CBH and DC are real men for taking accountability and responsibility. You have to acknowledge and own mistakes in order to improve. CBH’s young men learn more than just basketball because of the character CBH demonstrates – gee, kinda like Coach. We are truly fortunate we have the Caretaker. (Contrast that to tweedledum and tweedledee across town.)

One point on taking the foot off the pedal. I forced myself to watch those last eight minutes of regulation. I really didn’t see overt stalling until about 90 seconds to go – and at that point with a two-point lead, it was the right thing to do. It seemed to me the open shots off picks, drives in the lane, and passes in the paint that were part of the reason we got the 11-point lead disappeared. DC kept probing the defense to find something, but we either missed the open shot, or had to rush a shot. Perhaps it was a combination of ASU making the adjustment, our players tiring (as CBH said), the lineup that was in, and just plain cold shooting (how did MR air-ball that three attempt?). Hey, no excuses. Sh*t happens. That which does not kill us, serves to make us better.

…but I think CBH and our guys will take more from losing this game than if they had managed to just hold on.

Our guys were clicking, everything was falling our way, we were winning on the road, we demolished Arizona at Pauley. I think this loss is exactly what we needed: we needed to be brought back down to Earth, to realize these Bruins are not invincible.

Better to learn it now than March.

Yes the loss was frustrating. Harden puts his head down, lowers his shoulder, and pushes off every time down the court. I think the biggest thing CBH will be looking at is the lack of charges that we tried to take. Once Harden got to the back line we went for the big block instead of the charge. We had him in foul trouble and let him get away.

CBH did make some adjustments to try to attack the zone. He sent DC to the high post numerous times. It just felt like our guys were hesitant to attack the basket and would settle for too many jumpshots.

Nestor, I concur with you, the lost really hurts, we had to deal with the low class ASU fans after the game. The Bruins rarely beat themselves, I accepted the fact that Florida was better than us for 2 years, and Memphis had equal talent with us last year. I’m still bothered by the suc game last year. However, yesterday we just simply didn’t execute during crunch time

However, the comments from CBH and DC shows you the maturity and class of our program that the coaches and players take responsibility. I’m also glad nobody threw CBH, DC, or other players under the bus.

I read an article from the OC Register that Jrue Holiday only played 1 minute from the last 8 minutes of regulation. Just wondering if his playmaking skills would have helped DC with the distribution of the ball. We’ve been seeing 2 – 3 zones from other teams. If we lack the low post presence, other teams might copy ASU’s zone 3 – 2 matchup zone, which pressures our perimeter players. The play that was available most of the night was the backdoor lob to AA2, I know that is not his game, but this is when Drew Gordon can be valuable because he is a high riser. The lob is also available in the 1-3-1 zone defense.

ASU coach Sendak did a good job with his X and O’s especially after the time outs.
I’d be nice if CBH can send a runner up to Coach Wooden, and have him script some plays for us during time outs (of course, Coach would never do this)

I’d rather have a team that plays hard nose defense and gives a chance to win every game (e.g. UCLA) than a team that is very talented offensively, but plays defense when ever it wants and gives its opponents hope (e.g. Lakers). BBall warriors play their hearts out and you can never fault their effort, but the Lakers frustrate me when they lack the passion.

Go Bruins!

We do have to keep in mind the fact we don’t have too large a front line or a true “go to guy”. I think this could cost us once we get into the Tournament.

I don’t know about you guys, but I am disgusted with the fact that so many coaches in college and the pros are getting fired because they haven’t won the big one in recent years (e.g. Mike Shanahan, Philip Fulmer, Jon Gruden, Eric Mangini, etc.). I’ve heard from some mainstream media folks and fair weather fans that CBH needs to win the national championship soon because Final Fours don’t cut it at UCLA. Of course, some piled on him after yesterday’s game.

The approach I am taking is savoring the moment, enjoying each game at a time, and watching student-athletes develop grow into mature men. I think True Bruins love the fact that Coach Wooden former players are champions on and off the court.

I graduated in 95 and enjoyed watching O’Bannon and the guys win the national championship. However, I feel a closer connection with CBH and the current core group of players. They’ve brought integrity, class, hard work, and domination back to UCLA basketball.

We should never be spoiled brats like suc fans. We need to appreciate what we with CBH and the Ben Ball Warriors.

UCLA Bruins, Champions on and off the court!

Nestor, remember the sarcastic remarks Jim Boeheim and Roy Williams made after they won national championships. They said that after they won the big win, all of a sudden, they became great coaches and geniuses (of course, this comment was to spite the media and spoiled fans). They had the monkey on their back for so long. I hope that Bruin fans don’t put the extra burden on CBH. Coach Howland has mentioned numerous times that he knows the expectations at UCLA and he embraces it.

We already know that CBH is already a great coach and stat nut. He could probably teach Statistics at UCLA. A championship is icing on the cake for him and the players.

BTW, click on my icon, and check out the “Holiday” shirt I made. If Jrue comes back next year, I’ll make a bunch more, otherwise, I’ll like to make a “Ben Ball Warriors” t-shirt with BN logo for next year’s season.

Nestor, I have a size large “Holiday” shirt for you if you want it.

This team is 6th in the country in offensive efficiency.

The hardest part about the game yesterday was how genuine and honest an assessment we got. It was right there, exactly how good we are against teams who matter. We were ready, poised, but just didn’t get it done. We could have won, but we didn’t.

Our hot recent shooting set us up for this moment. Even good shooting teams go cold or stagnant at times, and when they do, they can easily lose. Think of Duke over the last 4 or 5 years—Very good teams, with a big reliance on the three. When they didn’t shoot well, yikes. Our current team reminds me of those Duke teams, at least in part.

I’m not sure we choked. Sure, we could have easily won. But, on the other hand, we were due for some stagnancy and missed shots. Plus, we have not yet been able to beat a very good top-25 caliber team. Given our year, this game was questionable from the beginning. An opporunity to prove something for sure, but certainly no guarantee.

For better or worse, this team can’t say it hasn’t had the opportunity to break through the ceiling of goodness into the realm of greatness. The opportunities have been there, the tests nearly passed, but in each case failed. We need to get better, more flexible, more well-rounded. Or we need to be happy we are beating teams we are supposed to beat (which we have done well), and also happy that we are at least playing tough against good teams. With this team, maybe that is all we can ask.

The ASU game is going to sting right up until selection sunday, because once again we couldn’t beat a top-25 type team. The Notre Dame game now becomes almost a must-win for seeding. Not because it will make or break the season, but because it could make or break a top-3 seed (which grew distant after Saturday). In reality, we will likely go into the tournament with a sub-500 record against tournament teams, which is kind of shocking, but not totally surprising. I am assuming that we aren’t going to win-out in the Pac-10 (but I hope I am wrong!).

No one should be shocked if we fall to # 13 or 14 in the polls. And I’d rather prefer it. If we can’t beat sure fire tournament teams, then we shouldn’t be near the top-10. I’d rather earn that spot, instead of riding on smoke. Besides, as it is #13 or 14 is probably too high for us. But that is ok.

Road games in the Pac-10 are always tough. Two wins this week will clear out the bad taste for me, so here’s to hoping we make that happen.

Go Bruins.