Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

Looks like Elise and Brianna will have some extra cheering to do!

UCLABruin920 has now stepped up to put together a BN team for Tyler. Follow the link below.

Tyler's BN Team

Everyone here has blown away all of our expectations in terms of stepping up as a community. The spirit of Bruin community is at a fever pitch around here. Why not take it another step further.

Show Tyler our love and support offline. So let's get this team going. Full details with another link after the jump. GO BRUINS. -N

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K Love was on the Dan Patrick Show again this morning and was asked about the situation at u$c.  Specifically, he was asked what he thought about agents and runners.  I was hoping he would take a bit of a stab at $c, but instead he said, "it's tough" because a lot of these kids come from less fortunate backgrounds.  He said OJ Mayo came from a single-parent family and was surrounded by a bad group of people.  He said that he understood that athletes want to be taken care of.  I was waiting for him to say, "but no matter your circumstances, you have to play by the rules" or something to that effect.  But he didn't. 

Then he said, that his "COMpassion bucket is dripping" for the u$c basketball program.  At first, that really irked me because I don't have compassion for a program that does what usc has done. 

But I'm not sure what else he could've said.  I think it's well known that amateurism is somewhat commonplace and he's not going to blast his colleagues on a national radio show.  He also wasn't about to pass moral judgment on those that accept benefits, simply because he didn't.  But what he could've done, is pass judgment on an administration that lets this stuff go.  Perhaps it was a bit premature because the investigation is still ongoing and he didn't want to take a position on the issue. 

Anyway, I have mixed feelings on this.  What do you all think?  She he have taken a stronger position on this rather than just saying he has compassion for usc?

Yesterday I received a last minute invite to an API event honoring community leaders and when I heard that Norm Chow was the keynote I quickly accepted.  It was a relatively short speech because he said he had to leave and get back to recruiting.  I won't attempt to recount his speech from memory, but I just wanted to recognize him for his continuing commitment to the community.

It was also great to hear him speak about UCLA with some passion.  In a conference hall filled with Bruins and trojies, he did not hesitate to make it know that he is a Bruin.  He started off by taking a crack at u$c. 

 "You know how they say you're a trojan forever?  That's because it takes forever to graduate."

It was an interesting dynamic because his sons were with him at the event and both (or at least one of them?) goes to USC.  Gotta love it. 

I just came back from Dribble for the Cure, an event someone posted here a few weeks ago.  It was a great event.  I had the chance to meet all the players and get autographs.  Ben Howland introduced the team, talked about training, and injury updates.  He didn't mention much that we haven't already discussed here on BN, but it was a nice recap nonetheless. 

J'mison Morgan is a great kid.  Some of the other players seemed a little bored signing autographs (understandably), but Bobo was just having fun with it.  He's so full of life and CBH says he's developing at a very fast pace.

Importantly, it was for a really great cause: raising money for pediatric cancer research.  USC has been sponsoring this event for three years now, and guess what... in UCLA's first year, we quadrupled the amount of money raised by USC.  Now, I won't knock the trojies here because I think it's great that they've been participating in this cause for a few years now, but I point it out to show what a big impact we can have in just our first year.  This is great and I will definitely be doing this again next year!

I know, I know, predictions are meaningless... but they are also fun.  Given last night's stunner against Tennessee, what are your [updated] predictions for this season?

This is shaping up to be a very exciting season, even more so than I had originally anticipated (and I must say, I was expecting a lot of fireworks under CRN). 

Here are some new of the new factors to consider:

1) Craft may have a tendency to start off shakey, but once he settles down, he's pretty darn efficient.  We've yet to see him throw a good long pass. 

2) Our offensive line holds up reasonably well.  Better than most people expected.

3) Key injuries to Bell, Paulsen, and Everett.

4) We've seen our defense get tired from playing extended minutes, but they know how to dig deep and get the job done.

5) The world is on notice... the bruins just took down a ranked team.

There are several other factors, but those are the immediate ones that jump to mind. 

That said, my new prediction is: 8 wins.  Yes, that's pretty high, but what can I say?  I'm high on my bruins right now.  I believe.

It looks like CBH is looking to add another big man to our future roster. 

From Rivals.com:

An impressive AAU season has led to La Canada Renaissance Academy’s Anthony Stover to receiving plenty of scholarship offers, and Tuesday the 6-foot-10, 210-pound center said he received an offer from UCLA.

I don't have a subscription to read more about him.  He's a local kid so that should be a plus.  Anyone?

Link to Article

LA Times has a pretty decent article that gives a glimpse into the NBA draft preparations of KL and Luc, and a little bit on RW too.  Of course the article is a bit Love-heavy, but I'm assuming all our other warriors are going through similar experiences. 

It seems like these kids are giving it their all, especially Luc who is still attending classes (that one's for my buddy Menelaus). 

He's awake and eating breakfast by 6:30 a.m. He has made the trip from his Westwood apartment to the Home Depot Center in Carson by 8:15 a.m. There he joins UCLA teammate Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Arizona's Chase Budinger in a weight room where the three players spend 90 minutes doing workouts tailored for their particular needs by Joe Abunassar, founder and owner of Impact Basketball.

The day doesn't end until 3 or 4 p.m.

Mbah a Moute hopes he can show off an improved jump shot along with his already-approved defense when the NBA pre-draft camp pickup games begin here today. Love is rated highly enough that he gets to bypass the games and be one of 20 NBA hopefuls to go through extensive physical measurements and tests Friday.

Since signing on with Impact Basketball last month, Love's days have been 9 to 5 except that the alarm clock goes off more like at 6.

After the weight session, Love has a midmorning snack, delivered by a healthy-eating company called Sunfare that he pays to keep him eating right. Then there's a movement session and a couple of hours of one-on-one basketball. Lunch (delivered), then an hour or so on a treadmill in a room where the altitude is simulated at up to 9,000 feet. A bike ride. A shower. A trip back to Westwood. Dinner and a snack. Delivered. Bed. Alarm clock.

"How do I look?" Love asked last week. He looked about 15 pounds lighter and his jump shot was consistent, even at the NBA three-point line. He made 10 in a row at one point.

Some, including myself, have asked why couldn't KL do this when he was at UCLA?  I think most of us assumed it was because he had to spend some time going to class and studying.  Seems we were right.

Last week Love, Mbah a Moute and Budinger were shooting while cyclists clattered around the wooden track above the courts. Love said the first question UCLA fans have when they see his slimmer, more muscled body is, "Why now and not last April?"

"It's an easy answer," Love said. "Now I'm working on basketball eight hours a day."

Link to Article  

From Adrian Wojnarowski and Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports:

O.J. Mayo has fired Bill Duffy and Associates and will select a new agent before leaving for the Orlando pre-draft camp next week, multiple sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Calvin Andrews, an agent for BDA, had been in Chicago trying frantically to hold onto his client. Since the agency was the center of an ESPN investigation into possible improprieties in the recruitment of the USC freshman star, a fierce tussle has played out behind the scenes for control of the 20-year-old prodigy’s future.

As first reported by Yahoo! Sports, Mayo’s mother, Alisha, and her son’s former Ohio high school coach and one-time legal guardian, Dwayne Barnes, wanted O.J. to fire BDA, sources said. The mother and coach are encouraging Mayo to hire New York-based agent Andy Miller, whose clients include Boston’s Kevin Garnett and Detroit’s Chauncey Billups.

"I’m unaware of any connection I have with the family, but I’m flattered that they would throw my name into the mix feeling that I could play some sort of constructive role to rectify a very chaotic situation at present," Miller said by phone Thursday.

Unaware of any connection, huh?  You have to wonder why their names came up out of all the agents out there, and why would they actively say they are unaware of any connection... sounds a bit defensive.  I'm sure most agents would love to sign OJ2, but I think anyone that picks him up will be under a microscope. 

At the end of the article, Adrian and Dan wrote:

Guillory played a role in bringing Mayo to Los Angeles, working as the conduit between the player and Trojan coach Tim Floyd. Mayo led USC to the NCAA tournament in his one-and-done season on campus.

A journalist telling it like how it is.  How refreshing.