Photo Credit: Jack Rosenfeld

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Uh, I guess with our guards (JA and MR) back in action the Ben Ball warriors look just a little different tonight. Bruins are up against Humboldt State by a score of 41-34. If not for couple of missed dunks and missed FTs the margin would be higher. They were up by 10 pts couple of different times during the half. The ball movement is so much better tonight with JA running the point. He looks relatively healthy (knock on wood) as do MR. So far this half it looks like they have taken couple of steps forward after last week's sloppy outing.  DG filled up the box score with 11 pts, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 4 steals.

Still they have lot more to work on. For the short term they will have to do a better job of playing interior defense in the second half and also rebound better. They were out rebounded by a margin of 11-24. That number will not be acceptable for CBH. He is going to be zoning in on that number during half time and also preach defense. We have a lot of work to do in that department.

Let's hope they can come out and keep improving in the second half and wrap things up setting themselves up in a decent frame of mine heading into season opener next week. Time for the second half thread. Fire away.

GO BRUINS.

Photo Credit: Jack Rosenfeld

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Half an hour to go till the Ben Ball warriors tip off in our second exhibition game of the season. Tonight we get to welcome JA and MR back in the lineup, who are taking on Humboldt State. You can read up on the Lumberjacks over here. Once again, if you don't know by now this game is not on TV. UCLA All-Access will carry this game online. You can get more details here.

Tonight's exhibition against the Lumberjacks has a deja vu feeling around it. Last time UCLA took on Humboldt State for an exhibition game was on November 9, 2006. That day on BN - just like we are doing today - we were celebrating the signing of another 5 star blue chip center from the Pacific Northwest. Okay to be technically accurarte KL sent in his LOI today. We haven't gotten the LOI from MS (that would be Mr. Smith) yet but you get the idea.

If you are watching the game on your computers tonight, share your quick takes, rapid commentary on our Ben Ball warriors right here on BN. Most importantly, if you can please post the game score updates in our game thread  as much as you. That way  rest of the BNers who can't follow the game anywhere else can get direct updates from you in our game thread. It will be much appreciated.

So let's get this party started. Fire away.

GO BRUINS.

Barnes2JJ already fanshotted this which we promoted on the home page. Still this deserves another stand along post to ensure that Big Fella has the total attention and prayers from the entire Bruins Nation.  If you haven't read by now, AP reported today Kareem is battling "a rare form of leukemia." 

No need for us to get down. The early prognosis is encouraging and the Captain just like he has entire life is battling like a warrior (emphasis added):

A longtime student in martial arts, Abdul-Jabbar said he took the approach of a samurai -- to face death without fear.

"I had my face on," he said.

Instead, doctors told him CML was treatable with proper medication and monitoring.

Abdul-Jabbar is a special assistant with the Lakers and said he hasn't had to cut back his level of activity of coaching, change his regimen or adjust his diet. "I'm able to sneak out for Thai food," he said.

"There is hope. This condition can be treated. You can still live a productive, full life," he said. "I'm living proof I can make it."

And just like the Big Red, who made his retirement statement about everyone except for himself, the Big Fella is using this news to help everyone else:

"I've never been a person to share my private life. But I can help save lives," he said in a midtown Manhattan conference room. "It's incumbent on someone like me to talk about this."

I am guessing Coach cracked out a huge smile when he read those quotes.

Once again, the prayers of the entire blue and gold bleeding nation is with the Big Fella today.

GO BRUINS.

So I think everyone is going to be a little more curious about our second exhibition game tonight after what transpired against Concordia last week. I already mentioned in my Spaulding roundup that it looks like Concordia's performance wasn't exactly an aberrration as they apparently beat UCI last night in their second exhibition game. UCI is a pretty decent mid-major program in Southern California.

Ben Ball warriors take on Humboldt State tonight. The official site has the notes on the Lumberjacks:

Located in Arcata, Calif., the Humboldt State University Lumberjacks are members of the NCAA Division II California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). They are coached by Tom Wood, who is in his 29th season at the helm of HSU and sports an overall record of 441-343 (.563). Humboldt State is ranked No. 8 in the Sporting News' Division II Preseason Poll and is also in the top 25 in the coaches poll. Returning four starters from last year's team that went 20-12 and was 13-7 (4th place) in the CCAA, HSU earned a berth to the NCAA Division II Western Regionals. The Lumberjacks are led by senior point guard Zac Tiedeman, who was named an All-West Region and first team All-CCAA player last year after averaging 13.0 points, 4.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game. Senior forward Kevin Atkins is the only other player returning that averaged in double figures in scoring a year ago (11.1 ppg). The Lumberjacks also return CCAA Freshman of the Year, Kyle Baxter, a forward that averaged 6.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in 2008-09.

Not the first time Bruins are playing these guys during Howland era. They took on the Lumberjacks in 2006. Almost exactly two years ago (on November 9) AA, JF et al. won that game by a score of 87-61.  Apparently there are other connections between the Lumberjacks and UCLA program:

LOVE CONNECTION
Two current Lumberjacks were high school teammates of former Bruin All-American Kevin Love at Lake Oswego, Ore. Junior guard Ernie Spada, who hit 70 three-pointers a year ago for HSU, was in the same graduating class as Love. Sophomore forward Elliot Babcock-Krenk (4.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg last year at HSU) was a year behind Love in class.

ANOTHER CONNECTION
Freshman forward Matt Stover (Rocklin, Calif., Rocklin HS) was a high school teammate of UCLA's freshman forward Brendan Lane. Lane returned to practice this week after missing the last two weeks with a sprained ankle.

Ray Aspuria from the Times-Standard has more the Lumberjacks' perspective and prepration on tonight's game (emphasis added):

Humboldt State gets an opportunity to see exactly where the 12 returning players -- four of which were starters, Zac Tiedeman, Kevin Atkins, Kyle Baxter and Ernie Spada -- stand in terms of development. So far, Wood noted the team has matured both mentally and physically in the offseason and early season practices.

During Sunday's practice in Lumberjack Arena, Wood had his Jacks work with a game-like tempo, stressing speed and physicality in addition to making sure everyone was on the right page in terms of plays.
"They're going to be bigger, stronger, and faster, but you need to make them guard you," Wood stressed to his players during a drill.

Each followed orders and showed a strong competitive nature.

Tiedeman not lacking in the determination department when speaking of UCLA.

"Obviously they're bigger and better athletes, but it helps us in terms of learning to play from a physical stand point," he said. "We're going down there to win, not to keep it within 20. Anything less than a victory would be disappointing."

Those last quotes should get the attention of our guys. We all know by now that we are going to be without TH but we will have JA and MR back in the lineup. The return of those two guys should give our backcourt a boost.

Just like last week this game is also not on TV. UCLA All-Access, UCLA Athletics' online multimedia platform, will carry exclusive online video of the games against Concordia on November 4, Humboldt State on November 10 and Delaware State on December 27. You can get more details here. Hopefully someone will come through with a link to an online feed to follow the game as well.  We will throw up an open thread around tip off so that folks who are following it online or via radio can post away.

GO BRUINS.

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Remember what he did to Dewayne Walker's defense in 2007?

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Not sure how I can follow up the excitement around Mr. Smith's decision to come to Howlandwood this morning. I will give it a try. The timing of his announcement was a perfect convergence during the game week sandwiched between two Washington schools. Not only are we feeling good about what transpired last weekend at the Rose Bowl, now all on a sudden we have additional adrenaline shot (even though this wasn't a total surprise) heading into the second exhibition Ben Ball game tonight (and oh BTW Concordia apparently beat UCI last night in their second exhibition game). Let's hope we can keep the good vibes going around BN thanks to the state of Washington all the way into next weekend.

Washington State's football team are hurting again this season. They are streaking in the wrong direction. Here is the "inside slant" from Sportsline.com which accounts what transpired for the Cougars in their last game at Arizona, which somewhat encapsulated their season to date:

Washington State won the toss but decided to defer its decision, and the Wildcats returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, beginning an onslaught that saw Arizona take a 21-0 lead less than eight minutes into the game.

From there, it was the same old story, which has become exceedingly redundant for Washington State fans, as the Cougars never got back in the game. Their lone score came midway through the fourth quarter after Arizona led 48-0 and had emptied its bench.

Washington State is now 1-8 overall, 0-6 in Pac-10 play, and has lost every conference game by at least 13 points, and all but one by at least 21.

"They opened with that kickoff, and it's hard to open the game when you are down seven," linebacker Andy Mattingly told The Spokesman-Review.

Not that it likely would have mattered much in the long run, as the Cougars were again completely dominated despite Arizona going conservative pretty early on.

Arizona outgained Washington State 471-185, including a 294-59 edge in rushing.

Cougars are also banged up. They lost their starting QB Jeff Tuel (who is a freshman BTW) in their last game and his status is up in air during this game week. Here was the update from the Spokeman-Review yesterday:

"He’s sore today, but (there was) very little swelling, which is a real positive," coach Paul Wulff said Sunday. "He had to get an MRI today to see if there was anything going on more than they anticipated."

Tuel, who is still on crutches, was injured in the second quarter of the Cougars’ 48-7 loss to Arizona on Saturday, a defeat that dropped WSU’s record to 1-8, 0-6 in the Pac-10.

The freshman was trying to scramble when linebacker Xavier Kelley caught him from behind. As Tuel went down, he slightly dislocated his kneecap, suffering what is known as a subluxation, in which the kneecap is pulled laterally from its usual path.

"It’s just wait and see," said Wulff, who expects to know the MRI exam results today. "We’ll see what happens tomorrow and on Tuesday."

Tuel has done ok since he took over at the QB spot this season, completing 71 of 121 passes (58.7 percent completion rate), 6 TDs and 5 ints. If he cant go this weekend, sophomore Marshall Lobbestale will take his spot who has completed 56 of his 116 attempts, throwing for 3 TDs and 5 picks.

Tuel is not the only injury concern for the Cougars:

[Q]uarterback isn’t the only area of injury concern for Wulff this week. The Cougars lost two safeties Saturday and played the second half with Myron Beck, who has played mostly linebacker this season, filling in deep.

Wulff is hoping usual starting strong safety Chima Nwachukwu will be able to return from his sprained ankle.[...]

Kicker Nico Grasu (quadriceps pull) and left tackle Tyson Pencer (ankle sprain) will probably miss this week, replaced by Kevin Rooney and Steven Ayers, respectively.

So they are not in great shape. However, I wouldn't get overly confident if I were UCLA. As mentioned yesterday they are going to look at this game as their last chance of getting a victory at home. That place has been the venue of one Bruin nightmare after another in recent years (except for the miracle in 2005). Bruins have injury issues of their own and concerns around their defensive unit which will require total focus and concentration of the entire team heading into Saturday.

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Well last week we all almost had a pre-season heart attack during the first exhibition game of 2009-10 Ben Ball season. Frankly it wasn't too big of a surprise to me considering we are basically fielding a brand new team with no prior experience and to add to that we were playing without our starting pg, sg and a freshman forward who we might be counting on this season.

I am not sure if we are going to be able to breathe any easier tomorrow going up against a Humboldt State team which is apparently ranked number 21 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Div. II poll. As insomniac pointed out in the fanshots it looks like we are going to be without TH for 3 to 4 weeks due to a "stress reaction" to his right tibia. It's a tough start for the freshman but I rather have the coaches and trainers use as much caution as possible given how he has dealt with injury issues over the summer. CBH is counting on TH to be back:

"It's just another piece of adversity to deal with," Howland said. "You're always going to have adversity. We seem to have more than our fair share. He had such a tough time this summer not being able to do anything. He's done everything we've asked him to do. I think he's made good strides and worked real hard.

"I'm counting on him being back, hopefully not too long away."

TH is not the only freshman who has been battling through health issues:

UCLA forward Brendan Lane was making his way back from an ankle sprain, finally getting back to practice over the weekend, when he hit another roadblock.

The freshman called in this morning to say that he was feeling sick and throwing up.

"That poor kid has had his fair share of adversity," Coach Ben Howland said to reporters today.

Well the good news is that ML and JA will probably be available for tomorrow as they returned to practice after the roller coaster ride against Concordia:

Sophomore point guard Jerime Anderson was back in practice last week after a groin pull sidelined him for all of the early preseason camp, and though he did not play in the team's 62-61 exhibition win over Concordia, he is expected to start tomorrow against Humboldt State in the Bruins' last exhibition game.

Senior guard Michael Roll was also back in the mix following a sprained ankle, and he is also expected to start today.

That was from Jon Gold and I am guessing he meant MR is expected to start tomorrow (not today).

As the Bruins are working through health issues, Coach Howland is zeroing in with a "back to basics" theme during his pre-season practices in last couple of weeks:

Through the preseason, the three seniors on the team have noticed an unmistakable "back to basics" theme.

Most important, Howland needs to mold sophomore Jerime Anderson into a reliable point guard, filling the void left by Darren Collison's graduation, but there are other pressing issues.

Guard Malcolm Lee must hone his shooting technique to provide much-needed offense and forward Drew Gordon must control his emotions to become a consistent presence inside. UCLA needs immediate contributions from its freshman class.

"Basketball is a game of habits," Howland said. "In order to get good at something, you need a lot of different opportunities to get repetitions."

During a recent practice -- the one session each year that outsiders are allowed to watch -- the coach put that philosophy into action.

Shooters were lectured on keeping their balance, jumping straight up and down, holding form. Big men were coached on setting the double-screen, shoulder-to-shoulder, timing it just right.

An inveterate worrier, forever sweating the details, Howland overlooked nothing.

"What do you say in the post?" he called to center Anthony Stover. "Ball, ball, ball."

Some of us will get to see how our young guys respond tomorrow night against Humboldt State with at least two veterans back in the line up and another week of Howland practices under their belts. I still expect it to be a roller coaster night. BTW I think it would be cool to see AS getting some action tomorrow night. From my understanding of NCAA rules, he doesn't burn his RS if he gets some mins during an exhibition game.

One thing I would love to see though is Howland make an effort to get his five best players on the court. That means as much as enjoyed Abdul Hamid's game winning three pointer, I would like Howland to mix up his rotation so that he is not getting more than 5-8 mins a game. I am assuming with both MR and JA back in the lineup, we will see MR also handling the ball from the pg spot. I am also hoping for a better defensive effort from ND (I know we had reasonable disagreement within us from last week on the kind of effort he gave us on both ends of the court against Concordia).

Anyway, we will have more on the game and along with an open game thread tomorrow. Watching our guys this year from game to game is going to require a lot of patience (because I can gurantee you there will be moments filled with frustrations). However, I am planning to enjoy the ride as best as I can just like I enjoyed AA/JF's first season in Howlandwood.

GO BRUINS.

More photos » by Francis Specker - AP

Prince waiting for the word from the training staff to get clearance for Saturday

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Let's start this week by checking in with our starter: Kevin Prince. Per the report in LAT today CRN said that Prince "was cleared pretty quickly" by the "training staff report."  Prince will go through some "exertion test" tomorrow and per CRN's words the training staff thinks "he will be ready."  Prince looked all right when he was walking around the sidelines after half time on Saturday. He didn't sound too worried about his status for next week after the game. From the Press Enterprise:

Prince was kept on the sideline with what he called a minor concussion.

"I was dizzy, drowsy, kind of a little sensitive to light and stuff," said Prince, who was wearing a mouth guard.

Remember, Prince's jaw was fractured when he was sacked late in a victory over Tennessee in the second game of the season. That kept him out for a couple weeks and seemed to hinder his progress.

He sounded as assured as he could that he'd be ready to play at Washington State next Saturday.

"Absolutely," Prince said when asked about that game. "I'll be fine."

In his limited time, he passed for 212 yards and a touchdown and connected on 13 of his 17 attempts.

I think UCLA staff should make sure they exercise as much caution as possible with Prince. He has taken some vicious hits this year. I want him to see out there on Saturday but I will totally understand if our training staff and coaches decide to keep him out for one week. Meanwhile, from now till the end of the season perhaps Kevin should be putting in some extra time in practice working on his slide. Running head first for extra couple of yards was not a smart move on his part, particularly now that he is emerging as the clear starter of this football team.

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I wanted to make this a stand alone post. One of the Bruins I felt most happy for yesterday was none other than Norm Chow. It was fun to see the Bruin offense roll up 455 yards of total offense with a combination of red shirt freshman QB and a much maligned senior QB behind an offense line that was completely rebuilt from scratch.  They did that to a Washington team supposedly led by superstar proteges from Pom Pom Carroll's program. Guess Sarkasian and Holt didn't look the geniusies they were when they had to go up against Bruins without having a 2 deep roster of 4/5 star All Americans all over the lineup.

Of course there has been a lot of glowing reviews of Sarkasian after they pulled of that "upset" against Southern Cal playing with its backup QB. Perhaps the guy will turn out to be a solid coach. We will find out the answer in next 2-3 years eventually (just like we will get the answers re. Lane Kiffin).

However, I think here is a question all Washington fans and Pac-10 observers needs to keep in mind. I asked John Berkowitz, our SBN colleague who runs the solid UW Dawg Pound blog during the BN podcast thread last week how many games he thinks Huskies would have won last year if Locker didn't go down. His answer was "3-4."

It's a number people who love keeping an eye on Pac-10, might want to make a note of for rest of the season.

Good luck to Sarkasian and the Huskies rest of the year.

GO BRUINS.

More photos » by Francis Specker - AP

Dear Coach Neuehisel: How About Sticking With Those Home Jerseys Rest Of This Season?

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Let's hit the reset button again this am. For last few weeks we have seen the UCLA beat reporters working hard to weave the storyline about how Rick Neuheisel is losing control of the UCLA football program. We have had the LA Times making a big deal out of a frustrated true freshman's twitter post. We have had Trojan alum posing as OC Register reporter running wild with unverified face book musings of a frustrated parent's as some kind of legitmate news story. Piling on top of those nonsense Rick Neuheisel and our football program have had to deal with routine classless attacks from LAT's TJ Slimers on a weekly basis.

If the UCLA football program were truly "falling apart", it would have quit a long time ago and got blown apart in Arizona or in Oregon, and walk around like zombies at the Rose Bowl during their home coming game yesterday. Yet game after game, we see these guys battling away. While the defensive tentativeness, silly penalties often make me want to throw my remote into the TV screen, these guys keep fighting back every game. They almost pulled it out last weekend when ATV had a chance to put the Bruins ahead in a heart pumping win. They got it done yesterday when Sheldon Price, who has been deservedly criticized all season long, played a huge part in the game clinching interception. Price and Moore's efforts yesterday were the hallmark of a football team, that not only appear resilient, but united under Neuheisel's leadership in Westwood:

"It's called teamwork, man, and teamwork makes the dream work," Moore said. "That two-minute drill, we do that in practice all the time. That's the camaraderie we have with one another. I mean, Sheldon ran up to me and was like, `I love you, man. I love you, Rahim.' As a team, we've been through so much, to pull out this win is a blessing."

CRN offered up the following comment on UCLA's comeback after falling behind by a score of 14-23 without our starting QB:

"To keep coming back, to keep fighting like that, is easy to preach, it's harder to get done."

And than brings me to CRN's comments on Kevin Craft:

"He's been maligned," Coach Rick Neuheisel said of Craft in a television interview afterward, "but he keeps coming back, and that's what sports is all about."

Let's get something straight first. UCLA is now Kevin Prince's team (when he is healthy). Prince showed in the first half yesterday why Ryan and others were so hyped up about him coming into this season. Moreover, Brehaut's performance during that firs half series (more on that below) also vindicated Norm Chow and other observers who were steadfast in their conviction that Brehaut isn't ready to step up this season.

As fro Craft he had a solid day as a backup. He managed the game really well and allowed Chow to stick with his regular offense. However, at the same time there were spots when Craft showed why Prince is the starting QB for this football team. He missed an open Moya on 3rd and goal. His pass to Austin was slightly under thrown. Still it felt really good to see him get the win. Just like Sheldon Prince Kevin Craft is the picture of resiliency of this football program and proof how the players in this team have bought into CRN's leadership, despite some of nonsense the local reporters have tried to blow up out of proportion this season. More after the jump.

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