Hoops Roundup: Another Wasted Week For A Broken UCLA Program

Top to bottom, this team is lost. I believe the only way to salvage any positivity this season is to flush the current lineup and insert freshmen who would presumably play inspired ball having watched the disaster of season thus far from the bench. I don’t understand the logic in trotting ND out every game. He is a finesse PF who is a below average shooter with no real sense of how to play interior defense. Playing Lane or Moser would add energy, length and maybe some speed on defense that would inevitably lead to turnovers…at the very least, CBH would be sending a clear message that ND and his style are not compatible with UCLA, with this year’s team or otherwise.

I think Mike Roll deserves minutes for what he has contributed to UCLA over the years. On this team, he easily makes the biggest return with the tools he is given as an athlete.

Nothing that hasn’t been mentioned at some point on these message boards.

Although I don’t care for your negativity, Nestor…I have agreed with just about everything you have said about this years bball team.

Go Bruins!

Last week we heard about how the team was focusing on reducing their turnovers, and running sprints for each turnover. While we did reduce our turnovers (12 against $C), we apparently also forgot how to create baskets for others (5 assists was a pretty dismal showing – perhaps one of the things MR was referencing in his comments), and lost any ability to rebound, hustle, and play defense against a habitually poor shooting $C team.

…reminds me of the Simpson’s episode where Homer gets worried that learning something new might push old knowledge out of his brain:

“Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?”

With a week to gameplan, Kevin O’Neill scouted us well; meanwhile, our team looked like it regressed. I’d love to be optimistic and hope that taking one step back allows you to take two steps forward – if we can remember how to play defense hard and create on offense AND keep turnovers down – but there seems little justification for optimism at this point.

As for the comments made this week, they are typical vanilla comments that are not supposed to tell anyone anything, and to maintain an outwards appearance of unity. This (sadly) represents progress from earlier comments, if only as showing mildly improved media savvy on the part of the players. Hopefully whatever they are doing away from our eyes on the practice court is less wasteful than whatever it was they were doing last week and they put on a less embarrassing display in the next game.

Has Howland changed anything up dramatically on offense since he arrived? If opposing teams don’t know what our offensive game plan is by now, they haven’t been watching any film for the past 7 years.

And, other than ND, I don’t agree with the assessment that this team doesn’t play hard. One of the biggest problems with this team is that they don’t play smart. Most of the turnovers are caused by trying to dribble past a quicker defender or dribbling into triple coverage in the paint or making a cross court or length of the court pass – stupid, individual plays.

I also don’t think giving minutes to BLane or MMoser will make us a better team this year. In fact, their tentativeness and lack of experience will only make the problem worse. However, there has to come a point this season when the coaching staff realizes that giving significant minutes to the freshman and losing makes more sense than giving those minutes to JK and ND and losing.

If this keeps up, are you going to start up firebenhowland.com at blogspot?

Nestor knows full well I expect this mess to clear up next year. There are a few reasons for i think this. One major one is that we will have a good point guard (Laz Jones). This current team has no point guard of any merit — none. That hurts the team in ways that I personally don’t think many understand. If we even had an average point guard this team would look much differently.

But the unhappiness with this year’s squad is clearly justified. I’m wondering if Howland took for granted the leadership and maturity his early recruits brought to the program (Read: Farmer, AA, AA2, The Prince, Love.) This team has no leader and very little maturity. These things matter in college ball. If he did it’s a screw-up on his part, btw. I wasn’t justifying, just looking for reasons.

The points made about what’s wrong with this team and the coach’s mistakes do not need restating here. But I feel compelled to second the motion that it’s time to play Moser and Lane and get ready for next year. I can live with losses if I see game over game improvement and see freshman gaining valuable experience. Think the second half of the Oregon State football game. We lost, but I came away with a sense that the team was beginning to grow.

…and I’m surprised I’ve never mentioned this, there’s a guy at my work named Ragovich. Everytime I see him in the hall, I can’t help but shake my head – but I do often crack a smile. Though not very tall, seemingly pretty unathletic, and balding from old age, I would almost suggest CBH recruit this gentleman and start him in place of our own Drag – who knows, he could be one of those old guys at the gym who can shoot the lights out and have a little “too much” tenacity. Regardless, it can’t get any worse than what we already have.

is 0 – 3 on the road and lost to Oregon and the Arizona schools before righting the ship against the Bay area schools, apparently by stepping up their defensive effort, from what little I have read. Should we give up in advance any thought of putting up more than token resistance at Pauley? That is something I cannot do. For one thing, their average margin of victory is only 9 points, and that includes early-season games where they ran up 96 points against one opponent and 111 on another. Of course, that case is weakened a bit by the fact that they beat Stanford 94 – 61, and Cal, 84 – 69; yet their Pac – 10 losses were by double digits. Pondexter and Thomas are superior athletes, no doubt, but they rely on them a lot. Their big center might present a size problem as well, but this is not an impossible job. I just hope, and wish I could believe, that our team is practicing with that attitude and spirit.

Alot of talk about the Bruins showing no effort and not bringing it to the court. After watching, I can see that it is not all about the effort, but rather basketball ability. This team maybe trying to win, but there is no top flight talent. SC puts 5 guys on the court that can score, where as the Bruins show up with probably 2 (roll/lee) on the entire roster. I still don’t get what people see in Honeycutt and Lane. TH looks pretty and smooth, but he has no D1 shot and can’t finish inside. I don’t know what he brings to the game other than some rebounding and just looking to pass. Lane looks pretty running up and down the court, but defensively & offensively he is lost. The excuse being young is just that, an excuse. UCLA is not a training ground for basketball 101. These players should be recruited ready to play and improve their HS All-American skills. Not spend valuable time teaching them how to shoot freethrows or make wide open jumpshots. CBH has done a horrible job of evaluating talent the past few years and this team needs an overhaul asap.

talk about football so we feel better :)

Or more specifically, the lack thereof. Even worse, it seems that we have a group of players who lack talent but believe that they are supremely talented. How else can you explain the lack of effort? The 2009 class bought its own hype and has done nothing to show it was warranted. As a spectator, the only 2009 class member who appears to be worthy of the hype is Lee, and even Lee is more athlete than baller and is far from polished.

Unlike many of you, I do not question whether Howland can coach. He has proven he can with 3 straight final 4s (or as many in 6 years as in the 38 post-Wooden years that preceded his tenure).

He also can recruit, having nabbed many of the most-sought after recruits on the west coast. The problem is that the west coast has been talent-deficient (with a few exceptions) as compared to the rest of the country (see mediocrity of Pac-10). There is a monumental gap in talent right now. So Howland, despite getting some top west coast talent has not gotten any complete, game-ready players, especially at point guard and center, in the last three recruiting cycles.

It will take time to correct, but I still have no doubt Ben can and will do it. Meanwhile, it’s too painful to watch this brand of basketball.

And left an automated voice message telling me to come to the Washington game. He sounded about as enthusiastic in his phone message as I do about this team.

In the years with Phil Jackson as HC and Mitch Kupchak as GM/ VP, there were frequent complaints that Phil prized players with triangle offense ability (aka, “the Preciousss”) over more athletically-gifted players who could play effective defense, finish at the rim, block shots, etc.

The glowing example of this would be Luke Walton.

Now, I am wondering if CBH is looking to get players who might — MIGHT — be able to play defense at the risk of looking for guys who can actually create on offense.

Nelson — more bang than ball.

Honeycutt — more hands on D than touch on O.

This does not apply to every player, of course. Ragovic is the glow-in-the-dark, nuclear exception to that rule.

Still, there are many Laker fans who say we don’t need a pure PG to run the tri, to which I always answer, WHY THE (BLEEP) WOULDN’T YOU WANT ONE?

Likewise, I don’t see why we should be asking whether CBH is recruiting D-only players (TH, RN) or O-only players (Ragovic), when the question should be why isn’t he recruiting players who can do BOTH???

In a world where players leave after one year, we need players who can contribute right away. Whether that’s scoring or rebounding or whatever, we need guys who can contribute in their strength right away, and be at least proficient enough so they don’t hurt us in other areas.

For example, Rago’s shooting sure is not compensating for his D, and RN’s rebounding arguably is not compensating for his inability to finish at rim or make FTs. However, TH’s open shooting is at least passable enough so that we don’t have to take him out and lose his rebounding and athleticism.

Anyway, just some random thoughts. May develop this more later.