SB Nation User Blog: Class of 66

OT -- Ariza to the Houston Rockets Artest to the Lakers

Class of 66 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:34:16 -0000

The Houston Chronicle is reporting the trade.

Until last year, I could not have cared less about the Lakers; I lost interest during the Kobe/Shaq squabbles. I don't like drama and particularly not teenage drama. Kobe and Shaq were less mature than my very own teenager. I wouldn't pay attention to NYC Prep, so why watch these spoiled grown men? But, with the two Bruins on the roster, I rekindled my early allegiance to the Lakers and enjoyed last season. I really liked getting to know our one-and-done Ariza. Now it looks like I'll get a chance to get to know him better. Add another Bruin or two to the Rockets roster and, who knows, I may become a Rockets fan.

The online Chronicle Article I posted is different from the hard copy I have in front of me, written by the same reporter, Jonathan Feigin. Here are some interesting points:

1. Although not the Rocket's first choice, they were attracted to Ariza because of his "first rate" defense. Sound familiar?

2. That explains why Houston wanted Ariza. What I can't understand is why Ariza was willing to leave the Lakers. Money? Not according to Feigin: The deal Ariza took was less than he was offered by the Lakers.

Ariza told the Lakers and other teams it wasn't going to be about the money, but that's what people say. He apparently meant it, however, one source estimates he left $9 million on the table to join the Rockets.

So, what was it about? Ariza is joining a team with a hole at center. Recent reports here are that Yao's injury may end his career.

3. The article describes an extremely talented Artest whose inconsistency and instability made him expendable. That said, he was on his best behavior in Houston -- but even that did not appear good enough for the Rockets. Apparently, the straw that pushed the balance toward not resigning Artest was the fact that he constantly yelled at the Rocket's young guards -- even when asked not to -- and the Rockets will be a young team next year. And, it makes clear that he is not a thug but, rather " ... a thoughtful man with a charitable heart and a winning smile."

I can understand why Artest would jump at the Laker's offer.

But, I cannot understand why Ariza would open the door by refusing it. But, hey, I live in Houston where it's been over 100 and humid for a month. I'm not sure why anyone lives here.

A Few More Random Ben Ball Post-SeasonThoughts

Class of 66 — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:15:02 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

1. I’ve not taken the time to see how many of the remaining tournament teams start players who started last year. I have a hunch (meaning not supported by fact) that tournament time is the time that experience counts — that "sleeper teams" are often starting players that have played together, lots of minutes, in previous years. We’ve always said that we started three players two of whom had little starting or playing experience and one who had none and that that was part of the reason we were the team that we were — a highly successful team but one that was vulnerable at spots.

2. No matter what men want to believe, size does matter. And, we were not "big" where it mattered. JH, as good as he was, will be better after a year in the weight room — whether he plays for us or in the NBA. And, more importantly, the remaining members of the young guns — if they hit the weights hard — will have Westbrook like transformations. As we know, RW exploded not just because he had a year of experience but also because he hit the weights hard in the summer between his freshman and sophomore years.

3. In a like manner, in Ben Ball, toughness matters. I think the players we have coming back have a nucleus of people who can play tough — and by tough I mean in the LMR/PAA mold — if they want to. JK is one of them. Although he did not have his break out year — and I thought he would, he is big and strong. ND played a lot tougher this year, in spurts, than in years before. I think toughness is both a matter of strength AND attitude. ND has started to develop that attitude. At the beginning of this season he was still playing a bit weaker on D and letting the ball go by rather than getting on the floor for it. Then, he bought in and, with the exception of some lapses, really got tough. He played hard on the boards and — to the best of his ability — some good D stretches. I really expect him to be totally tough next year. Kids like DG and ML were tough this year — but somewhat smaller than need be to carry it out throughout the entire game (seem my comments about size matters — these are the guys, who if they spend their time in the weight room, will be dominant players).

4. Bobo: IIRC, as a child, Bobo had some serious problems with his legs. And, from what I recall, with grit and desire, he’s become a great player and overcome most of the vestiges of the problem. If that’s true, we have to be careful how we talk about and judge him. If he is running as fast as he can run and playing as hard as he can play, that’s all we can ask. If he’s not as fast on a hedge or quick coming down court AND that is a reflection of his body not his effort — so be it; and if he brings other things we need, I trust CBH to adjust the D game to account for Bobo's strengths and perceived weaknesses.I know he had other skills to learn, needs to learn the D — as do all new BenBall players — , and it is said that he needs to lose weight — but it is not fair to him to have expected more from him than one should expect from any freshman. It sounds like he will work very hard this summer. I look forward to seeing him next fall.

Bobo has become one of my favorite "I really don’t know much about him" kids. Much has been made about his comment about coming here "selfish". I love the fact that he is both sufficiently perceptive and honest to make that statement. He’s still just a kid. Do you think he’s the only hot shit high school player who has come here "selfish" and with an expanded sense of self importance? How humbling it must be for these High School all stars to find out that they are surrounded by bigger and better players who know the system and game. Many of us here were probably high school valedictorians who coasted through high school only to get their first "C" or worse at UCLA in their freshman year. I think the criticism of Bobo is misplaced. He’s just a kid in his first year of college ball. To predict that he will never amount to anything is simply wrong. I love his attitude, his sense of team, and his laugh (just as I always loved JS's smile) -- it shows depth and perspective. He will make a major contribution to Ben Ball lore before he leaves.

5. I stayed out of the post game analysis that followed the end of our season. You all were doing so well. And, honestly, although I was not disappointed in our team, I really hated to see the season end. So, I just want to take a moment to thank the entire team and coaching staff for giving us such a great year — and congratulate JS, DC and PAA for being all that I would want a Bruin to be.

sjh

A Few Random Thoughts on the VCU Game

Class of 66 — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:40:32 -0000

1. Trying to Explain the Inexplicable -- All year long, most of the BS calls against us are when we are playing D -- and most in the first half. Remember when CBH first came and we started playing that intense D? People thought it "ugly" and unexciting. All year long, first SPTR's, and the pseudo-SPTR's last night, put us in early foul trouble -- and we were forced to back off, some, from our physical D. Could this be an attempt to create more scoring against us? In the same way that baseball juiced the balls, and football protected QB's, can this be a way to get higher scores and more O? This might also explain why the other teams get away with obvious fouls against us. They are not the same threat to hold scores way down that we are. Yes, you might say that this years team is not that strong D team that we've had in the past; but I think part of that is because we've been taken out of our D with foul trouble way too often this year.

And, my theory that they are trying to create more scoring finds support on the "no calls" we've seen all year. Maynor cannot bring the ball up court, or cut with it, without carrying it. He got called for it once, but got away with it all game. We've seen people like Harden push with their off arm and get away with it all season long. Brockman got away with murder all year on his offensive boards

Of course, I may be completely wrong. It may be that the ref's are just bad. How we can have some many bad ref's is inexplicable.

2. Our Rotation: Now we know that DG was out with a concussion; frankly, having a daughter that has had her share of concussions, I really don't see him playing this weekend. If this is his seventh this year, he'll probably not be cleared to play. No, I am not a doctor, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night (and I know the restrictions placed on Jen when she had hers.) Fortunately, ND had a monster game last night -- a double double, with 13 boards. I though he played very well with JK when PAA was out and figured that was why we weren't seeing DG.

I know people wanted to see ML -- I think their full court pressure kept him out of the game.

But, here's the concern all have expressed. Early in the second half I put up a post saying that if CBH didn't put in the youngsters soon, he'd never be able to put them in because he won't want them in near the end of a close game. And, that happened.

At the end of the game, we had the team on the floor that we needed. I would not have had it any other way.

But, they were really gassed. CBH gets paid very well to do the cost/benefit or risk analysis on substitution patterns. I'm glad I don't have to.

3. Senior leadership: Wow! What more can be said about DC, JS, and PAA? JS and PAA had obviously great games. People question DC but he is so clutch -- one of the greatest one on one defensive plays on Maynor, at the end of the game, that I've ever seen. Just good, strong, in your face D -- no foul perfectly played. I love ML and JA, but given the choice, I'd put DC there all the time. BTW -- if there is criticism about going into the prevent -- it is on CBH, not DC. DC doesn't call those plays, he executes them. And, there were some questionable "no calls" on some of those drives. I don't like the strategy. Prevent rarely does. But, I'm not the coach, for good reason. If this is CBH's way, it's my way, too.

JS did everything all game long. In years past, their was a concern that he didn't let the "game come to him". This year, his maturity is showing. Great decisions, great play, a true warrior.

And, PAA -- we hear so often that we lack an "inside presence". That's wrong. PAA is overlooked and underestimated in almost every game. Part of being a presence is leadership and intensity; no one is more present that PAA on those qualities. And, he has been playing extremely well -- without fouling out -- just what CBH told him he'd have to do; he's done it all season. Has anyone taken more hard fouls than PAA? And, last night, one of the fouls he did commit was unique: his scrotum fouled someone's elbow.

4. JH -- I said it last night and I'll say it again: Fuck You Jrue Haters, Fuck You All. No need to say more.

5. Game Day Thread -- My Bruin brothers and sisters, last night you were incredible. It's one of the best threads, in any sport, that I can remember. So intense and active that we bogged it down -- but I agree with Nestor, changing threads is a Karma issue and it was better to be slowed down than changed.

Living in Exile, away from my season tickets, has been tough. Being here on game days is like sitting with my close circle of friends. I can't imagine a game without you.

One last thing -- very little drive by posting last night. How does it work? Do people lurk and get negative when it's clear we are going to lose? Or, do they make special trips over here when we are not playing well. Do they register, in the moment just to trash us? If so, they need to get lives.

See you all, tomorrow.

Another Loss Another Night of Hatred

Class of 66 — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:21:13 -0000

The Same Message As A Few Weeks Ago Without the F Bombs

I have been bleeding Blue and Gold longer than most people here. I, too, suffer in defeat -- and losing to sc is NEVER acceptable. But, it is also NEVER acceptable to relieve one's own frustrations and pain, in a hostile, public, way, at the expense of the kids who represent our school. I know, we come here to vent to make ourselves feel better. But, this is not a therapists couch where we get to undergo primal scream therapy in a quiet room. This is a public place where the scream is heard around the world, including by our current and future players.

I hate it when the lizard whines about Westwood's unreasonable expectations. He's a complete douche bag trying to cover for his own failures. But, we give credence to his unfounded complaints when we heap hate on our very own kids. I will never advocate censorship. But, I do wish we could all use some judgment. It is one thing to say someone had a bad game, to point to bad plays or numbers and quite another to "wish" them gone or challenge their heart or commitment.

A few weeks ago, after a troubling loss, I wrote these same sentiments but in a more aggressive way. Today, we get the family rated version. But the message is the same.

I started to write this post as a note in LVBruin's FanPost which takes on the Jrue haters. I have written quite a bit in defense of Jrue in the last few weeks and applaud LV's efforts. I am posting this separately so as to not hijack his analysis and turn the discussion in another direction. I cannot help but believe that Jrue is "hated in advance" because we all feel he is going to break up with us at the end of the season -- that we feel that we have been used and sullied by a one-and-done who we don't believe gave us enough for the year in the UCLA limelight. That is on us, not Jrue. So long as we accept one-and-dones, we have to get used to their leaving after one. And, whatever chance we have of getting them to stay is destroyed by the ugly and vitriolic attacks on this really fine young man who has accepted a year of playing out of position, has deferred to the seniors in their roles as leaders, and has done his best. No matter what he does, he gets criticized. Pass up shots in deference to others, and he is attacked. Drive and shoot (last night) and miss, and he is attacked. Guess what. Last night the entire team shot under 30%, not just Jrue. Jrue made major contributions last night, as he has all season. Last night, while he was playing at the point, I thought he did a very good job for a freshman. In fact, there are many long-time-posters here who have been calling for him to play the point all season. He does and does a good job and the attacks continue. Why am I writing? I cannot help but be upset when a group of grown ups vent and take out their frustrations on a kid -- a good kid doing his best -- over a basketball game. (By the way, some of the hatred spilled over to DC, too, who was probably playing hurt. Unconscionable.)

We all feel bad about the loss. But I suggest we find a way to deal with it, to feel better, without using a public forum to spew ugly hatred on the guys who have had a very good year and, next week, will step onto a Madness floor wearing our colors.

They are Bruin brothers and they deserve better. Rant over. (And, no, I don't feel better having written this. I feel bad that I feel compelled to do so.)

Why PAA, JS and DC Will Always Be At the Top of My UCLA Hero List

Class of 66 — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 01:44:36 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

The Ultimate Path to My All-Time Favorites List? Stay 4 Years.

Watching all the video highlights and reading all the wonderful things you all are saying about PAA, JS and DC has made me wonder what it is about them that has me so sad to see them go and so proud that they are Bruins.

I've watched many great players in my time -- especially in the early years. Many hold that special place in my Bruin heart.

But, not all of my all time heroes have been the best players to wear the uniform. In fact, although you will find the guys from my years at UCLA - the 60's on the list, and people who were there when I left and after -- like Kareem and the Readhead, you will also find some people that many of you will not recognize.

I've been trying to figure out the common denominator for the guys on that list, and tonight I found it.

My all time heroes are players who stayed the full term at UCLA -- 4 years, no less.

And, I realized that to be on my all time Bruin Hero list you have to be a true scholar/athlete -- not someone here to use the university as a place to spend a year or two before jumping off to be a pro.

Don't get me wrong -- I have deep respect for KL, JF, AA, and RW, and fully understand why BD had to leave UCLA before the lizard completely ruined him -- but I see UCLA as a very special place -- a place for education not a minor league sports franchise.

To be on my list, you have to walk the entire path -- and JS, PAA and DC have.

They were true scholar/athletes, and passed up other opportunities to finish what they started. That shows character and commitment.

In order to stay, they attended school, took classes and passed them. School wasn't just a vehicle to play ball -- it was part of the bigger experience. PAA -- getting a Masters while playing BBall -- a true hero.

In this day of me first, DC's coming back to finish what he started, PAA's using BBall to get a better education, and JS's pure joy for the college game as evidenced by that incredible smile on his face (the one that should not be allowed to mask his competitive intensity) stand out and deserve to be rewarded.

Were things different, and were I able to, I'd fly to tomorrow's game just to say "good bye" to them. Instead, I'll send this post to let them know that for this Geezer Bruin, they've made it to the top of my Bruin mountain of fame. Guys, I am so proud of you. And, I will miss you.

Random Thoughts On Consistency

Class of 66 — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:22:59 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

Consistency may be the hobgoblin of small minds and academics -- but I think our biggest challenge can be summed up in one word CONSISTENCY. We don't bring all we have, every game, all the time. Or for 3/4 of the time. If we did, we'd not have to play from behind or be in close games (which run the risk of bad calls from the SPTR's). Yes, I know one can say that furd came out "on fire", but if you watched the game, they were burning down an empty building -- our D just was not there. And, yes, you can say that they cooled down -- as any team would -- but isn't it funny that they cooled down when we started to play D?

I may be wrong and this is not an "empirical" finding, but my impression of the season is that the only player who has been bringing it all, all of the time is PAA. I would say JS has been a close second. I'm not faulting any of the players, I truly admire them all, but I don't think it is hard to explain why we are where we are -- we are not consistent, not within a game and not game to game. And, that forces tough choices for CBH. For example, no one can doubt JH's talent and although some may question his heart, I don't. If anything, he's not learned to play top notch D, and that's understandable. Most freshmen take a while to learn. (Yes, KL got better, at this stage of the season, but I think the D KL had to play easier and he had Luc helping out.) What troubles me most about JH is that he seems to hold back and defer to others when he could be taking the ball to the hoop and scoring. The dilemma? Keep him in the game because of his immense promise or pull him when he's not stepping up. Just when you think you might pull him he'll drive and make an amazing, clutch shot or grab a key board and you'll say -- "Here he goes" leave him in. And then ...

ND raises the same concerns. His D still isn't there. He may be a vastly improved player, and he's having a good year, but many of their open shots were on him. So, you think pull him for DG -- and then ND buries some 3's. D or outside scoring -- if you can't have both, what do you do?

DG has been consistent in most phases of the game. And, there is one phase in which he has been the most consistent on the team. He is truly passionate about winning. Much has been written about this and last night, we had a great example. At the end of the game, when we were trying to pull away, DG standing up in the bench area waiving a towel and cheering on his mates.

ML has been consistent off the bench. He's done some amazing things. IIRC, he turned a likely turnover into a 3 -- we had made a bad pass, the ball was going out of bounds, ML went after it and before touching the ground threw a perfect pass to JS who buried a wide open 3.

MR has played with consistent intensity and focus. I think he is often under appreciated. We have been trained to see him as an outside shooter. His game is bigger than that. Last night, the best example of how he does things right was when he boxed out, perfectly, and grabbed a key rebound. If you watch his game, his D is good, and he may be our best passer to the post.

We are consistently at a disadvantage at the FT line. We took 10, they took 16. The differential was greater until the end of the game. There were a few bad calls against us -- blocks that the replays showed were all ball. And, we were going inside and drawing fouls but not as well as they did. And, then there was ND's foul on a 3 point shot ...

And, finally, there is one broadcast announcer who consistently gets it right, Donny Mac. No babble -- just insightful analysis. He has been spot on in his critiques of our lack of effort and defensive failures -- and of our reliance, too much, on the outside shot. Last night, someone in the thread mentioned that Donny Mac would make a great coach and I agree. But, if he were gone from the microphone, I'd have to pull a Fox and turn off the sound.

The ultimate "consistency" -- I love our team and this season. And, I love CBH. This may be his best "coaching" year. He's had to work so much harder to get us where we are. For example, at one point, with at least 4 minutes left, we had 3 starters with 4 fouls on them. His player management was brilliant -- great combinations of players that kept all but ND from fouling out -- and ND went late in the game.

The provision that sticks in Leach's craw the most is one that would trigger his firing and a $1.5...

Class of 66 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:42:20 -0000

The provision that sticks in Leach's craw the most is one that would trigger his firing and a $1.5 million penalty if he interviews for another job without athletic director Gerald Myers' permission. Leach's current deal has no such restriction.
``I don't have to have hall passes on this one,'' Leach said during an interview near his office a few hours before a deadline to accept what Myers said was a ``last and final offer'' that would be pulled off the table.

Focus

Class of 66 — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:24:31 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

In a separate post, Nestor has created a discussion of the need for strong leadership on this team. It is a great thread.

I think leadership is one half of why we lose games.

I think focus is the other. Saturday, we lost because we had neither. We win games when we create a favorable turnover ratio and score off the turnovers we create. Saturday, we gave that advantage to Az. There is absolutely no excuse for the sloppy, lost inbound passes. None. And, throughout the game, we were throwing the ball away -- the cutter going one way the pass another, or the pass directly to an Az player. At one point in the game thread I noted that EVERY one of our players who had been in the game had turned the ball over. Every one.

At this time in the season, my sense is that this is not a matter of skill but, rather, a matter of attention and focus. Hanging on to rebounds is part strength and part focus. There are games when we have hands of steel and others when we have hands of stone. I wonder what is behind the difference. (And, lately, we've been punching the ball around instead of grabbing it. Not sure what that is.) When we play our ferocious D you can see the guys have their heads completely in it. When we are not playing great D, we seem to get lost. People lose their man, don't rotate or get to the open man quickly. Some of this may be a lack of speed. But, it may also be a matter of focus.

Had we not played some incredibly good games, I'd think this a matter of skill. But, we are skilled. Were we not, we'd have a big problem.

All we need to do is focus so that we can use those skills to their full extent.

I'm sure CBH will work on this all week.

Of the two problems, I think leadership will be harder to solve. Focus is something we have had and can have if we just focus (weird sentence, huh?).

Warning: This Post Contains Strong Language and Adult Themes

Class of 66 — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:03:06 -0000

To the Whiney Little Bitches Who Come Out of Their Holes When We Lose -- Get the Fuck Out of Here

First a Disclaimer: This is my opinion only and does not represent the opinions of anyone formally attached to BN. I have no authority to tell anyone to come or go -- but, if I did, some of you would be gone.

This is the maddest I've been after any Bruin game, in any sport, in a long time.

Let me get one thing clear. I'm not mad that we lost. It happens.

I'm mad at the whiney little bitches who show up when things aren't going well and throw hand grenades.

I was so pissed off during the game thread, and the post game thread, that I left , went to the gym, worked out hard, and then came back to write a more level headed post -- this is the best I can do.

I really don't get it -- where do you negative people come from? You don't show up in the daily life of BN, don't make contributions to the every day threads and posts, and don't show up in the game threads when we are winning.

But, as soon as we struggle, you're there if full voice calling out players and the coaching staff -- with absolutely no substance behind your posts.

The poster boy for this phenomena? A certain commenter [BN Edit] who joined today, so that he could enlighten us with the post "JS is garbage". Josh Shipp scored 18 points on 8-14 shooting. Yes, in some ways this was not his best game, but who the fuck are you to call him "garbage"? That's not the way we treat our Bruin brothers and sisters.

Win or lose, we are a family.

And, those of us who pay attention to this family know better than most that there were gaps to be filled in this year's team -- that it was young and somewhat inexperienced, that we had 3 starters who had not played much and had lost 3 stellar players.

In a like manner, the whining and pontificating about how CBH can't coach Offense is absolutely the chant of the uninformed. We shot 49% in this game -- we have one of the most efficient offenses in the country. This was not our best game. But the problems -- shown by the numbers -- were on two fronts. We turned the ball over too many times -- which is something we have not done, lately AND we played BAD D in the first half when they shot over 60% from the field; we improved in the second half, to make the game close, and brought them down to around 50%.

My point here? We didn't lose because CBH can't coach O, we lost because we didn't execute the D that CBH is acclaimed for coaching.

Of course, you whiney little bitches didn't bother to confront those facts -- you just threw your crap out there -- bandwagon babies, without regard for its accuracy.

And of course, there are the whiney little bitches who have already written off our entire season because we lost two tough road games -- no final fours for us, no Pac 10 titles, just a "failed year".

Again, nothing could be farther from the truth. Most thoughtful commentators have said that the winner of the Pac 10 might well have 4 or 5 conference losses. Last time I looked we were tied for second in the conference. If we can take care of business at home next weekend, we can climb closer to the top. And, this may be the year where I finally love the fact that the Pac 10 has a tournament. The more experience our young and inexperienced players get, the better.

You whiney little bitches, measuring our season in poll standings and Final Fours have no idea what's going on this year, how we are building and moving forward. Yes, it is 4 steps forward and then 2 back -- but anyone who watches can see the positive side of what's happening -- even in terrible losses like this one.

Get a clue: We are not entitled, by birth, to play in a Final Four. We are not entitled, by birth to be in the top 10 in the polls, all season long. And, when you cry because we are fading in the polls and then predict that we won't get to the final four, you are acting like uninformed selfish children.

We will be where we will be when we get there. No one expected the team to go to its first Final Four, three years ago -- and it did. We might, too. And, your whining and crying will have no impact on whether we get there.

You'll just piss off those of us who try to make solid, substantive contributions to BN, every day -- the people like Blink who did an incredible statistical analysis that gave us all a basis for our comments and criticisms, and the people like the front page guys, especially Nestor, who knock them selves out posting more fact based content here than most of us would find in any sports section in the country. And, you'll piss off all of the regulars around here, the family, that gathers during the game day threads -- like buddies in a seating section at Pauley -- who know each other, trust each other, and have earned the right to be critical with their well reasoned and substantive body of posts at BN.

Oh, by the way, I don't want to hear the mantra we always here form the drive by whiners when they get called out "I was just letting off steam, I was just so frustrated."

Get a clue. These threads are not about you. Sorry, you little egocentric bitches, this is not a place for you to come and throw tantrums to express your displeasure -- at the expense of the entire community.

Need a release, throw something at the TV, but don't call out our players or call them names, our coaching staff, our moderators, or the serious posters here -- and then later try to say -- "I was frustrated".

So were we, but we managed to act like Bruins. You might want to try it.

In my eyes, some of you have dug some pretty deep holes, today. We are a forgiving place -- and if you want to fit in, I suggest you do some posts that analyze the data, or present full and complete ideas in ways that build the community not detract from it.

There is room for everyone here -- but this isn't one of those places where you can spew on line garbage posts. If that's what you want to do, there are other places to go.

Rather be here? Act like it.

Once more, the disclaimer -- these are my thoughts and mine alone. Nestor, if this is too heated for the space, I will respect your decision to pull it down. It's just that it is hard enough to analyze the game and contribute to the thread, on a bad game day, without having to confront these people.

The Media Attacks on Coach Ben Howland and the Real UCLA Fan Base

Class of 66 — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:52:17 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

This started on a comment under Nestor's frontpage post and got so long that I'm posting it here so as not to clutter his space.

I'm tired of being spoken for. I am a member of the Bruin fan base and I speak for myself. And, what I have to say is not hard to find by anyone who really wants to take the pulse of Bruindome.

In a like manner, I'm sure that most of you are tired of being misrepresented, too. Misrepresented by the attention seekers, be they morons, MSM trolls hoping some controversy will keep the rat readers from abandoning ship, or the lizard announcers trying to re-write history.

What we are seeing in the press is really a battle for who owns the right to speak, with authority, and legitimately for the real Bruin fan base.

This battle for legitimacy ought to be fought over the definition of the UCLA "fan base". Once the group is properly defined, then it can speak for itself.

Claiming to write for the "fanbase", without defining or proving that one either represents it or is even in touch with it, is writing hollow words. And, that's what these morons, columnists, and lizard announcers do. Without providing bona fides or a reason to verify that they are speaking for the "fanbase" -- they create profiles of us that are far from true.

They present us as a whining, sniveling group of ingrates whose only interest is in hanging banners and who are about to put CBH on the hot seat.

As Nestor properly points out on the front page -- nothing could be farther from the verifiable truth. I strongly support Nestor's conclusions, however I have one small quibble with his post:

In it, Nestor says:

"The UCLA community is no longer dominated by certain segement of the fanbase who perhaps did get spoiled during the glorious run of Coach John R. Wooden."

I don't know what that "segment" is, but I can tell you that those of us who were there for the start of the run and stayed close to the program during its duration and that part of Coach's career were never complacent, spoiled, or intolerant of losses.

Perhaps that is because we got to live the pyramid and judged the team by whether it was living and playing in a manner consistent with Coach's principles. And, we, better than anyone, knew that he never measured success in terms of wins and losses. In my senior year, (the 1965-66 basketball season) we went 16-8 and did not go to the tournament. There was no whining or tears. We deeply appreciated the effort put forth by our team -- a team that reflected Coach and his values. We were proud Bruins. So, I think it a bit unfair to talk of a fan base spoiled by Coach's success. Perhaps, a more apt way of putting it is that if anything, we (old and young) are a fan base "spoiled by" Coach's teachings. It's not about wins and losses to us -- it is much bigger. It's about effort and integrity. And, that is why we were probably the most vocal critics of the lizard and his ilk. We did not criticize him for losing -- as much as he would like to believe we did -- we criticized him for the way he coached/taught and the way he represented our school.

I'm sure that was more painful for him, because it was more personal -- so to handle it, the lizard and his followers created the myth of the "winning is everything" fan base. And, the lazy press has bought into it. None of us who know this program, its history, its traditions and its builder have been critical of The Caretaker or threatened him with a hot seat if he does not win a banner or go to the Final Four this year. That is a fiction created by the press and sustained by its "unnamed sources" or the morons it marches out to represent us, the real base. And, there will always be those morons -- little people who grasp for attention by saying outrageous things to get their names in print. They troll here and become "unnamed sources" for the MSM. I don't fault the morons. But, I do fault the MSM that quote them, use them as "sources" and exploit them to create controversy where none exists. The real fan base? The people who value Coach for his teachings, not his banners. The people who can name players, know the difference between a zone and man defense, understand the importance of the jump stop, can criticize our play in an analytic manner without regard to whether we've won or lost -- people who know this program and the foundation upon which Coach built it -- that's how I'd define the fan base. And, then there is the "player base". Over the years, Coach's players have made clear the positive impact he had on their lives -- both professional and personal. Can you imagine JF, AA, LRMM, KL, RW or LMR talking about CBH in the same way that past players, especially Barron Davis, have talked about the lizard? The REAL BASE strongly supports The Caretaker. And, that is why the morons and MSM writers cannot create a controversy with attributed sources or real people.

My first inclination is always to ignore the MSM and concern trolls. They are desperate little people craving attention or trying to save their jobs.

They do not speak for any of us who are the Real Fan Base and all of us in the Real Fan Base know that.

CBH knows that and so do his players.

And, to me, we and they are the only audience I care about. I don't know who reads Marcia Smith, Dwyre, Doh! or the others. I don't. And, I doubt that many of the Real Fan base do. Why would we?