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Around SBN: The 2009-2010 Card Chronicle Big East basketball preview

Cover Boys

If you subscribe to the UCLA magazine get ready for this cover to hit your mailbox:

Hoops-530-all5-top_medium

Yes, our freshmen warriors are the cover story of the January issue. This is probably the most fun article I have read on these freshmen, that delve into their personalities and talk about their experience as a student athlete. Wendy Soderburg and Patrick Giardino give us a little peak into what these kids think of each other. Apparently JH is a "homebody":

Surprisingly enough, Jrue Holiday, while perhaps the most highly touted of the freshman class, is also one of the quietest. As the other four describe him, he's a homebody. He even says so himself.

UCLA's close proximity to home no doubt factored into Holiday's decision to come here. But with a mother who is a dean, an athletic director and a teacher at his alma mater, Campbell Hall High School, academics was a big pull, too. "This is a really prestigious school, so that definitely caught my eye," says Holiday.

DG is the "enforcer" who "takes care of everybody":

Drew Gordon is a business economics major, but he also likes math and science. "I knew this was a strong academic school all around, so I was generally interested in the whole subject matter. I was going to pick and choose as I went along," he says.

Gordon has the reputation for being the "enforcer" of the group. As Morgan points out, Gordon takes care of everybody, making sure that they stay out of trouble. "But he likes to have fun, too, just like all of us," Anderson adds.

ML is a "gym rat":

Like the other freshmen, Malcolm Lee had his pick of several top schools but chose UCLA for reasons that included academics, location and the tradition of the basketball program. He's been called a "gym rat" by his fellow freshmen for his propensity to shoot hoops at all hours of the day or night. "Every time he can get into the gym, he tries to get into the gym, just to put shots up," Anderson says.

JA (perceived by his team-mates) is an "outgoing, pretty boy, ladies' man":

An excellent high school student, Jerime Anderson has expressed an interest in communication studies. "My mom was always the type to say that you have to have a back-up plan," he says. Gordon calls Anderson a hard worker, but, as evidenced by the descriptions provided by some of the other freshmen — outgoing, pretty boy, ladies' man — he also likes to have fun. "He likes the girls," Morgan says with a smile.

And JM is the Class Clown!:

Everyone agrees that J'mison Morgan is the clown of the group. Even his nickname, "Bobo," was derived from "Bozo the Clown."

"When I was a baby, I had hair around the edges and down the middle, like Bozo the Clown, so my mom called me Bozo," he explains. "And my brother, who's a year and a half older than me, couldn't say 'Bozo' at the time, so he called me 'Bobo.' It kind of stuck." Obviously, Morgan doesn't mind the nickname — "BO" is tattooed on each of his calves.

Yet all five of them are crystal clear on what is their ultimate goal(s) at UCLA:

"That's the goal here at UCLA, period, for any sport to win the national championship, you know? It's not just us," Anderson says. "I want to see that happen for the seniors, who've been there three times in a row. Definitely, that's what I want to see."

Take in rest of this fantastic read with lot more great photos of these five freshmen over here.

GO BRUINS.

0 recs  |  Comment 7 comments

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What a great picture.

Fun and joy flows from each face.

It’s the kind of look a parent wants to see on a son or daughter’s face.

How different from the pictures one usually sees from cross town and how different the quotes. I can’t remember an sc kid talking about the role academics had in choosing that place. Yet, over and over again, our recruits in all sports talk about the university part of UCLA.

Inspiring.

sjh

by Class of 66 on Dec 19, 2008 8:30 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Why am I not surprised?

Does anything from the article sound like a description of OJ2 when he took his entourage over to justsc and picked up his credit card and his plasma TV? Do any of these guys sound like some of the blowhards from out in the desert?

Gee – a freshman class that has interests in academics as well as basketball. I am very proud of these guys (and of our whole team and our coaches), but I am not surprised.

by Fox 71 on Dec 19, 2008 8:34 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

My favorite pic

is the ground-up shot of of JH performing that “And 1 over the shoulder between the legs” dribble. It is as if he is a giant that has come to our planet to play basketball, the heights of which I am sure his star will rise.

by bruin8uclap on Dec 19, 2008 10:11 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Unbelievable (but believable)

You just can’t help but look at those faces and, win, lose or draw, you know we’ve got the best kids anywhere as part of the basketball program. No doubt, the success of the progam in getting kids to the NBA is a draw to, but you have to have fun and go to class, too, before you even get to that step, and only UCLA provides all of that.

by jraucla on Dec 20, 2008 9:32 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Exactly what you would expect with CBH

What a joy to read about the character and priorities of these new Bruins.
I had the privilege of chatting with Coach Howland for quite awhile as he was recruiting in Northern California last spring. I was deeply impressed as in our convresation he kept focusing on the character of the young men he was recruiting. Coach Howland clearly cares about the things that matter. He emphasized basketball intelligence and character (Team first and defense first), as well as academics and character off the court. Clearly, this freshman class is a reflection of those priorities and they make me even more proud to be a BRUIN.

by PlumasBruin on Dec 20, 2008 12:27 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

This is the class

I don’t know why, but there’s something about this class. Obviously, they’re mega-talented and all that…but there’s something more. I saw flashes of it on Saturday, even if it was against a lowly opponent. Lee and Gordon are going to be something to behold, and once Bobo learns to control his body and his hands and gets into shape, this class could bring banner 12. I really believe that. It’s not an expectation though, it’s just a feeling. They seem like great kids anyway and they are going to make UCLA proud no matter what.

But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.

by tasser10 on Dec 20, 2008 1:12 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

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