SB Nation User Blog: gbruin

u$c* hires some guy as coach

gbruin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:47:37 -0000

u$c* hires some guy as coach

Kevin O'Neill, an assistant coach from the Memphis Grizzlies, will be the next coach to fail to close the gap.

Coach Bartow diagnosed with cancer

gbruin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:42:12 -0000

Coach Bartow diagnosed with cancer

Coach Gene Bartow followed John Wooden as head coach of the men's basketball program in 1976, and led UCLA for 2 years before moving on to Alabama-Birmingham. Our thoughts go out to Coach Bartow and his family. We're hoping for a complete recovery.

Direct support for Coach Ben Howland

gbruin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:46:38 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

The haters bother me.

I know they shouldn't, but when the idiotic media says things that might hurt our program, it just bothers me. It's not fair to our players or the coach.

I was tempted to write to the trOJan Times in response to its stupid trolling letter section, but smarter folks point out the fallacy of responding. That's getting hooked, and I'm not supposed to stoop to that. Don't debate with a drunk or a 5 year old.

But I hate thinking CBH or the players read those things and take them seriously. I want CBH and the team to know that they have supporters out here, and we are proud and grateful for their accomplishments this year.

A while back, in response to another unwarranted hit-job, Nestor suggested hitting the buzz-up button for certain posts, to get our opinions here more widely viewed, and to make sure that the internet readership gets a better appreciation of how true Bruin fans view their team. And I've done that a couple times. But I don't know if that messsage gets to the ones for whom it's intended.

I want to make sure the message gets to CBH, and the team, and the AD. So I wrote them a note:

Dear Coach Howland,

As a Bruin alum and an ongoing supporter of all things UCLA, I want to thank you and this year's basketball team for another great season. I was happy with the team's accomplishments this year, and was especially impressed by how this year's seniors conducted themselves on and off the court. Your basketball program, in the great tradition of Coach Wooden, has reached a level of consistent success and class, for which all Bruin fans are very proud.

Although the controversy-mongering news media may print critical articles or letters, they do not represent the feelings of real UCLA fans. I want you and your players to know that true Bruins are grateful for what this team accomplished, we are excited for what our basketball program has become, and we remain steadfastly supportive of you and the future.

Enjoy the off-season, if you get one. Go Bruins!

(signature)

I didn't want to highlight what the stupid paper published, but I do want CBH to know that the media crap isn't representative and counter it specifically. This way, I don't have to deal with the stupid paper, but I can still let my voice be heard.

I'd encourage anyone on BN simply to send a note to CBH that real Bruin fans are behind him, and that the ulterior motives of the LAT and certain others in the MSM are not how we, his real constituents, see things.

bhowland@athletics.ucla.edu

dguerrero@athletics.ucla.edu

Coach Howland on Jim Rome show today, 3/17

gbruin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:35:49 -0000

Coach Howland on Jim Rome show today, 3/17

Scheduled btwn 11-12 PDT. See here for a list of local affiliates who carry the show. Good time to get some karma! Go Bruins!

An Imperfect Storm

gbruin — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:48:40 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

As always, this has already been better expressed by the well-written thoughts by Class of 66, but here's my addition...

I stayed out of the game thread last night (it had been good karma lately) and then I went to bed right after the game, knowing that the post-game thread was gonna look like someone just kicked over an anthill. But I watched the whole game and was very disappointed in the team’s execution and intensity and the result. But it ended there.

This is where it’s gut-check time for the Bruins. And I’m referring to the fans, and not the team. CBH and DC, JS, PAA, and the team have enough maturity and basketball acumen to see what happened and to figure out what changes and improvement are needed. What kills me is seeing “loyal fans” rain down hatred on our team.

Last night was the perfect storm. It’s post season time, so tension and hopes and stakes, and interest from the bandwagoners, is at its highest. We played our hated rivals – where nothing beats winning and nothing hurts like losing. We played very poorly, some in part to the laudable intensity and effort from $cjc, and much from our own lack of intensity and lack of execution. All this together spins up the frustration and anger and pain from the fans. And this engenders all sorts of emotions…

When I read Nestor’s comments this morning, I see a Bruin fan who, in the aftermath of last night’s game, is hurt and disappointed by his team’s performance. We all were. I think calling them “heartless” is too strong, but I do not question N’s loyalty to these guys, and I expect that he will back in the game tomorrow. What makes me scream are comments that attack our players, attack our coach, wish that freshmen with unrealistic expectations heaped upon them not return for us, and quit on these guys before the NCAA brackets have even been assigned.

We’ve been over and over this a million times this year (no links - just do a search) how this team has some serious holes compared to the last couple years. Replacing LRMAM with ND has been a liability on defense – our team’s biggest strength. Replacing RW with JH has been a step down. Replacing KL with PAA has left us a little less secure in the middle. Replacing vocal and inspirational leaders with this team’s leaders-by-example may have hurt the intensity the team brings night to night. But I don’t question the intentions of ND and JH and PAA or anyone on the team – they are doing their best. The results may not always be there because they cannot always play up to the level of their predecessors.

Despite these and other losses from last year, there are many who seem to think that we are entitiled to the same success as last year. News flash, Bruin fans – last year’s team didn’t win a banner, and I don’t think this year’s team will either. But I'll still be rooting for them. Of course we all want another banner. But for true UCLA fans, the banner is not the goal. The goal is to have the best team with the best individuals with talent showing the best character and giving their best effort on the floor. That’s what Coach taught, and that is what I believe CBH practices as well. When all of that comes together just right, the banners will take care of themselves.

There are fans of success and fans of UCLA. You guys need to figure out which team you are on, because you cannot be on both.

The "Wrong Kind" of Leadership

gbruin — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:42:07 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

Ok, it's been 2 days. I think I'm ready to get back at it... Reading Nestor's post today inspired this, but blame me if you disagree.

Leadership is a tough thing to quantify. You can't measure it the way we can count Drago's percentage from behind the arc, or DC's assist/turnover ratio, or Timmeh's technicals/game (all of which are very impressive). So it's hard to say who is a team leader, or which player is what kind of leader, or what kind of leader helps a team most. Not being in the locker room or at practice or in the players' heads makes it all the more subjective. So here's my completely subjective impression about the leadership on this team.

I think we have the "wrong kind" of leaders for this team.

That may sound like a criticism, but it is absolutely not. To a certain degree, you cannot teach leadership. It is more a product of your personality. General Patton was just born that way. Some great players are great leaders - MJ, Kobe, Elway. Some guys with great skills are just not great team leaders, like Carmelo, Vinsanity, my boss. Some guys who are not the most talented players are still guys you would follow anywhere, such as a guy like Pat Tillman.

I love all the players on this team, and am proud of how they are doing this year. Certainly, we've all been disappointed with certain results and an apparent lack of intensity at times. We all can see that the talent and potential is there, but the thing that has been inconsistent is the drive and focus and inspiration that are needed to bring out the best of that potential. There have been times where the effort and intensity have not been maximized. And that's where I think we have the "wrong kind" of leadership.

I'll pick on the seniors first...Guys like DC and PAA and JS are inspirational for what they have accomplished, what they have overcome, and what they have sacrificed to wind up being seniors on this team. I don't think any of us would question their dedication to UCLA basketball. These 3 are clear leaders - by example. They put their heads down and they go to work. You see tons of sweat, but you don't see tons of emotion, save a few moments here and there from Josh. They are businesslike on the floor. They don't get in the refs' faces (even when they could), they don't ham it up and play to the crowd, they don't taunt the opponents' fans, they never get in opponents' faces (even that T on PAA earlier wasn't much), and - here's the key - I really don't see them getting in their teammates' faces.

Much of this is the maturity and "just play basketball" attitude that is instilled by CBH. Our players are class on the floor. No whining, no rah-rah, no look-at-me moments. No whooping up the crowd. No screaming at the SFPTR's. For those of us who've been around for a while, the overall effort and inner drive is obvious, and is inspiring. None of those 3 needs anyone in his grill, pumping them up and pushing them to step up their game and their intensity. To me, the example they have set is their type of leadership.

However, I'm not sure that those qualities are as obvious or as inspiring to some of the younger and less experienced players on the team, especially on a game-to-game basis.

Here's where I pick on the freshmen...These guys have been stars their whole lives. They have been the focus on their teams and their teammates have looked up to them. Now, they have stepped up to a level where their talents, at this point, don't clearly overshadow the other players to the degree they have before, which makes their focus and intensity that much more crucial to getting everything from themselves. I believe the effort and dedication that the seniors have invested is the switch that clicks on their own intensity. That may be something they will recognize in time, as situations force them to do the things the seniors have done to develop their career. I do think Drew Gordon gets it - his comments about the team's lack of desire suggest that he sees the intangibles. But I think that the rest of the young guys would respond better with some more vocal, demonstrative, in-your-face leadership on the floor from someone.

I'm certainly a guy who thinks he puts in a lot of effort, but is clearly better motivated by a loud coach on the bike, or a loud teammate on the volleyball court, or a loud wife with laundry that needs folding. What I think is my own best effort is never really as good as when someone else is pushing me and telling me that I have more to give - so maybe that's where I'm biased in this whole thesis.

Like I said, I'm not in the locker room or the huddles at games, so maybe this happens more than I can see. And maybe I'm wrong about this entire dynamic of the team, that the quiet lead-by-example seniors are not inspiring the best in each other or in the younger players who need a more tangible push to elevate their effort. But when I watch, it seems to me that that is why we don't always seem to have everyone out there giving 1000%. It's also seems that this decreased effort is going to manifest itself much more on the defensive side of the ball, which is where the Kenpom.com stats would suggest that our game has slipped compared to previous years, and which has been the difference between wins and losses this season.

It is not a criticism of this, or any team, when that special dynamic does not exist. It's a very rare thing to find in a team. I agree, as Nestor wrote, that there is no Ed O'Bannon or Aaron Afflalo or Russell Westbrook on this team - guys whose actions and words would get us jumping out of our seats and beating our chests and make us run through a wall, and get their teammates to do the same thing. We were very lucky to have guys like Ed O (thanks Tark for blowing that one!) and AA, who had that natural personality to lift their game and also to lift the games of everyone around them. And it is absolutely no criticism of DC or PAA or JS that they don't have that same personality. I love those 3 and will take them every day of every week and be satisfied with however the W-L record ends up. I would also disagree a bit with Nestor's view that these guys aren't dominating enough to justify being vocal leaders. I think all of us would respond to any one of those 3 guys talking up the team, but that is just not their nature, and that's ok. But that lack of a vocal inspiring floor guy is the missing link between this team and the ones which have really excelled in our recent past.

Battle of the Bands

gbruin — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:57:41 -0000

Battle of the Bands

Hello, Longhorns! This link was up at BruinNation, and I thought I'd make sure you all knew about it, too. Most of us at BN are supporting UT in honor of Vince Young and his heroics over the idiots at u$c. Join in and vote.

The Clairvoyant 66

gbruin — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:18:06 -0000

The Professor is on a roll.

First he said we should do something to be sure we keep CBH.

Two days later, CBH has a new contract.

Two weeks ago, he said Phil Jackson needs LMR.

Now LMR gets a shot with the Lakers' summer squad.

So now, CBH and LMR have both been 66'd. Who's next?

I wouldn't normally write a fanpost about a fellow BN member, but this is uncanny. I said '66 was a genius, but clearly I've underestimated him. Either way, I'm just glad Nostradamus is a Bruin. It may come in handy.

Russell Westbrook on Jim Rome today (Tues 7/1)

gbruin — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:17:40 -0000

Russell Westbrook on Jim Rome today (Tues 7/1)

The interview is scheduled for 11am PST. Go here to find your local affiliate. You can also hear the interview through the JR website later today if you subscribe.

Graduation 2008

gbruin — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:02:02 -0000

Bumped. The comment section is turning into an epic thread. Again consider this an open invitation for all the graduating seniors (or alums/current students) to use this thread to share your UCLA memories and about bleeding blue and gold. And also this is the kind of post the "recommend" button found at the bottom of every post was created for. As I said earlier - hear hear - to gbruin's congrats to all our graduates in BN. GO BRUINS. - N

Hear hear. GO BRUINS. - N (Class '96)

Will the Class of 2008 please stand!!

On behalf of the alumni here in Bruins Nation, let me congratulate the UCLA Class of 2008. This is an amazing honor and you deserve to be very proud of your accomplishment.

Maybe it is my approach to geezerdom (Class '91), but I am excited at the number of current students we have here in BN. Reading through the interesting thread regarding the labor dispute and commencement speakers, I noted that several names I see here regularly (incl. Tydides, jjreicher, deepdish) appear to be graduating seniors. To you and your classmates, congratulations! It would be cool for all of our BN seniors to post his or her degree and major in here - sort of our own BN grad ceremony.

On a personal note, I understand the disappointment some of you feel at not having a noted figure like Bill Clinton speak at graduation. But let me add this personal note...I have no idea who my grad speaker was (some bio prof who talked about bird research). I do, however, remember everything about walking into the Tennis Center with some of my best friends in life. I remember a wonderful party afterward with my friends and our families. And I especially remember standing at the top of Janss' Steps in my robe, looking back at the dorms where things started, and turning to look into Royce Quad (the most beautiful setting at any college, anywhere) and knowing that I was a UCLA graduate and feeling more hope and anticipation and joy than I had ever known. That's what grad day still means to me, and 'll bet the other alumns around here can share similar feelings.

That degree has since opened a lot of doors for me in the medical world, and judging by the company here in Bruins Nation, it will do so in the world of law, business, art, education, public service, engineering, and any other field you can imagine.

So, to our Class of 2008, congratulations on all your efforts. As one of the alumni, it is an honor to have you join us. Enjoy your day, be proud of what you have accomplished, and look forward to an amazing future. You guys rule!

via www.english.ucla.edu