UCLA – FINALLY – Cruises To an Easy Victory by Trashing New Mexico State
by Nestor on Dec 15, 2009 9:40 PM PST
in Basketball
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PrintWell looky here. The Bruins finally – FINALLY – cruise to an easy win during non conference season by blowing out a hapless New Mexico State (3-7) team in (sparse) Pauley. Bruins hit the century mark with a final score of 100-68, running up the Bruin record to 3-6. Here is the box score. Bruins got off to a great start with a huge run early on propelling them to a 21 point half time lead. They never looked back. Just as it was in the glory days of classic Ben Ball warriors, it was fueled by a tenacious defense (holding the Aggies to 38.9% shooting for the night).
The stat line was dominating for the Blue and Gold in all facets of the game, as Howland’s team flashed memories of good old days with a blistering pace of shooting (55.2%) while controlling the boards with a 39-28 edge in rebounding margin. The MVP of tonight’s game was Malcolm Lee with a team leading 20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 stills and going 4 for 5 from the FT line. Lee finally had a night which lived up to some of the hype we were hearing about him before he arrived in Westwood and during this off-season. He looked sharp, smooth and CONFIDENT while driving to the bucket and creating his own shots. Lee’s effort was supplemented by Michael Roll who was in rhythm all night with 14 points and 3 assists. Reeves Nelson continued to solidify his early cult hero status by chipping in with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals (with an extra patch to cover up another fresh wound under his black eye).
As for the two players who have been in our cross hairs this week, Jerime Anderson had a solid night while Nikola Dragovic was average. Anderson’s performance was encouraging to say the least as he scored 13 points, dished out 7 assist, while turning over the rock just once. Dragovic wasn’t overwhelming as he scored 9 points, shooting a mediocre 3 for 9 from the field and pulled in 4 rebounds. Noting to write home about. I can only hope Anderson will build on this in his next game but then again don’t want to get my hopes up too high before seeing how next few games develop.
In general the Bruins did come out with a sense or energy we haven’t seen from them most of this season. They came out and showed tenacity and effort on both ends of the court getting out to a huge lead on. The entire team looked confident and seemed determined to answer the questions clouding the program for last few days. However, before everyone gets too jazzed about this victory, we should have a sense of reality check. That said, at least for a night during this early season there were some feelings of relief and confidence vibing through Howlandwood.
For the team’s sake, let’s hope they stay even keeled after this win and don’t get too comfortable. They will need to build on this and come out with higher level of intensity and focus, if they want to pull out a huge win this weekend against Notre Dame. Couple of other notes before I close out on my end late tonight/early morning here on the East Coast.
I am enjoying watching Tyler Honeycutt. He is a natural. Watching him glide around the court so effortlessly makes me think of him as a combination of DJ and LRMAM. He is still shaking the rust off his game and happy playing the role as a facilitator for his team-mates rather than a creator. Still he contributed tonight what seemed like an effortless 14 points, 4 rebounds and going 6 for 6 from the FT line. You can sense he has all the tools. He just needs more time to get stronger and also time on the court.
Lastly, it’s a shame that James Keefe left the game early on with a shoulder dislocation (that’s what we heard tonight) injury. He was playing solid – defensively – before he left the game. Hopefully, he gets healed up and can return at some point this season.
With that, I will leave the rest of analysis up to you. Fire away with your post game thoughts.
GO BRUINS.
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Well, wasted my night...
To think that I had my nose buried in my old Immigration Law notes, looking for something allowing for summary deportation of Eastern European nationals for the postgame in the event of a loss.
/jk
formerly bruinhoo
Nice To Take A Step Forward.
For me it’s Lee, Reeves and Honeycutt as big minute guys. Hope that vision becomes a reality.
Happy Mustafa Took Us To the Century Mark!
It was reported that Mustafa suggested to CBH that the team watch past tapes of Bruin warriors showing how it is done @ Pauley on Sunday. Seems like it had a positive effect. (Clearly there was “nowhere to go but up” after Saturday’s performance against Miss. St.) The Bruins got a clear shot of confidence they can take to N.D. this Sat.——-they will need it. Great night for BB Basketball, and though the Aggies looked anemic tonight, they are not altogether unworthy opponents. (That is my NM home state bias speaking, of course) GO BRUINS!!!!
I recorded the last 10
minutes because i was putting up Christmas lights and based on people’s reaction, it looks like it’ll be good
Dragovic and Bobo...
…if there was ever going to be an easy game this year, it looks like this was it. This was a chance to get some easy buckets, make some plays, and gain some confidence.
Dragovic eventually made some shots after a cold opening, but was nowhere near “good” on the night.
Bobo…Bobo. What can I say? He just looked lost out there. I’d love to see the kid do well, had very high hopes for him, but he just seems like he isn’t on the same page as everyone else. I’m really concerned about him. We’re going to need him to step up at some point this season, but I just have no faith in him at all.
Lee of course was MVP of the game, really glad Honeycutt got this game under his belt to get up to speed, and Reeves is quickly becoming a guy that we all love, Lorenzo’s heir.
by Westwood Wizard on Dec 15, 2009 9:52 PM PST reply actions
RE; BoBo Morgan
Those of us that follow UCLA basketball over the years remember Stuart Grey and the hype he brought to Pauley. He certainly didn’t live up to his advance billing. I thought then perhaps given Larry Farmer ‘s inexperience and limitations, he simply did not know how to develop Grey’s skills for Division I competitions. Well, after seeing Morgan in these few games, I must say he would have been better off staying put at LSU. How he could be such a heralded center prospect in high school totally mystifies me. We wasted a scholarship on him. His moves remind me of another 7’6" transfer Harrick took in from some program in Texas a while back, clumsy, slow, lacks any sense of basketball awareness.
Even Mark Eaton can show him a few moves. To salvage this project, I would say we need to red shirt him again, and dispatch him to any big men’s camp available in the western hemisphere for the duration of the season.
Howland & company blew this one big time.
I'd agree...
If it weren’t for the fact that he’s a big man who barely played his first year (probably should have been red-shirted in hindsight). Big men are notoriously difficult to project and develop. Some never ‘get it’ (Michael Fey comes to mind) and some don’t have it click until the end (Ryan Hollins). Heck look at where LMR was when he came onto the team versus where he ended up… same for Aboya (especially his offensive game).
Another example is look at the pro’s… there are no doubt the “natural” talent big’s – the Howard’s, Oden’s (though he’s been injured and the jury’s still out, but he was pretty damn good in his short time in college) – and stretching it back a bit more, Shaq (would have been a one and done today). Of course, recently we’ve had K-Love. But for every one of those natural’s there were many bigs who took years to develop.
Actually bringing up the pro’s gives me another example… Love came in and dominated his freshmen year against arguably tougher competition than this big who’s first year averaged only 9.8 ppg and 9.6 rpg, and had a tough transition including being held scoreless his first collegiate game. That big was Tim Duncan, and who would have predicted where he’d end up?
W/ regards to BoBo, I’ve noticed that during the huddles and stuff, he’s no longer joking around like he did last year but he’s paying attention. As a raw big, the best thing he can do is get experience watching and playing the game, and building confidence – confidence in his body, his strength, etc.
Actually,
I hate to be negative, but Drago was actually below average.
Picked up his third foul early in the second half.
Shot 33% from the field. Rest of team shot 59%
Shot 40% from the FT line. Rest of Team shot 68%
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Dec 15, 2009 9:52 PM PST reply actions
average, not overwhelming,mediocre are terms
that are nusually generous for you, lol
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Dec 15, 2009 9:55 PM PST up reply actions
He was below average
but it was still better than he has been looking lately. Also, he showed a lot more effort tonight which is a positive sign. He still deserves to be losing minutes to the younger guys, but hopefully this is a game he can build off of and start contributing to this team winning
I thought Moser was supposed to be more defensive minded?
He looked completely out of control at both ends. Also, ironic how we went from having a logjam at forward/center to now having 3 viable players at those positions assuming AS continues to redshirt and JK doesn’t heal right away
BTW may be should empty Pauley more often?
May be it gave the guys feel of a practice game and made them feel more “comfortable” and at “ease”? ;-)
haha..i like it
Howland could pull a Roy Williams and eject anyone who wasn’t exuding positivity.
by insomniacslounge on Dec 15, 2009 10:00 PM PST up reply actions
I am telling you
I am working really hard to find silver linings to our recent story lines (at least to end the night)!
Hey, the Bruins did a good job ending the day in a positive way
Great hustle and energy. Lee played a great 1st half, Honeycutt a great second half, and Anderson his best game thus far.
I’m certainly not going to get too excited just yet, having been burned after the Butler and Kansas games; but I definitely liked what I saw tonight.
by insomniacslounge on Dec 15, 2009 10:04 PM PST up reply actions
Whatever starting lineup
Howland eventually settles with, it must begin with Nelson & Honeycutt, period. Nelson reminds me of a young Dave Cowans in his hustles and rugged presence underneath the basketball.
Honeycutt is Darren Daye the delux version.
Depends on their improvements, our team should hopefully be fairly competitive in regular conference games.
Honeycutt
reminds me of a young Teyshaun Prince. Runs like a gazelle and rebounds. Let’s see if he has any range to make the comparison complete!
Wow 10amla
Daye was highly recruited, played similar style as Honeycutt. The only knock against him was his inconsistency. He could literally disappeared but when he was on, he was virtually unstoppable around the perimeter and underneath the basket. He was with the Celtics for a couple of seasons. Don’t know where he is now.
how did he not dominate then?
I would think the ability to ’literally disappear" would be quite an advantage in any sport. How could a defender possibly stick with Daye when he was invisible?!
:)
by insomniacslounge on Dec 16, 2009 1:19 PM PST up reply actions
LOL, Bravo ! You're so clever in picking my comments apart !
True. I wish Dragovich & BoBo just " diappeared ", then
" reappeared " and scored when nobody saw them.
Seriously, Honeycutt’s style, if we do know about him by now, also resembles another one whose name escapes me. He is from Ventura, and came as a package deal with Ed O’Bannon from UNLV after NCAA’s sanctions.
All three have similar physique, moves and styles. This one played well in spurts too. And if I remember correctly, he didn’t make it to the pros. If Honeycutt blossoms under Howland and stays, he’ll be just as good as Westbrook and others.
Shon Tarver?
I hope Honeycutt becomes better. Tarver was really inconsistent.
Yeap, hongerelli, that's the guy
But Honeycutt under Howland should be the delux version
This got buried in the last couple of big discussions
But I’ll throw it out there: Does anyone know who Donnie Daniels was scouting at the OV TOC finals after the John Wooden Classic? I know Anthony Brown is already signed off for Stanford, but could Avery Johnson (one of the most underrated guards in the nation as he topped with Tyler Lamb for best guard in Orange County) be back on our radar I cant find anything about it
Back in business
A non-update re: Keefe from Coach Howland
Said they won’t know much until tomorrow, but he doesn’t expect Keefe to play against Notre Dame.
by insomniacslounge on Dec 15, 2009 10:05 PM PST reply actions
ug.
I think we need him to help on Harongody.(sp?)
I love RN, but going against an aggressive senior center he is going to be in foul trouble. If Keefe is out, I’m guessing Bobo will end up absorbing five fouls, with ND and RN doing their best not to foul out… maybe need to run our guards at him on defense to try to get him off the court in foul trouble himself?
by britishbruin on Dec 15, 2009 10:24 PM PST up reply actions
Just got home
and that was FUN! Man, 100? What a pleasant surprise.
On another note, seeing Keefe’s shoulder out of the socket was so nasty! I didnt know what was wrong with him at first and as he got closer I could see. I won’t describe it, but man, that had to hurt! Get better soon, James!
GO BRUINS!!!
"The entire world that bleeds blue and gold ... they have been dying for this." - Coach Rick Neuheisel
some positive signs, but our 5 best players do not make a balanced 5, and we do not look deep...
If you were to take the five most positive performers tonight (imho)
ML had a breakout game, RN continues to add to his cult following;
JA showed positive signs, TH is going to be good,
and MR is our only real shooter
ML, JA and TH all look like they are slashers first and foremost, and abused some less athletic guys tonight. Not sure that there is space for them all to play major minutes on the court at the same time. Seems like you have to play two of them with MR, RN and one other guy… probably needs to be a bigger body to help RN… but ND was underwhelming tonight, and Bobo looked lost again, and JK is banged up.
From the rest of the squad, I don’t know where MM is going to get any meaningful minutes this year, given he seems a less experienced version of ML/JA. I have no idea what to make of BL after he got some more time tonight, but nothing I saw tonight suggested to me that he should be given a bigger role.
I loved the hustle and energy from people on defense tonight, right to the end, and it looked like UCLA basketball. I am heartened that this team could be a team that we can root for happily IF they keep up the energy for the rest of the season. I hope we can positively support this team for the rest of the season, even if our expectations for the win/loss percentage might not be very high.
What did they do different?
Same guys, same coach, so what did they do?
Well, actually, I don’t want to know. I just want the team to remember it and keep it up.
Well obviously Howland opened up the offense
How else do you score 100? He just said, “f@#k it all, go out and start shooting.” Clearly it had nothing to do with rebounds, defense, turnovers, or renewed confidence.
I have to agree
I’m a huge CBH fan, but these last couple of years I was waiting for him to unleash the potential of our players with a more open offense. Hopefully he can see this game and let loose a lil.
I’m proud that we got the win and did what we needed to do. GO BRUINS!!
by CheekyBruin on Dec 15, 2009 11:09 PM PST up reply actions
I was being sarcastic
As Fox noted these were the same players running the same plays. The only difference tonight was the commitment to defense which led to turnovers and easy offense. All the lay-ups in turn led to increased confidence from the outside on the part of ML and JA.
Howland never did nor will he ever “open up the offense” because there is no such thing. We’ve been getting open shots all season, we just haven’t been hitting them. The solution – build confidence with easy lay-ups. How do you get easy lay-ups – man up, stay in front of your guy, and turn the ball over on defense. This is why CBH preaches defense. Good defense will always lead to good offense, but good offense means nothing if you can’t stop the other team from scoring too.
Clearly Sarcastic and I loved it.
Our D keys our transition/running game and that was clear last night.
sjh
Memo to Gordon and Stanback
this is what you get when you play defense.
Enjoy playing at…wherever it is that you’re playing now. I bet you’re on tv lots!
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
You know tasser10
sometimes you really cannot accurately gauge players’ character until they arrive on campus, physically hit the floor and begin practice. Even then, their true colors may not show until a couple of games into the season.
The Gordons and the Stanbacks are plentiful elsewhere too. This is like bad marriages. Yes, you saw something but tend to think they weren’t anything serious because the other party’s pluses enamor you so much to give it the benefit of a doubt, hoping or simply wishfully knowing, for the sake of the relationship, that things will be happy ever after.
All too often , you and I know this is just the kind of situations divorce lawyers salivate over and coaches dread with, dealing. Duke, North Carolina and others have their cases too.
Based on what they were complaining about
i.e. playing time and style of play, they were wrong to leave and it will hurt their careers, which would last much longer than this “marriage” if they intend to play at the next level, which I believe both do.
It was not wrong of CBH to let them go, but I think it was a dumb move on their part to dissolve this union.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Again, yes Tasser
Stanback couldn’t wait for things to happen for him and then declared for the NBA draft. I am pretty sure he had it in his mind, especially with his heralded background as the Los Angeles City Player of the Year from Fairfax High.
Gordon can take the easy route. Loyola Marymount is so close by. They got nothing to lose, perennially stocking their rosters with leftovers and Divison II prospects. Gordon can play big fish in this little pool, freelance all he wants up and down the court in that little gym where they play their home games.
Even some high school gyms in the country surpass Loyola’s in their space and capacity. Maybe that’s where he will thrive and showcase his skills for the NBA scouts.
they went insane
just kept playing the same basic offensive/defensive scheme with the same group of guys hoping for a different result.
Einstein would have had them sent to the asylum, but then Albert never saw any change in his players’ performance over the course of a season.
by britishbruin on Dec 15, 2009 10:55 PM PST up reply actions
More importantly, do not....
and I cannot emphasize it enough here, do not get rattled once they step onto the court at Notre Dame’s Athletic & Convocation Center.
Those Irish fanatics will be lying in wait for us there. If we play with intensity and focus, we will be close. Forget Digger Phelp’s spiritual presence and all that jazz about what they did before. That’s all history. Win or lose, it will be another game for our freshmen to chalk up some valuable experience playing against hostile crowds on the road.
I cannot quite understand nor accept the team’s inexplicably dismal and appalling performance at the Wooden Classic either. But if tonight’s game served as a confidence booster at all, I will be looking for Nelson & Honeycutt to take another giant step towards exerting their leadership roles on the team. These two guys are the nucleus.
Pauley was an empty but happy place
The place was virtually deserted. I have been to several hundred games over the decades and I can’t remember Pauley being this empty. I am sure there have been more poorly attended games. But when they occurred I was non-hacker and didn’t show up either.
But for us, the few, it was a great evening. The people around me were not merely entertained, they were inspired. The team has a long to go and this may be a wait til next year season in terms of real success (I hope not) but the fact they showed us some real moxie made for a joy filled evening in Pauley.
For those of you who gave up and didn’t show up, we have your dossiers on file and appropriate entries will made in your records.
by peggysue69 on Dec 15, 2009 11:29 PM PST via mobile reply actions
You want to know how it really feels to be inside a GENUINELY empty Pauley ?
I was there when Larry Farmer took on the conference champion and #1 ranked Oregon State in his last home game before the sacking.
Even some spouses started knitting despite their men’s glum, resigned expressions amid Bruin cheerleaders’ courageous, albeit routine acts during timeouts when the scoreboard overhead showed a double digit deficit for Farmer’s team. I had my binoculars trained on the poor guy. Sitting upright, fingers nervously tapping on his laps, Farmer looked utterly dazed, puzzled, aloof to the onslaught unfolding before him. This was the picture of a thoroughly beaten, dispirited coach awaiting for the massacre to take its course.
So there you have it, the house that Wooden built in its most downtrodden, disheartened moment.
At the game, my favorite parts tonight
From the student section (the very small, sad student section besides the central part on the floor that I was a part of), here’s what I liked the most:
1. Winning. Duh.
2. Scoring 100.
3. The names of New Mex St.‘s players – they were so hilarious and easy to chant/make fun of….
Gordito
Rahman Noodles
Sy? Nooo
and my personal favorite – LUMPKINS! The guy seriously looked like a very, very ugly woman. I love the student section when we’re winning. :)
Improved D but
not yet a CBH D.
All year, our new kids have had trouble hedging and getting back.
Our double down was effective last night but looked clumsy.
I think Bobo is playing better. Those thinking he looks “lost” are probably commenting on his difficulty with the hedge. We have been spoiled in the last few years by players who, once they learned it, did it well.
Players continue to drive round ND — but he was effective on the double. I’m not sure he has the skill or speed to stay with faster players or to keep the ball in front of him. I do think he played hard all night.
TH has very fast hands — perhaps, my favorite play was when he took the ball out of one of their guard’s hands and drove for our basket.
sjh
Well, we did much better
than I expected. I did not think MSU would become so disorganized, but they looked overwhelmed. We had a number of good to excellent individual performances, as BN posters have already detailed. I was most encouraged by the quick hands, good positioning and aggressive play we showed on defense and on the boards. And it is all so different when the shots fall. Notre Dame, however, will offer a completely different situation. For one thing, they play seven guys for the most part, all Juniors and Seniors. They have no Sophomores, and their Freshman don’t play much. The contrast with our situation is stark, indeed. I’m sure there will be further analysis on this game, so I won’t go on. But I don’t think we’ll see a bunch of baby bruins having fun against an opponent that plays no D.
Good win
over a really, really bad team.
Let’s not get our hopes up. It may be a while before we win again…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
I agree
They were pitifully awful and should end up last place in their conference. They can shoot the three, but I’ve seriously seen high school teams quicker and stronger than them. The main positive our team can take from this is the fact that working together defensively will yield good results in every other aspect of the game. Taking that lesson, maybe our boys can use this to grow together and take that next baby step towards being a competitive Pac-10 team. Just baby steps. One at a time.
Regardless, I’ll still gladly take a blowout win, kind of like the one our football team got against Wazzu.
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