An Imperfect Storm

Once the dust has settled, the basketball staff, over the past 4-5 years, has easily done its job, and that is giving the players, and fans, the ride of their lives. For the players, it is the “highlight reel of their lives”, even for those who go on and make it at the next level. None of them will forget their college experiences and how the coaching staff made them better people and players. Aboya may well become a national hero in Cameroon, and UCLA will have had a lot to do with his success, and the story will be repeated down the line.

As to football, their are many more players involved and the present coaching staff, IMO will provide for them what the basketball staff has done for basketball, the experience of a lifetime. That is the bottom line.
Bill

with Class of 66 and gBruin. We are watching true student athletes play a very competitive sport under a microscope, at an institution with very high expectations. Also, I think the result of the various conference tourneys this year reinforces how dumb they are as an indicator of quality. Look at who lost in early or semi final rounds: NC, Kansas, Conn, Pitt, Oklahoma, MSU, LSU, Washington, etc. Next, if DC was hurting following the WSU game, I would have rested him for the SC game and let JH and the other freshman give it a shot. Finally, its a game. WE love it, we love our athletes and we cheer our brains out, but we keep it in perspec Big Dance. We may see you there in later round!

Congrats for finally winning something in basketball – perhaps we’ll see you in a later round of the only Tournament that merits a banner in Pauley.

Man you said perfect, thats a good artical.

is the thing to do now. I accept the proposition that this is not a great Bruin team, but it isn’t a terrible team either. It has won a lot of games and, with a decent seeding, can easily advance quite far in the tournament. Like many of you, I suppose, I watch a lot of college basketball, and I have seen plenty of teams that the Bruins should beat, playing at their normal level of efficiency. JR really hasn’t disappointed me. He is an excellent freshman, perhaps a little unsure of his role, but who wouldn’t be? I think he’ll be fine, as will all those who have had some important playing time lately. Let a few shots fall, and we’ll see a far different Bruin team than the one we saw last night. Surely we’ll be making a maximum effort, after such a relatively poor outing. Except for DC’s painful tail bone, we seem to be fine physically, so it is a question of getting our heads straight. All we need is for the real Bruin team to show up and play hard. That will always be enough.

with the comments above. I also agree partly with Nestor’s post in the aftermath of the game. It’s certainly frustrating to see a team with so much potential (whether or not you want to recognize the hype – the departure of significant contributors from last year notwithstanding) lay an egg at such a critical time. While it’s upsetting that this happened against USC, I don’t think that’s what the biggest implication. Unlike some on here, I’m willing to give credit where it’s due, even if it is against USC. They wanted it more, and quite frankly took it to us. For some on here to whine about physicality, or refereeing, or not recognize that on that night, our cross town rivals looked more athletic and frankly more talented than we, just makes you sound like the ignorant homer that so many fans have become. What was more critical was that we lost out on a chance to maybe grab a better seed position (which contrary to what some conspiracists on this board think) the NCAA was just waiting to give us. That said, the loss wasn’t the end of the world and I think that to some degree this team has been waiting for the tourney. Now, i’m not expecting them to blow up for another final four run — though I don’t think anyone would be surprised by it. I do hope that they come out and play to their potential. I think in the end that is all you can ask. These seniors have had ups and downs this year, but overall it’s been a solid rebuilding effort. I don’t think we’ve been as good as we may have thought we’d be, but what a job DC and JS have done in keeping us on track. You’ve gotta love these guys. Tonight, we’ll figure out where we end up…. and even if we fall as low as a 5 seed, my buddies back east are cringing at the thought of playing a Bruin team that is out for some vindication… go bruins.