Just a few observations about last nights game. First of all the free throw shooting was just horrible from everyone one the team, really need to work on that especially when playing at home. Second, I know that RN is a freshman, but why was he not in the game in the last 10 minutes of the game. He brought the team back with a couple of buckets and got the crowd going after a dunk he had. The last thing about the game is that is Fullerton players new how to take decent shots, the game would not have been close. It is still early , there is still alot of potential on this team. One more thing , doesn ND need to be in the game all the time, it seems like he kills us.

“We can’t take nights off,” [James Keefe] said. “We don’t have the skill or the players to walk through games.” – LA Fishwrap.

You think, James?

I watched the second half, and both overtimes. My mother told me if I don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything.

So, I will say this. The young men wearing UCLA uniforms yesterday are probably very nice young men – they open doors for girls, and give old ladies seats on the bus, I would hope. I also hope they will learn how to play basketball at some point in the future. I’m not sure what I was watching last night, but there was no evidence of UCLA basketball.

I wish Coach Howland and the program a lot of luck this year. I hope next year’s recruits are able to start playing significant minutes immediately. To all these recruits, it appears they will have that opportunity immediately.

I look forward to reading about rays of hope they see in this year’s team. I plan to be very patient.

I awoke with black thoughts rolling around in my fevered brain; heretical things, such as wondering how the coaching genius who brought Farmar, Afflalo, etc., etc., to Westwood could have wasted so many scholarships on these ordinary stiffs, who clanked every kind of shot off the rim(except for air balls, of course) and couldn’t turn a huge edge in rebounding and turnovers into a win. But after two cups of coffee, I am feeling better, and seeing the possibilities in this mixed crew of veterans and youngsters. First of all, it is clear that the defense is improving. I think it will continue to improve. The offense, well, I understand Howland’s offensive philosophy, so we will have to live with it. Some guys have to stand up in every category of shot-making. I think the talent is there, and I know we can shoot better than we did last night. I mean, who can’t? So, just as with the football team, we have to give it time, and we will begin to achieve our potential. Pouring a third cup now. Hey, they didn’t play so badly after all, did they? The next outing will be a lot better.

After watching the first exhibition games, I know we have a team that cannot shoot free throws. Fulletin is not even a good team, how can we expect to beat some of the Pac-10 teams? I am hoping Coach does not put a lot of hope on ND. When he is cold, take him out! That goes for MR also. I believe if we don’t start playing Nelson and Honeycut and stay with the seniors, we are at best 50-50 team. Besides we can’t shoot free throws, we don’t know how to penetrate and draw fouls, also, we were shooting too many 3’s because we didn’t know how to play against zone ( I didn’t see a lot of movement from the players).

Has anyone ever seen that many airballs? And if the shots did hit the rim, they were complete bricks.

Positives:
- The apocalypse didn’t occur.
- We still might not be as bad as USC.
- USC lost to Stanford 55-21.

Negatives:
- We lost to freaking Cal State Fullerton.

Yeah, I think the negatives outweigh the positives, personally. In the back of my mind I thought this year had a chance to be something like 2005-6: a young, talented team of mostly sophomores but with some veteran leadership coming together as the season went on and becoming a dangerous force by the time March rolled around. After last night’s utter and complete embarrassment, I think our ceiling is 2004-5; an up-and-down season ending with a did-we-really-deserve-it? NCAA Tourney appearance and a first-round loss. Hey, at least that means we’ll be in the Final Four next year.

This is the first game I watched this season; a few things were pretty obvious to me:

1. Turnovers Turnovers Turnovers: Poor shooting happens, but sloppiness and carelessness with the ball is unacceptable. We were way too careless with the ball and alot of that has to do with laziness and lack of focus. In particular, JA (#3) and ND (#2) were turnovers waiting to happen.
2. ND should not be playing very many minutes. He’s lazy on defense – i.e. he causes confusion because he is always switching on D (because he’s lazy) – it’s like he’s playing zone while everyone else is playing straight up man. ND is also easy to guard because he does not move enough without the ball. That’s readily apparent when watchin our zone offense. You can see MB is moving around trying to come off screens for a shot; but ND tends to stand still or drift. It may be a product of design of the offense; but I think part of it is also his laziness or lack of mobility. ND is also careless with the ball because he tries to make too many flashy, sexy highlight reel plays. He lost possession on the failed alley-oop attempt to (Gordon? Or Keefe?). He almost lost possession trying to make a behind the back pass (to either Lee or Anderson, I forget which) which happened to hit his butt cheek in the second half. He also almost lost possession again when he made a lazy, careless pass which was deflected out of bounds by a CSUF defender. He made a couple of hustle plays, but those don’t make up for the lazy defense and the sloppy ballhandling.
3. JA is uncomfortable out there. For a PG to lose the ball on an inbounds play (which then leads to fastbreak pts. for the other team) is unacceptable. That inbounds pass when we were taking it out underneath our own basket and JA lobbed a pass to midcourt which was intercepted and led to a fast break on the end was a clear example of lack of focus.
4. RN plays with energy but also lacks focus at times. RN reminds me of a more athletic and energetic Travis Reed; 6’8", kind of stocky, strong, can absorb contact and most importantly, finish around the rim. However, RN still makes boneheaded freshman mistake. RN made a careless pass when he took the ball inbounds after the made free throw; I almost wanted to take him out right then and there.
5. We need another player who can create off the dribble drive penetration, besides ML. Hopefully, that will be TH or MM. ML was the one player who was effective at breaking down the zone with penetration.

In my message, I write “You can see MB is moving around trying to come off screens for a shot; but ND tends to stand still or drift.” I meant to say MR, not MB… sorry for the confusion..

Looks like everything that could be said about last night’s minor debacle has been covered very well. Expectations need to be modest for this team, but they will work hard and they will improve. They lack shooters, and that’s going to be a problem, but ND isn’t going to be quite so horrendous as the season goes on. There’s a big question, however, about what can be done to jumpstart the team up to the next level, addressing some of their weaknesses and problems at the same time.

I very much like Poncho’s thought that ML should be the starting PG. JA is, on some level, a solid and safe PG, but he’s really a backup, a guy who can come off the bench and guide the team competently, if not dynamically. CSUF really took advantage of his inability to hit shots with their zone. Bringing JA off the bench would allow Keefe to start, and he should have an opportunity to establish a Senior’s presence on the team and in games. If JK falters, as ND was faltering last night, there’s a nice assortment of guys who would benefit from getting the minutes: BLane, AStover, and RNelson amongst others.

I also think the Bruins would benefit from using bigger lineups. When JA, ML, and MR are all on the floor at the same time against a team with a bunch of 6’3" to 6’6" guys like CSUF, and ND stretches the floor by hanging around outside, you’re playing their game rather than your own. It’s a dilemma, but the Bruins have to find a way to get over the zone, and a stronger inside presence might create more open looks from the perimeter. Gordon was powerful and showed potential to be effective, but he was awkward and had some ugly moments. I think Gordon would be more effective if he wasn’t the lone inside banger, and I’m curious about what a frontline of Keefe (who can step outside a bit, and he can miss perimeter shots just as well as ND), Gordon and, say, Stover would do.

The “fool’s gold” comment on RNelson makes a good point, but it’s a bit of an overstatement. He’s not gold, but he’s not fool’s gold either. He’s a strong, active player, and he has a bit of a knack for getting the ball in the basket. If he gets the minutes his scoring ability from high school could make, at least in part, the transition to the college game. With more minutes he could be getting 15 ppg, and this team is going to need scoring and the basic ability to get the ball in the basket. He’ll make mistakes, perhaps even a lot of them. Last night, just before the end of the first half I think, he committed an unnecessary foul that led to 2 free throws, then handed the other team the ball on the inbounds, 4 quick points, but then he countered by getting a basket at the other end. ND should be able to hit shots and give the Bruins 15 ppg, but last night was ugly. RN, like LRMM, seems like the kind of player who is going to create plays out of energy and instinct, while ND drifts around, with no alternatives if the shots don’t fall.

It’s going to be a challenge for CBH to figure this out. Creating more minutes in the front court and on the wings by starting ML and making JA a backup might be a good way to start the process of seeing who steps up and stands out.

and have seen a lot of good analysis in this thread. I agree that MR should play point for now, with Lee along side and rotation of many players at the other three spots. ND has not earned so many minutes in my book! You know we are having a bad night when even MR misses a critical free throw. I hope Coach uses the “pre season” to really test rotations and ideas, with a focus on Pac 10 play. I frankly am not concerned about W-L record. Just want to see players working hard, and having fun (so the fans have fun too). I am confident Coach will get us back to Tournament play soon (just not sure which year). Still wonder why we can’t beat these zone defenses (aka ASU).

I think DG needs to rethink his comments after the loss to ASU last year. THIS was a gutless performance.

ND can go back to Europe; he did more damage than good in last night’s game. He has all the worst aspects of Sasha Vujacic on the Lakers; bad shot selection, horrible defense, stupid ball handling decisions. He will never play in the NBA. I can’t believe he was rated a lottery pick when he was playing in Europe.

JA was god awful. He couldn’t shoot. His passes had no vision. His defense wasn’t Pac-10 decent. I preferred MR playing PG; at least he could make a shot.

DG aparently can’t jump. Multiple times he got a rebound or an entry pass right under the basket and started tentatively pump faking until the whole CSF team was surrounding him. On the defensive end he is to blame for over half of CSF’s FGs in the overtimes. Some stiff named Webster with four fouls repeatedly scored over him. These easy lay ins over DG made the difference in the game.

MR showed he’s not really a winner. How many times in the 2nd half and in OT did Roll brick an open shot? If we were down, sure he could make it, but when we were tied or in the lead he must have shot 10%. Where is the killer instinct? I cringe to say this but MR is no Adam Morrison.

RN is my new hero. In his scant minutes he grabbed every rebound in sight, scored right in the CSF frontcourt’s face, and drew shooting fouls making something out of nothing twice. Based on last night’s game we can shoot ND out of a cannon(sending him far far away from here) and insert RN and the team will be much better. I don’t know why coach Howland took him out; perhaps it was because his waived to the crowd for more energy on the defensive end al a AA. Or the double biceps pose he made walking back to the bench after his great dunk. The future appears to be very bright for RN; who looked like a young Jon Brockman last night.

The Bruins have a long way to go. At this point .500 in conference may be difficult.

Hey these kids are too new for us to be using abbreviations…. I know you guys have been pointing them out by their initials for years, but really, I find myself scratching my head every time i see an abbreviation…can you use full names for a while? color me lame…but these guys are nobody to me till they put together a win and do something memorable that warrants to be identified by their initials.

Why spend the $ for a new building if nobody goes. Players will still play at this building,they just want to be on tv and win. UCLA not selling out a home opener is hard for me to defend here in Philly when I wear my bruinwear. Where is everyone, I had to here Craig Roh’s dad at Michigan tell me he went to AA because the Bruins were his second choice since UCLA is a ’basketball school." Ouch.

FT SHOOTING ALWAYSW A PROBLEM. YOU MUST PRACTICE THEM IN SPED. THAT IS SHOOT/SPRINT/SHOOT/SPRINT-IMPROVES SHOOTING GETS EXERCISE. STANDING AND SHOOTING FT AFTER FT IS FINE BUT I DO NOT SEE THAT SCENARIO IN A GAME

I mean this IS ucla basketball. I know its a young team, inexperience and all that, but a loss is bearable against a big ticket opponent in the classic, and maybe a few ranked ones, but wow…opener against the local pick up boys at long beach gives me pause…supposed to be “learn-the-sets-properly” type of game, not “overtime-do-or-die” type of game. But I guess I am spoiled silly with expectations.

Did anybody else notice that last night the coffee at Pauley was delicious?

POSITIVES —

(1) Lee — He may still be thin, and his timing off, but he is not afraid to create shots early or take clutch shots late.

(2) Nelson — This kid is a real BBW in development. He may be raw, but this is a living example of my personal adage, "sins of action are better than sins of inaction." No quit in this kid.

(3) Keefe — The offense runs cleaner with a thick body setting picks. Don’t underestimate senior experience in our fofense.

(4) Roll — Our clear leader on the floor. Clutch shooter, smart passer, spider-sense defense. Good to see him healthy. May be our MCP (most critical player) this year.

(5) Gooden — Active inside, playing with more control, but needs to post up with more balance in his stance and more strength in his moves. Overall, though, still a positive.

(6) CBH defensive standards — Aggressive hedge on perimeter. Big man double in the post. Fighting for offensive glass (especially by Gordon). Packing the paint on drives. Slowly but surely, the usual elements are being developed, folks. Great to see.

NEGATIVES —

(1) – (5) Dragovic — I will never give up on our Bruins or CBH, whether it’s a 30-win or a 13-win season, but Drago is officially, volcanically pissing me off. We have limited inside scoring, limited experience, and are going through limited luck from outside. So what does our 6-foot-9, senior, leading returning scorer doing going something like 1-for-62 behind the arc against CSF?

Would it REALLY hurt Drago, or cause him to break out into oozing boils or come down with spontaneous swine flu, to TRY to go inside with the freaking ball more than once a half? I know he got 14 rebounds, but what good are they if he creates 10+ rebound opportunities by bricking ill-advised shots?

If you’re cold from the outside, one of the best ways to get your rhythm back is to pound inside, get fouled, and get your stroke back at the line. AA did it vs. Kansas 3 years ago; Guys like Kobe and Ginobili do it all the time. If I wanted to see a Euro-trained player jack up shots for no good reason in the clutch, I’d turn on the Lakers and watch Sasha Vujacic until I vomit.

QUESTIONS —

(1) Free throws — Double-digit FT misses in a game we lost in double overtime. How many times in just the past 2 seasons have we seen this many misses at the line cost us a game?

(2) Anderson — It’s looking like JA is a Cameron Dollar-type point — solid defense, good handler and distributor, limited scorer. That’s fine by me, but to not get a point until well into the second half??? A PG has to TAKE POINT, and that means sometimes driving into the teeth of a defense and drawing fouls. Will JA do m,roe of this as he gets his timing and conditioning back?

(3) Team balance — Last time I checked, we have something like 3 center-capable players on scholarship, 6 or 7 forward capable players, and THREE guards. We also only have ONE LOI for a guard (Lamb) for next year.

What’s going on?

M

Howland has always had problems with zone and he has never developed a sufficient zone offense beyond passing it on the perimeter. The difference is that in the past he was able To get away with it because of talent. This year he’ll have his job cut out for him.

A few of you have shown abject disappointment over the play of some of our most highly touted and publicized recruits. Made me wonder; has there been way too much hype to some of these guys? Geez I’ve been on pins and needles waiting to see the great RN and TH. Saw RN last night and was modestly impressed. Last year it was JA and ML who were to be the Bruin’s future. Not much playing time last year, but not that little either considering the team. Again, only moderately impressed. I won’t venture a guess as to any of the frosh or soph players future, and I sure won’t try to outsmart CBH and his recruiting, but I don’t see any one and done’s on this squad (probably a good thing). I guess this all goes to show that there is just a tremendous difference between high school and college ball. Brandan Lane? World beater up here in the Sac Valley last year. I couldn’t wait to see his impact. Now I wonder if he’ll get in any games. Oh well, this is my first post so I’ll end it on a positive note: it’ll all get better. But I would love to see just one of these high school phenoms come in and make an immediate difference. But then they’d be off to the NBA.

I want to vent a bit here.,,,

That was absolutely pathetic. Roll was the only one who looked halfway decent but if we need him to play PG and carry the team it is going to be a very, very long season. The rest of the guys, except for Nelson perhaps, need to do something different. Too much weight lifting or practice? Not enough? I don’t know but I hope we can learn from that debacle.

And I’m going to include CBH in that mix. As soon as he took Nelson out immediately after he had two nice energy plays, I said “what is he doing?” And of course we stalled from there. Not that that one decision made the game. No, I’d say we were outclassed even before the two teams took the floor. We’re talking about Cal-St. Fullerton but their team looked like it had better ball players than our Bruins. We’re clearly not up to the recruiting level of the other top schools if we are going to fall so far in one year. So much for all of these great recruiting classes.

Yes, I know that we had a lot of preseason injuries. But in years passed we would beat a team like that with our second stringers. Now our first team looks barely good enough to even wear the uniform. 3rd in the Pac-10? I’ll be very pleasantly surprised but I don’t see it. All of you who think Lee is a great player must have been watching a different game. The guy is all hurry and little control. Sure he has athletic ability but he hardly can take over a game by himself. I guess I’d better reset my expectations of what a CBH recruited and coached team is capable of—because I never thought it would be this bad.

I hope I’m wrong.

I will probably catch flack for this but here goes: What a bunch of whiners and spoiled fans. When winning and turning talent into major commodities, BH was deified and proclaimed by many as “the best teaching coach in college basketball today.” Now, after a couple games (maybe the season even?), even the most casual fan knows more basketball than he does. I was at the game – have not missed one home game in five years. I was disappointed (even dismayed) at what I saw. I was yelling for RN to come in. I cringed at that time out after the three in overtime. But, I trust that our coach has a strategy. Why? Because he has more than proven himself over the past several years. Does he make mistakes? Obviously. (Perhaps even the great JW made one or two.) Should we as fans trash him over a game or a series of games or a season? Decide for yourself but I say no. BH will create, out of the tools and materials that he has, the best that can be created. And, it will be fun to watch the process.

It is disappointing to me that some fans are not only so spoiled but also have this sense of entitlement that “their” team will always win. Not only is this unrealistic, it is also offensive. These kids did not go out there Monday to lose. These kids owe you, as individuals, nothing. You have no right to expect to always win or to always be a top tier team. You (at least most of you) have done absolutely nothing meaningful to contribute to this team. So, you “deserve” very little.

Finally, for Plas&*^% in “the rag” to compare BH and this game to the Lizard is woefully obscene. He has sunk to new depths.