his more experienced players the same way when they are making the same glaring, careless mistakes over and over again. I think it might make sense for Howland to cut down Anderson's mins to 15-20 mins a game and have him come off the bench to see what is going on and how Howland wants the game to be played. Yet, we are seeing in numerous occassion Howland keep calling on Anderson, who is committing the same mistakes over and over again.

So what gives? Is what Howland doing with his current rotation the best chance to win? Does having Jerime Anderson for almost 29 minutes on basketball court give UCLA basketball to best chance to win and build towards a foundation building season from here on out? I realize the title of this post is somewhat provocative. I do think Coach Ben Howland is always playing to win. I will not doubt his intentions. However, the current rotation is still not making any sense.

GO BRUINS.

Bruins Put Up A Fight But Notre Dame Holds Serve In South Bend

Nestor — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:05:12 -0000

More photos » by Joe Raymond - AP

Ben Howland and his Bruins were undone once again by Nikola Dragovic and Jerime Anderson

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Well the at least on the scoreboard the conventional wisdom turned out to be true. Notre Dame (now with a record of 10-2) held serve on their home court to beat the Bruins by a score of 84-73. Bruins now fall to a record of 3-7 with no chance of getting back to .500 before the start of the Pac-10 conference season.

For the Bruins there were some bright spots this afternoon. They came out on fire, shooting lights out on offense while playing classic Ben Ball defense on the other ends of the court. Our defense was suffocating early on as we were putting on vintage display of Howland defense with quick rotations, intense double teams while securing our rebounds. We were also getting our offense started with our intense defense. Things were working as we were in the lead late in the first half.

Then some of the old habits (by usual suspects) kicked on. Jerime Anderson turned the ball over in a careless possession that resulted in 4 point turn around. We also let Luke Harangody get confidence (after he missed his first shots) with a perfect execution via an inbound play. Late in the first half our defensive intensity just sagged off (and it was probably not a coincidence that it happened after Reeves Nelson had to sit down with 2 fouls) allowing Notre Dame to finish the half with a 40-36 lead.

In the second half, Notre Dame went on a run thanks to lazy defensive efforts from the entire team and the usual bricks from Nikola Dragovic on the offensive side. Dragovic had yet another pathetic game making only 4 out of his 12 shots and essentially shooting us out of the game early in the second half. Thanks to a spectacular effort from Malcolm Lee, who had a career day with 29 points, 4 assists and 3 steals, Bruins made it close but it just wasn’t enough. Here is the box score and more thoughts after the jump.

As mentioned above Malcolm Lee was easily the player of the game on our side. He did get some help from few other Bruins. Michael Roll did his part scoring 19 points with 4 assists and 2 steals. Although, I wish we had gotten a better effort from Roll on the defensive end. Reeves Nelson once again stood out as the defensive stalwart while chipping in with 11 points and 8 rebounds. Honeycutt as usual flashed his abilities for the time he got on the court, which included 3 rebounds on the offensive end.

I think on the whole the effort of our team was encouraging as they clearly built on the confidence building blowout against New Mexico State. They did show poise, composure and desire early on to start the game. However, they didn’t get it done at the end because of not being able to maintain their defensive intensity.

Jerime Anderson’s effort was not encouraging but he is a sophomore. Perhaps someday he will realize he needs to play within his athletic ability and not hurt his team with going for the spectacular play. As for Dragovic, there isn’t much to add to this point. Sure he got some rebounds and made some shots here and there, but the only thing consistent about him is how he continues to hurt our team with awful defensive effort, careless and unfocused plays on offense, and just horrific shooting in general. We are not going anywhere this season if Dragovic continues to waste minutes that could be allocated to other younger players with more talent and upside in the team. Not to mention Dragovic with his pathetic defensive effort continue to serve as a poor example of what a Ben Ball warrior should be performing on the court.

Anyway, as I said up top despite the loss, there were some positive signs in today’s loss. I can see a core emerging in this team around the leadership of Michael Roll and the natural talent and ability of Lee, Nelson and Honeycutt. I hope in the coming games Howland allows those guys – especially Honeycutt – give them bigger roles, while limiting the minutes of Dragovic and Anderson. With those guys leading the way at least the Bruins showed some fight in their first true road game of the season.

With that I will leave the analysis up to you. Fire up your thoughts in this post-game thread. If you have extensive reflections to share please put them up in a separate fanpost. Enjoy your Saturday as best as you can despite the (not so unexpected) loss in South Bend.

GO BRUINS.

Ben Ball Gameday Roundup: Brunch With The Irish

Nestor — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:20:35 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Can Drago and Bobo show up on the defensive end this afternoon?

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In about couple of hours Bruins will take on the Fighting Irish in a nationally televised game (CBS) at Joyce Center. I am sure we will hear the usual nostalgic memories around this game during the pre-game teaser but the game will essentially be a chance for both teams to make one last ditch impression before the conference season.

While we have all discussed the early struggle of our basketball team last few weeks, Notre Dame without a marquee win during their 9-2 start will be equally desperate for a win. The Chicago Tribune has a piece on how the Irish who have already lost this season to Northwestern and to LMU, are hungry for a victory:

"If we're fortunate enough to beat (UCLA), it's a quality win," Brey said. "I think they can win double digits in the Pac-10. They still have really good players there -- they're just still trying to get a feel for the whole thing."

It is another dress rehearsal for surviving to Selection Sunday with a chance at an invite. For that, the ability to recover from gut-wrenching defeat is mandatory.

"You still can be in the mix for one of the bids out of our league if you handle that the right way," Brey said.

The conventional wisdom has the game going the Irish's way this afternoon:

The Irish are averaging a healthy 82.2 ppg on the campaign and Luke Harangody is the centerpiece of this team. The 6-8, 246-pound Harangody is one of the most dominant players in the nation and he is currently averaging an impressive double-double of 24.6 ppg and 10.1 rpg. Tim Abromaitis, a 49.2 percent three-point shooter, is another weapon for ND at 15.7 ppg, and Ben Hansbrough can also be effective with 12.5 ppg and 5.0 apg to his credit. In the team's last game, Harangody notched his fifth double-double of the campaign with 24 points and 11 rebounds, but it still wasn't enough in a shocking 87-85 loss to LMU. Abromaitis poured in 23 points to complement to the big man, but was whistled for a costly five-second violation in the final moments. Tory Jackson had a chance to force overtime, but his jumper in the last seconds was off the mark.

ND appeared to be a team destined for a big campaign after a fast start and a national ranking earlier in the season. However, the team's last loss was quite puzzling and could possibly be a sign of things to come. With that said, the Irish are still better than UCLA and they should prevail on their home floor today.

Well I am not sure if I can disagree with that prediction, but I do believe the Bruins might have a shot today. I think our guys will have a chance to pull the upset if they can replicate the defensive intensity and effort from earlier this week, which was indicative of the kind of heart and determination they showed against Kansas. More after the jump.

Ramon Shelburne from the Daily News earlier this week had a really great piece on how our team is finding room to breathe and gradually chip away amidst all the frustration of this early season:

"You have to be patient, especially with young kids who are learning everything for the first time," Howland said. "This is early in the season. Everybody acts like we're writing things off here. It's still very early."

That's not to say this group will turn into a Final Four team by the end of the season. It's not even to suggest that an NCAA Tournament bid is back on the table.

Just to say that UCLA has room to grow, and finally, some room to breathe after the weight of past expectations has been lifted off of them.

With his scrappy style, Nelson can be the second-coming of Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.

Malcolm Lee and Jerime Anderson can lead the team in scoring.

Honeycutt has the potential to be one of the best slashers in the Pac-10.

But there's about 300 hours of film study, practice and hard knocks to go through before we can remove the word "can" from any of those sentences.

"We watch a lot of film," Lee said. "We watched all of that film of us against Mississippi State. Every little thing that we did wrong. Then we worked on it in practice (Monday)."

It's not glamorous. It's not what's been happening around UCLA since Howland took over. But it also does happen.

It also sounds like Jerime Anderson and his team-mates are getting the message:

Mounting losses have caused players to openly doubt themselves. At the same time, some underclassmen have struggled with Howland's style of basketball.

His offense requires patience and ball movement while his defense asks players to constantly adapt, pressuring the ball, double-teaming and looking to help.

"That's been a problem with a couple of the players and definitely myself," Anderson said. "I'm out there on the floor and I'm thinking a little bit more than I should. I should just play."

Well Anderson definitely showed some signs of improvement with perhaps his best game of the season against New Mexico State. Yes, it was against a cupcake team, but we didn't see that from Jerime against other cupcakes earlier in the season. I am hoping Jerime will use the confidence gained from that outing with another solid effort grounded in fundamentals and defense this afternoon at Joyce Center. Hope we can see JA and his team-mates take another step forward with just two more games left in this out of conference season.

GO BRUINS.