SB Nation User Blog: BlueReign

Will the real "PG U" please stand up!

BlueReign — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:18:46 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

I read the Lute article in the LA Times just to see how much he continues to “lose it” when I read Arizona being described as “PG U”. It got me wondering a bit if this is still an accurate description. There is no denying that Arizona produced a plethora of high quality PG’s during the 90’s and beyond. Arizona is widely known as “PG U” on a national level due to this. However, I think about all the PG’s UCLA has produced and we haven’t done to shabby ourselves (Actually, we'd blow them out of the water). When I think about what is happening under CBH and what I see in the future, I think “PG U” will be changing hands.

There is no doubt that we produced some great PG’s during the Wooden era but the “PG U” description is related to what has happened in more recent times. Thus, I’m excluding them for this hypothetical. I tried using some concrete parameters such as being “All Pac 10” and/or a high NBA pick but I couldn’t find the information I was looking for and I forgot to program my brain to remember such things.

Thus, I’m just going to include guys that 1) were pretty good (don’t need to be great) in college and 2) made the NBA. I’m also including the “Tweeners” as well just to make it a bit easier although you can argue it either way.

Arizona (8)

Steve Kerr (83-88)

Kenny Lofton (85-89)

Damon Stoudamire (91-95)

Jason Terry (95-99)

Mike Bibby (96-98)

Gilbert Arenas (99-01)

Salim Stoudamire (01-05)

Jerryd Bayless (07-08)

Notes: Lofton would have been a very good pro IMO if he stuck with the roundball. The guy that really started this was Damon IMO. But if you take a closer look, they really haven’t produced anybody of substance since Arenas left because Bayless barely was there and as for his pro potential, who knows what is going to happen. Currently with Jennings heading off to Europe, the de-commit of Gaddy, Nic Wise isn’t going to have scouts drooling over his pro potential. Thus, I don’t see anybody on their roster to carry the mantle unless Gaddy re-commits (very possible) or they go get another stud.

***Jason Gardner (99-03) – Really tough leaving him out considering how good he was and all the accolades he accumulated during his college career but he did not get drafted. IMO he got caught when teams were drafting Euro’s in the 2nd round to stash them away. [See UA's Official Site: 100 Years Of UA Basketball]

UCLA (8)

Pooh Richardson (85-89)

Darrick Martin (88-92)

Gerald Madkins (88-92)

Tyus Edney (91-95)

Baron Davis (97-99)

Earl Watson (97-01)

Jordan Farmar (04-06)

Russell Westbrook (06-08)

Notes: We’ve been a bit helter-skelter due to going through 3 regimes (Harrick, Lavin & Howland). But the PG’s that CBH is producing are top notch kids who know how to play the game the right way. Take a peek at what is being written about RW at the WWL.

In addition, we all know DC will be a 1st rounder next year. CBH restoring UCLA basketball and his ability to develop players (no matter how many stars or your ranking) has gotten the preps attention, especially PG’s. We have 3 guys coming in the fall that are being projected as PG’s in the NBA (If they develop and make it) as well as Kendall Williams for 2010. Not to mention being in it for Avery Bradley (possibly another RW) and Gaddy.

UCLA is on an upswing whereas Arizona’s cupboard looks a bit empty. So…..who really is “PG U” again?

Yahoo article on Reggie Bush

BlueReign — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:16:58 -0000

This link takes you to the most recent article as well as a link to view the evidence they have been able to gather. http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news?slug=ys-bushfolo011008&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

I know we have some attorney's on this board. What do you believe is the hold up in determing that Reggie Bush did in fact violate NCAA rules? At the very least, the receipts should show that improper benefits were recieved. There is likely larger forces at play and the NCAA is a paper tiger but come on. If 1 of our guys can get suspended for taking a bag of groceries left on his doorstep, guys like Bush need to be put in their place. USC has been a money making machine for the NCAA recently. However, seeing how other programs (OU, Colorado, etc) have been dinged, will they stand on the sidelines if nothing is done against USC? I hope there is a huge fuss made by other programs and they pressure the NCAA to remedy the situation. If not, what will prevent others from turning a blind eye towards violations? Why self report anything if the programs that are violating the rules do not get punished?

Secondly, will USC be dinged with the "lack of institutional control"? They are turning a blind eye to this whole situation however I highly doubt that they had no idea what was going on. PC allows agents to come to their practice and roam the sidelines on gameday. Is it reasonable to conclude that PC & his entire staff had zero idea of what was going on? I don't buy it.

Please chime in with your thoughts.

Watch Future Ben Ball Warriors

BlueReign — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 08:35:02 -0000

Invitation to all Bruin fans to take a look at 2 of our future Bruins Jrue Holiday & Drew Gordon.

Jrue and Campbell Hall will be traveling to St. Edward's to take on Delvon Roe (Michigan St. commit). The game will be televised this Thursday on ESPN 2 @6PM PST.

Mark your calendars because on 01/21, Drew Gordon and his team Archbishop Mitty will be participating in The Spalding Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass. in honor of James Naismith. It will be televised by ESPNU at 11AM. It is probably EST.

Here is the ESPN link with their HS television schedule and the link for the Hoophall Clasic.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/highschool/news/story?id=3127862

http://www.hoophall.com/highschool/index.html

GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS!

Loose Canon Recap w/KD

BlueReign — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 21:53:15 -0000

Total waste of time. Hartman didn't grill KD and they didn't ask any tough questions that I'm sure a bunch of Bruin fans sent in including me.

If you cannot stomach any more Dorrellisms, do not read any further. Not verbatim and not in order.

Vic: What the hell happened there? Was it the flat practices?
KD: It starts with me and the staff. We had some offside and false start penalties that stopped drives. Turnovers. Etc.

Hartman: Defense totally collapsed. Was it senioritis, injuries, etc?
KD: Every area wasn't particularly sharp. There is a number of areas that didn't play well. We had a chance to get back in the game but we had a turnover.

Hartman: Where is the passion like SC game?
KD: That is the goal. We try to play like that in every opportunity we get. We lost an opportunity. What do we do now to play this game in a proper way.

About the week thus far
-Working through it, working through it guys. We can get much, much better.

About Washington
-We are excited about this Pac-10 opportunity.

On Cowan for BO
-It is game 3 and we are not panicking. There is a need to fix the issues in a timely manner.

Injuries
-Tevaga's knee injury will not allow him to play this week/weeks but nobody knows seriousness. Had MRI today and results will be received tonight. Whittington had 2nd concussion and will be out this week. Everett sprained his ankle late in game.

Cited Everett's fumble as momentum changer as we would have only been down by 3. Didn't throw him under the bus but mentioned it.

Response for ryedreadraz

BlueReign — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 20:43:34 -0000

My response was too long so it wouldn't fit.

You're right & wrong but what's the difference?

If Guerrero is legitimately looking elsewhere for a new HC, do you really believe that the recruits & their families would not be aware of this? How often is a secret kept in major college athletics or the pro game? We're always hearing ESPN & other media outlets citing an anonymous source who says, "Kentucky has contacted Donovan about their head coaching job" or "Bama has contacted Saban or Rich Rodriguez concerning their HC position". I mean, rumors about Guerrero gauging Mariucci's interest was floated around whether real or not. My point in this is that if we are looking for a new HC, it ain't gonna matter whether he sticks around till the end of the season or not. Recruits will get word of it and it is in their best interest to look around. Some will reserve judgement until the next regime because they verballed to UCLA for UCLA and it won't matter to them who is the HC. Others will bail because it was the staff that attracted them to UCLA. Also, all of the other programs that were showing interest in our verbals will be like vultures trying to snatch them away. So there is no guarantee that this class will stay intact. This is excluding recruits thinking twice about their verbals after seeing a performance like this which happens at least once every year.

We all know what the problem is. Even programs like U-Dub & ASU who have been down are on the upswing. It will only be a matter of time before we are getting cozy with Wazzu, Zona & Stanford if we don't get this guy out the door.

Lastly, an interim coach will not guarantee a better record but who's to say that for a fact? I don't have much confidence in our coordinators but sometimes a coordinator is held back due to the HC (Perfect example would be Ron Prince who worked under an underachieving Virginia program led by Al Groh. Look at the tangible improvements he has already made with Kansas St. People could have labeled him as being inferior just because he was under a mediocre HC like Groh). I'm not saying that it will but who's to say that keeping KD around longer WILL result in a better year? Neither you or I can answer this question. But we do agree that the coach needs to go. As long as he is out the door, I could care less if it was now or at the end of the season. I'll go with whatever is the best option for our program. However, you don't keep KD around just because we have a nice looking recruiting class on paper.

It's like Field of Dreams. If we get a true leader who instills confidence in our kids & programs and who actually knows how to game plan and coach, the recruits will come. Everytime I talk to my friend who is a diehard Huskers fan, he always wonders why UCLA is not a superpower in College Football considering all the talent in our area and natural recruiting advantages.

It's simply the HC.

Alex Legion

BlueReign — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 04:46:45 -0000

Rumor running rampant on the other boards that Alex Legion (6-4, SG out of Michigan who played this year at Oak Hill) will be seeking a release from Michigan. As you may know, John Beilein was hired as the new HC. Howland was recruiting him pretty hard but he ultimately chose to stay home and suit up for the Wolverines. Supposedly Alex will be heading to Westwood if he secures the release and AA declares for the NBA. We'll have used our schoolie bank with Love & Stanback coming in next year. AA leaving would free up the schoolie needed unless somebody was to transfer.

I personally would rather have AA when compared to Legion. No matter how good Legion may be, he is nowhere close to what AA means to us and what he provides/produces. No freshman is going to reach All-American status as well as be the heart & soul of this UCLA club as AA has. In addition, this will directly affect our current recruitment of Jrue in an adverse way IMO. There will be a log jam of wing players on our roster the next two years.

Should AA leave, it would be very nice late pick up but I'm hoping for 1 more year from AA. ****Editing this post**** The source was Sonny V on Loose Cannons and I listened to it over and over again to figure something out. They were talking over Sonny so it is pretty tough to tell but he said that the player was "really, really, really good that was not committed". If I heard this right, that would mean that Legion is not a possibility as he has a signed LOI. The only2 unsigned players this year is Jai Lucas (Not likely considering we have Jerime & Malcolm in 08), Patrick Patterson (Supposedly a heavy Donovan lean. Wherever he ends up, Patterson is said to follow. Unlikely because we haven't been recruiting this guy much) or it could be Jrue whom Howland has been recruiting very hard. Sonny is currenty in Chicago for the Roundball Classic. Or it could be Legion if my ears are failing me. Sorry for the confusion.