You sure that you want to use Kobe as a great player that is also a great leader? He is pretty much the opposite of that. He is a phenomenal natural talent that awes & inspires others but his selfishness & arrogance pretty much kill his natural leadership opportunities. The funny thing is that has been the knock on him his whole career so it’s not like this is my own observation. Granted he is working hard to overcome this deficiency of his the last couple of years (I think that Fisher is the one coaching him up who happens to be a fantastic natural leader).

Otherwise I agree with your post. I think the attitude that we are missing is the “refuse to lose” attitude. I don’t see anybody on this team with that. It’s more like CTS’s scared to lose attitude.

Don’t post too often, especially since my work computer won’t let me, but it looks like most of you are voicing the same opinion I have about this Bruins squad, now that I’ve gotten to see them play almost a complete season. Corresponding w/ an old coworker (he goes back to the Wooden years) we’ve both seen what a difference having a leadership tandem like Ed O’ & Edny, Farmar & Afflalo, or Westbrook & Love can mean to a team. All those times these guys willed the Bruins to wins because of that never say die attitude. In the next couple of games leading up to the big dance, I hope this group of Bruins can find that fight in them and bring it every game. The only thing I can say to this group is, “you just got punched in the mouth, so what are you going to do about it?”
GO BRUINS

I say that because we don’t have a window into what goes on with this team. On some teams, it’s obvious who the leader is. In 1995, it was Ed without question. Ed led with his actions on the court, off the court and his teammates acknowledged his leadership. But Ed was not necessarily typical.

It appears to me that the leader of this team is DC. Howland seems to suggest that in his interviews. On the court, he leads by example, and he leads by taking the ball to the rack when the game is on the line. He leads by making good decisions with the ball.

Does he lead by getting in the face of teammates who are not performing well? I don’t know. I don’t recall examples of it during the course of a game, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t get in the face of his teammates or get them inspired to victory before the game or at half time.

If Collison is indeed the leader, he shold be able to look in the mirror and not like what he has been seeing on the defensive end these past several games. He should lead by example and pick up his own effort and demand the same of his teammates. He should ask “Why did I come back to UCLA for a 4th season if not to give 100% effort and attempt to get the most effort out of my teammates so that we can win a championship?”

Now is the time for a leader. If we don’t have one, we’ll know soon enough.

gbruin definitely offers a different perspective and as a somewhat passive guy myself, I can relate to the quiet, business-like work ethic of our seniors. At the same time, I’ve often criticized myself for the very same thing. Sometimes, being vocal and can add some much needed motivation.

We have a leader the screams and hollers in CBH, but it’s different to have someone to provide the emotion on the floor. I miss RW who would let out a roar, akin to a war-cry, that seemed to invigorate our guys. Sometimes I wish I could just jump on the court and yell, “LET’S GO!”

This isn’t to say that our seniors should be the ones to fill that role. If it’s not in their composition, they shouldn’t force it.

You know what could be just as effective, or at least close? A bunch of wild, crazed, out-of-their-minds and absolutely possessed fan base. Our fans can provide that spark. Everytime we’re down more than 9 points, we need fans that will jump to their feet and just scream like mad. Everytime we’re up 10 points we need to make sure they keep up the intensity.

but it is criticism, just not unfair faultfinding and nitpicking(#2 below).
Let us not hesitate to point out areas of opportunity. Especially attitude/mental aspects of the game that can conceivably improve or change.

–noun
1. the act of passing judgment as to the merits of anything.
2. the act of passing severe judgment; censure; faultfinding.
3. the act or art of analyzing and evaluating or judging the quality of a literary or artistic work, musical performance, art exhibit, dramatic production, etc.

During this basketball season, my thoughts keep reverting to Cade McNown. He is the clearest example of a player who simply refused to lose, and was not going to let his teammates even acknowledge the possibility of defeat until the final gun.

With Ed O’Bannon, his leadership skills had an extra season to blossom after he tore up his knee in practice. His determination to come back from what could have been a career ending injury presumably carried over to the mental and emotional side.

AA and RW were both perceived as less than all-world players when they came to UCLA. Maybe their leadership stemmed from a desire to prove all the experts wrong who do not rank them higher to begin with.

On this year’s team, DG had a very short senior season at Mitty thanks to an injury. Perhaps this has increased his drive relative to the rest of the team.

In any event, I do agree with N, gbruin, and others that leadership and other intangibles are so crucial to success. My question is can you find the leaders in advance during the recruiting process (like how they respond to adversity during CIF playoffs or some such), or is this basically a blind draw until practice starts and you see the players for the first time at the college level.

Insights would be very welcome. Thanks.

.. just how much their leadership affects our team, since none of us are in the locker room and on the team. I certainly understand your point, and I also understand how these concerns might be. I’ve certainly read over the years that the funniest guys on the team are Aboya, Collison and Shipp and they’ve certainly been known as the relaxed group of players on the team. That doesn’t mean their leadership style is the same, but the idea that they are more of a friend figure than an “in-your-face” Afflalo kind of player is certainly possible. And that’s no knock on the character of these players – their character on and off the court speaks for itself.

Again though, how much that affecs the team regardless of style is something we can’t really know for certain without being in the shoes of the rest of the team