Roundup From BN Walk: News & Notes

It's a slow Sunday here around the Nation (actually scorching hot out in the East Coast). We will start with the Big Fella who has the keys for game 2 tonight:

Sunday: Keys for Game 2
If the Lakers want to win Game 2 they have to figure out a way to keep Kevin Garnett in particular off the offensive boards. They were badly outrebounded 46-33 in Game 1. They’re going to have to do a better job on their defensive boards and stick with their offense. Phil has run through this problem at other times when the Lakers decide that it’s OK to shoot a lot of three-point shots. That has always spelled disaster for them and it is still the case. If they can stick to their game plan and hopefully make their shots when they have them, they have a good chance of winning the game. The Celtics didn’t beat them as badly as they did during the regular season. It was a close game until late into the fourth quarter. That is a good indication.

In addition I think the guys need to show a little more patience on offense particularly when the Celtics clamp down their D. They also need to make sure they don't let go off their focus and composure watching any off court drama courtesy of Paul Pierce in game 2.

Moving over to football apparently the program picked up a new OL to walk on for next season. From Dohn:

Offensive lineman Brett Downey from Bret Harte High of Angels Camp is walking on at UCLA. He had offers from Nevada and Sacramento State, but decided to try and earn a scholarship down the line at UCLA.
He also played defensive line and made 58 tackles and had four sacks as a senior.

Although per a local report from Downey's home town, he was getting a scholarship offer from UCLA as he committed to RN on an "official visit" in Westwood:

Bret Harte High School graduate Brett Downey is headed to one of college football's big-time destinations.

The Bullfrogs' 6-foot-7, 265-pound, all-Mother Lode League offensive tackle verbally committed Wednesday to play for UCLA.

"I'm relieved ... I'm excited ... I'm thrilled ... I'm relieved again," Downey said after flying home from his official visit to the UCLA campus in Westwood.

He's the first Bret Harte player to make the jump to an NCAA Division I-A school since Jimmy Hecker played for the Air Force Academy in the 1980s. Hecker started at free safety for the Falcons and was an academic All-American in 1988.

The last few weeks were tough on Downey as he made campus visits and tried to decide from among Nevada, Sacramento State and two University of California schools — Berkeley and Los Angeles.

Nevada was the first big school to show interest in him and, for the longest time, was the only one. Sac State eventually came on board and the big boys of the Pac-10 got into the game in the late stages.

Downey said he chose UCLA for a number of reasons.

"The whole school was just amazing — the athletics, the dorms, the academics, the academic support ... you're going there to get a degree, not just to play football,"' he said. "I just loved the whole school, and the coaches were great to me ... just fantastic."

Dohn still insists though that he is not "a scholarship player" and that his visit to UCLA was "unofficial." Who cares? At this point going into next season, given the depth of our OL, it is always good to have more options available for Palcic and co. to work with. So welcome to Westwood Brett. We are excited to have you on board as well.

GO BRUINS.