Not Done Yet
by Tydides on Feb 19, 2009 10:29 PM PST
in Basketball
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PrintOver the past few years, the Bruins have had their share of "must win" games. In the past, the Bruins have typically won such contests, but due to dropping a pair of road games last weekend, the Bruins faced their biggest must win game in a long time. Both teams played with the requisite urgency, the urgency that was missing for the Bruins last Saturday in Arizona. The Bruins take the first of what will be quite a few "must win" games from here on out, taking down UW 85-76 (box score).
While the Bruins came out active, they weren't finishing their shots and their plays (a very great man once said something about not mistaking activity for achievement), and for a while it looked like it was those missed easy opportunities that would spell trouble for the home team. Enter Nikola Dragovic. The sharpshooting Serbian showed his teammates how to match their focus with their intensity and activity, canning some early 3's and showing some crisp passing and the Bruins began to settle down in their offense. He was also active on the defensive end, and it needs to be restated that his improvement on that end of the floor has been remarkable. Shipp was again clutch, going 3-3 from beyond the arc, and DC made his presence felt down the stretch, constantly getting inside and shredding the UW defense. While JH seemed to be forcing things early, he stayed aggressive and started to play within himself and he began to play better at the end, capped by a sneaky move to beat the shot clock for a layin that put the Huskies in desperate straits.
The Bruins still had plenty of trouble keeping Brockman off the glass, as he seemed to have 10 rebounds before our subs were even in. He's difficult to handle even when boxed out, but when even that's not happening, then forget about it. Brockman kept UW in the game early with putbacks and second chance opportunities, but the Bruins kept rolling into the half.
The second half saw an early Bruin surge which fizzled by the middle of the period when the Huskies' full court pressure really got to Jerime Anderson. The kid has made great strides this year, especially in his ball handling, but that seemed to leave him tonight, and UW tied the game up. After a CBH timeout, the Bruins regained their focus on the offensive end, even if they were still allowing too much penetration. However, one got the feeling at that point that it was the Huskies who were now scrambling and desperate, and the Bruins kept them at arms length the rest of the way to stay in the conference race.
Isn't this a foul on DC? It sure was last weekend...
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Phil McCarten
While our interior defense still left something to be desired, it's important to note that this is what Washington does, and some of their shots were still made under very tough conditions.
As the title states, we're Not Done Yet. Plenty of commentators were content to write the Bruins off after last weekend (and completely ignore the 4 teams before that that we wiped out), but we're Not Done Yet. Similarly, we aren't out of the woods either. We're still looking up at other teams in the standings, and until that is no longer the case, every game is a MUST WIN.
(Oh, and Brockman. You're a cheapshot artist. No excuse for that kind of crap at the end of a game just because you lost)
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It's unfortunate that Brockman had to give that cheap shot
We were literally 20 seconds away from a game against udub where they didn’t act like thugs and try to hurt our players.
Also Justin Holliday has to be pissed that his teammate was trying to hurt his brother right?
seriously!
if i was justin, I would be like “WTF was that you dumb oaf?!”
Tele
if you see this, can you please include the Brockman play in your highlights? I was high fiving people around me and missed the play. Thanks.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Feb 19, 2009 10:49 PM PST up reply actions
Great idea
In fact, if someone can collect all Brocky plays and anonymously send a copy to the marble floored offices of PAC10 and let them review it, for good measure.
by LoyalAlum94 on Feb 19, 2009 10:52 PM PST up reply actions
Way to bounce back, Bruins!
The universe is back in order. We’re in a 4-way virtual tie for 1st with the easiest schedule of all the teams that are tied with us. We did many things well tonight, and the team played hard, focused, intense, and clutch basketball. It may just be me, but I kind of like it when Aboya takes 17 footers. I feel like he can’t miss those.
Brockman had a very good first half, but PAA kept him mostly under wraps in the 2nd half. I think this is not the last time we’ll play these guys this year.
CBH Post Game Interview
PAA was so dehydrated from the flu, they tried to give him an IV at halftime, but he was so dehydrated they couldn’t even find a vein. He credited PAA for gutting it up and making key plays for the team in the second half.
PAA is a Fighter
He inexplicably was able to foul Brockman’s elbow with his face. I can’t imagine what this season would be like without him. We are all very lucky he decided to come back.
DC's Quote on PAA
“"Even if he has one leg, he’s going to go out there and play,” he said. “He makes injuries and people who get sick look stupid.”
Good Game but my only negative: Interior D
Is a big reason teams have scored high %‘s against us. UW shot .500 from 3PT and .507 from the field, so we will need to work on our D in helping out on the interior. Offensively, we’re still damn good but yeah, UW is good at interior game, but there was a lack of effort on closing out 2nd opportunities (yes, its hard against Brockman, but there was still a lackadaisical effort on some possessions)
We won the game at the FT line (?)
We were 15-18 and they were 4-10.
We won with our D. That is really the story.
They had 18 turnovers — can’t find out how many points of TO’s we had, but many.
ND had a great game. Some very strong rebounding (8) and for the most part, good D.
JK played well in his minutes.
We started off driving inside and it changed the game. Our 3’s were much more open.
Interesting — the announcers said all of Westwood was down on the season — are we not Bruins, too? That was not the consensus here.
sjh
what's more...
Most of the fouls came at the end when UW was obviously turning up the “dirty.” I can’t believe we didn’t get more calls in our favor. In any event, I agree, it was our D and aggressive cuts to the hoop that gave us the edge.
I can’t wait for the pac 10 tournament this year. It is probably our last chance to make a statement that we are the dominant force in the conference.
by UCLAbruin920 on Feb 20, 2009 8:33 AM PST up reply actions
Great win...
Great to see our Bruins step up to the challenge and take care of business…especially with all this sweep talking from UW earlier in the week. I think we need to keep developing the swagger and confidence to face top competition. Also, now we don’t have to hear this “no wins against top 25 teams” garbage.
A few points of concern during the game was how were handling the full court press. We seemed lost at times, and had some very scary turn overs that gave me multiple heart attacks. I think Jerime got caught sleeping on one of those plays. All in all, great to see our seniors put up this solid performance.
I’m not sure why Brockmen felt the need to remind everyone that they’re a bunch of dirty douche bags at the last second by throwing JH to the floor. What was that? Guess he didn’t want his last game in Pauley to tarnish his crap reputation that he’s worked so hard for over the years.
Another take away, was that the refs let them play for once! Geeze, I’m still bitter about how many times UW got to the line in the first game. Good to see our Bruins asserting ourselves and getting to the line more than their opponents.
Lastly, I was surprised that we were able to match our rebounds against UW who has been out reboudning other Pac-10 opponents by 7+. To go 36 even in rebounds against them really shows how CBH was able to make the adjustments after gettin killed on the boards against UA.
Let’s take care of business on Saturday against Wazzu! I won’t say that I hope SUC wins, but I will say that I hope UW loses. Go Bruins!
I agree
We were bothered by the full court press and they force some sloppy passes. I think we need to work on exploiting the space created by full court defense.
by UCLAbruin920 on Feb 20, 2009 8:36 AM PST up reply actions
I didn't see the Brockman foul at the end.
I turned away and then saw Holiday on the ground. Can I make a video request?
You must've not seen Brocky foam at the mouth either
I think Brocky should be tethered at the half, AT ALL TIMES.
by LoyalAlum94 on Feb 19, 2009 10:47 PM PST up reply actions
I thought it was a great game, but it was one of the worst game experiences I’ve ever experienced. I had to sit in the 300s section because I had to buy the leftover student tickets, and throughout the entire game, there was this group of jackasses yelling at me and my friend, and the people in front of us, telling us to sit down so they can see. At one point they were hurling threats at us. It was infuriating and frustrating. We finally capitulated halfway through the second half and then Washington went on their run and tied the game. After that we stood and just stayed standing. They left the game with about 40 seconds left and we got a lot of dirty looks. You would’ve thought they were UDub fans.
I'm sick of the Bruin fans
I used to make excuses for them, but majority of those who make the trips to Pauley are truly pitiful. They refuse to cheer and today we had an entire section of the upper level Den empty. I wish we could kick them all out and pack the place with all us BN’ers.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Feb 20, 2009 12:10 AM PST up reply actions
I think the crowd was best
Our second FF year. At least from my perspective as a student at the time. By last year, the new students coming in expected us to be good. They weren’t there when we didn’t make the tournament at all so there might not have been the same amount of appreciation. They didn’t know who all of our players were (pretty unthinkable to those of us that have found BN) or what their strengths were. If the condition of the fanbase has declined at the same rate it was going last year, then something really needs to be done. I don’t know if that’s something for Morgan Center to handle (ensuring a continuity of students who get tickets from year to year would be a start) but this can’t go on.Tying tickets to Bruincards is something I still don’t understand. It virtually ensures a smaller crowd.
where it all comes from
Previous to this year, the rule for tickets was that once you get a package, you keep that package at least (meaning that if you have half package you can get up to full, and if you have full, you cant lose it).
It all begins with last year and the fact that pretty much no freshman received any packages for basketball.
In a ploy to get more money (or whatever the "reason") this original package “guarantee” was eliminated. As a result, many people with full packages were stripped in half and subsequently given to the people that have never had packages (ie the freshmen of this year, and the freshman, now soph, of last year.). What marketing DIDN’T consider, was that they divided the package unevenly. Half of the games consist of 75% returning students (those that have had packages before) and 25% new students, and the other half consists of 25% returners and 75% new. Call it being “spoiled” or what you will, our ranking compared to previous years is not as high, and to many that have never been to a game, this implies to them that we suck or something ridiculous to that degree, hence decreased attendance.
It is all very frustrating to returning students who see pathetic turnouts to games when the team needs it most. The Den has talked to Howland and Co. about this (rather they addressed this issue to us after a horrible AU/ASU home-stand student section), but the changes are up to marketing. We are working with them to resolve these important issues.
Home court advantage is huge especially in a tight pac-10, and it starts with the noise from the students.
GO BRUINS!!! CHEER LIKE CHAMPIONS!!!
Marketing Department
Is this the same marketing group that published the monopoly football ad without CRN’s clearance and advertised in the Fresno paper?
Something clearly needs to be done across the board in terms of Athletic Dept marketing. Seems like something Guerrero could and should fix.
BN Den
I wish we had the Den when I was in school. I wonder if we could make that happen, an alumni Den.
by UCLAbruin920 on Feb 20, 2009 8:40 AM PST up reply actions
It was obvious in TV land
that the stands were not full and the crowd was not active.
Incredibly disappointing for an old guy who remembers Pauley full and loud.
We need this to be a true home court advantage built on more than a familiar floor and rims.
A quality program deserves quality support.
Maximizing income at the expense of the students and the program is not the right approach.
sjh
I saw something similar last night...
It was very similar to your situation with a better ending. There were some short girls standing to see the game. Someone behind yelled at them to sit down. Then the some fans near the guy started to shout “stand up” and the rest of the fans in the section joined in. The guy shut up and girls remained standing.
Sometimes the old alumni fans surprise you.
by Gen2Bruin1987 on Feb 20, 2009 3:05 PM PST up reply actions
Although I'm happy we won
Here’s some constructive criticism/observations:
1) We had great D in the first half but it broke down in the 2nd half. They were able to get to the basket much easier and had a lot of easy layup shots. Although the D was worse in general, I think we did a better job of boxing out and getting rebounds in the second half. Part of that might just have been that their FG% was higher, but I was looking and the positioning and we looked to be better positioned on the rebounds in general as well.
2) We need to keep substituting early in the 2nd half. We were lucky that our guys had energy to play it out, but I would have liked to see more of DG and ML in the 2nd half. I also think ML played great D on Thomas when he was in the game in the first half. I don’t think Thomas scored at all when he had ML on him.
3) Shot Selection is improving and potentially could be improved a little more. I liked the one series in the first half where JS pump faked the 3, drove in and was fouled. In the 2nd half, JH (with the shot clock going down) made a move and looked like he was going to pull up for a jumper but instead knifed in and scored an easy layup. I also saw Drago pass up a 3 once and hit a nice bank jumper. Don MacLean mentioned in the postgame report that we tend to win games where we attempt fewer than 20 3’s and we lose the games where we attempt more. I’d be interested in seeing if someone has an official statistic for that, but I do think we tend to fall in love with the 3 at times.
4) I liked JH’s aggressiveness in the first half on offense, but he kinda reverted and disappeared in the second besides the one great play with the shot clock going down. I don’t think he needs to take over a game, but I’d like to see him get more involved. I think he’s the one guy on our team that can create a shot for himself if he really had to. It’s also great that he made both of his free throws at the end since I think he’s shooting a relatively low percentage.
Stats on Shooting 3s
In conference games only, in the games we averaged 8 for 23 from behind the line (36%). In those 4 losses, we’ve shot over 20 attempts in 3 of those games. Last week’s ASU game was the only game we shot less than 20 shots (18) and if the SPTR knew what a blocking foul was that game might have been in the win column.
In our 9 wins, we averaged 8 for 17 (47%) from 3 land. In the first 3 conference wins we had over 20 attempts. In the last 6 wins, the most attempts has been 17.
When losing you might expect a few more 3’s to be flying.
An interesting thing is in our wins we’ve attempted fewer shots since ND has started.
The view from 301
Overall a good, gutsy win. Need to echo Class of 66 – Keefe played very well in the first half. Overall, we were still too sloppy with the ball, but hard to argue with a good defensive effort and solid shooting from outside. Holiday struggled in the first half, and had trouble staying with his man. Enjoyed the light press we used in the 2nd half to slow them down. Very disappointed by the large number of empty seats (one entire 3rd level section was empty throughout the game). Not the sell out we need to bring the team home at the finish.
Tough Game
All in all I thought UW played great defense. In their runs they looked like us, with on ball pressure, turnovers creating offense, etc. Personally I was glad that we took their A game and still solidly won. It was great to hear Donnie Mac in the post-game compliment the officials at least 30 times for letting the players play.
I am a believer in PAA. He is fun to watch. He is so athletic. I am starting to completely disregard the comments on our lack of inside game being our achilles heel. PAA has the ability to play with anyone, and has a pretty good track record of elevating as well or better than anyone.
i was also glad to see the ref let them play. Games should be physical. And this is a win where the refs do not decide the victory, which has been a problem as of late.
was mad that they stopped play after a Washington player “went down” in the beginning. That guy (i believe #5) was huffing and puffing since the 17 min mark from the end to end running and play stop for him at 15 min or so. You can’t stop play for players being out of shape. Game them unneccassary advantage that allowed them to sub in Overton.
GO BRUINS!!! CHEER LIKE CHAMPIONS!!!
Thoughts
1. I’m concerned with JA, especially his ball handling. He had 5 TO in 7 mins which is ridiculous. Everytime he had the ball, I would get nervous and that’s during all of the Bruin games, not just this one. I don’t know, but may be he needs to do what Ronald Steele (Alabama) did during his frosh year – always carry and dribble a ball during the day. When DC is out and he is in, we definitely are not even close to being the same team. I’m sure he will develop, but he is too much of a liability right now. I would like to see JH take the point when DC needs a rest and a combo of MR, JS, and ML play the SG and SF positions.
2. AA has stepped up his game incredibly so this year esp the last 12 games or so. He has developed a respectable game, and yes I want him to take the 15-17 foot jumper. AA will need help down low against the bigger teams.
3. We need JS to give us a solid 15 points a game, he gave us 20 tonight.
4. DC is indispensable, if he (or even AA) go down our season is over. I’d like to see DC take any open jumpers on a regular basis esp in the last 18 secs of the shot clock. He has a nice shot and if he’s open he should shoot.
5. ND we know he can shoot, but great to see hime helping AA on the boards, making some nifty passes, and playing solid D.
6. Our D is definitely down this season, we really need to have high energy to make up for our lack of overall D, esp interior D (the loss of LRMBM is killing us in this respect).
Want to Win
I thought the most promising part of watching this game was that they truly wanted to win this game. Every time Washington would try to make a run our boys had an answer for them. During the Arizona game, they just looked at though they’d rather not be there. Tonight, they weren’t going down with a fight. It kept my blood pressure down a lot because it was nice to see that they wanted it.
ND had some amazing passes tonight and props to PAA for playing with such heart and playing so strong. No way would I ever have guessed that he was that ill if I didn’t already know.
DC wasnt having a very promising game and then when the team really needed him he exploded. Gotta love him :)
Overall it was a solid win and it was great to see such heart
DC Offensive Foul
Before reading the caption of the picture of DC, I was thinking the same thing. I really can’t believe they called an offensive for the last lay up DC made w/ AZ. He didn’t even jump into the defender, but instead jumped slightly sideways to avoid body contact. I thought he had the And 1, and I was actually confused when I didn’t see DC at the line and that we didn’t get the initial two points. I didn’t even realize what happened until I saw the Huskies inbound the ball after the call.
Great game!
I finally got to go to Pauley…and sat right behind the den! These kids do a great job. Unfortunately…#$*##!%…I forgot my camera. I am so mad at myself.
Anyway, here are a few takeaways from the game:
1. We played great defense in the first half, especially on help defense in the interior. Stopped a lot of penetration.
2. Drago is becoming a very good player. He is rebounding very well, playing decent to good defense, and is a very good passer. Some of his assists last night were beautiful. And I love that he is taking very good, smart shots from the 3 point line now, instead of jacking it up every time.
3. President. Alfred. Aboya. I can’t tell you how amazing this MAN is. If I were a basketball player, I would want to be Alfred Aboya. He is really becoming one of my favorite Bruins of all time. You should have seen how exhausted he was every time he went to the bench…but when he was on the floor, he was all hustle. If watching him does not inspire the team to play hard, I don’t know what will. The 19-footer he took had a high, high arc…it was right in front of me…and you just knew it was going in. I don’t know where he found that shot, but it is a beauty.
4. DC is our rock. He had something to prove last night and he did. He took it to the rim when he had to and made things happen. I don’t think he had any turnovers (or maybe just 1). His speed is incredible, and so is his character.
5. Josh Shipp: efficient and silky smooth. He doesn’t have all the fancy moves, but watching him play is a treat. He always seems to find the right spot and plays smart basketball.
6. The Freshmen: this is the time of the season when they start hitting a wall. Usually they haven’t played this many games, and certainly not at this level. But more than that, I think they are experiencing their first true crunch time, where each game becomes bigger than the previous one. I think they are feeling the pressure and not playing loose. JA was way too cautious last night and it cost him several times. JH had a much better game…but he just needs to keep getting to the hoop. He’s got all the skills to do it.
7. The Crowd: utterly pathetic. Simply atrocious. If it weren’t for the Den, it would be like watching Masterpiece Theater. It is truly embarrassing. The only times the place got loud was when PAA had his coast-to-coast dunk, and when the Den started chanting “STAND UP” with 4 min left in the game. Every time we built up a lead, people just sat down and guess what…that’s when UW would make its runs (that and the lineup…). We could have put this game away several times. It’s shameful, if you ask me.
Now on to Saturday and taking care of the Cougars! No letdown. Barn cats must sharpen their teeth and their claws and take care of business.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
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