SB Nation User Blog: Nestor

WWL story on Kareem. GO BRUINS.

Nestor — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:03:37 -0000

WWL story on Kareem.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Prince Update, Curing Fumbilitis & Staying In Offensive Rhythm

Nestor — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:10:40 -0000

More photos » by Wily Low - AP

Got to hold on to the football.

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Bruins continue to prepare for Washington State with an eye on the health of Kevin Prince. The LAT reported Prince looked "sharp" in his return to practice yesterday while the OC Register described him as "alert." Prince still has to go through a "series of tests" this week before the UCLA medical staff clears him for Saturday's game in Pullman. Al Balderas has more on various tests Prince has to pass before taking a snap against Washington State:

Prince said he felt good after Tuesday's practice but understood the protocol that he's required to go through when coming off such an injury.

"I can tell them all I want that I feel normal but they won't believe me," Prince said of the medical staff. "I've got to prove it."

The tests are fairly simple and seem to be more time consuming than anything. A lot of them are geared toward testing Prince's memory skills.

"I'm sure she'll do the same stuff like make me count backward by sevens from 100 and stuff like that," Prince said.

"There is little crazy stuff like that. She'll tell you five words and you have to tell them back to her five minutes later.

"They take good care of us."

We expect nothing less. Prince's OL will also be looking to take good care of him (or Craft) on Saturday. Those guys have been a clear marker of improvement for our offense this season in the form of providing better protection for our quarterbacks. That was evident against the Huskies last weekend when our OL made both Prince and Craft comfortable as both of them were finding time to look for their second and third options. From the Daily News:

"We're all on the same level now," freshman left tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo said. "Communication is excellent, right where it's supposed to be. We did notice on film that there were some broken plays and we still made them. As long as we keep doing our jobs, that can happen, even if the route isn't there."

Both Prince and Craft made plays outside the pocket after the Huskies' coverage broke down, and both quarterbacks were able to bide extra time to let plays develop.

The offensive line allowed two sacks, but one came under intense pressure, while the other was considered a coverage sack.

"When everyone talks about protection, they always just think it's with the offensive line," offensive line coach Bob Palcic said. "It's the receivers running the right routes at the right depth, it's the quarterback reading the right coverage and knowing where to go with the ball, and it's the offensive line holding up and preventing penetration."

"It's a three-pronged attack that has to work together."

Bruins will count on the OL to help stay in the rhythm they got in during the fourth quarter against Oregon State and continued through the Washington game. However, they will need to really cut down on their fumble issues.More on that issue and other notes after the jump.

Offense coughed up the ball 10 times in its last two games (recovering 7 of those fumbles). In Corvallis some of those fumbles stunted promising offensive drives while last weekend two of them led to Washington touch downs. So coaches are giving extra emphasis on ball security during practices this week:

"We definitely need to institute ball security back in practice," Coach Rick Neuheisel said. "Compared to what took place a year ago, the turnover rate has been good for us. But it has reared its ugly head and we have to go back to making it a huge point of emphasis."

The biggest culprits are the team’s leading passer and leading rusher. Quarterback Kevin Prince has nine fumbles, losing four. Tailback Johnathan Franklin has five, losing two. The two are also responsible for 10 of the Bruins' 14 offensive touchdowns.

Still, Franklin, who has been nursing a sore ankle, did not return to the game after fumbling at the start of the third quarter against Washington. He has been the most consistent running back this season, with 510 yards rushing and five touchdowns

That leads Neuheisel, when asked if there will be changes in personnel, to say, "I’m not sure we're ready to make that decision."

"Most of [Franklin’s] fumbles have been when he was close to the ground," Neuheisel said. "But the last one against Washington, he got the ball yanked out of his hands. We have to make sure he treats that thing like it’s sacred."

The answer this week will be more drills. Neuheisel said he had eliminated the ball-handling drills earlier in an effort to shorten practice, but he will re-introduce them this week.

"We’ll have guys run the gauntlet machine and other drills," Neuheisel said. "We’ll also make sure the scout team is involved. They have to try to get the ball out. There will be great concentration on this during the week. We can’t lose the ball. It’s too important."

Well it will be interesting to see how Prince, JetSki and rest of their team-mates hang on to the ball on Saturday. One of the reasons I thought we struggled holding on to the ball in Oregon State was because the conditions might have been a little slick (I thought it had rained in Corvallis earlier in the day, but I could be wrong on that count). The fumbles last week were inexcusable though. JetSki (he is not the only RB who has had fumble issues this year either) has to focus and concentrate with the rock. Hopefully the extra drills during practices will get the guys more game ready for Saturday.

Going back to the offensive line the LAT reports of a little shuffle due to an ankle sprain by Ryan Taylor:

Guard Ryan Taylor is not expected to play this week after suffering what Neuheisel called a sprained right foot against Washington.

Taylor, who was wearing a walking boot while watching practice, said that X-rays showed no broken bones but that "two of the bones by my toe have separated a little."

Darius Savage and Jake Dean will compete for the starting guard spot and both may play against Washington State on Saturday.

Savage started seven games at left guard last season. He has spent most of this season on the field-goal and kickoff-return units.

"I was a little rusty today because I have been playing tackle the last two or three weeks," Savage said. "I have to get my steps more compact and playing inside is more physical, which I prefer."

Offensive line coach Bob Palcic said, "I had Darius and Jake alternating with the first team, giving them equal time. I need to make sure they understand the proper techniques and assignments."

I thought Taylor did a great job last two weeks stepping in for injured Eddie Williams. Ekbatani really struggled when he was asked to step in during the Arizona game. When Ryan took over the spot he seemed to stablize it. Hopefully Savage or Dean make most of this opportunity.And, no I am not going to offer any commentary on Stan Hasiak (who is back in LA) except to wish him luck and root for him to get it together in a tough freshman season (away from parents and family in Hawaii).

On other injury news it sounds like Jerzy Siewierski suited up and went through half of practice yesterday. He might be ready to contribute on Saturday. If that's the case it's great news for our D. We can definitely use his motor in front-7. Although, I am sure if he gets in on Saturday, it will be for limited amount of time. Also, the coaches are slowly working Aaron Hester back into practice:

Redshirt freshman cornerback Aaron Hester was back at practice Tuesday after missing much of last week with discomfort following his return from a broken tibia. His status for the week is still undetermined after he worked mostly with the scout team in practice.

"Hester was back working today, getting acclimated with the scout team," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. "We're seeing if he can gain confidence. It's really a confidence issue with him."

Again I don't think there is any need to rush him back. It looks like Sheldon Price is slowly developing confidence at the corner spot. This weekend presents another huge opportunity for the freshman CB to take another step. My preference at this point is to let Price keep gaining his confidence and take as much time as possible so that Hester gets completely healthy. Also, note I though Ty Abbott did a pretty good job from the nickle spot last weekend against the Husky offense.

To wrap this up I think the key for the entire team will be to zero in on execution on Saturday. I think the game is going to present a huge opportunity for the entire team to show what kind of composure it can exhibit as an obvious favorite. While Washington State no doubt will have some intangibles on its side as it will try to take advantage of its best opportunity to pick up a conference victory, our guys should be able to come in and take control of this game from the outset if it wants to keep charging towards a possible post season. If our gus on offense can eliminate the fumbling mistakes, continue to protect our QBs, and stay on a rhythm it found itself in back in Corvallis, we will have a great shot to keep the MO on our side during our flight back from Pullman.

GO BRUINS.

Center Court: Ben Ball (Humboldt State) Second Half Thread

Nestor — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:15:08 -0000

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.

Center Court: Ben Ball (Humboldt State) Open Thread

Nestor — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:23:39 -0000

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.

Prayers For The Captain

Nestor — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:53:06 -0000

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.

Ben Ball Game Day Roundup: Round 2 Of "Exhibition" Season (Humboldt State)

Nestor — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:28 -0000

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.

Spaulding Roundup: In A Washington State Of Mind

Nestor — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:57:57 -0000

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.

Looking though Washington's stats for this season it instantly becomes clear the kind of struggle they have experienced the entire season. However, there is something we all have to be mindful as UCLA fans. Our run defense right now is atrocious. It's embarrassing really. UCLA's rushing "defense" is crrently ranked 78th in the nation and 8th in the conference. We are giving up almost 157 yards on the ground per game and have gotten gashed repeatedly in recent weeks (still cannot figure out why Sark didn't stick with the ground attack against UCLA).

Our LBs are struggling. Reggie Carter is playing hurt and hasn't been the same. Akeem Ayers is still having problem with overpursuit. Bosworth is playing his heart out but he can only do so much. So I can see a scenario in which WSU will attempt to turn this into a ball control game with RB Dwight Tardy. Does any one remeber what Dwight Tardy did to UCLA last time we went up to Pullman? Here is a reminder:

Cougar running game huge in UCLA win (via KXLY)

Yeah, he tore up that legendary Dewayne Walker defense for 214 yards on 37 carries. It was ugly and pathetic. Tardy is having a so so season this year gaining 321 yards in 69 carries. Those are still respectable numbers as he is averaging more than 4 yards per carry. To put it in perspective. Tardy while gaining 214 yards against Walker's defense in 2007, had about 462 yards in his previous 7 games (poor kid suffered an ACL injury in 51 yard TD run in the final mintue of our game).

Given our history in Pullman our defense better be ready for Tardy an co. Tardy has been coming on somewhat strong (at least per game stats). He rushed for 45 yards in 4 carries against Arizona, which followed a 73 yard rushing effort (in 8 carries) against the Irish. I know what you are thinking. It's the Irish. However, we don't have standing to make fun of the Irish defense, given how ours have performed in recent weeks.

So are going to need our guys to come out and get in rhythm offensively to take control of this game. The reports from Spauling are encouraging re. Prince:

Prince, who suffered a concussion against Washington, went through an exertion test Monday morning and then was cleared by a team doctor to lift weights and practice. Barring a setback, he will start Saturday against Washington State.

"I rode the bike for 30 minutes and did some up-downs," Prince said. "The training staff asked how I was feeling and I said I felt normal. There will be various tests through Thursday."

If Prince is 100 percent and ready to go on Saturday, having him in there will hopefully allow our offense to stay in its rhythm:

"Offensively, we did a lot of good things, especially in the throwing game," Neuheisel said."We're kind of finding some rhythm. The receivers played a pretty darn good game. Kids are starting to come of age, and that's huge. If you look at the first two series of the game, almost everyone got to touch the ball. We're starting to spread it around."

Hopefully Prince is ready to go. It was a lot of run to see spray the ball around all over the field on Saturday. He was simply on fire and it certainly appeared that Chow had taken the leash off our offense. I hope if Prince is healthy Chow comes out with an aggressive game plan for an all out attack on Saturday. If the Bruins can take control of the game early on and maintain an aggressive posture for the entire game, it will do wonders for their confidence not just for the entire season but for the future of this program.

GO BRUINS.

Kevin Prince has been cleared by doctors to return to practice on Tuesday for...

Nestor — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:12:36 -0000

Kevin Prince has been cleared by doctors to return to practice on Tuesday for non-contact drills.

Jon Gold (Inside UCLA)

Ben Ball Roundup: Back To Basics In Howlandwood & Injury Notes

Nestor — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:07:49 -0000

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.

Spaulding Roundup: Cleared Up QB Picture, Wildcat Excitement & Early Thoughts On WSU Game

Nestor — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:10:40 -0000

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.

Even if Prince cannot go after Saturday's performance, UCLA coaches should feel pretty confident about going with Kevin Prince. Chris Foster from the LA Time reports how the senior quarterback is having a memorable season in Westwood and might stay plugged in with Chow's offense even after his graduation:

Craft's hand prints -- and hand signals -- are all over the Bruins' season. He has been a mentor to Prince and Brehaut, with the idea of remaining as a graduate assistant being discussed.

Craft is also responsible for the way the Bruins signal plays onto the field, something he and Prince were asked to develop after the San Diego State game.

"The terminology we were using was so long that the receivers were having trouble remembering it," offensive coordinator Norm Chow said. "I sent Kevin and Kevin home that Sunday to come up with a system to signal in the formations."

The two did, with Craft taking the lead. He had studied sign language as his foreign language in high school, and continued to take courses in it at San Diego State. He mixed elements of that with signals that almost mimicked the formation.

"We went through every single formation that Monday night," Craft said. "I would say, 'What about this?' and Kevin would make suggestions."

Soon after, the Bruins had a system. Whether his code could be cracked by opponents doesn't matter, Craft said: "We run 10 plays out of each formation, so it wouldn't help." The receivers still run the plays in from the sideline.

"We use a little bit of the sign language, along with some hand signals that make things easy to remember," Craft said. "It's just easier to do it this way. A lot times when they sent in receivers with the call, things got jumbled."

Ryan described the scene immediately after the game ended showing how tight the quarterbacks are with each other at UCLA:

As soon as Craft took the final knee, Prince and Crissman took off in a dead sprint for him, with Brehaut not far behind once he got all his cords off of him. They had a huge group hug out there on the field, celebrating the win. It was great to see.

It's another scene that should make you LOL next time you read some local reporter try to weave the storyline of Neuheisel losing control of this program. I don't think it's a coincidence that these guys despite what they have been through are so resilient and close together as a unit. No doubt in my mind they are taking their cues from the leader of their program.

Prince (before he went out) and Craft were not the only players having fun on offense on Saturday. Milton Knox's performance from the Wildcat formation has lot of people buzzing:

"It's fun to do that, to come out and make big plays," Knox said. "It wasn't that hard for me to adjust to it. Naturally I'm a running back, but I played a little backup quarterback in high school. When (offensive coordinator Norm Chow) asked me if I could run it, I said sure.

"It helps this team put a little swagger into the offense."

Now comes the hard part, besides the name: figuring out how to introduce the passing element into the complex offense, which was popularized in the NFL by Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown, who threw a 1-yard touchdown pass out of the wildcat on Sunday in the Dolphins' 27-17 loss to New England.

"The wildcat is in vogue right now because it evens the number out," Neuheisel said. "But you have to be versatile in it to last a long time. We'll see if now we can muster up some throwing game out of it."

I think sooner or later though Milton will have to throw it. That's the only way the coaches will be able to ensure that formation keeps producing results. It was awesome to see Milton get loose though. Hopefully it will give him more confidence when lining up in regular formation. However, we'd definitely would love to see some more of it next weekend and perhaps Knox will get a chance to throw out of it.

It was definitely an interesting feeling on Saturday. Especially early on after every offensive score I had the feeling of not being able to wait till next time our offense took the feel. I hadn't felt that sense of anticipation with our offense since the 1999 (2005 doesn't count because our offense would just lollygagg for three quarters until 2LiveDrew did their thing in the 4th).

Our offense is showing the signs of its potential of turning into a machine. Right now the biggest issues around it are stupid penalties and fumbles. Think about it. I think we have had something like 8 fumbles in our last 4 games. If we hadn't fumbled the ball 4 times in firsrt half against Oregon State, the offensive production would have been much different. Same goes with the fumbles from Saturday. We have to clean up those mistakes. If we can do that the offense look even more sharper.

The game against Washington State is not going to be easy. Those guys are going to treat the UCLA game as one of their two winnable games (Washington being the other one) of the season. So they will bring everything they have on both sides of the field. Our team will need to be locked in and treat it like an elimination game. Hopefully they can put together a clean performance both on offense and defense setting up a huge senior day at the Rose Bowl. However, before we get too ahead of ourselves (even though I understand the excitement), we need to get it done on Saturday.

GO BRUINS.