Wow. He beat out Payton Manning among others in an informal poll, which is astounding to me. Of course, if the poll is taken during Manning's last season, I'm guessing the results are different. Regardless, there is no doubt that Miller has come a long way since being booed by Indianapolis fans upon being drafted 18 years ago.

Many of the nation's top recruits played in the Houston Kingwood Classic this past weekend. BRO has a report on which coaches were watching which prospects, as well as a photo gallery of many of the players pursued by UCLA.

This is a few months old, but here is a link to an interview with "Kristaan" Johnson, who has been playing ball in Lebanon after stops in Russia, Turkey, the CBA and Qatar. It's a pretty informative interview, even if it does appear to be a translated version. For example, I don't think Kris' actual words to describe winning the ncaa title would be "seizing the universities' championship."

Also, you can check out his game log, where you'll see that he's tearing up the league - he averages about 30 points a game! Here's his team picture:

This article chronicles Howland's recruiting efforts in Australia. The Bruins definitely could use a player like Andrew Bogut, but Howland's expectations are a little lower:

"We'd like to find a good player," Howland said yesterday. "The next Bogut would be asking, I think, too much. He is such a good player."

Howland also shares about the type of player he would like to find:

"Whether they're 5'9" or 6'9" it doesn't matter. I'm looking for kids who are athletic, have good skill level, have the type of body that can be developed (and) I like kids that have toughness."

Well, you certainly can't claim he isn't looking in enough places for talent. I hope the hard work pays off. The article mentions that Howland is scouting in Australia because the European supply of players seems to be drying up. Perhaps, but I think it would be more accurate to say that quality European players no longer need to play college ball to get noticed by NBA scouts - they can just stay in Europe until a team from the League takes notice and drafts them.

This isn't specifically related to UCLA, but I think it is of interest. Phoenix Suns chairman and CEO Jerry Colangelo is the new head of the US Olympic basketball program, and he's planning to make some dramatic changes in how the team is put together and operates. He wants a coach with knowledge of the international game, plus players who have to go through tryouts and commit to two years with the team. All of these appear to be good ideas, but none of them change perhaps the biggest issue facing the US Olympic team: multi-millionaire American athletes will never be motivated to beat the rest of the world as much as the rest of the world is motivated to beat multi-millionaire American athletes. Most established American NBA players are not going to sacrifice their bodies (and potential future earnings) simply to represent their country in an attempt to win a gold medal. On top of this, if there is one thing I have learned from doing this blog, it is that the rest of the world is playing basketball. We've seen Bruins participating in leagues in Greece, Italy, the Czech Republic, Japan, China, and Lebanon. The talent abroad is improving so quickly that there are several other countries with players comparable to those in the US - you combine the talent and motivation held by the rest of the world, and the result is that there is no way our Olympic team will ever dominate like it once did, no matter what types of tweaks we add to the team selection process.

One quick sidenote regarding my comment about most NBA players: last year, I definitely noticed that Allen Iverson is an exception. I am not AI's biggest fan by any stretch of the imagination, but if there is one player who deserves a break more than any other during the off-season, it's him. Though generously listed at 6 ft, 165 pounds, he accepts the physical and emotional burden of being his team's primary scoring option. He gets dinged up plenty during the season, yet he was willing to show up for the Olympics and give whatever he had, while others stars declined invitations, including Shaquille O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter, Elton Brand, and Ben Wallace. Iverson gets plenty of negative publicity (sometimes deservedly so), but you can't fault his effort on the court - well, at least during games, I'm not sure about practice :).

***Update: According to this Atlanta Journal Consititution article, Coach John Wooden believes the US still has the best talent, and college players would make viable team members.

The three UCLA recruits were among ten players named to the team. Westchester's Amir Johnson was named player of the year. Here are the comments on the three Bruin commits:

G Darren Collison, Etiwanda 6-0 Sr.
The UCLA-bound point guard averaged 20.7 points, four assists and 2.1 steals for the Division I-AA champions, earning player-of-the-year honors in the Southern Section's top division. A Parade magazine fourth-team All-American.

G Michael Roll, Aliso Niguel 6-5 Sr.
Averaged nearly 25 points in leading the Wolverines past top-seeded Lake Forest El Toro in the Division I-A title game. Headed to UCLA, Roll scored 34 points in a semifinal victory over second-seeded Lake Elsinore Temescal Canyon.

F James Keefe, Santa Margarita 6-8 Jr.
Earned Division III-AA player-of-the-year honors and helped the Eagles to the division title while averaging 17 points and 12.3 rebounds. Keefe, who committed early to UCLA, was also a Parade All-American second-team selection.

on the outlook for the college season next year, a few of which pertain directly to Pac-10 schools. Burlison notes that while Brandon Roy will be playing for Washington next year, it is a virtual certainty that Martell Webster will not. And in a surprise to me, Burlison also notes that while Stanford's Chris Hernandez is not projected as a first-round pick, it's possible he might end up staying in the draft anyway. This makes very little sense to me - what does Hernandez gain by being a second-round pick (or going undrafted)? Is life at Stanford that terrible? If he comes back to school, the Cardinal could contend for the conference title, and if he happens to have a good season, he could end up a first rounder. Of course, as a Bruin fan, I certainly wouldn't be sad to see him go.

Well, no sooner does Washington assistant Ken Bone get a new job that the UW message boards are lighting up about the possibility of Steve Lavin to replace him. Comments range from "5 straight sweet-16s...he got a bad rep at UCLA b/c UCLA fans are the hardest to please in America" to "He was the one coach in the conference who was worse than Bender" [sidenote: Lavin didn't go to 5 straight sweet sixteens, it was 5 in 6 years]. As I've said before, I'd be shocked if Lavin took any coaching job, and even more so for an assistant position. But hey, there's nothing like unsubstantiated rumors flying around the internet to liven up your monday.

CHN has a new feature that highlights one college basketball-related blog post of the day. My earlier post on Tyus Edney is today's pick. Hoops fans should check out their Blog of the Day archives and basketball blog page.

Tyus is now on the Lottomatica Roma team - he spent the last several years on a different team, Benetton Traviso. As mentioned here before, Tyus is immensely popular in Italy, so it was a pretty big deal when he switched teams. You can check out his profile and game log (both in Italian). It looks like he averages about 12 points a game and shoots 87% from the free throw line. It also appears that Edney "only" averages about three assists a game - I have a feeling assists are tougher to get in Europe, as he is #12 in his league in this category.

Anyway, below are some pics from his team's website. If you go to the team's photo page, you can see even more pictures of him.







These photos are smaller and of lower quality than the originals.

Howland and staff will conduct a few basketball clinics around the southland as well as some camps at UCLA this summer; see this release for details.

in this Daily Bruin column. The writer believes the move is better for both King and the Bruins.

The incoming UCLA recruit will play in the Lake/Sumter High School Boys Basketball All-Star Game next Thursday (on the outside chance we have readers in Florida who want to see him play).

The article bascally explains that King made a hasty decision to verbally commit to the Bruins and now would like to go through the entire recruiting process. It does not seem like there was something specific that turned King off from UCLA, so perhaps he will still end up a Bruin. The story also mentions that center prospect Ray Hall was on an unofficial visit at UCLA yesterday.

from the Pac-10 season wrap-up. We open and close against the NoCal schools. Also of interest, both of our SC games are scheduled for Saturdays - I assume these could get shifted to Wednesday or Thursday if we pick up one or two big non-conference games during the Pac-10 schedule, but maybe this means we don't plan to have any of these types of games. I remember the team not being thrilled about having to travel to South Bend during the middle of the conference season last year.

BruinZone member "UpNorth" gives an excellent summary of Wright's performance in the All Canadian game.

Cohen gives us his top 16 of next year. His comments regarding the Bruins:

Shhh. Ben Howland doesn't want you to know that his Bruins will likely contend for the Pac-10 crown. But with stud point guard Jordan Farmer returning and Cedric Bozeman healthy after a season-ending knee injury, UCLA is likely to cash in on two highly regarded recruiting classes.

The $64,000 Question: Who will fill Dijon Thompson's shoes?

The Bruins are the second highest ranked Pac-10 team on the list, behind only Washington at #7.

You need to be a subscriber to read the whole story, but BRO is claiming that King will de-commit tomorrow. He committed to the Bruins before he even played in his first high school game, so this really isn't a huge surprise. Now wrapping up his sophomore year, there are a number of schools still after him, and skipping college is not out of the question. However, with his highly-rated talent, it would be great if he eventually does decide to stick with UCLA.

Roll scored 18 points and led his team to a 94-74 victory.

Yes, I'm tired of hearing about Steve Lavin too, but I have to mention this second article from the Chicago Tribune because of the way the writer characterizes Lavin's tenure at UCLA. In response to the notion that DePaul's AD is looking for someone to bring stability to the program, the writer adds the following:

Lavin already has done that once, stabilizing the UCLA program after succeeding Jim Harrick in 1996. He took over late for Harrick, who had been fired in the wake of an expense-account scandal. But in his first season, Lavin guided the Bruins to the Pac-10 title, a 24-8 record and the NCAA tournament's Midwest regional final.

His teams won 20 or more games in each of the next five years and in four of them advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament. But when UCLA fell to 10-19 in the 2002-03 season, he was fired even though his overall record was 145-78 (.650).

(Sigh). It just amazes me how much love this guy gets around the nation; maybe someday I'll get used to it. But for now, I feel compelled to refer back to my post on his legacy.

An NBA blogger has some kind words about Reggie Miller and his career. He also mentions that NBA TV will be having a Reggie Miller Marathon this Monday - it will include Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference finals against the Knicks, Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference finals also against the Knicks, and Game 4 of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals against the Bulls.

It's amazing to think that Miller has had perhaps the second-best NBA career of any former Bruin (at least in terms of individual accomplishments). I think it is safe to say he has surpassed all expectations. It certainly is bittersweet watching him end his career while still being an effective player, especially since he has virtually no chance to win a ring this year with Artest on suspension.

Well, no sooner do I blog about the 2005-06 schedule that a relevant piece of info comes to light: we will not be renewing the series with Notre Dame, according to this article. No real explanation is given:

[Irish head coach Mike] Brey indicated late last season that he wanted to do everything possible to keep the Bruins on the schedule, something that could not be worked out for the immediate future.

"We won't renew UCLA for the next two years," Brey said.

The Chicago Tribune has an article stating that Steve Lavin and Rick Majerus are showing interest in the DePaul job. A quote from Lavin (a perfect example of Lavin-speak):

My focus for the past two years has been to improve as a broadcaster because I owe my best effort to the people who employ me. But anyone who's been involved with basketball has to appreciate the tradition and history of a school like DePaul. It's a great school in a great city with a great recruiting base, and going to the Big East will enhance the program.

A lot of words to say that he has a job but DePaul is a good, er, "great" school. Also check out this line from the article:

Former Notre Dame coach and ESPN analyst Digger Phelps, 63, wants to be considered for the job [at DePaul] but is unlikely to be a serious candidate.

Unlikely to be a serious candidate? Ya think? A major program won't consider a guy who's been spending how many years sitting in the studio wearing green ties and spitting out "analysis" with Dick Vitale? i'm not sure even Digger believes he could go back and successfully run a major basketball operation at this point - I'm guessing he just wants his name out there to increase his profile (probably the same strategy that Lavin is using), just angling to get a raise from the folks in Bristol.

The release gives a quick rundown on the highlights of the year.

The San Bernardino Sun is reporting that Collison, the incoming Bruin freshman PG, has been named to the Calhisports.com all-state elite first team. I imagine other Bruin recruits also are on one of the All-State teams, but I don't have access to the full list.

The article gives credit to our "Olympic sports" as being the best in the land, and highlights the many championships we have won and the attractiveness of our campus. As far as our revenue-producing sports, it's another story: "It just so happens that football and men's basketball, once Pac-10 powerhouses, are now two of the weakest programs at UCLA." Ouch, but certainly true at this point in time. I would definitely recommend reading the article if you have a chance.

With Dave Leitao likely to take over at Virgnia, the next step will be following DePaul's candidates to replace him. And who has already been mentioned as a possibility? Steve Lavin, of course.

The Matchups have been finalized for the Wooden Tradition in November: Notre Dame vs. NC State and Purdue vs. Xavier. Regarding the Bruins' 2005-06 schedule, I have not seen anything since a nearly month-old Daily News article mentioned that the Bruins will play in the preseason NIT, have non-conference games against Albany, Sacramento State and Wagner at home, plus play at Michigan. The article also stated that UCLA was trying to finalize plans to play in the Wooden Classic again, secure a home-and-home series with a major non-conference school, and continue the Notre Dame series, though the Irish have not yet agreed. Also, in 2006, the Bruins will be playing in the Maui Invitational amongst a field that includes Kentucky, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Memphis, DePaul, and Purdue.

Besides commits James Keefe and Taylor King, there will be many UCLA prospects playing in the two AAU tourneys in Vegas this weekend. For a comprehensive list, see this BRO article.

Gregg Doyel seems to think so. On the second page of Doyel's article, you will see this quote from Webster, the highly touted high school senior who would play for Washington if he goes to college:

Apparently my (NBA) stock is going well right now. I've got a pretty good chance of going early first round, top 10 right now. You hear all kinds of things...If it's legit, you can pretty much say I'm going to go.

If the Huskies lose Webster, it will obviously be a loss for them and a gain for the rest of the conference, including the Bruins.

And with all of the guys declaring for the draft but not hiring agents, it clearly has been nearly impossible to provide accurate looks at next year's top college teams, because it is unknown who will be back and who won't. But won't it also make it nearly impossible for the would-be draftees to get accurate pictures of where they are going to be drafted? I mean, the more people who stay in the draft, the more competition there is to be drafted early. So if a bunch of guys are submitting their names just to see where they might be drafted, they won't really know until everyone else in the same situation makes their decision, which sounds like a real messy situation to me.

The Mississauga News has some quotes from Wright after the All Canadian game, and Hooplife has a recap of the game, including Wright's numbers: 17 points (tied for game-high) and 8 boards on 8-12 shooting from the field. The Hooplife article also mentions that TSN, Canada's version of ESPN, will be showing replays of the game several times within the next week or so.

based on the fact he won the dunk contest before the Greek All-Star game on April 10. Like many other former Bruins, he is playing ball overseas; he plays for AEK in Greece. You can see his Euroleague profile here. He's playing well enough to represent the Rest of World against the Greek All-Stars in the game itself - he scored 8 points, though his team lost. Here are two photos, one of him dunking and one of him accepting the contest trophy (yes, that's Dominique Wilkins who was on hand for the festivities):


(Photos from www.aek.gr)

Here is another picture of Bailey in action in league play, making a move against Ray Romano's brother from "Everbody Loves Raymond" (or more likely some guy who looks a bit like him):


(Photo from euroleague.net)

Please note that these pictures are smaller and of lower quality than the originals at their respective websites.

The Toronto Sun has a brief section on Ryan Wright in this article. It notes that Wright will be playing in the Derby Festival Classic in Louisville this Saturday (along with fellow UCLA incoming freshman Darren Collison and Arizona recruit JP Prince - see a PowerPoint file with the full rosters here). Wright plans to fly out to Los Angeles the day after graduating to start getting acquainted with Westwood. He intends to take summer classes at UCLA and (I would imagine) start getting ready for the upcoming season.

According to this LA Times article, Howland was given a one-year extension, so he is now signed through 2012. A UCLA spokesman says the details of the contract have not changed, only the length. This implies that Howland will earn the same amount as before, $800,000 per year.

***Update: The Orange County Register and Daily Bruin also have articles on the subject, but these list Howland's salary at $900,000 per year. The Bruin article mentions that Howland has the option to extend his contract each year in this manner, and this is the second consecutive year he has exercised the rollover option.

Burlison's column at BruinReportOnline tabs Duke and UConn as the favorites to take home the national title next year. Perhaps more interesting to those of us in Pac-10 country, he picks Washington and Stanford as the co-favorites of the conference (provided Brandon Roy and Martell Webster play for UW next year, and Chris Hernandez and a healthy Dan Grunfeld play for the Cardinal). This differs sharply with some other national analysts like Andy Katz and Joe Lunardi who have picked the Bruins as the top team in the Pac-10 for next year.

Burlison also has his column in the Press-Telegram looking at next year's college hoops season, but it includes some additional information about recruiting tournaments taking place in Vegas this weekend. If you happen to be in Vegas and want to see some Bruin recruits in action, you can check out the Southern California All-Stars/Red team featuring UCLA commits James Keefe and Taylor King. They will be playing in the Spring Showcase, as will be other UCLA recruiting targets. Another tournament for high school prospects, the Pump 'N' Run Spring Tournament, will also be taking place in Vegas this weekend.

A reader of this blog informed me of his blog dedicated to the January 20, 1968 game between UCLA and the University of Houston. The matchup is known as the "Game of the Century," as it was the first nationally televised collegiate basketball game ever, and it matched the #1 ranked bruins led by lew alcindor against the #2 cougars led by elvin hayes. As we know too well, Houston prevailed in the game 71-69, ending UCLA's 47-game winning streak. Of course, the Bruins avenged their loss later in the year, beating the Cougars 101-69 in the Final Four en route to our fourth national title. For more information, I encourage you to check out the site.

The video segment, called something like "Where Are They Now?", is about two and a half minutes long and has Ed talking about what he is up to these days. It has footage of him coaching 3rd graders and selling Toyotas in Henderson, NV, which is right outside of Vegas. To see the clip, you'll have to use Internet Explorer and go to the MSN video page. On the left hand side of the screen, you will see a search box. Search for the term "ucla", and one of the results should be entitled "O'Bannon re-emerges." Click on it to watch it; you will have to sit through a video of an advertisement first.

The Seattle Times is reporting that Nate Robinson will forego his final year at Washington and enter the NBA draft. He has a press conference scheduled for 2pm today to announce the decision.

Stanford PG Chris Hernandez also is declaring for the draft, but he is not hiring an agent, making it very likely that he intends to return to school next year. I'm guessing Jordan Farmar would like to see Hernandez return so Farmar can get a shot at redeeming himself against Hernandez, who put up 37 points against the Bruins the last time the teams played.

With Steve Lavin's name being linked to a few coaching vacancies recently (UMass, Fresno State, Virginia), I thought I'd update my previous post summarizing Lavin's legacy. I have tried to make it more comprehensive, with his major "achievements", some quotes from former Bruins, and his year-by-year record.

Thanks to commenter William who pointed out that Joe Lunardi has his first Bracketology looking at next year's 65 tourney teams. At this early stage, he has the Bruins as a 3-seed, the highest-seeded pac-10 team. Again, I find it hard to believe that people believe we will be the best team in the conference next year, but oh well. The other Pac-10 teams (and their seeds) are Washington (4), Arizona (5), Stanford (7), and Oregon (11). Cal is listed as one of the last four out. So he has 5 Pac-10 teams in the tourney, plus one more just missing it. I wonder if he'll update this as players declare for and withdraw from the draft, as many of those decisions will significantly impact next year's college basketball season.

Instead of trying to come up with predictions for next year, I thought I'd come up with a list of questions, as this is much easier :). These are the questions that are on my mind regarding the 2005-6 Bruins, and I believe how they are answered will have a huge impact on how the season goes.

First, how will we replace Dijon Thompson's scoring and rebounding? For scoring, we clearly will not have a single, dominating scorer who will completely fill Thompson's shoes. Jordan Farmar was our second leading scorer this past year, but it would be nice if he could concentrate on handling the ball and setting up others instead of being responsible for the bulk of the scoring as well. Arron Afflalo and Josh Shipp will need to be more proactive as scorers, and of course, it would be quite a luxury if one of our big men can emerge as a consistent scoring threat. I think Thompson's rebounding could be tougher to replace, as none of our big men have demonstrated that they can dominate the boards.

The need for contributions from our big men leads to the next question: will Michael Fey and/or Ryan Hollins improve significantly? This tandem of Lavin-era holdovers seems to tease us with flashes of solid play (and in Hollins' case, spectacular athleticism as well), yet neither one is able to be effective on a regular basis. I imagine both will make minor improvements over the off-season, but wouldn't it be great if one experienced MAJOR improvement even if the other made no improvement at all? perhaps i am just mesmerized by Hollins' athletic ability, but i think his chance for substantial improvement is higher. he missed a lot of offseason work last year due to his knee injury, so hopefully he can use this year's offseason to get stronger and increase his basketball skills.

Continuing with the big man theme, how much from this past season should we use to predict what Lorenzo Mata will be next year and beyond? Obviously the guy's skills are not polished, but I'm not ready to write the guy off. Quite the contrary, as I could easily see him emerging as our most effective post player. We don't need a great scorer in the middle, we simply need someone with presence, someone with an attitude. perhaps Mata can fill this role. I believe this is why Howland recruited him in the first place.

Presumably, one of our freshman (probably Alfred Aboya) will be starting at the 4 next year; will he be effective? I don't know how good our freshman frontcourt players are, but we will need at least one of them to make immediate contributions. Luckily, it will be a different situation for this freshman than it was for our freshmen of 2004-2005, especially Farmar. Farmar was required to be the only point guard and the second scoring option - these are huge responsibilities to put on a freshman. Aboya and the others will most likely have to play only complimentary roles - that is unless Fey and Hollins disappoint so much that Aboya and Ryan Wright get bumped ahead of them at the 5, which would mean that we'd have only freshmen as our top post players - that would be a lot to ask.

Will increased depth translate to improved play? We will have five new talented players, but we can't play them all at once. These days, teams only need a 7 or 8 man rotation. True, but our lack of depth really hurt us last year, and not just because of the fatigue associated with heavy minutes played. First, our key players could not be too aggressive defensively to avoid foul trouble. Plus, our starters had nobody pushing them for playing time, and perhaps even more importantly, there was no full second team to scrimmage against. I mean, who did the first team go against in practice this past year? Did they clone Brian Morrison since he was the first point guard, shooting guard, and small forward off the bench? How much benefit did Dijon Thompson get from going up against Matt McKinney between games? Not much, I'm thinking.

How will cedric bozeman fit in, both on and off the court? has he improved to the point that he'll be on the floor a considerable amount of time? will he be healthy enough to contribute? it certainly seems that farmar will be the leader of this team next year - will the 5th year senior, former starting PG bozeman be able to deal with this? I think there will be somewhat of a weird dynamic, but if bozeman can be mature about it, it won't be a problem.

Will Howland make another completely unexpected lineup change to deal with our lack of big men? this past year, i never once considered Thompson at the 4 as a viable option until Howland made the move. with incoming recruit Mike Roll being highly touted as a wing player, could we see a lineup like farmar, afflalo, roll/bozeman, shipp, and fey/hollins? shipp at the four does seem like a stretch, but he has shown that he can score around the basket and he will be our top returning rebounder. Another option would be incoming freshman Luc Richard Mbaha Moute at the 4 - he's 6'7" and considered more of a wing, but if he shows he deserves to be on the court, Howland will find a place for him as he did for Shipp.

Is McKinney a lost cause at this point? If he was a perimeter player, I wouldn't even be mentioning him, but as you can tell, I'm very concerned about our inside play, so I want to examine all possibilities. Can he provide something if nobody else can? Remember, he was plagued by a couple physical ailments last year, perhaps he will show considerable improvement by next year.

Finally, will Howland be able to make us a more physical, better defensive team? Our defense impreved last year, but right now, nobody dreads playing against us like they do some other teams. nobody comes into a game against us concerned about being able to run their offense or getting good looks at the basket. I hope this changes. Successful teams defend on a regular basis. i would like to see us constantly play 40 minutes of lock-down defense, and i imagine Howland wants the same thing. and i don't mean keep the score down by walking the ball up the floor and running 30 seconds off the shot clock every possession. i mean simply making life miserable for the other team when they have the ball - physically not letting them go where they want, getting in the passing lanes, making the opposing point guard pick up his dribble 30 feet from the basket, etc. howland got us to rebound this past year, but i'm hoping our defense improves significantly next year. again, added depth will help in this respect.

so what should we expect for next year? in my eyes, a best case scenario is that one or more of the Lavin-era holdovers makes a Dijon Thompson-like improvement, our incoming class is as valuable as this year's freshmen group, and this year's freshmen improve considerably in their sophomore years, not only individually, but in their ability to play together. A worst case scenario is that we see only Brian Morrison-like improvement from Bozeman and our big men, we can't completely replace Thompson's contributions, and our incoming freshmen play like, well, average freshmen. it doesn't take a genius to figure that we will likely end up somewhere between the two extremes - that's why they're called extremes :) - but after what we accomplished this year, i'm hopeful that the bruins can be much closer to the best case than the worst case.

what about actual results? I don't like making these types of predictions, because they are dependent on factors outside of our control and often do not reflect how good or bad the team actually plays. But hey, it's the off-season, so what else am I supposed to think about - how about top 3 in the conference, losing no more than one conference home game, sweeping USC again, beating Stanford (at least once!), and winning a friggin Pac-10 tourney game? if we do these things, i'd expect maybe a 4 or 5 seed in the tourney, meaning we'd be expected to win the first round and then be a coin flip to go to the sweet 16. of course, many of these things will depend on which players go pro early and how strong the conference is, and by the looks of things, the conference should be stacked almost across the board. if diogu returns, Arizona reloads, Stanford avoids the injuries experienced this year, and cal and oregon make the types of improvements people are expecting, the conference schedule is going to be ridiculously tough. If Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson, and Hassan Adams all return, it will be very difficult to finish in the top 3 of the conference. I'd love to think we're in the top 15 teams as some national writers seem to think, but we just have too many questions about our big men. Hopefully though, the team will exceed my expectations.

Go Bruins!

Senior Thompson was named team MVP at the squad's banquet last night (and yes it really is called the Coach John Wooden Award). Jordan Farmar and Arron Afflalo shared honors for best freshman. There was a whole laundry list of other awards given out, including awards for leading the team in categories like rebounds and assists, but also general categories like Competitive Spirit, Inspiration and Unselfish Contributions (Matt McKinney) and Most Improvement in All-Around Play and Mental Attitude (Michael Fey). Click on the link above to see all of the awards, their winners, and after whom they are named.

You might also want to see these articles in the Daily Breeze and Press-Enterprise with summaries of the awards.

in the BruinReportOnline final rankings for the 2005 class. Their comments:

Roll gets the nod for the top slot after an outstanding senior year in which he carried an undermanned team to a CIF championship. It's an overused term, but Roll is truly an old-school player. He's an outstanding shooter, with a great mid-range game. But his ability to move without the ball, his toughness and competitiveness, as well as his terrific feel for the game, are what separates him from the pack.

This is great news. Let's hope this translates to production for the Bruins next year.

He has fans all across the country believing in his coaching ability. First, we saw a letter to the Roanoke Times claiming that Lavin would make Virginia a frequent national title contender, and now the UVA student paper believes Lavin would be an excellent choice. Here is the writer's reasoning:

Though greasy, Lavin led his UCLA teams to win 20 games in six of his seven seasons and to five Sweet Sixteens in that span. Only Coach K equaled that feat. Lavin was UCLA's best defensive coach since John Wooden, has shown he can recruit (the nation's top class in 1998), is respected and would be a big-name hire. [emphasis mine]

I'll admit I'm not an expert on the defensive coaching prowesses of all of our coaches in the post-Wooden era, but I know that Lavin is not a better coach in any facet of the game than Larry Brown. In any event, I'm beginning to actually root for Lavin to get another opportunity at a big name school (and i'm not sure if Virginia qualifies), just to see how quickly he would bring it down. But again, I doubt he will coach again, as to paraphrase an old proverb: "Better to remain an ESPN analyst and be thought a bad coach than to leave the studio and remove all doubt." Just ask Dick and Digger (sorry, couldn't resist).

UCLA's only commit of the 2006 class, James Keefe, is ranked 22 nationally. He is #8 at his position, power forward. Other recruits with UCLA as a school of interest include C Spencer Hawes (Washington) at 14, C Tom Herzog (Michigan) at 31, SF Chase Budinger (Encinitas, CA) at 45, PG Jeremiah Rivers (Florida) at 46, PF Richard Semraugh (Ohio) at 50, SG Derrick Jasper (Paso Robles, CA) at 53, SG Dwight Lewis (Louisiana) at 56, PF Alex Stepheson (North Hollywood, CA) at 65, SF Alex Tyus (Missouri) at 69, PF Daniel Deane (Utah) at 71, C Ray Hall (Colorado) at 74, SF Blake Wallace (Anaheim, CA) at 76, SF Phil Nelson (Oregon) at 77, and SG Tre'Von Willis (Fresno, CA) at 96.

There also is a listing of the top 50 national prospects for the class of 2007. Taylor King, UCLA's only commitment of this class, is ranked #8 overall and #2 at small forward. Others with UCLA as a school of interest are PF Kevin Love (Oregon) at 3, SF Kyle Singler (Oregon) at 9, PG Jerryd Bayless (Arizona) at 12, SF Omondi Amoke (Oxnard, CA) at 33, SF Tyrone Shelley (San Diego, CA) at 38, SG Drew Viney (Villa Park, CA) at 46, and SF Chace Stanback (Los Angeles) at 50.

Keep in mind that if Keefe and King keep their commitments and none of our players under scholarship leave early, we only have two more scholarships total for the 2006 and 2007 classes. However, this number is not set in stone as recruits can change their mind, and players can leave school for any number of reasons. Tracy Pierson puts the odds of King keeping his commitment at 75% (see Pierson's comments from April 2).

The former $C head coach is now the coach of another Los Angeles team.

Yesterday, I linked to looks at next year from Andy Katz and Luke Winn. Here is Gregg Doyel's top 25 for 2005-2006. He has a much more realistic outlook for the Bruins: we're ranked #24 with Arizona, Washington, and Stanford all ahead of us (in that order). His comments on the Bruins:

"Back-to-back recruiting bonanzas will continue Ben Howland's ahead-of-schedule rebuilding job of the Bruins, who return every key player but Dijon Thompson -- and also will get back Cedric Bozeman, a three-year starter who redshirted this season with a knee injury."

Incidentally, these three writers each have a different #1: Winn chooses Duke, Katz picks UConn, and Doyel selects Oklahoma (yes, that's right, Oklahoma).

At SI.com, sportswriters are submitting nominees for the best college basketball player ever. Each nominee has a writeup on why he or she should be considered the best; these summaries do a good job of providing the highlights of each player's career. Former Bruins Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton are included as nominees, of course. However, I guess nobody is allowed to pick a player already chosen, as there are about 30 writers, each with a different choice. This results in some very suspect suggestions like Chris Webber and Jason Kidd. Perhaps SI should call this the best 30 college players ever, as many on this list are nowhere near #1.

in the NBA, that is. Reggie Miller in the East, Baron Davis in the West. How often does that happen - the two NBA players of the week being from the same school? Probably more often than I think.

Glad to see these guys doing well. Reggie is having an incredible final year, and Baron is certainly cementing his status as an elite NBA player. By the way, the Warriors have won six in a row and are now only four games behind the Lakers with 8 games to play (including one matchup between the two teams up in NoCal), which means Golden State could finish the season with a better record - yikes! Also, at this moment, the Clips are a half-game AHEAD of the Lakers. i think they're handing out ice skates and snow skis down in hell right now...

The Daily Bruin chronicles McKinney's health struggles the past year, and provides a recap of his first game back playing volleyball.

At ESPN.com's Page 2, Skip Bayless tries to convince us that NBA basketball is better than college basketball. As he puts it, "When I flip back and forth between college and pro games, the difference in skill and athletic ability is as startling as the difference between men's and women's college games." In my eyes, his argument is absolutely ludicrous. The article came out on April 1, so maybe this is an April Fool's joke, but it sure doesn't read like one. It sounds like he actually believes what he is writing, so let's go through some of the points he makes:

"...don't gimme that old wives' tale...that pro basketball players play hard only in the last two minutes...I am astounded by how hard most NBA teams play – tip to buzzer, on both ends – night after night of an 82-game schedule." Okay, maybe this is an April Fool's joke. NBA players playing hard night after night? He obviously has not seen 99% of the Lakers' regular-season games after they won the title in 2000. They don't just take plays off, they take games off. And it's not just the Lakers, and it's not just regular season games (have you ever watched a visiting team coast in Game 2 of a playoff series after "stealing" Game 1 on the road?). Of course there are exceptions, but overall there is no comparison between the intensity displayed by college players and their NBA counterparts.

"...so many of the players who could be dominating this NCAA Tournament are already taking over NBA games. LeBron. Carmelo. Amare. Even Dwight Howard and J.R. Smith are already emerging as All-Star candidates." Look, athleticism is great, but that doesn't mean that NBA games are examples of good basketball. I mean, the fact that some of these guys are excelling despite lacking many fundamental basketball skills demonstrates that the NBA has been reduced to a showcase for individual feats, not inspired team basketball. And while I acknowledge the other-worldly athleticism of NBA players, don't sell college hoopsters short either. Did you see Maurice Ager's dunk over JJ Redick? What about Roger Powell Jr. getting a putback dunk off his own missed 3-pointer? There are still tremendous athletes in the college game.

"This year, the games have been the stars...The early-round results were far more amazing than the individual feats. Vermont beat Syracuse? Kansas lost to Bucknell?" What? These upsets are grounds for criticism? Did he actually watch the games? Did he experience the late-game drama? T.J. Sorrentine's 30-footer against Syracuse was one of the most entertaining basketball moments I've ever seen. These games involve less-heralded players getting a chance to prove themselves on a national stage. How is this possibly a bad thing from a fan's perspective? Here is his answer:

"As a basketball fan, I would have preferred to see if Syracuse would have been too talented for Michigan State, or if Kansas could have overcome Wisconsin." Right, because Michigan State playing Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina just was not good enough. I can see how having to watch Vermont attempt two upsets in a row instead of a Syracuse-MSU matchup would create pain just too great to bear.

Regarding the college game, "The three-point line is so anyone-can-get-hot-and-shoot-you-in-the-heart close." Okay, this is perhaps his only valid point. The college distance allows less-than-stellar shooters to make 3-pointers. And it can lead to some "artificially-created" upsets because sometimes less-talented teams win simply because they were hot from the outside. But the role of three-pointer as equalizer also should be lauded, because it has created new styles of play, where certain teams use it as a primary mode of attack, a la West Virginia. And this leads to other teams having to adapt, such as Louisville abandoning its zone defense in favor of a full-court trap that allowed the Cardinals to take advantage of its superior athleticism. These tactical adjustments lead to intriguing, entertaining basketball.

"But if you live in a college hotbed without an NBA team – Louisville, for instance – you're probably wishing I'd go live in Albania. You're muttering to me that college basketball is so much more pure...I'm sorry, but your college team serves as your pro equivalent. The best players on your team probably wouldn't have chosen – or been chosen by – your school if they weren't basketball players. And some of them would have skipped Dear Old U. altogether if they'd been assured they'd go in the first round of the NBA draft." Obviously, there is some truth in this. But clearly, college players have a stronger allegiance to their institutions than do pro players, especially at the smaller schools like Vermont and Bucknell (yet Bayless has already said he doesn't want to watch these teams). Even at a school like Memphis that Bayless would consider a "pro equivalent", we see passion hardly ever exhibited in the NBA. When freshman Darius Washington slumped to the floor after missing those two free throws against Louisville, it wasn't because he was concerned that his future NBA stock was falling. It was because he let wanted to do all he could to help his teammates and his school win. You don't see emotion like that in the professional game.

"Yes, sometimes that [NBA] reality includes Latrell Sprewell... demanding a raise because he has a family to feed. Sometimes, it includes Ron Artest, the human technical foul, going after a fan in the stands and starting a riot. Sometimes, it includes the NBA version of Wally Cleaver – Kobe Bryant – committing adultery and being embroiled in allegations of sexual assault." His words, not mine.

Bayless also says NBA refs are better. He argues that on Patrick Sparks' controversial 3-pointer against Michigan State, the refs missed that he was fouled and took too long to make the call: "...they took more than six minutes to decide that the shot did indeed count for three points. Most NBA refs would have quickly and correctly called the foul and the foot." Sure NBA refs would have called it quickly. But they would not have looked at his foot; if it had been an NBA playoff game, first the refs would have to know if Kentucky was leading the series. If so, the shot counts - gotta have those playoff series go as long as possible. If the series was tied but the game was not Game 7, then the shot would count if Kentucky was the home team. Gotta appease the home fans, plus the opposing team has a chance to make up for it on their home floor later in the series. And if it was Game 7, then whether or not Lexington is a bigger media market than East Lansing would determine if the shot counts. We all know the NBA needs its big market teams to go deep in the playoffs.

Okay, this really isn't how NBA officiating works, but his point is rather idiotic. Is he really criticizing the officials for doing everything they can to get the call right? Plus there's no way to know for sure that NBA refs would have made the call in less time than the NCAA refs. And most importantly, WHO CARES. Yes, referees can impact the enjoyability of watching an individual game, but the difference in quality between NBA and NCAA officiating is not significant enough to systematically improve the entertainment value of one league over the other. They're just refs, Skip.

I know, different strokes for different folks, but overall, I just don't buy his argument. The NBA has better players? Of course. But they play just as hard and with as much passion as college kids? No way. And as far as the games themselves, the pro game typically features stagnant offenses and simple, boring defense. You rarely will see things like full-court pressing and motion offenses that make the college game unique and fun to watch. And while a 7-game series format might do a better job of preventing upsets, the NCAA tournament allows underdogs an opportunity to shine while still providing matchups between powerhouse teams. As far as I'm concerned, if the college season ended after the NBA's, I might not watch any pro hoops at all.

First, Winn gives his top 10 college hoops teams for next year. No, UCLA is not in the top 10, but he does mention us as one of many other teams to watch (along with teams like Illinois, Louisville, and Wake Forest). Also, Andy Katz gives his top 25. He has the Bruins at #14! His comments:

Ben Howland was downplaying how good the Bruins will be next season. That's because he doesn't want to hear the hype. Too bad. UCLA has one of the best backcourts in the country in point guard Jordan Farmar and Aaron Afflalo. The Bruins got a taste of the tournament this year and are positioned to do much more next season.

As much as I'd love to agree with Katz, I think he has lost his mind. He has UCLA the highest of any Pac-10 team, four spots ahead of Washington, the next highest (Winn has Washington at #9). There is no friggin way we go into next year as the favorite to win the Pac-10. But at least it looks like we're back on the national radar, which certainly is a good thing.

A very fun game to watch last night. Every time I thought Illinois was dead, they somehow managed to crawl back into it. In the end, though, the shots just didn't fall when they were needed the most. Sean May certainly carried the Tar Heels, but what really hurt Illinois was suspect shot selection in the first half. In the second half, although Illinois was still jacking up the threes, they seemed to be much more open looks. Had UNC lost the game, their inability to fight through screens and contest shots in the second half would have been the main culprit. It would have been interesting to see how things would have been different had James Augustine not been in foul trouble the whole game. Perhaps the Illini's offense would have been less perimeter-oriented, especially during the last two minutes of the game when Illinois really didn't need three-pointers any more. However, I doubt Augustine's presence would have slowed down May, as Channing Frye had a similarly dominating game against Illinois just last week with Augustine playing 30+ minutes.

Perhaps the biggest surprise for me last night: hearing that the basketball powerhouse that is North Carolina had just won its fourth national title. Only four? I know, there is more to a basketball program than just the number of past championships, but this really puts into perspective how special UCLA's basketball history is. Winning championships is not easy. Many argue that it was easier back in Wooden's day, but before the Bruins won 10 in 12 years, only one team had even won more than two (Kentucky had won four), and no team had ever won more than two in a row. So it was extremely difficult to win national titles back then too.

Anyway, I'm glad last night's game turned out to be competitive and pretty much lived up to the hype. Hopefully, in one of these next few years, we again will have the opportunity to watch UCLA win on a Monday night in April.

Go Bruins!

Without the Bruins playing, I guess this matchup between the two best teams in the country is the best-case scenario. I will try to enjoy the game and not think about how this is the last college basketball game for like 7 months. Usually after the NCAA title game, I go into hoops withdrawal and turn to the NBA for a cheap fix, but this is like an alcoholic trying to get drunk off of vanilla extract and maraschino cherries. With the Lakers in their present state, it's going to be even worse this year. And if the Heat somehow win the title, I might have to keep myself away from sharp objects - I imagine I would feel a lot like Kansas fans will feel if Roy Williams and the Tar Heels win tonight.

In this LA Times article, Marques Johnson provides us with his memories of playing under Coach John Wooden. Johnson focuses on all of the things Coach Wooden taught him, as well as the emotion of playing in Coach's last game, which was 30 years ago. Incidentally, that game was the last time the top two teams in the nation played for the championship, which will happen once again tomorrow night.

If you are the coach of the Duke Blue Devils, there's only once thing that can console you: your American Express card.

For those of us without ESPNU, ESPN Classic will be showing "Walton & the Wizard", a show that I mentioned earlier in which Bill Walton interviews Coach Wooden. It will air tomorrow (Monday, April 4) at 12:30 pm (sorry, this notice is a bit late). If you have ESPNU, the show will be on several times during the week on that channel.

ESPN Classic also will be showing an episode of John Wooden on "Up Close" which originally aired back on March 26, 1997. This will be on Tuesday, April 12, at 7:30am. For a little context, March 1997 is when Steve Lavin was completing his first year as Bruin head coach; perhaps this will come up during the interview.

What a day to remember! What a terrible feeling it was when I saw Tyus Edney trying to dribble through the Arkansas press one-handed due to his injured right wrist. And then Cameron Dollar came in for him and on his very first play, he got his pocket picked leading to an uncontested hoop for the Razorbacks. I remember watching that and thinking it was going to be a very long night. But I believe that was the last turnover Dollar had in the game, Ed put up his 30 and 17, and George Zidek pushed Scoreless Williamson around enough to lead the Bruins to victory. To reminisce some more, see these old Daily Bruin articles from 1995: one recapping the game action and one with notes about the team and the game.

Also, Mike Downey has a short article on Jim Harick and that championship game.

according to this article in the Fresno Bee. Lavin also recommends his former assistant Jim Saia as a worthy candidate.

Yoni Cohen has a summary of all the jobs in which Lavin has expressed interest over the years. I personally would be shocked if Lavin ever left the friendly confines of the Espn studio to re-enter the rigorous world of coaching.

Saturday will be a little tough, because watching the final 4 when UCLA is not involved is always bittersweet. There's no sport I enjoy watching more than college basketball, but with the Bruins eliminated early on, the final 4 seems so anticlimactic, especially compared to the frenzy and overwhelming number of games early in the tournament. I can only hope it's just a matter of time before we are once again playing during the last weekend (or even the 2nd-to-last weekend) of the college hoops season.

in any event, here's a little NCAA championship trivia. what is Sean May trying to accomplish that a few former Bruins have already done? Become one of only three father-son tandems that have won NCAA men's basketball titles as players (Sean's father Scott won a title with Indiana in 1976). Who are the other two duos? If you're really trying to figure this out on your own, don't read the following hint: one tandem consists of two Bruins related to a Bruin who just played his last game, while the other pair consists of a father who played at UCLA but then coached at the detested private school across town, and his son who played at the dreaded school in the desert. I tried my best to give it away, but if you want to check your answer, feel free to take a peek at this article.

To see some good recaps of the 2004-5 Bruin season and previews of 2005-6 from non-mainstream sources, check out MaverickBruin.com and Bruin World. At Maverick's site, scroll down until you find "The Season In Review" and also "New Players Add Depth, Promise." On the Bruin World site, see the posts dated March 23 and March 24.

I hope to posts some thoughts on next year in the next couple of days.

James Keefe, a verbal commitment for 2006-07, made the second team, while Darren Collison, part of our incoming class for next year, made the fourth team.

Here is an article taking us back to the 1973 UCLA title game against Memphis State, when Bill Walton scored 44 points on 21 of 22 shooting from the floor. An outrageous quote from former Memphis State player Wes Westfall is included:

I still say if we play UCLA in a best-of-three series, we win. Bill Walton or no Bill Walton. People didn't understand how good we were.

Now this quote is not central to the story, and Westfall seems like a nice enough guy, as the article mentions how he recently gave a eulogy for one of his former teammates, but this statement is absolutely preposterous (how ironic - a ludicrous quote about Bill Walton). Memphis State would have taken two of three from the Bruins? The Bruins who won what would have been game 1 of the series by 21 points?!? The Bruins who at the time had a 75-game winning streak and just completed their second 30-0 season in a row?!?!? Maybe this is his idea of an April Fool's joke. :)

Frank Burlison briefly touches on this in his column today, and he says that Keating will not pursue it. I'm not real familiar with Keating, but his decision to stay with the Bruins sure seems like a good thing for our program. Keating is known as an excellent recruiter; you can see some of his accolades at his bio on the UCLA athletics website. You also should definitely check out this USA Today article from last year featuring Keating most prominently, but also addressing the recruiting efforts of Ben Howland and the other UCLA assistants, Donny Daniels and Ernie Zeigler.