Ben Ball Roundup: Getting Amped For Next Season (With Or Without Holiday)
Let's start the roundup with two key dates for those who want to be on an obsessive JH watch in the coming weeks/months:
April 26: Deadline for JH and other underclassmen around the country to declare eligibility for the summer's NBA Draft.
June 15: Deadline for JH and other other underclassmen to pull out of the NBA draft (provided that an agent has not been hired by the player). If an agent is hired, game is over.
In other words we have a long way to go before we know what will take place. No one right now has absolutely any clue what JH is going to do. I would think it would be extremely foolish to predict JH's final decision and I don't think it matters whether we write one sentence or a PhD thesis on what should be doing. This decision will belong to JH and his family while they will get counsel from Coach Howland:
"I will tell his parents and Jrue what I think, but ultimately it comes down to his decision and their decision," Howland said. "They've got to be able to weigh the different factors in where he would be if he came out now versus where he wants to be or where he'd be a year from now."
Holiday said of his impending decision: "I kind of expected to go a little bit further than this [in the tournament], so there really is no timetable."
Well actually there is a timetable based upon the dates referenced above.
Now if JH decides to come back (and I am going to stay with the mindset that it is extremely unlikely) Howland will use him at both the 1 and 2 spot next season:
"He'll play both," Howland said. "He and Jerime (Anderson) will definitely have to play together, major minutes, and I don't think they have a problem with that. I think it was difficult for (Holiday) this year, not playing some minutes at the point, because where he's best is with the ball." [...]
"They're very, very unselfish and make plays for other people, and are really pass-first point guards," Howland said. "They can definitely play together. They did it in AAU ball."
Whether or not JH is comes back, Coach Howland along with rest of us is looking forward to next season. With 5 new freshmen coming in and at least 4 returning sophomores, Coach Howland will have one of his youngest team in years to work with in Westwood. He knows it is going to be a huge challenge but he is also looking forward to the fun (emphasis added througout):
UCLA also will have five freshmen and either four or five sophomores - depending on Holiday's decision - trying to mesh with seniors James Keefe, Nikola Dragovic and Michael Roll. "In some ways, it'll be fun," Howland said. "These guys are going to be very young. They'll play a big role, but our three seniors, I expect to all be important, too, to next year's success. "Whenever you have a lot of young guys, you probably have a lot of exuberance. It's fun when you see guys grow." One of the guys Howland is fired up about?: With or without Holiday, freshmen Malcolm Lee and Jerime Anderson -- the backup point guard this season -- will play major roles in the backcourt. Howland is particularly enthusiastic about Lee, the most athletic player on the roster. The coach says Lee could become another Russell Westbrook. I don't think I need to add any more to our fanfare re. ML. I have already said enough about this kid. However, what Howland is looking for ML and all of other freshmen who are coming back next season is to hit the weightroom hard this offseason:
Part of the appeal is his work ethic.
"We want to get to the summertime and work on all our stuff because we're amped for next season," Lee said. "It's going to start with the little stuff, being dedicated and passionate."
Howland is hoping the players don't just mature mentally, but physically as well. He wants each of them to hit the weights hard enough that they're not as easily pushed around as they were Saturday against an experienced Big East team, Villanova.
In order for this team to return to Howland's staples – rebounding and defense – it will need to pack on muscle.
Lee already has gained 20 pounds since he arrived, but Howland wants him to add to his 190 pounds. He also wants Anderson and Holiday to get stronger and for Morgan to improve his lower-body strength.
Howland was disappointed in how this year's team defended and rebounded most of the year. Villanova exposed those flaws.
"That department will be a big part of how we end up doing," Howland said.
Howland could only compare next season's challenge to 2004-05, when an injury to Cedric Bozeman forced him to start three freshmen.
The comparsion to 2004-05 season makes perfect sense. It also means if anyone has any kind of ridiculous expectation re. this team winning the Pac-10 championship next year, they will have to check that out of the door now. More from the LA Times:
UCLA also has a highly rated incoming class that includes Tyler Honeycutt and Brendan Lane. But if this season proved anything, the program cannot count on freshmen grasping the system quickly.
"We try to get them organized as best we can," Howland said of the newcomers. "But we can't work with them," the coach added, which suggests the Bruins are a work in progress, who might not make another run at the top 10 and Final Four until 2010-11 at the earliest. In the meantime, the onus is on a group of players who walked away from this NCAA tournament humbled."Losing like that, everybody's going to be very hungry for next year," Gordon said. "Off-season workouts are going to begin very quickly."
Next year will be all about just going back to basics of Ben Ball: reestablishing the foundation built on defense and rebounding.
If the new nucleus of sophomores and incoming freshmen get ingrained in that Howland philsophy and completely buy in like AA and JF, we will get back to where we belong. It is going to be fun to watch Howland coach these guys up just like he did when AA, JF and that first freshman class came into Howlandwood.
GO BRUINS.
1 recs |
50 comments
Comments
At this point I think Malcolm Lee...
is more athletic than Westbrook, but probably not as strong. Good first step, fast ups, quick lateral speed…I fully expect him to dominate all the slow white boy 2s and 3s in the pac-10 next year! Very excited…
by tajcarny on Mar 25, 2009 7:38 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
watching Lee
the word that always pops up is explosive. Everything about him is explosive. Like you said – great first step, great hops, even rises quickly to take a shot. If he can learn to control that athleticism…we’ll have a very special player on our hands
by bucknellbruin on Mar 25, 2009 9:39 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
ML = The Truth
You can just see it in this guy’s beady little eyes. He has a fire inside him that he will unleash in the form of a thunderous dunk over some unsuspecting scrub.
by j.nizger on Mar 25, 2009 10:32 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Malcolm Lee
I’d say at least offensively he is ahead of where Russell was as he has better ball handling skills, has a better outside shot, and a higher offensive minded basketball IQ. Russell was stronger, didn’t suffer any injuries his freshman season, and probably picked up on Howland’s defensive schemes faster which resulted in much more playing time. I think if ML can get some major minutes next season we’ll all be in for a fun ride.
Oh UCLA you sweet bitch, you've BRUINed me for anything else.
by bruin8uclap on Mar 25, 2009 7:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
We'll be very young again
If we thought this year was a learning process, wait until next year. But I’m excited to get the young guys (ML, JA, DG, hopefully JH, TH) in key roles early and give them more of a chance to develop through the year.
We may have a lot of the same growing issues next year that we saw with this team, even more so w/o the steady influence of DC and JS, but it will bode well for the next 2-3 years if most of these guys stay in school.
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
by gbruin on Mar 25, 2009 8:05 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Again, the future is SO bright...
… even without our 3 senior starters from this year.
In some ways, I’m thinking that having 3 senior guys who are not going to be immeidaitely expected toc arry the team (especially as none are expected at this point to be the starting pont guard or center) will help drive our returning sophs to be more assertive and take on more leadership roles.
Roll and Keefe can certainly show eladership by example, but since neither are known for team-carrying offense, I think JH’s point performance (if he comes back, aka "IHCB"), ML’s hustle, and DG’s fire, will be the beginning of a new nucleus for the soul of the team.
Pat Riley used to call this step in the forging of a team the “Innocent Climb.” No one expects them to suck, and everyone is just waiting for them to grow and improve and gell as a unit, finding its identity.
This is going to be great… it may or may not get us to the Final 4 next year (who expected it in the beginning of the 2005-06 season???), but it will still be exciting for hard-core and passing hoops fans alike.
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
by Meriones on Mar 25, 2009 8:47 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Say a prayer for JMorgan
Let’s all hope and pray that he does get his head straight, hits the weight room for his lower body, gets in shape, and focuses on learning what it takes to win at UCLA. He could be a real key, IMO, for an inside presence next year. And that all the players make their grades.
Bill
BillSouthBay
by Mensgym on Mar 25, 2009 8:52 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
His Head's Not Straight?
Bill, please elaborate. I can’t recall anything about his having a bad attitude.
by bru79 on Mar 25, 2009 10:27 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Nothing to elaborate
That’s an erroneous statement, voluntary or involuntary. If anything, JMM said that he was eager to work hard this offseason so that he could contribute next year. I don’t think it’s been his attitude at all, more his slowness at grasping the defense and his actual physical slowness…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Mar 25, 2009 11:25 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Morgan comment
He said in the press that he initially was “selfish”. I believe he had gone beyond that and when he comes back next year, he will have matured. What I saw this year, mostly in garbage time, was some good inside talent that UCLA needs to exploit.
Bill
BillSouthBay
by Mensgym on Mar 25, 2009 11:34 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I see what you mean
and I too hope he stands by his words. It’ll benefit him too in the long run.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Mar 25, 2009 1:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Music to my ears
“Losing like that, everybody’s going to be very hungry for next year,” Gordon said. “Off-season workouts are going to begin very quickly”
Sounds like someone else we know:
http://www.adidas.com/campaigns/basketball2008/content/index.asp?strCountry_adidascom=us#/rookiehood/
“We lost in the first round and never wanted to feel like that again!” -Jordan Farmar
by sjc7522 on Mar 25, 2009 9:14 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
You could see it in his face
I’ve seen that look before. I saw it when the guy you just quoted was bounced by Texas Tech. The next day he was walking around campus with the biggest scowl on his face. Drew Gordon is going to be the fire and passion of this team. I don’t know anything about the personalities of the five incoming freshmen, but I’ll take another one with Gordon’s intensity any day.
by Tydides on Mar 25, 2009 9:24 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Young Guns Running Around
Next year will be exciting because of all the youth. No reason to expect much, but it will be exciting. However, one could hope that Holiday will be better than Collison, Lee superior to SHipp, and Gordon superior to Aboya. Long term-I think all three prophecies come true.
The frustration of this year centered around our experience. I thought we could have achieved more—so it was frustrating watching our senior stars play like just a little less than stars. But the other frustrating thing was knowing that our freshman would get less opportunities because of our more experienced players—even though it was clear this wasn’t close to a great team. Howland could never have sat Collison, Shipp, and Aboya to let the young guys get extra minutues (those players earned the right to be on the floor), but it still is frustrating knowing that Lee, Anderson, and Gordon could have got even more experience this year.
I saw some mock line-ups for next year around BN, and just wanted to note this: I would much rather play the young kids next year (start all Sophomores and Freshman), then try to squeeze guys like Drago and Roll and Keefe for all they are worth. Roll has played critical minutes for us, and I appreciate him more than most. And the same can be said for Drago and Keefe. But those players are what they are. The fiction of them being stars is gone, and has been. Accordingly, I would be relatively disappointed if I saw Keefe or Roll playing starting minutes next year. And as much as Drago improved, I would rather have him off the bench as well. His defensive inabilities are too critical to be ignored, and again—his playing eats up critical minutes for a young kid. Obviously, whatever Howland does is great with me. And off all our experience, Drago is the likely starter. All I am saying is, I would not be disappointed if Drago took a back seat.
My view is—this is really a two-year project (with apologies to Roll, Drago, and Keefe). Next year will have some incredible highs, and some incredible lows—but I’m hoping it happens with the young kids out front. Remember, the reason we succeeded in 2005, was precisely because Farmar and Afflalo took their lumps starting in year one. And if, for instance, Keefe, Drago, and Roll are starting next year, that is less lumps for the young kids—lumps they need to be taking sooner than later.
How much easier it will be to take losses and struggles if Lee and Lane and Anderson and Honeycutt are taking the key shots; how much harder if it is Drago or Keefe or Roll?
Go Bruins
by rfirpo on Mar 25, 2009 12:48 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
"Stars"
I can see why you’d be frustrated if you expected our seniors to play like stars, but to me those were not realistic expectations. If anything, both Shipp and Aboya played much better than last year, and Shipp was somewhat of a star in my eyes. I don’t think DC played as well as last year though, but circumstances were different.
I don’t think that you need to be a star to be one of the starters. Every player seems to have a role in Howland’s system, and whoever fits that role best will be starting. I think Drago will be starting next year, at least initially, and I do think (hope) that his defense will be improved. He improved by leaps and bounds over the year before. Let’s see how much he and Roll and Keefe can improve by next year before relegating them to benchwarmers. The best 5 should play, regardless of age.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Mar 25, 2009 1:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Next years team
IMO, it will be better than some here predict. Remember the freshmen who are all talented will be sophomores, more mature, more knowledgable of the system, utilizing their athletic talents more. I see a better team than this year. Stabilized by the seniors, supplemented by the new freshmen learning the system, and anchored by the sophomore class. The assumption here is that JH returns.
Bill
BillSouthBay
by Mensgym on Mar 25, 2009 1:05 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I think by the middle or end of the season next year
you will prove to be right!
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Mar 25, 2009 1:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Seth Curry
Announced he is transferring from Liberty. Of course, he is Stephen Curry’s brother, and led the nation’s freshman in scoring.
Not that we need more young guys, but I’m curious if Howland and UCLA would take a chance on the kid if there was room.
by rfirpo on Mar 25, 2009 1:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Playing Time and Chemistry
As we look ahead to next year and try and learn from the just completed season, I think the two factors to examine are playing time and chemistry: How much playing time do the freshmen get, and how does Howland design the line-up such that the team jells. This past season, what I saw of our highly touted freshmen made me wonder if they weren’t highly overrated. But then again, I didn’t see that much of them. Had Anderson, Lee and Gordon been given ample playing time early and often, I wonder how much better they might have looked late in the season, significantly adding to our depth and shoring up our many liabilities (defense, offense, rebounding, etc.)
I think this is important because we have another highly touted freshmen class coming in and no legitimate superstars left in the program as of TODAY (this might change with the first game of next season, depending on the emergence of the frosh and sophomores.) If Howland again chooses not to play the freshmen significantly, we could be looking at another season similar to this one — at least once the tournament rolls around. I say this because I think that Roll, Keefe and Drago have emerged as solid, productive role players, but these guys are not going to carry the team on their backs and are not going to provide the Farmar/Love level of on-the-court leadership necessary to winning championships. To go deep in the tournament playing Howland’s style, and to get the kind of high seed that helps in that effort, we need a deep team of talented players. Finally on this point, if next year some of the sophomores or freshmen — or both — emerge as superstars, they will be gone by the end of the season. In other words, if Howland’s recruits live up to their billing, we’re going to be perennially young, and in order to win with a bunch of youngsters, I think the freshmen need more playing time, regardless of who the seniors are. Unless the senior is a bonafide superstar, play the talent, and play it with an eye toward the end of the season.
On chemistry: Howland’s three Final Four teams I thought were well-crafted, in that he used the players he had in the best way possible, and they jelled as a unit. They were three different units over three different years, but CBH kept plugging in the right players at the right time and the line-up looked like a “team.” This year’s players, not taking away anything from them individually, looked like a bunch of top notch role players who would get accolades on any dominant team in America, but never came together to form a seamless machine. I have to wonder why Howland insisted on playing JH at the 2 guard when, at least from what I saw in the VCU game, he looked so much more confortable at the point. I obviously am not as smart as the coach, and I’m a big, big fan of the coach. But I wonder why JH wasn’t used as a backup to Collison, allowing Collison to stay fresh and allowing JH to play a position in which he might have been effective.
by Bruin Die Hard on Mar 25, 2009 1:46 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I don't really get it...
I don’t think that there is a formula for making deep runs in the tournament. Michigan did it with a bunch of freshmen…Kansas did it with a bunch of seniors.
I agree with you that freshmen should get more playing time, but how do you do that when games are close and your most experienced team gives you the best chance of winning? Would you have been ok if CBH had played the freshmen more, but we had 3 or 4 more losses, finished 4th in the Pac-10 and were an 8 seed? I guarantee that if he had done that, people would be complaining that he didn’t use the team’s experience enough.
Why did Howland insist on playing Jrue at the 2 guard? Maybe it had to do with a senior All-American who was playing point guard? I mean, you actually wanted DC to play out of position so that Jrue could be the point guard? That’s not exactly a great way to reward a great player for skipping the draft and coming back to school. And Jrue was too good to be on the bench, but if you did put him on the bench, who would have played at the 2?
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Mar 25, 2009 3:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I agree with some of your response points
Particularly with the fact that we couldn’t expect Howland to play the frosh over the seniors this year. But the promise of Collison and Shipp in particular, was much higher than Drago, Keefe and Roll for next year. And in retrospect, knowing that we were inconsistent and flamed out in the second round, I’m more than willing to say that—knowing what I know now, I’d would rather have taken 3 or 4 more losses and a #8 seed if it would have meant significantly more playing time for the frosh.
Of course, that judgment wouldn’t have made since earlier in the year—because I for one did not expect a # 6 seed in a tough region from this group. They had a fine year, but in hindsight, it was built on an extraodinarily weak Pac-10 and Collison and Shipp and Holiday not turning into stars when they had the opportunity (not that you can blame that on them).
by rfirpo on Mar 25, 2009 5:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Freshmen in the Howland System
I have noticed that freshmen do not excel under the Howland system no matter how super talented they are. I watched Jrue and Malcom Lee in high school and predicted they would be stars immediately at UCLA. That didn’t happen. But you do see freshmen at other schools over the years do well. Isaiah Thomas at Washington. James Harden at ASU, Eric Gordon at Indiana are a few. If Jrue was truly a first round NBA pick, he would have been able to sparkle at either the 2 or 1 position. Despite his super talent, it seems like the Howland system may have held him back. I don’t know, I’m just surmising and would like some thoughts on this around the BN. Finally, I do remember Andre McCarter the Philly Flash from decades past who did not flourish under the Wooden system. (66 and Fox71 can you help me with this?)
by bruin75 on Mar 25, 2009 1:56 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Agree
and disagree. Playing Jrue at the 2 doesn’t utilize his best skill – court vision. Bill Simmons always says that a player HAS to do at least one thing really well. I think Jrue’s was probably offset by the fact that DC had the ball most of the time. Difficult to admit, but I think this year’s offense would be much better with Jrue running point…and he probably would’ve looked like a much much better player.
by tajcarny on Mar 25, 2009 2:27 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sheesh...
you act like Jrue didn’t do well. He did quite well for a freshman. You just expected him to be a superstar, and no, that didn’t happen. Part of the reason is that Jrue was pretty much going to be a one-and-done player. In order for him to be so, he pretty much had to be a starter. In order to be a starter, he had to play the 2, because there is no way a freshman should supplant a senior all-american point guard, and he was too good to be on the bench. So, what is easier to do? Ask DC to play out of position or JH? A no-brainer, if you ask me. Unfortunately, Jrue didn’t develop very well playing out of position. It’s not the system that held him back, because the system didn’t hold back Jordan Farmar, Arron Afflalo, Russell Westbrook or Darren Collison. What held him back was playing out of position. I don’t know why you assume that we would “sparkle” even at that position. You know, maybe he’s just not as good as we all thought, and that’s okay, because most of us had lofty expectations. That doesn’t mean he can’t develop into a great player, especially playing point guard.
It’s amazing that people think Coach Howland’s system holds players back…the man developed Cedric Bozeman and Ryan Hollins into NBA players after they languished under the Lavinoma, he found gems like LRMAM and Russell Westbrook when others barely recruited them, and I’m pretty sure players like Farmar, Afflalo and Love got better under his tutelage…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Mar 25, 2009 3:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah
KL performed horribly as freshman under Howland’s system. As did AA, JF, and LRMAM.
Do people before put up garbage comments like that realize that under Howland UCLA had Pac-10 freshman of the year three years in a row?
by Nestor on Mar 25, 2009 4:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I know chief
it’s all good.
I’m trying to be nice, all things considered…but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that posts like this come out after a loss in the second round. A lot of people end up sounding incredibly ungrateful, and it’s just a shame. I swear, if these ridiculous expectations persist and drive CBH away, I am going on a rampage.
And to this day, no one has answered me yet: whom would they rather have coaching UCLA?
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Mar 26, 2009 8:50 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Agreed on all players
Howland can develop freshman, and if they are good they will shine.
Jrue’s problem is that he didn’t live up to his hype. We can make all the excuses in the world as to why (and many of them will be true), but the bottom line is that he just wasn’t a star this year (not even close)—and in my opinion, we recruited him to be a star right away (at least most likely).
I hear alot about Jrue’s very solid and good season as a freshman starter—and that is all absolutely true. But UCLA has had plenty of freshman starters who have been solid, so while that is an incredible accomplishment for a young athlete, it isn’t all that uncommon in college basketball. And Jrue wasn’t just highly recruited, he was # 1. And in a year where other freshman were stars—people are naturally going to say, how come Jrue didn’t do it too. For all the reasons posted by others—those questions probably aren’t completely fair to Jrue—but then again, he is the one who got a scholie to the best university in the country, and he probably got to reject a lot of other great programs too. So with the good, came the bad.
by rfirpo on Mar 25, 2009 5:29 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Let's not forget that Holiday managed to be a starter on a loaded team as a freshman
That’s a pretty good accomplishment all by itself.
by Fox 71 on Mar 25, 2009 4:53 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Dumb comment
see response to tasser’s comment. Please do some basic research before putting up drivel like this.
by Nestor on Mar 25, 2009 4:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
"I have noticed that freshmen do not excel under the Howland system no matter how super talented they are."
Hmmm, let’s see…
2005 — Farmar and Afflalo, starting, leading team in scoring, reaching the Tournament.
2006 — Mbah a Moute — leading team in rebounds, featured player in Tournament.
2007 — Westbrook — sparkplug off bench, highlight reel player.
2008 — Love — All-American candidate, Pac-10 POY, and FOY by mutliple groups.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
by Meriones on Mar 26, 2009 9:21 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
0 = 0
Howland makes me sick with his sore lack of innovation and versatility.
The man is a right handed drummer.
To non-musicians, he sounds GREAT!
To drummers, he’s weak.
I’m challenging Ben to GROW his game,
and come up with successful strategies
that MATCH our available personnel.
I agree with Pooh Richardson.
Stubborness is not a virtue.
0 = 0.
Lavin got zero.
So far Ben has zero.
Zero = Zero.
by BruinAlum on Mar 25, 2009 4:43 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I reiterate a comment I made about a stubborn coach
We had a guy who absolutely, positively refused to play a zone defense. He was so unbelievably stubborn that nothing anyone could do would change him. No matter what the situation, no matter how well the other team was shooting from outside, this stuborn coach refused to play a zone. I am very confident that he had zero minutes of a zone defense in 25 or so years as our head basketball coach.
He was stubborn in other ways, too. He had principles which he followed and stubbornly refused to waver from following those principles. He had a fairly successful run. You might remember his name. It’s written on our court.
Stubborness is a virtue, in my opinion. 10 = 10.
by Fox 71 on Mar 25, 2009 4:57 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wow, If Nestor thought the comment above was dumb
He’s going to have a field day with this one. Not only does this guy thinks Howland is no better than Lavin, he thinks most of the bloggers here are clueless about basketball.
by Gen2Bruin1987 on Mar 25, 2009 5:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Three Final Fours. Nothing Else to Say.
by rfirpo on Mar 25, 2009 5:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don't know how your trolling ass hadn't been banned yet
But I won’t be the one to do it. After all, you now lead for “dumbest post of the year” by a wide margin, and that has to be worth something:

by Tydides on Mar 25, 2009 5:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think you might be on to something, Ty
Dumbest post of the year. There will be a relatively dead time this year just before football season, and maybe we could liven it up with a “Dumbest Post of the Year” contest. (I should be exempt from winning because I came up with the suggestion.) Winners (or runners up or something like that) would qualify for induction in the Dumb Post Hall of Fame. And in that latter category, I hereby nominate Bill and Ted, and probably a few more if I just thought about it.
by Fox 71 on Mar 25, 2009 9:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
The Whiney
Award statue modeled, perhaps, after Tim Floyd.
by Bruinut on Mar 26, 2009 9:20 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I freaking LOVE this image.
CLASSIC.
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
by Meriones on Mar 26, 2009 9:23 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sigh
Yet another ignorant post by BruinAlum. 4 Final Fours still not good enough for some people I guess. Ignorance is not a virtue. I challenge you to grow a brain. Zero, Zero.
Oh UCLA you sweet bitch, you've BRUINed me for anything else.
by bruin8uclap on Mar 25, 2009 7:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Do you know for sure that he's an alum?
sjh
by Class of 66 on Mar 25, 2009 7:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Not really
but I was just calling him out by the name he calls himself.
Oh UCLA you sweet bitch, you've BRUINed me for anything else.
by bruin8uclap on Mar 25, 2009 7:59 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I have a hard time believing that
real alum’s would say things like that.
sjh
by Class of 66 on Mar 26, 2009 2:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Another one
I think the guy’s name was “Bruin Grad SC Dad”? I had a tough time thinking he had spent a lot of time at UCLA.
by Fox 71 on Mar 26, 2009 7:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Lots of options
to ponder, which is part of the fun (and challenge for CBH). I do think Roll has improved and will continue to be a great “sixth” man, coming off the bench for significant minutes. I believe Keefe will actually shine as a senior, whether he starts or not. Look at his rebounds/defensive impact per minute this year. Biggest question for me is Drago – does he sustain high level play or continue to bob up and down (inconsistent). After that, Jrue running the point with Lee at 2 and the young guys up front, yeah baby!
by Vanman7475 on Mar 25, 2009 6:18 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

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