Happy New Year From Chianti Dan: Bruins Get Mauled By Cal; 85-69
by Tydides on Dec 31, 2011 3:09 PM PST
in Basketball
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Well that was pathetic.
Normally, after yet another embarrassing blowout in Ben Howland's recent history, we'd go and dissect the performance and what went wrong and what needs to be done to fix it. But really, what we saw just seems like a manifestation of all that we've been saying ever since the season began about our problems, and so there's really not a lot to say.
On one hand, Tyler Lamb was hot for most of the game, getting 26 points on 15 shots including 5 three pointers. On the other hand, he was part of a backcourt that surrendered 49 points on 60% shooting to their backcourt counterparts on Cal.
It sure wouldn't be fair to single out the guards when it came to surrendering baskets. The Bears shot 65% for the entire game overall , so obviously defensive ineptitude was not dependent on position. What is especially sad and disgusting about this team is that for all the argument about whether the Man to Man or Zone defense is appropriate for this team, the team itself came out and rendered that argument irrelevant. Evidently it doesn't matter what we play, because we are equally terrible at both. Uncontested 3s and shoddy interior defense are the new hallmarks of Ben Howland's defensive strategy, and it doesn't matter what you call it at this point, unless you want to call it a four letter word of some sort.
There are no moral victories and no excuses. Just a weak, pathetic, shameful 0-2 start with Arizona up on deck next at Honda Center.
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Once UCLA started this season
and we got to see what this team was about it was obvious to me that RN and JS were on some other planet. Two potential All-Americans melting down before our eyes. JS can quit now and join RN in Transylvania and lets just write this season off and look forward to next year.
I sure as hell ain't looking forward to next year
The future of this program might be the most depressing aspect of the debacle this season is quickly becoming.
What if Howland lands Shabazz and keeps Anderson's & Adams commit?
Would you fire him and lose the recruits? Or keep him to see what he can do for 1 more year?
It’ll probably be a 1 and done year for them both, but you get many chances at a recruiting class like that Shabazz…
That seems pretty obvious -- that the team is tuning him out
But what doesn’t make sense to me is if you’re not listening to your coach, are you also fine with losing?
I mean, what basketball player, regardless of what you think of your coach, thinks letting your opponent shoot 60% is going to lead to anything good? Is their aversion to Howland do bad they’re willing to just do nothing instead?
by indigo27 on Dec 31, 2011 3:35 PM PST via iPhone app up reply actions
They are probably tired of the stubborness
It gets old after a while. I am amazed that Brendan Lane is still in this program. If I were Norman Powell, I wouldn’t blame him if he transferred to UNLV after this year if Howland is still around after the season.
Next year
will be the same story.
by LavinRuinedCollege on Dec 31, 2011 3:30 PM PST up reply actions
All I can say is thank goodness San Francisco is a fun city to be in
Because UCLA athletics has made our trip pretty unmemorable in that regard.
by indigo27 on Dec 31, 2011 3:36 PM PST via iPhone app reply actions
lost season
no plausible scenario exists that sees UCLA in the tournament outside of winning the PAC 12 tourney which in my mind is a Lavin-esque fail.
The question is will Howland see fit to play Powell/Lamb more minutes at the expense of Anderson?
Unlike most I think the Wears offensively at least have some promise (at least more than Keefe and Lane) The reality is you have to play to their strengths and hide their weaknesses. I think Travis is ahead offensively and that is who I would play more. I wonder if Keefe/Lane/soon the Wears will be victims of trying to force a player to be tough that is really more comfortable facing the basket. Would Howland played to MacLean’s strength as a superior 15 foot baseline jump shooter?
What about Josh Smith? Should Howland bench him and only play him if he reaches a certain weight? Does Stover have any hope on the offensive end? Aboya once was a bull in a china shop then as a senior became a ballplayer. I don’t see any hope on the offensive end for Stover, but clearly he is our best defensive interior player. Smith could be a dominant offensive player even at his weight, but is he getting coached properly? Does he just lack the effort? The only justification for his minutes is that he can play offense. His work needs to come before the catch. He should be able to get his spot in the paint for a catch consistently. Yet how many times does his catch come 5 feet ouside of the lane? Seriously has Howland ever coached a post player that knew what he was doing? Not Kevin Love.. he did his damage on the offensive glass and because he was a superior talent.
I think this the end for Howland, but as stated earlier what hope is there for another coach with guerrero in charge? How long before he actually recognizes something is rotten in Westwood?
Guerrero's seat is really really hot NOW
We are going to turn up the heat to whole another level. I think there is a chance we can get a new AD in who can bring in a new hoops coach and have Mora on the spot right away in his first year.
disagree with you on Wears
All game they took these long 19 foot jumpers and bricked most of them, with the exception of a few good post moves here and there.
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I don't want to see
the all-scrappy team that ’s being suggested in some quarters: Lane, Stover, Powell. The current line-up blows—I know, but the alternative line-up is a mediocre Ivy League team.
Irrelevant.
That word has been resonating in my head when thinking about UCLA fb / bb. We are the shining example of the definition of “has-been”.
by bruinbunz on Dec 31, 2011 4:14 PM PST via mobile reply actions
I from the school that says let CBH figure this out and
pay the consequences for his decisions. I don’t see a starting five that he can put out there that will carry this team on a consistent basis. He has inexperienced players, enigmas, showboats, passive players, and no real leaders on the floor, and to top it off he has to deal with himself. I just gave myself a headache time for another drink.
If this team is going to miss the tourney
Howland will not deserve the benefit of the doubt. He is responsible for flushing this program down the toilet and making it nationally irrelevant. He is not going to get any break considering he is already responsible for one disgraceful losing season (I am not counting his first year either).
+1
I am going through the five stages of the death of the Bruins basketball program but I will NEVER accept its death. You are more patient than me. I think we’ve already had our Arizona moment aka Middle Tennessee and we must move past Ben Howland.
If CBH should be gone this would be the time for a new coach to come in and
bring a new discipline to this team. If JS walks because of a new coach so be it the team will be better off without him. Watching this game you could see how CBH wanted desparately for JS to assert himself and take over the game. The opposite happened leading to turnovers and an offense that could not work with a bumbling JS.
depression
that is what these past few days have been about. I am going to stop watching until next year, sort of how it was during the Drago years and the Lavin years. Just a waste of time to watch them. I will DVR and check scores, if they win, I will put it on in the background
Thanks Dan
UCLA lost three games today: NCAAF,NCAAB, and NCAAW. Its embarrasing amd disgusting
bruin team
No three players seem to come together on the same game. Sadly , the only thing that Joshua seems to be practicing for is a part in a sequel to fat albert. Another case of people on the cover of sports illustrated jynxing people. It seems that Reeves and Joshua let their fame go to their heads and in Joshua’s case to his body. I hope that Joshua learns from this sad experience. He is absolutely not an athlete, just an overweight tall person.
Defecting UCLA basketball players.
Recently this site talked about players who have recently defected from Ben Howland and UCLA You forgot about a big time defection. Matt Carlino who is now at BYU. In 6 games he is averaging 15 points per game. He had to sit ou the earlier games at BYU because of the one waiting period after transferring from UCLA. On the other hand Roy Williams has recently lost 3 to UCLA
I think we've covered Carlino once or twice
And it seems more like Roy Williams engaged in some sabotage rather than “lost” transfers to us.
Maybe you have something there
Hope it’s not the case. I told Dan Guerrero to not look now but Stanford was going to pass UCLA in national championships if he didn’t do something. I agree that UCLA needs to dump Dan. I knew J.D. Morgan and Dan is no J.D. THat was an impressive time for UCLA under J.D.
Tale of Two UCLA's(TWO CITIES)
UCLA 60% Free Throw shooting(Bad for UCLA) Cal 60% Field goal shooting (Bad for UCLA) Sad for UCLA
I don't have the assist numbers
But Cal clearly is more of a basketball “team” than we can ever hope to be with Jones or Anderson running the show.
Play that encapsules our “team” mentality…about 13 minutes left and we are still in the game: Smith sets a high screen for Jones who drives the lane…while Smith is rolling WIDE OPEN to the basket.
Also “wide open” under the basket is one of the Wear twins. Three Cal players all converge on Jones.
What does Jones do? Does he pass the ball to a wide open Bruin for a dunk (or in Smith’s case, a lay up)? No…he runs over a Cal player and whines to the ref for calling an obvious charge.
Meanwhile…anyone want to lay odds on Powell and how long he stays a Bruin? Who has the stats on his minutes tonight…amid an absolutely pathetic defensive effort. I remember when Coach Howland would pull players who refused to play defense…I miss THAT coach.
It's absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable
That Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, and other big names can have quality basketball and we can’t.
We’re the bottom of the pac-12, other schools must be laughing at us, except that we are so pathetic that we aren’t even worth thinking about.
+1
For our basketball program to be where it is right now is completely unacceptable, especially after 3 straight Final Fours. I don’t know if I am more shocked by the unacceptable coaching our players are receiving or the lack of talent that our scholarship players exhibit as a whole.
And, this game should put to rest whether or not we should play man to man or zone. As Tydides pointed out, we suck at both. And, I hope this also quiets the “Stover and Lane” contingents. I love both of these players hearts and they seem like great kids. But, they do not deserve any more playing time than Josh Smith (in his current physical condition) or the Wears based on their defensive liabilities.
And, I still can’t figure out what happened to Zeke Jones. Since when did he become the second coming of Kobe Bryant? Forget the offense, take the ball, and take your shot. How does Howland allow our point guard to shoot first so many times without ever running an offensive set.
And, during our Final Four runs, whenever a player did not play defense for even one possession, he would get yanked. Now, it makes no difference. Anyone coming off the bench is no better defensively and more than likely an offensive liability.
I truly hope this is Howland’s last year, regardless of what happens with our recruits next year. Shabazz is more than likely one and done anyway. Just like our football team, we need a new start. We need a new system. We need a new AD who knows how to conduct a coaching search.
People attacking Stover and Lane's potentials
Sound just as ignorant as the ones who defended Howland’s screwing around with Moser’s mins. You can’t conclude anything from Stover and Lane’s games yesterday given the entire team except Lamb quit. Then again in his limited appearance Lane showed more energy and effort than one of Howland’s twin pets – Travis Wear.
by Nestor on Jan 1, 2012 5:45 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
I don't think he was attacking Stover and Lane, necessarily
I took it as suggesting that those two wouldn’t necessarily be a huge improvement in talent over the Wears. I tend to agree. While Stover and Lane clearly bring far better defensive and rebounding ability, it would be negated by their (Stover in particular) lack of offensive ability.
But given this team’s imbalance — guards picking up more rebounds than bigs — perhaps it may be worth it to trade defense for offense. Have the bigs focus on protecting the paint and let the guards and wings handle the offense. What was supposed to be a Nelson/Smith focused offense really doesn’t need to be shifted over to D. Wear and Smith.
What leads you to conclude
that either Stover or Lane can fulfill their potential on this team and with this coaching staff? Stover does his job on the defensive end. But, if this coaching staff has not been able to improve Josh Smith’s offensive game, how on earth do you ever expect Stover to develop offensively? Neither of our center’s have developed the footwork necessary to be effective on offense and as of now, Stover has no offensive game to speak of. Playing time is not going to help if they are not being coached properly in practice.
I am as sick and tired as you are N in regards to the utter lack of accountability CBH shows to his pets but simply benching the pets and bringing in poorly coached subs is not the answer to our problems.
Oh I totally agree w your last graf
But my point is the potential of Lane has been totally wasted. He should have gone to Cal. Same for Stover. He would have been better off somewhere else. My hope is their careers will be somewhat salvaged at this point w a new coach like it was done w CB, RH, and DT.
by Nestor on Jan 1, 2012 9:43 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
We really needed to win that Stanford game!
Now recruiting and everything is flying out the window.
CBH, luv ya man, but it’s not working.
The Wear twins will cost you your job.
Watch……..This not football, and they’re Not the Selmon Bros……….
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