SB Nation User Blog: glassbruin

well it is good to see some mention of our bruins even if it's late in the recap!

glassbruin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:48:43 -0000

well it is good to see some mention of our bruins even if it's late in the recap!

The "Switch" ...What it Is, and How to Think About It

glassbruin — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:43:46 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

The SC game was a brutal experience. As with so many other times during this season, we have been teased with a run of success, we think that we may have overcome the intangible "missing link" that causes our inconsistency, and then we get brought back to earth...with (for me at least) this being the worst of all the prior losses.

Being introspective after the game, and reading the BN commentary, has caused me to think alot about the concept of "the switch" that DC (unwisely) brought up in the interview, and that Nestor and others have called out our team on. I don't know that everyone will agree with the following thoughts, but thinking about this has helped me come to terms with what we're about to experience in the Tourney.

The Switch is Real. I think that everyone would acknowledge that The Switch exists. It is impossible for a team to maintain a high level of intensity for an entire season, and frankly even an entire game. There are ebbs and flows to energy, and every team, and every person experiences it. This is one of the reasons why no team goes undefeated for an entire season, and it is why we see major runs in the middle of games. IT'S ALSO WHY WE LOVE COLLEGE BASKETBALL. This is where upsets come from (Davidson, George Mason), and great ball games (Syracuse over UConn this weekend).
The Switch is Different Between Offense and Defense. This, I think, is perhaps not as obvious to the masses in general as it might be to the loyal follower of Ben Ball. And, frankly, I think that DC's comments that certainly didn't need to be said come from not realizing the differences between the switches, which are...
The Offensive Switch Exists, But Cannot Be Controlled. There is definitely an offensive switch. Let's consider Taylor Rochestie. In the 82-81 Bruin loss, Rochestie was on fire. Totally and completely. He couldn't miss anything. Then we have the PAC-10 tourney game. We can talk about how our defense was better, but frankly, I think he had at least four or five relatively open shots that he missed, that in the 82-81 victory game, he would have hit. And they were early enough that you can't give our physicality credit for knocking him off his game. Was it because he had more motivation in his senior day game versus the Pac-10 tournament? Personally, I don't think so. Both are huge deals. Although senior day was his swan song, the Pac-10 tournament was WSU's last ditch hope to get in the Dance. More motivation, IMHO. One day he had it, the other he didn't. (I still think we would have won in the tournament even if he was on...my point is simply that his offensive switch was not on).
The Offensive Switch Provides Us with Great Upsets in the Tourney. Think Stephen Curry. Good defensive team, and an offensive switch. Think some of the past UA teams. etc. Not many champions though :)
The Defensive Switch Exists, And It CAN BE CONTROLLED. The Defensive Switch also exists, but unlike the Offensive Switch, it can be controlled. How? By increasing the intensity. SC, unfortunately, is a perfect example of this. 9-9 in PAC-10 play. Maddeningly inconsistent. Then something happens (IMO Simmons or whatever his name is being readded to the lineup injury free being a big part of it) and they switch over. You could blame it on us (we certainly had lots of issues in the game) but look what they did to ASU today...I didn't watch the game, other than periodic score checks, but the only way a 15-point deficit is erased by a team like SC is the Defensive Switch. More importantly, THIS IS WHAT HAS MADE UCLA GREAT over time. Teams with the Defensive Switch can be atrocious free throw shooters, they can go cold for 5+ minutes, but the Defensive Switch can, by an increase in intensity and a will to win, be turned on.
The Defensive Switch AND The Offensive Switch both REQUIRE CONFIDENCE. Of course we are all familiar with the concept that "shooters shoot" when they are going through a slump. The lack of confidence of a shooter is deadly --- think AA's slump, or JS's slump, or, in the NBA, the slump of a Ray Allen in the pre-Laker games last year...The difference between the two, though, is that whereas the confidence of the Defensive Switch requires intensity (relatively controllable) the confidence of the Offensive Switch requires some weird subconscious section of the brain that goes on and off in streaks, and just "happens." For some people like Drago it happens more often than others. But even for them it still goes in waves...if his Offensive Switch was on early in the SC game, we probably would have won...
With the Offensive Switch, It is Next to Impossible to String Together Six Games in a Row. The Offensive Switch almost never goes together for six games in a row. Think of the Duke teams of the last decade. It is easy to deride them, but they have had very winning seasons. Is it because they are chokers that they lose? Although many here might disagree, I believe it is not because they are chokers --- THEY RELY ON THE OFFENSIVE SWITCH. And it always dies. Think JJ Reddick. Think Trajan Langdon. Great players. Who always had a cold game in the tournament. It will always be the case. Or, more recently....Stephen Curry.
The Defensive Switch Requires Five Guys. Unlike the Offensive Switch, where one or two players can make it happen, the Defensive Switch dies when you have one or two weak links, and face a competent offensive team.
In a Howland Defensive Scheme, the Defensive Switch Doesn't Work When the Opposing Team Has Five Solid Players. When the core of your defense relates to double-teaming, hedging, etc, teams that feature five solid players can mitigate the power of the switch...fortunately there aren't many of these teams out there, but we historically got beat by these teams that were balanced and inherently less susceptible to the Defensive Switch.
The Defensive Switch is Enhanced by Reputation. In the past, IMHO the reputation of our defense added to it's ability to successfully turn the Defensive Switch on. Players were afraid, they knew even if they got ahead that when the Switch turned on, they were susceptible to lose.
Freshmen Don't Get the Defensive Switch Right Away. Don't need to elaborate on this point, as we all know the examples of RW, AA, JF, etc.

So...those are my premises...am open, of course, to anyone disagreeing with any of them...what are the conclusions about our team, and about this post-season, that we can draw from them?

First, personally, I don't think we have a great defensive switch. Some of this is personnel related. The existence of Drago and Shipp in the starting lineup prevent us from having the Defensive Switch, but have given us the Offensive Switch. IMHO, this is just a function of our players, not of CBH's philosophy. Next year, from what I've seen, we'll be back to the Defensive Switch in force. No question that ML, JA, DG will be defensive warriors.

Second, let's be positive on this team and the outlook for the tournament. We've talked ad nauseum about the defensive weaknesses we have. We can't expect the Defensive Switch that we've had in the past. We can HOPE for an Offensive Switch and a solid defensive effort. We can HOPE that we don't face a Defensive Switch team like CBH's alma mater Pitt and that we get UNC or Duke.

DC's comments on the Switch were bad. They shouldn't be in print. They're unwise, provide minor fodder for opposing coaches...that being said, I think that they were made because in the past, we really did have a Switch, but it was the Defensive Switch. Now we have a little Defensive Switch and a big Offensive Switch, but we can't rely on it, and shouldn't brag about being able to "turn it on and off." But ultimately I think these comments are made from a blurring of the two, and let's support DC and hope that he can lead our team to do some damage in the tournament. Because CONFIDENCE is a critical, foundational prerequisite to the Offensive Switch, and frankly even basic Defensive Competence, and hopefully he still believes it.

Do I expect a Sweet Sixteen? Not necessarily. Do I think a Final Four is possible?

Not really...

But ... with an Offensive Switch, and a solid defensive effort, anything may be possible. I will hope, and will not be disappointed. CBH is doing what he can with who we have. The worst thing for our team would be to lose confidence. Because no confidence = no switch, either offensive or defensive, and then we can't win. Anything can happen in the tournament. We aren't as consistent because our defense isn't as consistent. Our odds in the Tourney aren't as good as they were in the past, but, with an Offensive Switch and fundamental defensive competence (which we can execute), anything can happen.

Bruin fans, do not be discouraged! Enjoy this team! And rest assured that, although odds are not that this team will be the next banner, our coaching philosophy WILL GET US THERE. And we need to enjoy the ride, and recover quickly from the pain...

Thoughts on Luck...and Clutch Players

glassbruin — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:16:19 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

The last few days I have been thinking about the role of "luck" in college basketball. Personally I want to make the case that "luck" has caused some of the MSM and maybe even some on BN to underestimate DC's role as a clutch player, and a go-to player down the stretch.

Listen to Cal's Mike Montgomery after the game.

''That's why (Collison) is what he is,'' Montgomery said. ''The ability to make a play in late clock is probably what separates UCLA from a lot of people. Collison is such a clutch player, and he makes plays in critical situations. In late clock, he's as good as there is.''

So an opposing coach (who personally I don't think is just saying nice things about us after the game --- this is a genuine belief) - views DC as one of the best in the game in closing plays. Yet in general people don't have the confidence that our team has the closers to finish the games...I have to admit, I feel the same way for the most part...and with this team for whatever reason, like others, I don't have the secure feeling during a close game that I had in times past. And have been sympathetic with the argument that in addition to our teams lack of defense, we struggle with having a "closer" or the go-to-person who can close out a game.

After thinking about it, and watching this game against Cal in particular, I believe the reason for our lack of confidence is exclusively due to our poor defense this year and not the lack of a clutch player, or players. It is understandable that we might feel this way --- we lost close games to ASU (61-58 OT), ASU (74-67), and WSU (82-81). But I don't think we lost these games because of the lack of clutch plays. In some (the second ASU game) we had clutch plays that SPTR eliminated. In others, our defense didn't stand firm and the other team had a Curry-type inspired player (WSU). But our guys really did ok in the clutch. If Collison gets the ASU call, and if Rochestie misses one shot, we are in sole possession of 1st place, and a top ten team. And those things, IMHO, are due more to "luck" than the clutch play of our players.

The only way to beat "luck" is defense. Our problem is not the lack of clutch players, we have them in Collison, Shipp, and Aboya. These guys have time and time again done what it takes at the critical times. The fall-offs have been in the critical defensive stops, and there it takes five players to stop it from happening. We had it in the past. We will have it in the future. Hopefully these guys will get better as the tournaments come.

The nice thing about luck is that it can produce a run. Lute's Wildcats had a national championship and it wasn't because of their defense. If we're in Vegas, you don't bet on that run, but it doesn't mean it can't happen. I am hopeful that a combination of better defense and better luck will enable us to make a run. And am glad with CBH at the helm that year over year we don't leave things to chance by having a defense that survives bouts of bad luck. But I am not going to wish for a clutch player this year, because we have three of them.

How Does Being a Ben Ball Fan Change Your Life?

glassbruin — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:52:29 -0000

I love the Meriones' post on CORE BELIEFS. It's a great distillation of what it means to be a Bruin, and why we love Coach Wooden, and CBH, and CRN. It made me get introspective, and ask questions like, why do I love Ucla basketball so much? and why does losing to Arizona bother me but not derail me like the WLBs 66 so eloquently referred to?

Personally I am not a typical Bruins Nation reader. Why?

I'm not an avid sports fan. Throughout my life there are major periods where I don't watch sports. I really didn't go to the games in school. During the Lavin years I barely knew we had a basketball team and didn't care. I'm not a fairweather fan (didn't switch allegiances to another team) but just can't get excited about watching mediocrity, and prefer to go do something active myself.
In addition to going to Ucla, I went to Duke. During the same era when they were on top. I don't hate the Blue Devils. I did (and do) root for them. As an academic institution my experience there was at least as good or better than the one at Ucla. But from a basketball perspective I follow it with less than 10% of the passion of Ucla. I don't hate Coach K (but I do not have nearly the respect for him as others, and agree wholeheartedly that he has become egotistical and is obsessed with whining about officiating).

But since CBH has come on, I've become an avid fan of Ucla sports. I watchh most of the games, read most of the commentary, listen to the coaches, etc. And CRN is helping me become a football fan too.

Why? I hadn't thought about it until Meriones' post. But on reflection I think it is because watching Ben Ball is a constant reminder of who I strive to be as a person, in every area of my life.

Think about the fundamental virtues that we hear about almost every week coming out of this team.

Humility. Coach Howland is not arrogant. Ever. He does not have sites that label him as a "humanitarian." When he reaches out to members of the Bruin family who have a tragedy he doesn't talk about it -- he just does it. And what is more amazing, HE TRANSLATES THIS VIRTUE TO THE REST OF HIS TEAM. In watching college basketball pretty religiously for three or four years now, I am amazed at the contrast between our guys humility and the arrogant, self-aggrandizement that many other teams display (although SC certainly seems to be worse than most!)
Class. I've never heard CBH denigrate an opponent. Either the team or the coach. I've heard opposing coaches cut us down. It was worse during our early years when clowns like Calipari got beat by us and said "we had a bad game." CBH always gives props to the other team, he's classy. Period.
Patience. I can't imagine going from a perennial top ten team like he made Pitt and then having a losing season. I firmly believe that he could have not had a losing season but he would have compromised his long-term values and coaching philosophy. He did what was right, and waited.
Defense. I actually think this is a virtue. How many areas of life relate to Meriones' CORE STRENGTH concept, where you have to do the dirty work but it makes you a better person? Defense is all about attention to detail. Period.
Other People First. One of the most impressive virtues that CBH embodies is his consistent focus on doing what is right for his players over what is best for him (again, contrast the humanitarian, and others). Seriously, I have yet to see him not support a player.
Pursuit of Excellence. Goes without saying.

I could of course go on and on and on about virtues that we see demonstrated by our team every single week. In victory. And frankly, IMHO, even more in defeat. I'd rather watch this team lose than a lucky Lavin team win. Because by watching our Bruin team led by CBH I'm reminded of these attributes that I try to live out. As a parent. As a business owner. As a friend. As a middle-aged basketball player.

I didn't hate the Trojans when I started reading Bruins Nation 3 years ago, but I can tell you that I hate their win at all costs push every rule in the book philosophy today. I'm a Blue Devil too, but Coach K doesn't evoke the same passion, because he doesn't embody these values so clearly. Frankly he doesn't evoke the same passion in the community as a whole -- go look at Blue Devil blogs and you'll find they aren't 10% of the participation that's here.

If this team loses, I support them. Because they live the values I live, because they're led by a great man, with great character. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are giving 100% energy and effort. It might not have showed in Arizona, but they're human, and overall they are doing their best.

Will it be good enough for a Pac-10 championship? Will it be good enough for a Final Four? Will it be good enough for a National Championship?

Frankly I don't care. Those results will come when they are meant to come, and I'm going to embody CBH's virtue of patience.

The Lakers and Ben Ball

glassbruin — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:45:04 -0000

How great was it last night to watch the Lakers play trademark Ben Ball to come back on the Spurs last night! Normally I don't tend to think of the Lakers as a defensive team simply because their offense is so powerful, but it was great to see everybody talk about how the defensive stops and intensity sparked the comeback.

What was particularly encouraging was the clutch play of reserve Jordan Farmar :

This series will most likely be decided by the performance of both teams' respective Big Threes. For much of the game, however, the Lakers' trio of leading scorers consisted of Pau Gasol, Vladimir Radmanovic and Jordan Farmar, as Bryant and Fisher combined for only two points in the first half -- the backcourt's lowest scoring output from this season.

Listening to the announcers on the game (sorry Fox, bad habits!) it was fascinating to hear them talk about the defensive intensity of the Lakers in the key third quarter when the need for a run was palpable...again, Farmar's name came up as being part of the young, energetic intensity that Phil Jackson used to spark the run. Heck, even Kobe was preaching the values of defensive intensity !

"If we don't play defensively, we still don't win, and everybody would be talking about how I shot us out of the game," Bryant said. "Defense is where it gets done."

So what does this have to do with Ben Ball? I think that the performance of Farmar, the public attention about how defense is what is causing the pros to succeed in the playoffs, can only help our mystique and increase the effectiveness of our recruiting efforts. And frankly, watching the Bruins and the Lakers never say die, play passionately to close out games, refusing to lose in tight circumstances...continues to inspire me to be a better person...

Women's Water Polo

glassbruin — Mon, 12 May 2008 04:49:18 -0000

I don't know how many of our Bruin Fans have ever watched a water polo game...apart from kids sporting events, tonight on CBS-C was my first spectator view of a water polo game on TV...and what an introduction it was, with Ucla bringing down #101 with a dominating defensive performance over our arch-rivals.

UCLA won its fourth consecutive and sixth overall NCAA women's water polo title on Sunday evening, defeating USC, 6-3, in the championship match. The victory was UCLA's 10th national title and UCLA's 101st NCAA title. Bruin seniors Gabrielle Domanic, Brittany Rowe, Courtney Mathewson, Jillian Kraus and Kamaile Crowell finished their careers with four NCAA titles and a pair of undefeated seasons.

via grfx.cstv.com

Frankly it was almost as pleasurable as watching Ben Ball, with the Bruins' defensive effort being just intense and incredible, holding an SC team that averaged more than 10 goals per game to 3 tonight. Every time the Trojans seemed like they were making a run, our defense just got more intense.

For those who are unfamiliar with water polo, action in the game is similar to hockey, there are six players on offense and one goalie. There are minor fouls that happen all the time, but a major foul causes a player to get ejected and there is a subsequent "power play" where the team that has a player ejected has a one player deficit. Am sure that the stats will be in the write-up after the game, but SC had about 13 or more 6 on 5 opportunities and only scored on one or two - it really seemed like every time we got in a tough spot, the defensive intensity of the remaining five kicked up several levels and Ucla pulled out the stop. And although Ucla had way fewer of these opportunities, it seemed like our players were smarter and more skilled and converted on the slightest mistakes from the Trojans.

It was particularly interesting to listen to the interview of Ucla water polo coach Adam Krikorian after the game. He clearly comes from the same lineage of classy coaches that we expect from Ucla, giving credit to the team, his fellow coaching staff, and the sports administration support and downplaying his personal efforts...but check this bio out and you will see that he is a phenomenally good coach...

There may not be another head coach in any sport throughout the country who has accomplished more than Adam Krikorian in such a short span. In his 16 years with UCLA's water polo program as both a player and a coach, Krikorian has won an unprecedented 13 national titles - nine as a head coach, three as an assistant coach and one as a student-athlete.

This spring, Krikorian enters his 10th season as head coach of the UCLA women's water polo team and his ninth alone at the helm. In 1999, he served as interim head coach while was coaching the U.S. Women's National Team.

As women's water polo head coach, Krikorian has guided UCLA to six national championships (five NCAA titles) and boasts a remarkable .858 winning percentage (229-38 record). Krikorian's women's water polo teams have won 88 percent of their conference matches and have finished with a perfect 12-0 MPSF record once (in 2005).

A former standout on the men's water polo team from 1992-95, Krikorian has earned National Women's Water Polo Coach of the Year honors four times - in 2001, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Krikorian gained National Men's Coach of the Year honors in 2004 after having led that men's squad to its eighth NCAA championship in program history.

I would encourage any of you who have the opportunity to catch a rerun of this game, it's not a high profile sport but Coach Krikorian and this group of seniors who have won four consecutive national championships with two undefeated seasons deserve huge accolades from the Bruin Nation.

On Winning

glassbruin — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 15:43:14 -0000

I have a confession to make. I had followed the trend and believed that the Pac-10 tournament was an insignificant, no-pressure event, that really didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. After watching the tournament this weekend, and carefully reading the post-game press and comments from our coaches and players, I want to make the case that the tournament is important and a critical part of our teams psyche, for this year and moving forward.

What did our head coach set as our goals for the season with every player on our team? "On our first day of practice, we talked about three goals," Love said. "Well, we've got two out of three, now we need to get the third."
The goals were Pac-10 regular-season championship, Pac-10 tournament championship, and national championship.
We all love our coach. He is by far the best coach in America. If he sets out this tournament as being an important goal at the beginning of the season then I think we need to trust him and passionately support it. (Also note that his protege, Jamie Dixon, has taken Pitt to another Big East championship in the tournament, overcoming incredible adversity with injuries etc.)
Our players HATE TO LOSE. I have underestimated how important this is to this particular team and to Howland teams in general. This is psychologically important. Consider this quote from our favorite center "We just don't want to lose,'' UCLA center Kevin Love said. "That's just the overall theme. Being such a competitive team, we're playing cards in the locker room, we're playing video games after the game, nobody ever wants to lose. That's the biggest thing on this team.
"We're so competitive no matter what it is. We're trying to go out there and win. We don't want anymore losses the rest of the season. We want to be cutting the nets down (today), and also six games after that." By nature teams that win have winners, and being a winner is as much about HATING TO LOSE as it is about winning sometimes.
During Coach Howland's long tenure, we are probably going to have bad things happen in the Pac-10 tournament. And bad things may happen in the NCAA tournament. And bad things may happen late in the regular season. But these are part of the sports process, and I think that it is important to recognize that it is not the coach's fault, it is part of the dynamics of basketball. Will Mbah a Moute and Love be able to play in the tournament? Probably. If they weren't, however, it still was not the wrong decision to play them. The impact on our teams WINNING MOJO from being able to overcome this type of adversity is intangible, and I (now) firmly believe that this type of attitude through the entire year is what is going to bring MULTIPLE BANNERS back to Pauley over time.

Ben Howland has brought players into our program who are winners. In every season there is an ebb and flow because it is impossible to maintain intensity for the whole season, in any sport peaking at the right time is key for ultimate success. Clearly he believes that peaking in the conference tournament is critical preparation for peaking in the Dance. If we lose, is it the end of the world? No. Should we put the bench in more to give them critical experience? Yes. But we should also go after the second of our three goals - Winning the Pac-10 tournament championship.

As I said in the beginning of my post, I did not believe this coming into this tournament. I know that many of you may respectfully disagree with this sentiment. But after a lot of reflection, I think the best coach in America is on to something with his passion to end up #1 on April 7.