Short/Long Term Impact Of Howland's Drag Use On UCLA Basketball
by Nestor on Mar 19, 2010 4:01 AM PDT
49 comments
Over at Bruin Report Online (BRO) Tracy Pierson posted a poignant analysis of the state of UCLA basketball . Tracy sounds off a number of the themes we have been exploring and discussing throughout the season and lays out his thoughts on both the short term and long term prospects of our program.
The article is behind subscription firewall and you can read it by going here. If you haven't subscribe to BRO, I would encourage signing up for BRO subscription for reading pieces like that. In any event there are few passages on Nikola Dragovic that are extremely relevant given the discussions we have had on BN for weeks. If anyone wants to just forget about what transpired with Drago during this past season can be forgotten just because he is gone, think again. Tracy lays out why Howland's Drag use could potentially have ramifications on the state of UCLA basketball, which we are publishing with permission (emphasis added throughout):
While many fans might believe we're lingering a bit too much on Dragovic and his impact, we believe it's quite the contrary. Howland's use of Dragovic has impacted his reputation in recruiting as well as greatly disrupted the environment and chemistry within the program. It comes down to simply this: Howland preaches that he emphasizes defense and playing hard, but insisted on playing Dragovic, who did neither, and did it in a very auspicious way.
Internally, players in the program, who bought into the Howland-established parameters for playing time of defense/playing hard, were disillusioned. From what we've heard, players, of course, recognized that Dragovic wasn't the exact embodiment of Howland's philosophies, yet he played 33 minutes per game. In fact, some recognized that Dragovic was the poster boy for the extreme opposite. It's very difficult for a player, during the season to gain weight and fat. Most of the time players lose weight and muscle mass during the season, burning off so many calories through practice and the games. But Dragovic did, in fact, gain weight and fat, which is mind-boggling. If you look at his body in September and compare it to the end of the season, it's clear that it got softer and rounder.
Externally, recruits, AAU coaches and the SoCal recruiting community generally don't know what Howland stands for now. As we explained in the January article, recruits in the last five years knew that, at the very least, if they came to UCLA, they were going to be rewarded by playing hard and playing defense. While arguments always could be made that Howland isn't a players' coach, that there isn't a warm/fuzzy type of feeling to the program, they knew they were going to be well coached, and well-prepared for the NBA, and that defense and playing hard would be what got them on the court - since that's what Howland always preached. Now, they don't know what to believe, and don't know what they'll get if they come to UCLA.
All in all, yes, a losing season will do this to any program. When you're losing, the warts are glaring. When you're winning, those same warts tend to be disregarded.
But this goes beyond the effect of losing. Things happened this season - namely the use of Dragovic -- that could very well resonate beyond this season, that might not be disregarded even after UCLA gets on the winning track again. It wasn't the losing, but the way UCLA lost. It's not a matter of whether UCLA can bounce back from one losing season, but whether Howland can re-establish the reputation and image that his program had before.
Again those are just few grafs. You need to read rest of the article here, which also provides comprehensive analysis on number of other issues such as the state of our backcourt, competition at the 4 spot and of course recruiting outlook from here on out.
As far as UCLA basketball is concerned, I have always had the highest amount of reverence observations Tracy and his colleague Greg Hicks have made over the years. What Tracy offered up above is very disconcerting to say the least. We are going to have to watch extremely closely how Howland and his staff finish up this recruiting season, start the next one, and then observe the chemistry in next year's team.
The upcoming few months are shaping up to be the most crucial time period in Ben Howland era since he arrived in Westwood. How he operates in the coming months will give us answers on how this past year's Drag use (among many issues impacting the program) was just an aberration or whether it will haunt us for a prolonged period of time.
GO BRUINS.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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It's tempting
to offer up a Drag Coefficient equation here, substituting farcical factors for the real ones, but I’m just not in the mood.
If the debilitating effect on the team of playing ND SO-O-O many minutes can be obvious to us from afar, how can they not be obvious from within?
As Tasser says, there HAS to be another reason, right?
Why should Anderson and Lee work hard this off-season
They should got fat and flabby and they too can get rewarded with 33 mins a game next year. Clearly working his tail off last off season paid off really well for Bobo Morgan.
They could also sexually harrass (allegedly) FAs
That would really seal the deal and get them trips on fast class next season.
Petey used to ‘discipline’ his (alleged) thugs by making them run laps, Howland just pulls his into first class.
Since Rag likes to party
the booze is probably what made him gain weight, especially since he can drink legally now (I assume).
I am waiting for the tell-all from someone in the program. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot did this guy get so much playing time?
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Has anyone ever really tried to pin CBH for an answer?
I know Gold balked at the idea of asking tough questions, but hasn’t Slimers or the WWL or someone tried?
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
Apparently
He has been asked many times.
If Howland is on the alumni tour this off-season, BNers who show up need to ask him about this (in a respectful but firm way) and demand answers. Flip cams would be a good idea for it.
and he has just refused to answer?
or given an answer that people didn’t think was interesting enough to print? What’s his deal?
by britishbruin on Mar 18, 2010 12:32 PM PDT up reply actions
From what I hear
He has never given any poignant responses beyond Nikola is a three point threat or that he provides rebounds. Perhaps folks haven’t been following up with specific followups putting him on spot? Not sure.
I see
so then they dismiss it as coachspeak and don’t report it, I guess.
I have never been more intrigued to know what goes on behind closed doors with the coaching staff discussions, practices etc as I have been this year. What do the assistant coaches say to CBH when watching some of those horrendously off-balance forced shots or the defensive lapses?
by britishbruin on Mar 18, 2010 1:44 PM PDT up reply actions
Yup
I think reporters got coach speak and then just didn’t do hard followups (for fear of repercussions perhaps). So I think it is really up to alums, boosters – people who Howland is accountable to press him firmly for definite answers and get a commitment that it doesn’t happen again. If I get the opportunity I will certainly do my best (again with respect but without giving an inch).
That's right
he basically says ND had this game where he shot well, or had this game where he blocked a shot. All of which is true, but its like if you asked me why I don’t put a new battery in my clock and I answer because its right two times a day.
by silverlakebruin on Mar 18, 2010 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions
silver
Do you go to the coaches’ tour when Neuheisel and Howland come talk to the alums during off-season? If you do perhaps it’s something you can push on? Buy a flip cam? :-)
sure. I've never been to one but i donate enough
to get a ticket I would assume.
by silverlakebruin on Mar 18, 2010 3:44 PM PDT up reply actions
by the way
how do i change my name. I moved to santa monica so my name is not so fitting anymore…
by silverlakebruin on Mar 18, 2010 3:45 PM PDT up reply actions
Just start a new account.
It gives you the option to link to your old one. I tried doing so when I left AZ. For some reason it didn’t want to let me link KSBruin to AZBruin, but as long as I’m on here, I don’t really care if it connects to posts I made a year or two ago or not.
I've been to 2
alumni events down here in San Diego, including one last May, where Howland has spoken. If he comes down here again this year, I will attend, and will surely ask this question, and do my best to video it.
I can guarantee you, though, it is highly unlikely that you will get any poignant answers from him at these events. He is keenly aware that anything he says can, and likely will, end up on the internets. He will never throw any player under the bus, and is likely to wave off a question like this with a generic, coach-speak “we performed poorly as a team, and I take full responsibility for it” .
We’ll see.
"I don't forget very much" Rick Neuheisel, 11/28/09
For the record
Bobo lost a bunch of weight but that didn’t help him with his conditioning. He still was winded after 1 or only a few drills in practice
by lil eg not cs on Mar 19, 2010 12:18 AM PDT up reply actions
I am glad this article came out
TP should be commended for writing it. I, as well as many others, have written the same things for months. So much so, that I don’t write them anymore for the fear of being so damn repetetive. It still makes no sense to me why he treated Drag the way he did, and I am sure to the players in the program who were directly impacted, it hurt even worse. Plain and simple, the CBH we knew for the past years, the CBH we came to know and love, the CBH who stood for hard work and toughness…………..he didn’t show up this year. Trust me, their are ramifications to the way he coached this year and it won’t be as easy to fix by just recruiting a couple of McDonald’s All-Americans and throwing them on the court. I am praying he can get our program back to where it belongs, but the things he did this year (mainly the use of Drag and the ramifications it had) will make it extremely challenging for him to do so. I am rooting for him and hope he does it. My confidence in his ability to do so however is at an all-time low.
It is not a problem that Josh Smith, or Tyler Lamb, or even Reeves Nelson can fix. CBH is going to have to look inward towards himself, get with his team and be honest with them that he fuc*** up, and hope and pray that they buy what he is selling. The next hard part will be to convince recruits and high school/AAU coaches that he is indeed sincere in his approach from now on.
As Howland did when he came in, he will need to start (as I have been saying for months) in the inner city and areas of Los Angeles where the kids are tough as nails and willing to give him a chance. The Jordan Farmar’s and the Aaron Afflalo’s are out their, he has just got to go get them.
I couldn't agree with you more.
CBH is going to have to look inward towards himself
It really does boil down to CBH betraying his own principles. All of the other factors that contributed to this season’s implosion (poor recruiting, early departures, etc) are secondary to the mind boggling decisions made by CBH.
I think it is safe to say we all expected a down year this year. Nobody would have been surprised if Howland played musical chairs with Playing Time in order to get all the underclassmen ready for next year. A down year with flashes of brilliance and good things to come would have been welcomed by the greater Bruin Nation.
But his decision to keep Drago in the rotation and stubborn refusal to play his underclassmen are decisions that will continue to resonate among us for years to come. And it is only within himself that CBH can find the solutions.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
You've been right all along
and I still don’t believe Howland will be able to turn this around. I think he will be able to coach a good top 25 ucla team, but he lost his chance at being elite, and doubt he’ll be able to recruit well enough going forward to get back to elite status.
He deserves the chance to bring us back. He has earned that, but I really doubt it happens. I think we will go back to being a sweet 16 type team with no real chance at winning a title.
by silverlakebruin on Mar 18, 2010 11:57 AM PDT up reply actions
could you give your preferred examples
of the Jordan Farmars and Arron Afflalo’s out there that we missed on over the past few years?
There has been some discussion of how the local area has been down for a couple of years – and that therefore picking up someone as ‘the 2nd best PG in SoCal’ (or whatever absurd hyperbole was attached to JA coming in) doesn’t necessarily mean anything.
by britishbruin on Mar 18, 2010 12:35 PM PDT up reply actions
I mean
I am interested in who these people are we are missing – where else they are going, what they are achieving – as clearly the players we have had have not performed.
by britishbruin on Mar 18, 2010 12:36 PM PDT up reply actions
And the rest of the Pac-10
has clearly struggled too. It’s amazing to compare the recruits on the West Coast from 2004-2006 to the players from the last 2-3 years.
by SuperBruinMan on Mar 18, 2010 2:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Some examples off the top of my head
James Harden (waaaaay late on him irregardless of Sendek hiring his coach)
Deon Thompson (ditto)
Kawhi Leonard (SD St FR)
Keala King (ASU Verbal)
Here is a few we have missed......
just off the top of my head. You may or may not like them, but I believe they would have come in and really helped. This is all assuming that they would have qualified academically, which I have no clue if they do.
Kawhi Leonard: Anybody who watched high school basketball last year knew this guy was going to be a beast at the next level. He went to SD ST. and has flourished. He is 6’7 and is an incredible talent. He has a big mean streak, and is a big-time player.
Jordin Mayes: Have you seen this guy play at Westchester HS this year. The type of PG that our program could use. However, I don’t even know if he is considering us. Word is that he is Arizona’s to lose……….anyone heard anything on that? He is so talented it is scary.
Larry Drew: A star at Taft. I know some will say he has been a bust at UNC. However, even if he hasn’t been a star at UNC, he is a billion times better than JA. It isn’t even a comparison.
Jordan Hamilton: If you saw this guy at Dominquez HS, you saw a star in the making. He is now at Texas, and we could surely use his offensive game in Westwood. Another 6’7 beast that we lost.
Those are just a few off the top. All of them have the same traits……..hard workers with bigtime motors and skills. They all are athletic, and love to run and yes……play defense. Any program would be happy to have them. If we had gotten (or get) just one or two of them, things would look very different right now.
However, the recruiting mistakes are not, to me, the biggest problems. Those things happen. The biggest problem is that disease within the program that has been allowed to fester because of the preferential treatment given to Dragovich. It created many more problems that just playing a guy who stunk. It has reverberated not only within the program, but to our perception outside as well. Just read TP’s column and you’ll see what I mean. It will have a lasting effect and don’t think that young players in local high school’s haven’t noticed. It will be very hard to change the perception that is now out their about UCLA basketball.
The one that really hurts for me is
Darrick Williams at UA. How did we miss out on him? Larry Drew I am not too worked up about because at the time it seemed like a good decision. Plus Drew has been having a hard time at UNC and could come back to UCLA. We will see.
Will have to research and look into Jordan Hamilton recruiting. Can’t remember what happened with that one.
5th year senior
Basically, a more heavily recruited Nick Young.
by SuperBruinMan on Mar 18, 2010 2:53 PM PDT up reply actions
You mean Jordan Hamilton?
So did he also have similar grade issues as Young (which was so well documented that he had to reach out to JF to get tutoring help).
Yeah
Hamilton didn’t have the grades.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 18, 2010 4:16 PM PDT up reply actions
I've been a huge Mayes fan
and have been begging for us to get in on him, but by the time we started to push it was too late.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 18, 2010 4:16 PM PDT up reply actions
thanks muir
and everyone for your insights on this as well.
by britishbruin on Mar 18, 2010 5:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Hamilton
was a great player in High School. I have kept up with him cause I liked watching him play. He has had an up and down year at Texas. I believe he scored 27 points against Oklahoma State for his high game of the year. He really was a nice prospect. Don’t know about the grades and all that…………but he was a monster scorer.
I agree with you Nestor about Williams at UofA. He was another who could of really helped. We went after Michael Snaer too, but we didn’t get him. All of those things happen in the recruiting game. The biggest mistake was taking JA instead of another proven point guard. I live in the San Fernando Valley and got to see Larry Drew often. At the time I thought he was better than JA, but since I didn’t see JA often, I really couldn’t give an opinion on who was better. Now that I have experienced both……I would take Drew in a second. He has a better work ethic, which probably comes from his dad and the work ethic he exhibited as an NBA player.
If anyone in town on Saturday night, go to the Westchester vs. Mater Dei game. You’ll be able to see Tyler Lamb and Jordin Mayes…….as well as a host of other tough high school players. If you leave that game believing that Jordin Mayes can’t run our team next year, then I would be shocked. The guy reminds me of a little bit bigger Tyus Edney. Great heart, never stops pushing the ball. A true joy to watch.
I absolutely LOVE Mayes
The only reason I could imagine us not going after him is that there are questions about whether or not he can play the point at the college level. He’s more of a combo guard, but talent is talent and even though I think he can play the point, I’d take him even if he never developed into a great point.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 18, 2010 4:19 PM PDT up reply actions
I am with you Ryan
but I really think that Mayes will be an outstanding point guard in a program which allows the PG to push the ball and score. That is the type of program that Arizona is…..and he’ll flourish there. I just wish we had moved on him earlier and maybe we would have had a chance. Who knows. The kid can play though and their is always a place for a talent such as Mayes. It is going to be scary seeing him pass the ball to Williams and Co. the next couple of years at U of A.
I'm actually not sure if Mayes will fit the Arizona program so well
First of all, under Sean Miller they’re not as uptempo as they used to be. Second, Mayes’ ballhandling isn’t exceptional. I think it’s good enough to be a D-1 point guard, but I don’t know if I’d want him in as much of an uptempo game when he has to go against bigger and faster players in college. I think he’ would fare much better in CBH’s system when he can work off the ball a little more, coming off of screens and also using his frame to work in the paint a little more. I think he’s better served working in shorter bursts on the ball going to the rim form a shorter distance, which he’d do in CBH’s system, as opposed to 60 feet, like with Arizona.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 18, 2010 5:23 PM PDT up reply actions
A poster on BRO made a really good point
about Coach’s pyramid of success and how enthusiasm is one of the cornerstones.
His point was that enthuisiasm is built with joy for, and love of, what you are doing.
I think CBH needs to look at how he is coaching and ask himself is he building players with enthusiasm for the game, or building players who view going to practice the same way they view going to study hall?
by silverlakebruin on Mar 18, 2010 5:47 PM PDT reply actions
Good point
Others have pointed out that our roster is filled with Prima Donnas as opposed to the BBW’s we’ve been used to. I’m sure we’ve all sat in class where the person delivering the message was boring as s**t no matter how important or relevant the message/class was. CBH needs to figure out how he can connect and deliver his message with the very own players that he has recruited or only recruit kids that will live & die upon his every word.
This is a distressing article
and now I don’t feel so bad for having voted “Disapprove” (changed from “Unsure” mid-season) in the latest poll. There is something going on that we don’t know about, and it is poisoning the program. If it starts to affect reputation and, as a consequence, recruiting, then we really have a problem.
A few insites on Drew Gordon
My son ,who is now at the sports dept of the Las Vegas paper, served as prep sports editor of the Oaklan Tribune. He spent 10 years covering prep sports in the Bay area. After Drew Gordon left the program, my son and I had a conversation about his leaving. He knew Gordon and interviewed him several times. My son said he was a nice kid and didn’t seem like a trouble maker when he interviewed him. After looking back on the interviews, he said that there were hints that Gordon was going to cause trouble for the program.
Recruiting is a two way street. Coaches are looking for a certain type of player to fit into his system and to help him win. Students are looking to use a program to pave their way into the NBA. Everybody is using each other for their own personal gains.
Today families are using their sons to hit the lottery. I saw it early on coaching youth sports. Even in a sport like hockey, which I coached, parents were acting like their sons were going on to the NHL and the big bucks $$$ It so insidious in youth sports today that it’s sickening.
So who what this better defensive player that Holland kept on the bench?
So who was this better defensive player that Holland kept on the bench? I don’t think Drag was great defensively, nor consistent on the offensive end — but I certainly wasn’t impressed with the front court bench players. Moser, Bobo looked lost. Lane was okay at times, but no upgrade over Dragovic.
I don’t think Dragovic’s defense is great, but it is improved over when he arrived. He was horrible when he first came to UCLA. I’m not sure Nicola is a lazy as all the folks say…he’s just a lightning rod.
Last couple of years everyone was panning Roll…look what happened.
Steve
Howland
You sound like Billy Packer. For some reason, I always felt like Packer mispronounced Coach Howland’s name on purpose. I’m glad he was fired by CBS. Almost constant negativity.
by truebluebruin on Mar 19, 2010 3:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Are you a fly-bye poster?
You mentioned CBH twice in your post and you mispelled Howland’s name both times. That could not be a coincidence – you’re either a troll or an aloof UCLA fan.
As for your contention, ND was clearly our worst defender. JK, JM, and BL were better. There was a reason why opposing coaches attacked ND and his side of the zone – it was no secret he was the weakest link in the frontcourt.
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