Proud to call Arron Afflalo a fellow Bruin
by sfatoo on Mar 25, 2007 7:23 PM PDT
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PrintFrom the diaries. I know I am little late to this party, but how about them Bruins. And how about no. 4. ROFLMAO at the morons who came on here after the Cal game deriding AA as just a roll player. Thanks sftatoo for writing up a note which I was thinking about writing. AA is now officially one of my three all time favorite Bruin, who I have had the pleasure to watch either as an alum or a student. Thank you Arron for all that have you done to restore the pride in the greatest basketball program of all time. I know. We are not going to hang any Final 4 banners inside Pauley. So our business is not complete. However, you have officially earned the status of a living Bruin legend in this Bruin's scrapbook. Thank you. Now take care of business Saturday. GO BRUINS. - N
I know that Nestor and others have already posted in regards to their appreciation for our MVP, but I would like to add to that.
Arron had been having a tough couple of weeks since our victory to wrap up the Pac-10 title against Washington State. Although he still was producing and helping our team more than anyone, he was getting some nasty backlash from the MSM. They said he was going through a major slump, and even his draft stock was taking a beating. Idiots like Pucin had no problem jumping in with headlines such as "All's not well with Afflalo".
In all honesty, his slump really wasn't that bad and he was still the most important Bruin. Despite his poor shooting percentage in the Pitt game, he was still our leading scorer and netted an important 10 straight free throws. And that is truly the mark of a great player. Arron understood that his field goals were not falling and rather than pouting or trying to shoot out of his slump, he put the ball on the floor and drove to the basket to get himself to the foul line. He did the same at the end of the Indiana game to lead us to victory.
After all the negative press, Afflalo showed everyone (again) what a great player he was with his giant performance against Kansas. On the biggest stage that UCLA has been on all year, Afflalo threw dagger after dagger into the title hopes of the Jayhawks and shut up each idiot in the press that had no problem putting him down when he had a tough stretch.
What I've seen in his performance this year is a warrior and a man who is willing to do whatever it takes to bring not only himself, but also his peers to perform to the best of their abilities. Quotes like this from a year old Daily Bruin piece about AA have so much more meaning during his phenomenal season:
"He has a good perspective on life," said Afflalo's father, Benjamin Afflalo. "He's a caring person and a good person. I'm more proud of the man he's becoming than (who he has become) as a basketball player. People are starting to notice that and I'm happy to see that."...
"I think that comes from my life and how I was never given anything or put on a pedestal," Afflalo said. "I feel that everything that I've gotten, I've earned. That keeps me humble. Guys that aren't probably as humble are guys that are given a lot.
"I think if you work for things you understand the value of it all," Afflalo said. "That's my mentality right now.
"If I work hard and do things the right way then I can appreciate it more and then others can take notice."
Arron is not only one of the greatest players to put on a Bruin uniform, but a solid, humble young man. It's impossible not to root for this young man and the rest of our Ben Ball warriors. Now let's go Bruins and let's bring home banner #12!
U-C-L-A FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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Final Four
Bill
That's a good thing
We are only 3 point dogs.
by bornagainbruin on Mar 26, 2007 10:44 AM PDT up reply actions
Against KU we were 2 point dogs
So, although I do have a fair amount of respect for the oddsmakers, and think they generally know their business, they are not always right.
With a 3 point line, I do not think the players really care. When the line is huge, then players often speak about the "disrespect" shown to them, but the line should be irrelevant here.
I agree, last year's game will be motivation enough for our guys.
Let's face it: Florida is tough. They are big down low and they can shoot the 3. But our defense can shut down any team when it is clicking.
we won by 13
ONE MORE YEAR
The ESPN crew predictions:
Slimy Lavin and Pilsbury doughman Majerus both have UCLA and Georgetown in the final and Georgetown winning it all
Digger and the mouth of the ACC Vitale have Florida beating UCLA.
When the slickster Lavin was asked about the biggest story of the tourney he answered with the ACC not being represented in the final 4 this year and last year - basically implying that they have been exposed as being pretty weak, similar to him as a coach.
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