You know, sometimes, the "featured" writers of the WWL get it right. They currently have an online magazine piece on the Top Gus Johnson Calls of All-Time.

We ALL know which one they picked:

And the commentary is priceless:

No brainer. Here ya go. We spent a solid year of our life coming back from bars and playing this, bursting into laughter. We're pathetic. Attempting to deconstruct everything that's amazing about this clip would probably take two entire years. Most underrated part: "FOUL!" "ON WHO?"

Too freaking priceless.  I may just order the Zaga game from the NCAA on DVD just for that call alone.

M

I know not everyone's a fan of Rome, but he's been a big CBH booster ever since he was coaching at UCSB (Rome's alma mater).

Plus, there's a whole fan-based superstition built up around Rome giving "karma" to anyone who appears on the show.   Basic idea is, you show up, you do well, you end up winning the following weekend.

That being said, CBH will be on today, 570 AM (KLAC) in SoCal.

M

OK, the Pac-10 Office just released their  Conference Honors List on its website, and our Ben Ball Warriors are all well-represented.

Darren Collison -- 1st Team All-Conference; All-Defensive Team:

Photo Credit: E. Corpuz

Josh Shipp -- 2nd Team All-Conference:

Photo Credit: E. Corpuz

Alfred Aboya -- All-Defensive Team; Honorable Mention All-Conference:

Photo Credit: E. Corpuz

Jrue Holiday -- All-Freshmen Team:

Photo Credit: E. Corpuz

I'm proud of all of our guys, but especially proud of PAA being named for All-Defensive Team.  With all of us reasonably concerned in pre-season about PAA's ability to harness his high-energy, even higher-impact game and avoid foul trouble, I think PAA's efforts this year prove just how far he's come in his 4 years here.  Smart player, smart play.

Other notes on these honors:

-- The 1st Team actually includes TEN players.  The 2nd Team only names FIVE... and our 'friends' across town still didn't get anybody on the 1st team.

-- The D team names FIVE players.  The Freshmen Team names SIX players.  Huh?

M

AP is reporting that former Trojan and current Celtic Gabe Pruitt was arrested on a DUI.

Boston Celtics guard Gabe Pruitt apologized Thursday after he was stopped on a Hollywood street and arrested for investigation of misdemeanor drunken driving.

Pruitt was pulled over around 3 a.m., hours after playing five minutes in the Celtics’ 93-91 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. He failed a field sobriety test, police said.

He was released at 8:30 a.m. on $5,000 bail, police Officer April Harding said.

Pruitt is from the Los Angeles area and played college basketball for Southern California.

M

In years past, I've posted my ideas on the critical components of Championship Defense.  Obviously, I am most likely not fit to get water for a graduate assistant for CBH's staff, but I think I have some good ideas to explain what's worked in the past, what's missing now... and what I believe we can do to fix things now. 

It's not one thing that's missing, or one person.  Instead, it's a slight decrease in pretty much all of the different elements of our defense, resulting in a systemic lowering of the quality of our overall defensive effectiveness.  In other words, we're the sum of our parts, and our parts have really changed.

Here are my basic elements of Championship Defense, with the newly added/ realized element of No. 4 (for illustrative purposes, examples are taken from the starters for the 1995, 2008, and 2009 teams, along with descriptions excerpted from some of my past posts):

(1)  INTERCEPTOR -- A guy with sufficient quickness to disrupt the opposing PG's movement, and delay the immediate set-up of the opponent's base offense (halfcourt or breakneck transition).  Preferably your PG or other good handles guy who can steal the ball and score at the other end on his own.
1995 - Tyus Edney
2008 -- Darren Collison
2009 -- DC.

ANALYSIS: DC still has the speed, quickness, and experience of a top-flight interceptor.  However, without a dominant post-presence, and without an experienced backup at the point, DC has seemingly gotten tired more and more at the ends of games.  Continued growth and steady minutes by Jerime Anderson -- ready or not -- should help keep DC fresher on D.  However, one player does not an entire defense make.

(2)  SEEKER -- If the other team has a freakish shooter off screens, or a crazy slash and finisher, you send THIS GUY to cuff him and stuff him.  However, this person needs physical toughness to fight over screens, stamina to chase and change direction for 30+ minutes a game, and sufficient length to bother shooters when he's a step behind.
1995 -- Toby Bailey
2008 -- Russell Westbrook
2009 -- Jrue Holiday

ANALYSIS:   Personally, I am not big on having seekers at 6-3 or less, as I think it leaves us vulnerable to bigger 2-guards, although RW did an outstanding job last year at 6-3 based on his intensity. In any event, JH has the quickness and length, but right now, the question is not his physical size, but his physical toughness.  Indeed, CBH noted specifically that JH did not handle screens well early against WSU, allowing Rochestie Klay Thompson (thanks, H) to get hot.   JH has the physical tools, but he has to learn to just lock people down and shut them up. 

It may very well come in time, but for now... it just is not there yet.  If needs be, I think Malcolm Lee may yet take the job before the season's out.  From what I've seen, he has JH's quickness, but more size, more length, and, after playing center during his senior year in high school, more practice banging around.

(3)  INTERCHANGEABLE WINGS -- Again, you know the types.  Mainly perimeter defenders, 6-4 to 6-8 guys, long-armed, good quick-twitch muscles.  Guys who can double the post and still get back to the shooters.  Guys who can switch off on pick and rolls or fon regular screens, yet can still pick up the other guy's man with no worries.  These can include your seeker or even your interceptor, or even the 'new element' (No. 4).  Since it's a plural designation, you need 2, but 3 is better.
1995 -- Bailey and Charles O'Bannon, occasionally Ed O'Bannon.
2008 -- RW, JS and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.
2009 -- JS and Nikola Dragovic.

ANALYSIS -- You need two good interchangeable wings, and our two are... Josh and Nikola?   Yep, and they're looking fairly good doing it.  JS has improved his transition defense (just check the blocks on breaks), and, combined with 4+ playing years in the system and his new decision-making on offense, is establishing himself as an effective two-way presence (if not necessarily a lockdown-stopper).  ND has been visibily more active with hands and feet, and is improving on the double-down.  Again, however, guards have to run more, and without JH filling in at the switching-wing role as in the past, our schemes look a bit different, as designated backcourt shooters are lighting us up more than shooters at the 3 and 4 positions.

(4)  SHOTGUN -- On stagecoaches, there were always two guys riding up top -- the guy wih the reins, and the guy packing heat.  Shotgun was there so the driver could do his job.  Shotgun gave cover-fire when bad guys were chasing, stiff-armed robbers trying to grab the bank pouch, and glared at would-be trespassers with a nail-spitting glare.  On defense, you know who the shotgun is -- he gets rebounds or boxes out so his teammate can get them, he double-teams the post or in the corner when the ballhandler gets lost, he shifts over when a perimeter teammate gets beat. 
1995 -- Ed O'Bannon
2008 -- LMRAM
2009 -- ND

ANALYSIS:  ND is improving every week at the glass, and his hands are active in the mid-range passing lanes.  He's like a sniper rifle for us on offense.  But a SHOTGUN?  Hooo boy.  With LMRAM, we had one guy covering a lot of defensive ills -- or if not ills, then a lot of "just OK's" -- with a lot of superlative play.  At 6-8, 230, with a 7-foot wingspan and tireless (if somewhat injury prone) ankles and feet, LMRAM was the prototypical shotgun.  Ed O'Bannon also filled much of the same role, filling gaps and punching holes when needed.  At 6-9, 216, the lighter, thinner ND is not getting outworked, but he is occasionally out-toughed

What now, then???  Well, we can balance an OK shotgun with great wings, or vice versa, but we can't fix all at the same time, since our guys are either too young (the froshies) or a little light (ND) or not producing (Keefe).  Either JH HAS to step up at the seeker, OR we put ML there, OR we put in Keefe at shotgun and risk losing our sniper.  I had thought/ hoped Keefe was well on his way to riding shotgun in pre-season, but he hasn't kept the playing time.

(5)  BACKSTOP -- Shotblocking is great, but not entirely essential, depending on the team.  However, the backstop has to take up space (by muscle or plain mass), control that space (by length or by strength), and make other guys regret going into the surrounding airspace (block 'em or rock' em).  Plus, like in baseball, a backspace has to control any and all balls that clang, tip, ricochet, or otherwise just miss their target.   In other words, the backstop controls the REBOUNDS. 
1995 -- George Zidek
2008 -- Kevin Love/ Lorenzo Mata-Real
2009 -- Alfred Aboya

ANALYSIS:  Whether by drawing charges or going beast-like on the glass, AA2 is chipping in with 6 boards a game and effective post-defense.  However, we still have a drop off from last year's 6-10, 255 backstop in Love.  Add it with all the little drops at each defensive position, and the problems mount.

So, if you made it this long, the point is this:  At both the first line (interceptor) and the last line (backstop) of our defense, we're fine. But from seeker to wings to shotgun, we are all a bit different from last year.  It's those slight scratches and bends in our gears  -- a slow-reacting seeker, resulting in a mis-matched pair of wings, plus a hunting rifle instead of a sawed-off -- that's making our defensive engine stall and sputter. 

An opponent's dribble penetration looks burns us 3-4 plays in a game when the interceptor has to go without the interchangeable wings adding defensive backup, and the opponent can drive without changing direction or being forced to give up the ball outside the paint. 

Another 3-4 shots become wide-open when a seeker loses sight of his man.

We lose 3-4 offensive rebounds without another physical presence covering the backstop.

Each of these items is small on its own.  But add them all up, and what do you get?  Anywhere from 3-12 defensive breakdowns a game.

Seem like a lot?  Think back over the last 5-6 games. If the devil is in the details, so is our DEFENSE.  And our details still need work.

OK, enough from me.  Feedback is welcome.

M

OK, haven't done a Post-Game Thead before, but I figured somebody had to.

The Cougs shot 30-for-51 from the field, a staggering 58.8% from the field.

They hit 3s early and often against a step-slow Bruin defense, going 8-for-15 from long distance.

Taylor Rochestie went ballistic against a surprisingly wide-open defense, going 9-for-16, including 5-for-7 from the arc, to nail a career-high 33 points.

We brought some numbers, too.

Nikola Dragovic stepped up with a career-high 23 points, including 8-for-12 on field goals and 5-for-8 from behind the arc, incluidng 2 in the final minute of play.

PAA, still less-than-fresh off his dehydrated efforts of Thursday, produced another double-double with 13 points and 11 boards.

Darren Collison drove the lane in a desperate attempt to bring our Bruins back from the abyss, finishing with 20 points and 8 assists and a variety of circus layups in traffic:

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Branimir Kvartuc

But another set of numbers stands out, as well:  1 point, 1 rebound, 4 assists, aka the partial box score line for Jrue Holiday.  A freshman started the 2nd half for us at shooting guard -- but it was the 6-5 Malcolm Lee, not Jrue.  Lee, at 6-5, seemed to have more defensive success against both Rochestie and Klay Thompson.  JH re-entered the game several minutes into the second half, but was almost non-existent, with only one point and four assists. Here is the full box score.

The score was tied, 42 all at the half.  But in a game where we went another six minutes in the second half without a bucket, the outcome was all-too-familiar.  And again, an opposing zone -- this time a 1-1-3 zone designed to double team our PGs at the top of the key -- lulled us into ill-advised shots and cooled the aggressive penetration that helped us keep the game tied at the half.

The last 2 minutes could have been an ending for the ages, one to rival the epic Gonzaga battle.  Sadly, it was not.  Too many NEAR-steals.  One too many NEAR-layups.  Far too many NEAR-sighted calls by the refs.

And it was nowhere NEAR enough.

But this was not a game won or lost by the refs, but by our Bruins.  Our defense seemed to show up ten minutes too late for tip-off, and even when we had a 4-point lead at several times in the second half, it seemed as though we had to claw our way uphill all day.

For the time being, at least, here's the Post-Game Thread.

A few weeks ago, I asked what I thought was the key question holding back our team: "Who is the FIST of the Bruins?"

Under CBH, our Bruin Team, like any prizefighter, has always had two FISTS to fight with, never going into any contest with a hand tied behind our back. One on offense (e.g. Love, Afflalo, Farmar), one on defense (e.g. Afflalo, Bozeman, Westbrook, Mbah A Moute). That’s just one benefit of having a GREAT coach.

But today, this week actually, I am also reminded that the FISTs are NEVER, have NEVER been, and will NEVER be enough to win any prolonged fight.

No boxer, no MMA fighter, no nightclub bouncer in this world ever won a confrontation or competition with just their FISTS.

They win with the CORE muscles providing the balance and strength.

The CORE supplies you with POWER. It serves as the ARMOR against punishment. It protects your WILL.

It allows you to ENDURE.

If this Bruin Team is to act as a single body in the peak of its condition and its abilities, it needs a fit and healthy CORE. And what is our CORE?

Strength. Toughness. Physical stamina. Mental endurance. Intelligent decisions honed into automatic reflexes.

DEFENSE.

You can’t take a perfect shot every time. Even if you do, you can miss with perfect form.

However, you can make an opponent shoot from 1-2 feet further out, slow him down on his way to he boards by 1-2 steps, get a hand in his face and alter his shot by 5-10 degrees on the upward arc.

That’s what DEFENSE is.

Having a great offense means little when the other side has the ball and you’re down by 2.

Having a great offense means nothing when the other side has the ball and you’re down by TWENTY-FIVE, and you can’t stop the other team from scoring any more than they can stop you.

Having a great defense means EVERYTHING when you need momentum back — in a possession, in half, in a game, in a SEASON.

DEFENSE IS OUR CORE.  THERE IS NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT.  And we got punched in the core, our gut, two games in a row… and we felt it because our core got just a little bit softer. No blame, no fault – just fact.

Any man or woman on this planet can have great looking arms. Curling a $10 set of dumbbells (or even a couple of gallon jugs of water), combined with a mirror and a modicum of ego, can make any person have great looking biceps.

Offense is like arm strength – important, but also easy to look pretty while developing it. You know who the REAL fit people are. You check their CORE. They’re the ones who do the crunches by the hundreds. The trunk-twisting exercises that’ll double you over in pain within a couple of hours. The monotonous, exhausting reps of leg lifts… or Superman-in-flight-for-60-to-120 seconds that make you wonder what can possibly be gained from this torture…

Until you realize you can lift more than the other guy… throw farther than the other guy… run longer than the other guy… reach higher than the other guy... outlast the other guy… Until you realize that you can STAND TALLER.

I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. I’ll keep saying it as long as I post in this Nation.

I BELIEVE IN THIS TEAM.

I believe in Coach Ben Howland.

I believe in DEFENSE.

And, to be more specific, well, I believe in weight training, cleaning the glass, the box-out, the big-man hedge on a ball-screen, the low-post double-team, high-post screens, second shots, that the rantings of Dick Vitale are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Digger Phelps should just stay "home." I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing the zone defense and the possession arrow. I believe in the time-out for defense, hitting the floor for a charge, watching for power rankings on St. Patrick’s Day rather than Christmas Eve, and I believe in long, slow, hard, grinding games that piss off an opponent for three hundred sixty-five days.

I BELIEVE IN THE BRUINS.

Offense is our arms, and we certainly need them in a fight. No question.

But when our Bruins re-strengthen their CORE, we will all STAND TALLER.

M

SO, our Bruins have lost 2 of 3 for the first time in Heaven knows how long... and what do we know?

We know enough to know that things we were certain of at the beginning of the year are not so certain anymore, both for bad AND for good. 

(1)  POINT GUARD -- DC is rightly heralded as one of the fastest point guards in the game… and yet he has gone into the paint less and less over the past few weeks.  With all his legit speed, he's getting cut off at the pass, i.e, the arc just above the FT-line elbow in the key.

(2)  SHOOTING GUARD -- Jrue started the season as a high-flyer, one-and-done prospect.  Now, although his athleticism is still there on breakaways, offensive rebounds (!), solid help defense, and perimeter man defense... our offense (including Jrue's) has stalled like my wife's old Saturn in crunch time.

(3)  SMALL FORWARD -- A riddle in an enigma.  Earlier this year, Josh’ s rebounding was heralded by no less than CBH as a reason to start him over the resurgent (and finally healthy) Roll.  Now, like a surfer after a shark attack, Josh hasn't hit the boards like he used to (bolded stats showing better numbers):    

First 5 games = 3.55 rpg; last 12 games = 2.33 rpg.

That's the riddle, here's the enigma: in that same span, Josh scoring has returned in a BIG way.

First 5 games = 9.8 ppg;  last 12 games = 13.4 ppg.

(4)  POWER FORWARD:  We all hoped Keefe would build on his eye-popping performances in the postseason (Pac-10 and NCAAs)... and yet Drago took over at the 4 spot.

Now, Drago is FAR from a prototypical power forward… and yet he is showing significant improvement on both ends of the floor, tripling some of his stats in only double the time.

2008-09 ND:
20.2 min.
7.9 ppg.
3.3 rpg.
.424 FG%
.338 3FG%

2007-08 ND:
9.2 min.
2.5 ppg.
1.4 rpg.
.339 FG%
.238 3FG%.

(5)  CENTER --This summer, Aboya was the major question mark at the 5 spot, no question.  No one was expecting KL2 from AA2, but many of us were hoping for at least LMR2.   

NOW?  AA2 is giving us production that is even with -- if not arguably better than -- what we got from old LoMa about 2 years ago:

2008-09 AA2:
26.3 min.
8.7 ppg.
5.3 rpg.
0.2 bpg.
.577 FG%
.667 FT%

2006-07 LMR
23.1 min.
6.6 ppg.
5.4 rpg. (only 0.1 better)
2.7 bpg.
.642 FG.
.372 FT. 

To me, this means that our team is STILL growing, STILL learning, all while facing MORE adversity — and the season is NOT done yet.

I am now idly wondering if another lineup change is in order, so that we can maximize and reward those players who have stepped up, and to honestly help bolster our players who are hitting rough patches this season by refocusing their strengths.  CBH tinkered with his lineups some last year, to address both injuries to ourselves and challenges from opponents.  We may need the same sense of experimentation now.  Here’s what’s just randomly running through my head:

POINT GUARD — Keep DC where he is.
Yeah, he’s had a rough month. His end-of-clock decision-making and his forays into the lane are not the sure things they have been before. It happens. I still wouldn’t bench a pre-season All-American, 4-year senior and 2-time F4 starter at PG for anything. That being said, if the creases for drives are not as wide as they used to be, then we need someone who can both slash in traffic and hit from outside. So…

SHOOTING GUARD — Switch Josh for Jrue.
This is not a knock on Jrue, but, by way of example, Toby Bailey (another strong, long, quick guard with FAA-warning hops) sure didn't start his whole frosh year.  Josh is slowly but surely realizing if the outside shot isn’t falling, then drive and get a rhythm. He’s getting FTs more, and if his shot is falling a little better than Jrue’s right now, then let’s get a bigger, 6’5" guard out there, one who can shoot a little better over the arms of extended-zone defenders.   Who gets the SF spot, then? Not who you might think…

SMALL FORWARD – Switch Drago for Josh.
Yep, I’m more than half-serious here. AA2 is doing yeoman work at the 5 spot, and is to be commended. However, one of the maxims in hoops (IMO) is that if you have a less-than-traditional-sized center, you need strong, active rebounders bookending him in your frontcourt. The Pistons had Rasheed Wallace pulling down 8 caroms a game next to Ben Wallace. The Suns had jumping-jack Shawn Marion next to Amare.  Drago has clearly improved his shot, and his aggressiveness and smarts on perimeter D.  That being said, he may never be a 5-boarder in Division I.  If we want him to stretch Ds, then let’s bring him out to the perimeter.   And with his newfound conditioning, he may not get burned by opposing SFs as you might think – his length alone may help compensate.  How about giving opposing teams a freakishly long outside gunner to guard at the 3 spot for a change???

POWER FORWARD — Switch Keefe for Drago.
I like having Keefe standing next to Aboya and throwing his 6’8", 235 lb. frame at the boards. I figure if CBH’s first inclination is to use his veterans to play smart-shot O and grueling D, then let’s put our biggest, thickest, and toughest out there on the front lines. 

CENTER — AA2 stays, thank you very much.
What can you say about AA2? He’s done everything we had hoped for, and added a nifty baseline jumper good for 2-4 points a game. He still doesn’t have a go-to post move, but his rebounds are still keeping us close down the stretch.  Now, all he needs is a little help.  If zone defenses are keeping our backcourt and wings from getting to the glass, then let’s get JK riding shotgun for him instead. 

Plus, as improved as DC is on his runners in the lane, we need to give him options to dump off to in the lane.  With ND camped out on the perimeter, we have one less guy to grab the interior pass and shove and slide in for chippies a la Hollins, Mata, Luc, etc.  Remember -- we didn't have reliable, inside-post move scorer for 2 years prior to KL, but we had an inside game based on JF dumping to Hollins, and DC dumping to Luc AND Mata. 

Since DC is not 6'5" and 220 like AA, he's not goping to be able to get in for layups on sheer force of will.  AA2 can, but not if he's the only one going for the points every time.  Our chiseled-granite big man needs an enforcer's cover fire (just like Moses Malone, Ben Wallace, and others did before him).  Keefe is best-suited for the job... just like AA2 is best-suited for the one he has now as starting 5.

NOTE:  I am NOT down on Jrue -- heavens, no.  I think it’s always understandably harder for a guard to adjust to starter’s minutes on the next level than for a big. However, I like the idea of having Jrue and Drew coming in to help speed up the D AND the O. Perhaps the change of pace generated by Drew’s blocks and hustle can free up Jrue with more open-court opportunities and help bring him rhythm.  Besides, Gordon’s emergence as a long, energetic backup at the 5 makes me feel more comfortable about bringing Keefe back up front, and makes me more excited about teaming 2 live Jrues/ Drews off the bench for spark and aggresiveness.

If this works, note the difference in size.  From what we have now...
DC — 6-0, 160
JH — 6-3, 180
JS — 6-5, 220
ND — 6-9, 216
AA2 — 6-9, 245

... to what is possible:

DC — 6-0, 160
JS — 6-5, 220
ND — 6-9, 216
JK — 6-8, 236
AA2 — 6-9, 245

In theory, this lineup would give us: (a) added bulk on the glass, (b) extra length in the passing lanes, (c) more opportunities for our younger players to use their own strengths, (d) taller players to shoot over zones, (e) stronger bangers to give DC more dump-off oppportunities, and (f) more length to get 2nd-chance points on putbacks.

Again, just some random thoughts. Feedback is welcome.

M

At this point in time, I am not looking with dread to our next football game.  Instead, I am calmly looking at our gridiron guys as a work in progress, with progress actually being made on third-down execution and defensive adjustments, even if not always in the won-loss column.

That being said, with CBH holding court at Media Day this week, I am doing my early warning system comment NOW.

Sincere and honest disclaimer — if LMRAM had come back for his senior year, along with everyone else we've got on the roster right now, I’d already have $50 down on us in Vegas to bring home Banner 12. Yep, d*** serious. 

Even now, I am still willing to Sharpie (no pencils here, people) us in all the way to the Final Four, aka, the Ben Howland Invitiational, barring injury.

Yeah, I said it.

However, last BB season, I sounded a bit of a warning bell re: our lack of perimeter depth.  In doing so, I set out one of my pet theories on what's needed for a championship defense:

THIS JUST IN:  Thirteen years to the day after his acquittal in Los Angeles County Criminal Court for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, Simpson was convicted in Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada, on all counts:

-- conspiracy to commit kidnapping

-- conspiracy to commit robbery

-- burglary with deadly weapon

-- 1st degree kidnapping w/ deadly weapon (2 counts)

-- robbery with deadly weapon (2 counts)

-- assault with deadly weapon (2 counts)

-- coercion with use of deadly weapon (2 counts)

UNANIMOUS VERDICT BY ALL 12 JURORS.

REMANDED WITHOUT BAIL -- TAKEN INTO IMMEDIATE CUSTODY.

MORE TO FOLLOW.

MIM

UPDATE:  Reports from AP wire and  the New York Times, Per ABC reports OJ is "extremely upset" over the verdict. Add your punchlines in the comment thread. GO BRUINS. - N