Arizona Reflections After Another Demoralizing Loss

“It was also more than noticeable how Reeves Nelson and some others (yeah, it’s not just Anderson) on the bench were smiling around on the bench when it looked all but certain that we were going to lose the game.”

I have never seen a bench so out of touch with the intensity of the games. Too much smiling and chatting, too much premature celebrating. And not enough huddling and listening at time outs. A strong assistant coach would get those guys to listen and be more business-like and serious during games. But CBH is the one that has to encourage them to care about the results. I don’t think as a team that they have cared much this year, almost self-fulfilling in a way. Exceptions of course in Roll, Keefe, MAH, and possibly one or two others. I don’t think you’d see this kind of behavior on a North Carolina or Duke bench, no matter if they are winning or losing.

I like this post and would like to elaborate on two parts of it in slightly different ways. First, I really think as Nestor mentions the Thursday magic of CBH was there and we had a good chance to win if not for ML getting cramps:

Ben Howland should get a lot of credit for the way he had his team prepared for this Thursday night game (even though every factor was going against us). Despite being short handed the Bruins came out looking like a decent team last night. We were in position to actually win the game until Malcolm Lee went down with cramps.

I just wish he adjusted to this by going to MAH not JA. JA was -9 +/-or the game. A good example of how bad and momentum killing JA was, he came in when were up 14-7 to start the game and we did not score again until he went out. Further the only time JA was a +, it was because he was on the floor as 2 some with ML. Without ML he was terrible. Oh, MAH was +5.

CBH had a very good game plan but blew it when something unforeseeable happen by playing favorites with JA.

What amazed me about this game is how close we were with TH having an off game. I disagree that MR or TH were overly tired at the end. TH made his four TOs at the start of the game. Look TH still played well, but he did not have a good game for him. MR gave it all but I don’t think he look tired physically.

But one player looked exhausted and it was ND. He was playing hurt and had nothing left at the end. We lost the game when he missed a wide open point blank layup (did not draw iron) and Wise came to the other side and hit a three. It went from UCLA potentially having a one point lead to a two possession game with 3 minutes left. I don’t think ND misses that if he is not tired.

ND looked bad at the end in a way he does not usually. He beat his man off the dribble and with a move but stumbled once, bricked another one, made a TO, etc. He was 1-5 late (only one of those misses was from three) until he hit the last three when the game was over. His intentional foul late was also a tired person who could not run with his guy but had to resort to “hugging” him.

Look, I am not defending ND’s 3 point bombs or his D, but I am saying that he looked exhausted at the end and even the biggest ND fan (CBH?) had to realize that ND was too tired at the end. Besides he was hurting.

CBH why play a hurting ND all those minutes?

Considering we were short-handed, I think ND was acceptable in the first half. At the last 10 minutes, he was terrible in defense and responsible for the loss of the game. JA was just lousy in all phases of the game. MR had the best game of his life. TH and ML played fine. BL needs work but is improving. I am looking forward to next year already and this game doesn’t do me anything. If RN comes back this Saturday, I would get pissed if ND play mre than 20 minutes.

After the Rags last game. Anyone in the bay want to come toast the occasion with me?

one where he dribbled down the court handed the ball to the opponents, raced back and gave an and-1 to Zona.

I believe Fogg’s last three where he turned his back on a guy who was 6-9 from outside, and i kept yelling at the tv to turn around and play d.

I hope MAH takes all his minutes next game and in the tourney. Abdul-hamid is focused and one of the few players who gets down in defensive stance (something that howland always preached the last few years).

Lane made some mistakes, but the effort is there, he just needs to pump fake and not get blocked at the rim. He’d have 6 more points if he did that. I believe he will learn, no hope for the sophomores though.

I thought we would lose by 12-15 points and not really be in the game. That is encouraging.

If Howland didn’t have history of playing Drago 32 minutes a game even when he had a deeper bench, I would probably give him a pass on this loss, but I will just assume he would have stuck with Drago until the bitter end like he did all his previous games even if he had more options on the bench.

that things aren’t going to be looking up. And no, I’m not a complete pessimist. But, I’ve had issues with CBH’s in game coaching for too long. CBH is probably the hardest working coach in college basketball. Seriously, with the exception of maybe just a handful of games (and this entire season), I’ve never seen his teams come in not prepared. His preparation is absolutely gangster. But, what’s not to say that any opposing team isn’t preparing similarly? If that’s the case, then winning games, IMHO, is 60%preparation and 40% in game adjustments because you never really know how a team has scouted you.

I think the BenBall Warriors of past, were not only players that could play within his system, but had enough fortitude, determination, creativity, and skill to win games outside of CBH’s system when things got anemic. Should this be the case, which I think it is, then when recruits/players see that games are being lost because the Bruins are clearly being outcoached, then we run into problems of defecting early, entitlement, lack of respect for the coach, no sense of urgency, and no pride for the hallowed four letters on their jersey. In essence, we fall into the viscious cycle that we currently are experiencing.

So solutions? As previously mentioned in previous posts by others, a more clear and concise recruiting of players that have the character make-up of past BenBall Warriors, upgrading assistant coaches, and the absolute necessity to be creative and adjust accordingly during games.

In past years I have always felt confident in a comeback for our BenBall warriors. Always had a personal rule that if we were down within ten at the half that our guys would end up pulling out a win. Grinding out games and wearing down other teams with hard-nosed defense.
 
How things have changed, now it is the complete opposite. Last night with the bruins UP within the nine to twelve point range i couldnt help but think when is this going to go bad for us. Knowing that the lead would squander eventually. I always love March but this year I cant wait to focus on baseball alone

I’d argue that his leaving early was the most damaging early departure in the history of UCLA sports. Consider:

- If he stays, we win the 2008 title. Absolutely, positively, completely, no question. We maybe even go undefeated. He solves our two main problems from that year (outside shooting and guard depth), and immediately becomes the go-to guy when we’re in shooting slumps (which we had a lot of that year), and in crunch time. There is ABSOLUTELY NO QUESTION that we win the ‘08 title if he’s still around.

- Afflalo chose to declare for the ‘07 draft, one of the most loaded and hyped in the history of the event (Durant/Oden, all the Florida guys, the best foreign prospect since Yao, and many many others). All conceivable mock draft sites had him missing not only the lottery but usually even the top 20. He ended up going 26th to Detroit, and played as a backup for two years before getting sporadic starting time in Denver this year. Not exactly what you’d have to hope for, if you’re AA.

- If he declares for the 2008 draft, he’s probably a lottery pick because that draft was severely lacking in talent after the top 7 or so (whereas the ‘07 draft ran about 17 deep in the blue-chipper department), even considering that his overall numbers would have taken a slight hit with Love in tow (although you do have to know that he would have stepped up huge to fill DC and LRMAM’s scoring when they were both hurt).

- So let’s recap: If Afflalo stays, he moves up 12-13 spots in the draft, makes way more money, and probably gets more playing time on whichever team he goes to. We win banner #12 and establish ourselves as one of the greatest college basketball teams of all time. Ab-so-freaking-lutely win-win for every single person involved.

So AA…love ya, man, but if I ever invent a time machine I’m going back to April ’07 and possibly using force to get you to stay for your senior year.

It is never good to lose to either $C or Arizona, but going 0-4 to mediocre $C and Arizona teams is simply unacceptable. One of the excuses given for UCLA being bad this year is that we have lost players early to the NBA and otherwise. Well, both Arizona and $C have suffered from early defections and have also both had coaching turmoil. On top of that, we all know about Garrett throwing the $C basketball program under the bus. Yet, both teams had little problem dispatching UCLA this year, especially at Pauley. And, if you look at both $C and Arizona’s rosters, they are filled with players from Southern California that either we couldn’t get or didn’t want. Howland has definitely not earned his lofty pay this year. I agree with the consensus here that he gets a “pass” for this season, but we better see some improvement next year. I will again express my doubts about whether Howland can turn things around.

but I just got off a phone interview and I got to the next round of interviews. I’m pretty much walking on air right now.

I might have to go celebrate with Bobo, 66!!!

 At times he is a tough leader imposing his defensive principles and what some might call stubborn offensive game plans by not letting the players utilize their natural abilities. Sometimes players resent this style, do not enjoy playing for him, and make a mad dash for the NBA. But this style has led to three final fours so it is hard to fault it. But then there is the side of Howland that tries to be the "players coach". He does not assert discipline by letting Drago jack up threes, allowing players to joke around on the bench while the team is losing, and putting up with players like Anderson walking away from him when he is trying to coach them. He is now starting to recruit prima donnas that do not work well in a disciplined system. In addition, Howland tries to be a "players coach" by spending more time at their NBA declaration press conferences instead of trying to persuasively convince players to stay an extra year to improve their draft stock and to try to build something special by leaving a legacy in Westwood. What I am trying to say is that CBH needs to make a decision and be more consistent. Either he is that tough general that most of us have come to love who imposes hard nosed defensive principles, recruits warriors that work well in his sytem like AA, JF, RW, LRMM, LMR, AA, and does not put up with a losing complacency OR he becomes a true "players coach" by recruiting the John Walls of the world, letting them run wild on offense, and sending them early to the NBA only to reload with a new stock the following year. It is time for CBH to clean up the inconsistencies which are starting to emerge and become detrimental to the success of this program.

is it to early to think about next year? last night as i watched the game i found myself doing something i had never done before, leaving my chair to do something else.