Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

Let me start off by saying that I don't believe in moral victories. Last night was closer than many of us expected, to be sure, but I don't consider that a moral victory. Nothing describing a loss should have the word "victory" in it. That being said, there were several positives - and still some negatives - to take away from the game. The team showed true heart for the first time all year, and there were definite glimpses of Ben Ball defense and of what the future might hold.

First, the positives:

1. This team is still 100% behind it's coach.

Now, this should be a given, seeing as it's 5 games into the season. But hey, coaches have lost teams before - especially teams that didn't have a major contributor returning from a previous, more successful year. After the lackluster Portland game - both in effort and execution - it was worth questioning how much faith our young team had in their coach. That question was answered yesterday.

Guys were diving on the floor seemingly every play - ND and JK in particular. RN was also throwing his body around without pause going after rebounds. Guys were taking charges and rotating on defense. This team still fully believes that they can win, and it showed. As long as they continue to trust one another, we'll see consistant growth from these guys.

2. Ben Ball Defense showed itself last night

Let me make something clear first: we are not a good defensive team. Yet. But one of the things that really caught my eye last night were the hedges and post double teams on defense. Yeah, sometimes the freshmen bigs rotated slowly out of the hedge, and sometimes the double teams were ill-advised, but at least the effort was there. The kids were really making an effort to learn and understand CBH's system. The execution has a way to go, but again, last night was about the effort the team was making to play Ben Ball defense. And they're getting better at it.

3. The Freshmen showed why they were top recruits

I think one of the dumbest things a fan can do is to judge a recruit after one season - or even worse, 5 games. None of these freshmen (with the possible exception of RN) are ready for Pac 10 play. But we saw glimpses last night of what they can all do (except TH and AS, obviously)

BL: Big body not afraid to mix it up, with range out to the 3 pt. line. When Lane puts on some weight and gets stronger, I think he could be a big time player. At first I compared him a bit to Keefe (and saw a similar comparison in the thread last night), but watching him it's clear how much more fluid his game is than JK's. He just looks smoother with the ball, and when he puts 20+ pounds on that 6-9 frame to add to his outside game, we could have a really solid player on our hands.

MM: Long, long, long. There was a play, I think middle of the 2nd half, where our offense broke down and the ball was rolling out of bounds. ML grabbed the ball and just flung in towards midcourt. It looked to be going way over everyone for a back-court violation, but MM just reached up and snared the ball out of midair with one hand. This kid has some serious length, and added to his athleticism and (possibly, he hit a 3 last night) a solid outisde shot, he could evolve into a superstar.

Another thing about MM - the kid gets it on defense. A few times last night he was guarding the point man on defense, and he was low to the ground, hands in the right position - basically saying, "you're not getting by me". He's got the right attitude, and clearly the physical skills, to be a lock-down defender under CBH's teaching.

RN: Nelson clearly gets the most PT out of the freshmen class, and for good reason. The man (not a kid) is a beast inside. He plays with an intensity in the paint reminiscent of PAA and LRMAM - taking charges, going through people for rebounds, etc. He picked up a couple over the back fouls last night, and forced a few wild shots down low, but showed a great motor and some solid post moves to get in those positions. If he can develop a jumper out to 15 feet he could be something special.

In terms of negatives, just about every negative I saw was matched with a positives. More after the jump.

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Some members of TBLA, along with Dodger fans everywhere, are in a state of full panic over the struggles the team has gone though lately. With a 6.5 game lead with 7 to go, only a choke of epic proportions would've lost us the division. Yet here we are, only 2 losses away from being stuck with the wild card and the #4 seed in what's looking like the toughest NL postseason in some time. Which brings up my point: Would we be better served for the playoffs if we lost these games?

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