"It ALL STARTS with our DEFENSE"

by Nestor on Feb 1, 2009 10:21 AM PST in Basketball Comment 13 comments

I wrote yesterday about how we wanted our Ben Ball warriors to repeat Thursday. We wanted them to sustain the (defense generated) momentum gained from putting together probably the best all around performance of the season against the Bears. Well they got it done yesterday afternoon.

Ben Ball warriors massacred Johnny Dawkins's Stanford team at Pauley (in front a so called television "analyst" who perfected the routine of getting massacred and humiliated in big games) sustaining the feel good vibes from last Thursday night and quashing ~~poser Trojan football fans~~ morons who had been quacking in the local rags, talk shows and message boards. The final score was 97-63 but honestly even that margin didn't do justice to describe the way Bruins dominated the Cards.

Yes, the offense was a thing of beauty as the Bruins sliced up the Stanford D inside and out. Still the key to Ben Ball Warriors second consecutive all around performance was the foundation of Ben Howland’s program in Westwood. I will let the Caretaker of Westwood spell it out for us (emphasis added throughout)

"I know it's boring -- I apologize -- but it's the truth," Howland said. "It all starts with our defense."

No apologies necessary coach. Not to us (and frankly no need for apologies to the media concern trolls and ~~poser Trojan football fans~~ morons). More from Howland’s floor general:

"To be honest, there's no magic trick to what we've been doing the last two games," guard Darren Collison said. "We just raised our level of intensity on the defensive end."

They believe a simple equation -- turnovers equal easy baskets -- has pushed the Bruins (17-4 overall) back into a tie for first in the Pac-10 standings with a record of 7-2.

Again as many of us said repeatedly here on BN the game is simple. When our warriors play their prototype shut down defense and exert all out intensity around the boards, it organically leads them to be more aggressive on offense (i.e. attacking the rim). The defense was suffocating yesterday and perhaps the most telling moment of the afternoon was this ...

Photo Credit: E. Corpuz

... that was DC diving towards the UCLA bench (as if he was taking a swim around Malibu), going after a loose ball right after he had converted a layup from a steal. The faces in the UCLA bench and of the coaching staff tells the story. If you want to relieve that moment again check out Tele’s highlights here on leading by example. That moment to me is the hallmark of what it takes to become a ball player for Coach Howland. DC (and AA3) led by example and it rubbed off on rest of their team-mates.

As far as the offensive domination was concerned DC again pointed out it was defense which has led to the offensive aggression:

"Looking at the two games we just played, you can see that we're more aggressive on the defensive end and we created a lot of turnovers," UCLA center Alfred Aboya said. "Our defense creates offense for us. Having lost to Washington gave us more motivation practicing, to get better individually and as a team. I think this weekend's games kind of showed that."

I have been LOL (rolling my eyes) reading comments from morons about how our team needs to get better on offense. Of course for people who don’t follow this team on a day to day basis (and are bandwagon fans) they will always get excited in these kinds of offensive numbers:

The Bruins shot 74% from the field in the second half while pulling away. For the game, they made 73% of their three-point attempts.

All that scoring was preceded by 21 assists, well above the team's average.

"Everybody's looking to pass," Darren Collison said.

Collison was one of three players with three assists each. Center Alfred Aboya had two. Freshman guard Jrue Holiday led the Bruins with five.

"I'd rather give other people looks," Holiday said. "Especially driving the middle and dishing out."

Yet to me all of that was made possible due to our defensive tenacity. I will single out some of our guys from yesterday besides the obvious heroes (AA3, DC and JH):

ML and JA scored a total of 6 points. It didn’t matter to me though. What stood out to me was the way those two guards were locking down defensively. I know Howland has designated JH as the designated defensive stopper to take over the role vacated by RW and AA. However, whenever I watch these guys its ML whose athleticism reminds me of RW the most. He is explosive on both ends. Yes, he needs to get under control on the offensive side a little bit but that will come over the course of time. What I loved yesterday was how active both ML and JA were on defensive ends. Speaking of JA, he is incredibly smooth baller. He makes playing pg look effortless (kind of like JH) and he is also showing his ability to explode out of nowhere. He didn’t connect on that dunk but I am sure there will be more opportunities in the coming weeks/months/years.

I also liked the hustle and tenacity from ND on the defensive end as well. He was active around the boards and also had some beautiful passes to open team-mates. Same with JK. JK has clearly turned it up a notch on the defensive end in last few games. Speaking of defense, I am going to speculate that JMM needs to turn it up few notches on defense. The kid needs to be patient. He is a kid. He will just have to learn that to shine in Coach Howland’s program he will need to put in all out effort on defensive end in every practice. He just needs to look at ND who has clearly carved out a role in this team based on the intensity he is bringing on defensive end that is clearly at a higher level than what we have seen from him in the past. Here was AA2 on how the intensity from practices turned into ferocity in last two games:

"After the Washington game, Coach told us we had to have the best practice we've ever had," center Alfred Aboya said. "That's what we did. After that, he said we had to keep it up every day."

And JH on what CBH wants from this team:

"We're starting to find our roles and do the things we do best and not try to do anything crazy," said Holiday, who also had five assists and six rebounds. "I think we know what (Howland) wants, and it's really up to us to try and figure it out.

"I figured out that I can't leave my man on defense. I'm playing the best (opposing) player, so if someone drives, I cannot help off of him."

We still have a long way to go this season. Yet what matters for all of us is despite all the concern trolling Coach Howland and his warriors have been subjected to this season from certain parts of the traditional media, some idiots posing as UCLA fans, he has our basketball team at the top of the conference with a record of 7-2. All this even after losing three superstars to NBA and having to integrate 5 freshmen and some upperclassmen who weren't used to getting substantial mins in last few seasons.

As I wrote above ... we still have a long way to go. I am also not naive to think that we are done with our tough moments this season. There will be more set backs in a very tough and competitive Pac-10 season.

Yet I like where we are and I am excited to see how team is going to fight through rest of the season. Judging from the image and comments above ... it's clear our Ben Ball warriors are not going to concede an inch. Hopefully when they get back on the court on Wednesday they will heed the words of the Caretaker and lock in on the next opponent by zeroing in on DEFENSE.

GO BRUINS.

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Comments

Slightly OT Comments:

1. Has anyone responded to the Morons in the fishwrap? And, to the fishwrap itself for having chosen those letters to run? I have mixed feelings about a response — I don’t read the paper and sometimes I think ignoring stuff like that is punishing a paper whose significance is dwindling (or has dwindled) to total non-importance, but there is a part of me that thinks it necessary to step up for CBH. What do you all think and have any of you written a response?

2. There was a post, somewhere here, in the last few days about the lack of crowd noise in Pauley. I’ve been thinking about it for a day or so and wanted to post a response but can’t find it. Gray moments — so here it goes.

Before I moved to Texas, I had season tickets, with a brother Bruin, in both Pauley and at the Rose Bowl. Here are my very subjective impressions about noise generation:

I think the posters are correct, at Pauley, most of the noise comes from he Den area except in super big games or at super big moments. The alumni areas are somewhat quiet except for pockets of us loud ones.

But, it seems very different to me at the Rose Bowl. I’ve sat on both sides and it alway seems that the loudest and most consistent cheering section is the alumni section. Of course this may be because there are more of us there — but I’m not sure that the student section cheers as consistently or as loudly as the alum’s do.

Am I right or wrong?

And, if I’m right what does that say? Are the alum’s at the FB games different from those at the BB games?

Outside of the Den, how loud do you think the student sections are?

Finally, as Fox and some of the old people will probably tell you, many years ago (and I mean MANY years ago), during Coach’s day, Pauley was really loud. I moved away after graduation and when I came back, in the early ’90’s it seemed a much quieter place. Anyone else notice this?

Whether my impressions are right or wrong, we really need to turn the noise up at Pauley and create a true home court advantage. Yes, we are not down on the floor (because Coach rightfully thought that was not a fair thing to do), but we have more than enough people in the building to turn up the volume.

sjh

by Class of 66 on Feb 1, 2009 11:36 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

At the Rose Bowl

The loudest sections are the young alumni. I would guess that a lot of them aren’t able to get basketball tickets a lot of the time, while the quiet ones on the shady side are.

by SuperBruinMan on Feb 1, 2009 1:49 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

My two cents

As to the fishwrap, I used to respond fairly frequently but I think it’s a losing effort. Frankly, I think it’s the paper’s policy to publish whatever is most controversial, which pretty much explains how TJ Simers makes his living at the LAT. If we bombarded the paper with letters explaining why CBH has been good for the program (as if it isn’t self-evident already), they would publish a letter here and there but they would always default to publishing the most outlandish and emotional button-pushing letters, IMHO.

As to crowd noise, when I was a student attending games at the RB, I always thought the alumni section was loudest. Now that I sit on the alumni side, I think the opposite. I have come to the conclusion that the side opposite me is loudest because the noise is most directly pointed at me.

But I would tend to agree that the alums at the RB are generally louder than the ones at the BB games. Frankly, aside from the students, I think the BB crowd is more of a “family” affair. There are lots and lots of kids (i.e., under 10 years old) at these games, and lots of families. Those aren’t the rowdiest of fans, of course. And football fans, in general, are louder (and drunker) than BB fans, just because of the type of sport.

While I can sincerely appreciate a fun family atmosphere, part of the trade-off is a lack of crazy and loud fans. There’s probably much more to it than my simplistic theory, but these are just my observations.

by Barnes2JJ on Feb 1, 2009 1:53 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

RB Crowd vs. Pauley Crowd

Some of my thoughts about the crowd noise from the 2 venues:

The Pauley crowd is an older crowd, many are boosters that have been around for many years. Sometimes they wait for something to happen and then cheer. In other words, basketball players do something special, and then I’ll cheer. It is hard for the young alumni to get tickets (it’s pricey) and sometimes games are only available for students or the boosters. If you do get a ticket, it will probably be in the upper level.

The older group won’t make the trek out to Pasadena and bake in the sun for several hours. If they do, they’ll sit on the press box side (shady side) and that is the quieter side.

At the Rose Bowl, Geoff Strand- longtime cheer guy, really knows how to spur the crowd into thinking that our noise makes a difference in the game, hence the phrase, “every man, woman, and child on your feet.” and the other one, “the opposing coaches hate you guys (young alumni) because of the noise you make.” The student section and young alumni section make the most noise.

I think the difference in the basketball culture and football culture also plays a role. We are usually the favorites when we play at Pauley. During the football season, the fans feel that we need to help the team out with some noise and support.

You also notice that the football players and coaches encourage the crowd noise. Once in awhile, you might see DC or AA2 get fired up and ask for some noise. Recently, the loudest noise came from long runs or the defense making great stops.

The UCLA crowd at the Wooden Classic in Anaheim can be loud since the OC Bruins come out in force.

There are only 6 home football games (it is an event with hours of tailgating), and about 15 to 17 home basketball games.

I guess it really depends on the opponent, magnitude of the game, and ranking of the team.

by UCLA Championships Made Here on Feb 1, 2009 11:16 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

The Old Guys Make Noise at the FB Games

I’m one of the old guys — when in CA, I sit 44 rows up near the 50 yard line. Our section makes noise.

We can hear both Geoff and the Student Yell leaders. It seems that the student YL’s defer to Geoff and he is far more active. Wonder why.

When I was last in Pauley, last year, I don’t recall the yell leaders actively going into the Old Alumni section to lead cheers and get us going. Wonder if we need a Geoff type guy there and whether the crowd would follow.

One last thought about BB: No tailgating, no drinking, no released inhibitions, no yelling?

sjh

by Class of 66 on Feb 2, 2009 7:09 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Is there no way at all to re-configure Pauley to have the court completely surrounded by student?

Except for Coach’s seat, of course.

by Fox 71 on Feb 2, 2009 7:56 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

My problems with the student section in Pauley:

I’ve seen propositions here and in the Daily Bruin to expand the student section in Pauley, and while I agree that in theory this could make our homecourt advantage more formidable, I have a few problems with the student section as it is that need to be addressed before we as students deserve more spots in the lower level.

1. The yell crew – They’re trying to get a bigger response out of the Den (a lot of whom are freshmen this year thanks to the cruel, CRUEL lotto system) but not holding up their end of the bargain. I sat on the right side at the Cal game, and the yell crew guy was only relaying about 1 out of 3 cheers down to our end (which is awful because it messes up the timing, and no one wants to cheer when we’re completely out of sync with the middle and left sections). To make matters worse, he seemed to be getting mad at us when we weren’t cheering loudly and in sync with everyone else.

2. The freshmen – Maybe this is me showing my bias, but as a senior who has had the full sports package the last 2 years, and saw it get reduced to half this year, I feel like the Den would be stronger if it had some way of rewarding seniority with at least better chances at tickets. Both of my (also senior) roommates also missed out on games this year thanks to the lotto.

3. The vermin – This is my semi-arbitrary term for certain fans (there’s always at least one standing within earshot of me) who’d rather not cheer for our team to save their vocal cords for saying loud, obnoxious things like “Bench Drago!” or “Do your job Roll!” or “F*** Shipp” every time one makes a real or perceived mistake. I was aware that heckling is part of sports, but I was under the impression that it was directed toward the opposing team, hence a home court advantage. I’ve heard at least one of those sayings and much worse, without fail, at each game I’ve been to this year and last. These “fans” are ignorant, self-important, and ruin the experience for any real Bruin that loves this team and UCLA.

The first two have very simple solutions-

1. More commitment and confidence on the part of the yell crew would go a long way toward managing the crowd. Simple.

2. If we’re gonna have more than 500 students down near the court, we need a better ratio of upperclassmen to freshmen.

The third is more complicated-

3. I don’t think a simple reminder in the handout The Dirt would be enough to make ALL the vermin think twice before spewing their idiotic thoughts to others, but it might help to add some rule along with the no-red-shirt rule that to keep your spot in the Den, you have to cheer like a Bruin. It probably wouldn’t be totally enforceable, but it would add some authority to the true fans around to say respectfully “Save your venom for the other team”.

Rant… over. Sorry that was so long.

by yarrrp on Feb 2, 2009 11:04 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Good comments

You should turn these into a proposal and then throw it up for wider discussions in the fanpost section.

by Nestor on Feb 3, 2009 4:42 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

That was a good rant

Rants are good for a couple of reasons. You got all that off your chest and you feel better, which is a good reason. Better reason – those are all good ideas. I won’t give you a “back in my day,” but as I recall there was no camping out and still any student who wanted in got in (sometimes in the rafters.) As part of the solution, maybe someone could trace the history of what happened to the student section. Apparently it is a lot smaller now.

by Fox 71 on Feb 3, 2009 6:59 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

One Thing I Noticed About This Weekend's Games

was that the SPTR’s were letting the players decide the game and not whistling every contact—both ways. When they call things tighter or completely unpredictably, it makes it a lot harder to play our style of physical D.

by bru79 on Feb 2, 2009 10:21 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Cal and Stanford Aren't True Tests

We played well, but not great. Cal and Stanford really imploded against us, and we had chances to blow them out early, but didn’t. However, we did what we should have, which was to decisively win against teams with lesser talent that played poorly. This will improve team morale and confidence. We did what we had to do, and it keeps us in position to win the Pac 10, if we can take care of business against the usc, UW, ASU and resurgent UofA. I love my Bruins!!!!!!!

by 75NatChamps on Feb 2, 2009 2:01 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

We didn't blow out Stanford?

by Nestor on Feb 2, 2009 2:23 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Crowd Noise

No question that the Pauley crowd is not very loud as compared to the 70’s. Part of it is, that the crowd gets depressed when we aren’t playing well, instead of raising the roof to encourage the players. Mostly, its because its a sextogenerian crowd. I don’t know what can be done about it. There are more cheerleaders than there ever were, but they weren’t needed in the 70’s. The place was a madhouse. The lower level den fans are awesome.

by 75NatChamps on Feb 2, 2009 2:06 PM PST reply actions 0 recs