Hoops Roundup: Wears Followup, Anderson's Mindset & Other UCLA Notes
by Nestor on May 7, 2010 4:59 AM PDT
in Basketball
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Let's start this Friday with more followup on the developing story around Davis and Travis Wear. Roy Williams issued an official press release yesterday and he doesn't sound very happy:
"We are extremely disappointed that David and Travis are leaving the program," says Williams. "I love both kids and they would have been very important parts of our team next season. It is a significant blow to our team as we had four post players and now we are down to two. They are quality kids and will be quality players.
"Their father called me last night and asked for their release, which came as a complete surprise. I met with both kids in mid-April for our typical end-of-year meetings and together we worked on their development plans for next season. Both David and Travis seemed to be excited about their futures at North Carolina.
"Our coaching staff will look at whatever options are available but it's hard to replace two quality players at this time."
Hmm. Perhaps Williams also need to do a better job communicating with his players. Clearly the wires got crossed somewhere here and Williams completely missed what was coming. Note UCLA cannot recruit the Wears until there is a formal release from Carolina and as far I am not sure if they have issue a release yet. David Wear though dropped a hint in the LA Times about how much the Wears are interested in UCLA:
North Carolina announced Thursday the Wears would transfer. Their father, David Sr., said he could not comment on potential landing places for his sons until North Carolina filed paperwork officially releasing them from their scholarships, but he added, "I would imagine UCLA would be interested."
We will see how it all plays out. At this point I think it is safe to say if the Wears were to come to Westwood, the majority of Bruin Nation will be welcoming them with open arms. We know that those guys are not going to be program defining contributors, however, both of them can play meaningful part in getting UCLA back to where it was in Howland's early years within next two seasons.
Even if they cannot play next season, having them in the program will be beneficial as they would help Coach Howland put together highly competitive practices. They will push Reeves Nelson, Brendan Lane, Anthony Stover, and Josh Smith. More importantly having them in the fold will allow the coaches to zero in on guards/wing forwards for next year's recruiting class. Let's just wait and see how it all develops in next few days. More hoops notes after the jump.
A number of you have already taken note of this terrific article on Jerime Anderson and Malcolm Lee on tWWL, written by Bruin alum Diamond Leung. I thought Malcolm Lee's comments were really uplifting:
"Coming in as the No. 1 class, we had high expectations for ourselves," Lee said. "We're carrying a lot of tradition. The four letters on our jerseys hold a lot of weight." [...]
"I definitely wasn't leaving on this note," Lee said. "You can't leave UCLA like that. That's crazy."
I think and I hope Lee realized this season that his future at the next level is at the 2. I am hoping he will have the same kind of summer RW had following his freshman season in Westwood during which he worked on getting stronger and work on his shot. I don't expect Lee to become like RW but if he can make improvement on his shot, he will have a chance to emerge as a very good player and make progress towards realizing his dream.
As for Anderson, he said all the right things in that piece, but it really comes down to what Coach Howland communicated to him in person (emphasis added):
"Words are cheap," he [Howland] said, demanding Anderson to back it up with actions. [...]
"If he really is mentally tough and comes back with the right frame of mind that he wants to prove that he's a lot better than that, he'll have a chance to do just that," Howland said.
That is about it. Isn't it? Anderson will have to hit the gym and work on his shot. For him to become a serviceable point guard in Howland's program though, it will be all about his mindset. Is he going to be tough enough next year to man up in M2M? That moment against Marcus Johnson was probably the most humiliating moment experienced by a Bruin pg in recent history. Anderson did play slightly better at the end of the season but lot of his better moments came from the off-guard spot.
For Anderson to emerge and live up the solid reputation he built up in high school, it will be all about coming in with a different mindset. Perhaps the departure of some suspect characters from this program in last two seasons will help him in that regard. Hopefully Zeke Jones will offer him legit competition for playing time (although we have no idea how good Jones is and at this point we are relegated to hoping). It sure sounds like at least Lee "gets it." We will see what happens next two years. We will be rooting hard for them to get it right and leave Westwood on an up note. If they can get it done, I have no doubt we are going to feel as good about them as we did with DT, CB and RH, who also experienced adversity during first few years of their UCLA careers.
GO BRUINS.
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Ireally enjoyed that Article
Very encouraging if you ask me. It’s really good to hear that from both Jerime and Malcolm, and with these new developments with the twins, we might be better off than I thought we were, even if we have to wait 2 years to see the entire unit on the court.
Formerly ucla13_usc9
Amen to the attitude from Lee...
I have not been a big Lee fan, nor an Anderson fan simply due to the visible lack of intensity in them, to try harder when they turn the ball over, and “man up.” They were highly recruited out of HS and their play has seemed soft and disoriented at UCLA (though Lee has had his moments, flashes of what the coaching staff expected). I think CBH strikes the right tone with Anderson – shape up or…and the competition from Zeke should be helpful (like you said though, we really don’t know yet about Zeke). I think you are exactly right about the Wears - great bodies for practice, and if they develop into George Zidek type players and play hard and “with priiiidddeeee” then we may have found some serious players. Probably not KLs in the making, even with a few years, but I truly hope they buy in and become prototypical CBH players (tough, play 100 percent 24/7, etc. think Prince LRMAM or Aboya). If they play like that, they will be wonderful contributors. We absolutely need more players like that! (assuming of course that they come to UCLA -and no reason to think they won’t at this point).
I'm guessing
since there is a hyphen on either end of it, that’s what the programmer thought you wanted.
The right note on JA
JA is still welcomed but will not be given the job at PG again as he was last year. I also think Nestor made a key point, “Anderson did play slightly better at the end of the season but alot of his better moments came from the off-guard spot.” I added the emphasis as I think that is a key point, JA’s future may be at 2 guard.
Three points:
1. Kudos to CBH for being firm but fair to JA. He didn’t give up on JA but he didn’t promise him anything.
2. PG is the toughest position MENTALLY to play generally and especially for CBH. Maybe JA is not up to it. This would not make JA a bad person, it could be he is just another in a long line of good players who were not able to play PG in college (CB, ML are two examples.).
3. However, for JA to play next year he must get much better on M2M defense. I disagree slightly on Nestor’s comment he needs to “work on his shot.” While he could get better JA is okay shooting (JA is the leading returning 3 point shooter) and scoring. It is all the other aspects of his game: Defense, floor generalship, dealing with pressure, breaking a trap/press, etc. But the one thing he must do is work on his defense.
I agree with you and many others
that ML definitely should not be a PG, and JA may be better off at the 2. However…we are going to need someone at the point. Even if LJ turns out to be the second coming of DC (and I am not in any way implying or expecting that he will) and starts every game, we’ll need someone to back him up. I like the idea of the offense running through TH at times, but by necessity JA and/or ML are going to need to play some at the point next year.
On a separate note and not as a direct reply to DCBruins, I want to emphasize what 2ndGenBruin said above – the Wear twins are not Bruins at the moment. It may be highly likely that they come, three wealthy and influential alumni and/or Nestor’s sources may say they’re leaning that way, but until there’s an official release or at least a direct statement from them or their father, let’s not take it as a given.
Good Point on UCLA PGs
Carlino is coming as a PG not a 2. Carlino is young and inexperienced at PG (not even having played PG in high school) but I think he has the potential to earn some minutes at PG. I hope\think CBH saw more than just another good practice body.
Jones had a great comment the other day that shows he has the right mindset for CBH. He said I “need to work on my off ball defense.” Wow, not many kids think that way. Maybe, and yes this is speculation based on videos and comments, he could be a Cameron Dollar type. Cameron was a great defense PG but on offense he was pass first, drive occasionally and let others take the lead on offense. I think that could work, especially with a TH.
This brings us back to JA. CBH hit the right tone with him. Obviously, it would be good if JA improves and is able to give quality minutes at PG. We need him. Let’s hope he is covering the toughest guard and working on his defense in the practice games this summer against the pros and others.
There is reason for optimism for next year and CBH/ML/JA all seem to be saying the right thing.
Where do you get that? Everything I read says PG only
UCLA recruited Carlino as a point guard and that will be his position when he arrives on campus on June 21st to attend summer school.
Carlino himself said:
Coach Howland is a great coach – and I just thought it was a good situation. Here are a lot of good players coming in, a lot of good young players there. It was a good fit for me as a point guard, and how many guys Coach Howland has done a great job.
There are more articles but I see nothing except Carlino was recruited as a PG.
I don't put a lot of stock
into links you shared. Sorry.
From what I have heard Carlino is a primarily a SG and at best a combo guard. If he gives us 7-9 mins a game, it would be great. Otherwise it is extremely premature to even think of him as a future pg. Let’s see if he lasts in Westwood for more than two years first.
Just because a 17-18 year old kid says he is a pg doesn’t make him a good fit as a pg. Malcolm Lee had visions of playing in the NBA as a pg before it became clear to everyone that he is not one.
So pardon me if I don’t put too much stock in the links you shared and go with the evaluations of folks I have trusted for a long while.
Carlino played point for his dad at Gilbert (AZ) Highland
averaged 5.6 apg & 5.5 apg during his respective FR & SO years.
A Jon Gold Q&A
Carlino was ADAMANT that he’ll play the point, and it will be interesting to see how the guard rotation plays out.
Everyone could be right
I think one thing that is obvious from the article above is the PG position is an open competition this year, unlike any time during the CBH era. I also think it means the backup PG spot is open. An open spot means just that, open. So Nestor sources could be very accurate but Carlino could also be right that he will get a chance to win some minutes at PG.
perhaps...
It’s a floor wax!
It’s a dessert topping!
Wears
may not be big impact, program changing players, but if we land them, I see the following benefits:
1. A shot in the arm and a positive message put out there that this program is still stable enough to land the high profile player(s).
2. Ample front court depth for the next 2-3 years allowing Howland and his staff to focus recruiting efforts to the backcourt.
I may be a little too optimistic here, but I get the real sense that landing these guys could be a bit of a watershed moment for Howland and our program.
"I don't forget very much" Rick Neuheisel, 11/28/09
First reason for optimism in a long time
I don’t have much to add since Nestor did a very good job of summarizing the current state of the program. I have never been too impressed with the Wears, but just having them around for practices and having them as serviceable players two years from now so that CBH can recruit guards next year is a huge plus. The article about JA and ML really couldn’t have been any better. Of course as CBH said, it is still just words and we will have to wait until the fall to see if they actually got their act together.
Depth
Extra bodies in pratice I’m sure are ver welcomed. Hopefully this pans out and gets our recruiting into a higher gear for next year. So far Nestor has been on the money, I agree. Anyway, not getting excited yet. Many more improvements need to happen.
the only negative is they both sit out a year
would be nice if we could space them out some how…
The Wears
The Wear twins are what a lot of people here have been pining for all season long: skilled players who will NOT be threats to bolt early for the NBA. Sure, they might lack the integral Howland-toughness, that “BB Warrior” mentality, but it’s an opportunity for Howland to prove all the naysayers wrong about his ability to develop his type of players.
Carlino and Wears
coming, if they happen, are a breath of fresh air to a program dominated by negatives for months. Even as practice players, they improve the program. Hopefully, there’s a diamond in the rough, like TH, among JS2, TL, ZeekJ, Carlino and Wears. We need one of them to exceed expectations.
Mostly agree
although Honeycutt and Smith are not diamonds in the rough. TH was proclaimed “the most skilled forward in the west” by scout.com and Smith was the top ranked center in his class until his injury/weight gain and he has since fallen to 2nd I believe.
Yeah
Honeycutt was a 5 star, top 3 SF. Josh Smith was a top 10 recruit. Tyler Lamb is one of the top 5 players on the west coast.
by SuperBruinMan on May 7, 2010 5:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Unless they are the second coming of Kobe, or KL, they are diamonds in the rough
until the prove otherwise. We’ve seen what Scout.com produces.
reputation
Blue hits it dead on-the Wears, if they come, reestablishes UCLA as a player for the ranked players.Front court depth is great and the twins can be utilized in multiple sets.
I'm anxious to see if they come on board...
,,,hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to hear. But if they do come to Westwood, it is going to be great to have the depth in bigs, just to give each other break, depending upon how CBH uses them. Depth with 4s and 5s is huge when the starters need a breather. It will make a major difference in close games and against other teams with big bodies – -the body can only take so much pounding, as RN found out this past year. He needs some help out there!
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