UCLA Hoops Roundup: Malcolm Lee Fallout & 2011-12 Expectations
by Achilles on Apr 14, 2011 5:00 AM PDT
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Malcolm Lee's departure was not a surprise to us. We knew it was coming. We had heard the chatter both on and offline from reputable sources who follow the world of UCLA basketball closely. Lee's folks did not do a great job keeping this a secret when they foreshadowed his ultimate decision through their own goodbye notes in the press.
Now lot of folks here misinterpreted Ryan's post as if we were upset with Lee for his decision to get out of UCLA. That is not true. We all like Lee and appreciate the effort he gave us every game unlike few of his other team-mates, while wearing the Bruin uniform. The problem is not with Lee. The problem is ... here is AllHailMightyBruins:
The problem isn't each of CBH's early entrants in a vacuum. The problem is the trend. CBH is consistently losing players who are mid first round to second round picks. Yes, other programs lose players early, but there is a difference between losing lottery picks and consistently losing mid to late first round picks (and especially second round picks). It would be nice for someone other than DC to announce that he loves UCLA and wants to come back to win for Westwood.
This is a serious issue and it is something we are going to keep discussing until we see either trend being reversed or sure signs of Howland returning UCLA to elite status in the world of college basketball.
Lee's decision looks worse now that not so surprising reports are out that 2011 summer league workouts reportedly will be canceled because of looming NBA lockout. It is not clear if Malcolm and his inner circle considered the consequences of being a second round pick in a LO year yet. As Howland laid out right after season, there will be no summer league ball, severely hampering his chances to make a team. There will also probably will not any guaranteed contract after the end of LO.
Lee was a crucial stage of his career. If he had gotten smart advice he would have come back for a Pac-12 contending team and could position himself for a possible first round pick. His body of work is less than impressive, except for one good defensive season. He doesn't have an outside shot. He is frail and injury prone. If he felt happy at UCLA beyond "press release speak" it would have been no brainer for him to come back and improve on the development he finally showed this past season. Instead, he fled the program in a desperate manner. Sorry we just see no spinning around this.
As noted in the "update" to Ryan's post Howland despite being gracious (which he deserves a lot of praise for) couldn't hide his disappointment and sadness at Lee's decision:
"In my opinion, I thought that would've been in his best interest. I shared that with both Malcolm and his family, and they appreciated me saying that. I'm saying what's best for him. Obviously it's what's best for UCLA basketball. But I honestly in my heart really believed, with all the factors, I thought that was in his best interest. But that's why as a coach you are able to give them, in my situation here, my view."
Good on Howland for not using the Lee news lower expectations (despite the effort of beat reporters like Jon Gold). More on this on the other side.
Here is what Howland articulated about his vision for next season:
"I'm very, very optimistic and excited about our team next year. We've been working out players individually now starting yesterday. I'm very excited. We're going to be very young. Zeek is able to shoot but not able to dribble with left hand. Jerime and Tyler Lamb really had great workouts today. We're going to have a very formidable front line.
That is good to hear. Howland also mentioned the possibility of Dave Wear playing at the SF spot. That sounds interesting and I will have to see that happen with my own eyes before buying it. Blair Angulo bought it though and came up with the following projected lineup:
G - Lazeric Jones (Sr.), Jerime Anderson (Sr.)
G - Lamb (So.), Powell (Fr.)
F - David Wear (So.)
F - Reeves Nelson (Jr.), Travis Wear (So.), Brendan Lane (Jr.)
C - Joshua Smith (So.), Anthony Stover (So.)
I like Oswego's analysis better:
Talent lineup:
1- Jones (Anderson, Parker)
2- Lamb (Anderson, Parker, Powell)
3- Nelson (DWear/TWear, Lamb, Parker)
4- DWear/TWear (Lane, Nelson)
5- Smith (Stover)Experience lineup:
1-Jones (Anderson, Parker)
2-Anderson (Lamb, Parker, Powell)
3-Nelson (DWear/TWear, Lamb)
4-DWear/TWear (Lane, Nelson)
5- Smith (Stover)
Personally I don't see neither Nelson nor Wear at the 3. I think Lamb at the 3 spot would be better option because he starts with the defensive mindset that makes a Howland team tick. If Norman Powell lives up to the hype, I hope he would get extended mins at both 2/3 spot, while Parker providing additional relief at the 3. The vision of Nelson chucking up 3 points from the 3 spot is not a comforting one.
All of these guys will have to put in some serious off-season work. The LA Times ran a quick report on what to expect this offseason right before the Lee news became official:
Howland has said players often make the most improvement during the off-season between their freshman and sophomore seasons. Howland said coaches would work with freshman center Joshua Smith on his jump hook, among other skills, and hoped the 6-foot-10, 324-pound center could continue to reduce his body-fat percentage.
"A big thing for him is going to be a commitment to really trying to get his body to the point where he can get it down to 12%," Howland said.
Players can work with a strength coach up to eight hours per week, and several will be taking up yoga with the same instructor who works with Minnesota Timberwolves star Kevin Love and Clippers standout Blake Griffin.
"We've seen in the past how that's really been helpful in terms of being more flexible and being stronger," Howland said. "I know the Wear twins have been on a very good program."
We hope guys like Anderson, Nelson will continue to build on last year's improvement. We hope Jones will get healthier and stronger enabling him to become a better defender. Not much I need to add about Joshua Smith.
Either way there is still enough raw talent in this team for Howland to put together a good run. He will need to do it to stave off the increasingly solidifying perception of players not enjoying their time at UCLA, which arguably is having a negative effect on the recruiting trail.
As I write about recruiting, I should mention the fanshot from BruMase taking note of a Jeff Goodman report that Howland might be hiring Atlanta Celtics AAU coach Korey McCray as new assistant. Could this give him an inside track to recruit Kevin Ware? I doubt it because I am not sure if Howland is looking to add any one to his current roster besides Parker. He could potentially be helpful in landing other marque recruits such as Jordan Adams, a 4 star SG who plays in McCray's AAU team.
Ultimately for Howland, it will come down to whether he can put together a recruiting class anchored by Shabbazz Muhammad. Shabbazz has emerged as probably the most crucial "pied-piper recruit" since the signing of Arron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar.
If you want to go further back you can also use the examples of Baron Davis and Charles O'Bannon. Davis was the catalyst of Lavin's first two recruiting classes, while the signing of the younger O'Bannon played a huge role in putting together the class of J.R. Henderson, Toby Bailey, Kris Johnson and Omma Givens. We will see how this plays out because if Howland cannot put together an elite season next year and bring in Shabbaz, the writing will be on the wall.
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Shabbazz Muhammad
We’ve got a good chance with him. One of the assisant coaches (phil mathews) has a son playing on the same AAU team as Shabbazz. Hope this can help in the recruiting…definitely allows coach Mathews to see more of Shabbaz by being able to show up to his AAU games.
Also, regarding the new assistant coach, wouldn’t it be better to hire someone with more AAU ties to the west coast than Georgia? Not sure if the feeling is that there needs to be more of a recruiting presence in the south and that the L.A. recruiting is where it needs to be. Just seems that we still lose a lot top local talent to other schools.
could not agree more with this line
“The vision of Nelson chucking up 3 points from the 3 spot is not a comforting one.”
Please Reeves do NOT pull a LRMAM and try to become something you are not. Please focus your hard work on your inside game and develop 1 or 2 solid go-to post moves.
Smith is going to attract a lot of double teams next year and Reeves should be able to feast off of that on the inside, both from Smith’s interior passing and from cleaning up the boards on Smith’s misses when double-teamed.
If Reeves is going to start shooting outside, I’d love to see him become deadly from the high post. That should be open a lot with Smith on the blocks and it will help with his free throws.
by RealisticBruinFan on Apr 14, 2011 8:38 AM PDT reply actions
Am I the only one who saw this?
In Luc’s last year, I remember thinking I was seeing a pattern. First half of a game, Luc was taking more outside shots, playing a less disciplined offensive game and I thought: “he’s auditioning for the NBA”. Then in the second half of the game, the old Luc would return – doing the hard work on D and on the O boards, and staying more disciplined on the offensive end.
AAU coach hiring
While I also feel looking to West Coast coaches would have been better, at least it is a sign CBH is at least looking at AAU and other programs not just high schools as a source of good players. His landing another JUCO is also a good move.With the explosion of interest in many different schools you have to look outside the box
I like this quote
“I’m very , very optimistic and excited about our team next year.” Thanks Ben. We will be optimistic and excited too and know that you won’t disappoint us.
I doubt that any of our bigs will play the 3 with any regularity. Offensively it could work, but most teams start three guard/wing types and two bigs, and it’s difficult to imagine Reeves or the Wears guarding those guys and equally difficult to imagine Howland utilizing a zone defense (which might actually work with those long-armed and long-legged twins working the lower outside spots of the zone).
Thus, we’ll probably see one of Powell, Lamb and Parker play the 3, and one of them or Anderson at the 2.
Defensively, we should be pretty good. Other than a few dramatic blocked shots, Honeycutt was awful defensively last year, and Lee was excellent. I wouldn’t be surprised if Powell and Lamb are both above average defenders, thus giving us an overall wash or possibly some improvement.
Offensively, we’re going to ride Josh and Reeves. We’ll need Zeek to play as he did before his injury and for one or more of the wings to be enough of a threat to keep defenses honest so that Josh and Reeves can dominate the paint.
After thinking this through, perhaps we should be optimistic, too.
A
you’re probably right regarding Nelson, however I personally saw it as the ideal situation next year, if he could make it work defensively. He did match up against bigger wing players last year, and played alright. I personally believe given matchups we have a ton of flexibility, and even Parker could play the 3 in a Cedric Bozeman-esque capacity. That means we have at least 4 players who, depending on matchups, can possibly run at the three. I’m ok with that.
We need Jones to heal. Real bad. We need Lamb to step up, we need Josh to lose weight, we need the Wears to play well. If those things happen, we can have a darn good season. Arizona will be a tough and extremely deep backcourt, and will likely be challenging for the title, but we can beat them. Washington is down, as I discussed in an old post, no matter what the delusional UW fans say. I believe Oregon will be challenging for 3rd, and Cal and Stanford will not be far behind. However, the top of the mountain is wide open. Ben can taste it.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
Lamb Concern
I hope Lamb can improve on his dreadful shooting percentage next year. Like his D, but he needs to produce on O. Hopefully he can retain his touch he had at Mater Dei. Otherwise I am optimistic about our team next year. Relentlessly positive.
Bruin 1986
I think he will
I think he was lacking confidence on the offensive end, he seemed to shot fake on about 85% of his FG attempts. When he gets more minutes and is considered an offensive option by the coaching staff, rather than knowing he’s pretty much out there just for defense, I think that will go a long way to help him.
If Parker can give us 10-15 decent mins at 3
That would be terrific. May be he can be a defensive minded player? We still need consistent outside shooting. Can Wear twins give us that? I hope so.
You're right, and your concern is not unfounded.
The more tape I see of Parker, the more I like him. Kid is very smooth, and I believe he can play 1-3, but will primarily play 1-2. I could see him taking the point when Anderson is at the 2, if we wanted that. He has a solid shot, but its a bit of a set shot at this point. Powell has struggled at times, and Lamb needs to work on his confidence. All three, I believe, can be very good shooters.
Now if we got Jordan Adams, we’d have a lights out shooter and scorer. That might be nice :)
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
by OswegoBruin on Apr 14, 2011 11:03 AM PDT up reply actions
I will be really surprised if he plays any 1 next year
whenever Zeek and Jerime are available. Partly because Parker was only an emergency 1 this year, partly because Howland tends to favor more experienced guys in his system. I think a lot more likely he becomes part of the swingman-by-committee rotation next year, and then maybe plays some point the following year after a year in the program. (definitely possible in practice that he lines up as the PG in the bench unit going against a starting 5 that includes Jerime at the 2, so he could be getting practice experience there for the next 18 months before seeing much game time there)
by VeniceBruin on Apr 14, 2011 11:49 AM PDT up reply actions
Ben did not bring in Parker
a JUCO player, to play in a committee rotation, IMO. The kid can pass and has very good court vision, and is excellent in transition. Parker was taken in the midst of the Honeycutt situation, and was not an emergency., other than to provide depth for players that were leaving. He’s a solid player on his own and will contribute. I don’t think he’s the type of player we’ll be saving for next year.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
by OswegoBruin on Apr 14, 2011 12:12 PM PDT up reply actions
he was an emergency 1
for his JUCO team when their starting PG went down. He is a wing, and describes himself as such. In his own words:
I have spoken to the UCLA coaches and know that I can come in and make an immediate impact. I’m excited about getting the opportunity to play because my natural position is on the wing as an off-guard. UCLA produces the most NBA players and I’m very thankful to have the chance to come in and compete.
Doesn’t sound like a guy expecting to run the point at all. He will be one of a number of players in the mix at the 2/3, alongside Anderson, Lamb, Powell and whichever of our natural 4s we decide to have play some 3. Either you’ll see a “committee rotation” there, or somebody is going to end up not getting many minutes at all.
by VeniceBruin on Apr 14, 2011 12:32 PM PDT up reply actions
I misread your statement.
I thought you were saying, “he’s an emergency recruit”. I don’t expect him to get more time than Anderson at the 1, but he can fill in likely better than Powell could.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
by OswegoBruin on Apr 14, 2011 12:35 PM PDT up reply actions
right
where we continue to disagree though is that with 2 senior PGs I don’t expect him to play any 1 in meaningful game situations, unless we have injuries or severe foul trouble. I don’t doubt he is likely the clear 3rd choice PG ahead of Lamb/Powell, but when you look at the current state of our 2/3 spots – no-one with starting experience at either position – I’d be highly surprised to see him get minutes at the 1 when there are so many minutes at the 2/3 currently up for grabs.
Assuming healthiness, you’re likely looking at Zeek and Jerime playing a combined 60 minutes or so and taking all the point duties and some of the 2. That would leave you with 60 minutes of 2/3 to fill with Lamb, Powell, Parker and Nelson/Wears. Maybe Parker plays some 1 in blowouts, but I don’t see him being used to spell Zeek/Jerime in meaningful game situations.
by VeniceBruin on Apr 14, 2011 12:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Wear twins the key
I think the Wear twins are the key to next season. They are at home and hopefully will produce as expected. I like their length and the inside/outside option they both possess. If all goes well we will say Tyler Honeycutt who? We have some nice size this year with Nelson, Smith and the Wears.
Bruin 1986
The real question is
with a roster of lengthy bigs and few guards, will Howland employ more Zone, or insist on a man to man offense?
by silverlakebruin on Apr 14, 2011 1:12 PM PDT up reply actions
duh...dumb post of the day
man to man defense……
Point being, I don’t see us having a roster than can effectively guard a quick line up.
by silverlakebruin on Apr 14, 2011 1:13 PM PDT up reply actions
Powell and Lamb
should absolutely have the athleticism to guard quick 2s and 3s. Just need the opposing team to put someone on the floor that Zeek/Jerime can stay in front of.
Take the Money and Run.......
That just about sums up the problem we are facing. We seem to be recruiting talented players who come to UCLA with an agenda. Number one on that agenda is getting to the NBA ASAP! They are not here to get an education. They want Ben to polish up their game and teach them just enough defense so that they can impress a few scouts and GM’s and assure that they will be a 1 or 2 round draft pick.
What we need to be doing is recruiting talented player who want the experience of going to college, getting a degree and playing college ball and striving for his name on the championship trophy.
What we have become is a stop on the way to the NBA. If I were Ben I’d be looking for kids that want to use their basketball skills as a way to parlay a college degree and help us win our next championship.
NBA has done this to almost every elite BB program in the NCAA.
We have plenty of company with this issue.
There’s too much money in the NBA, and with AAU-sponsored year-around hoops, kids can be ready at a much younger age than before.
And we can’t compare to FB. Money not generally the same, I think. And it seems to me that being physically prepared so that you won’t get killed keeps guys from leaving college too early. I used to wonder at all the prayers before and after NFL games until it struck me: these guys must be thanking God that they are 1 still alive and 2 didn’t suffer a hideous career-ending injury.
What this should teach everyone (especially those at the Morgan Center)
Football is king.
College basketball is a dying sport that is a clear second to College Football in terms of revenue and attention. The one and done rule is a large contributor to this, as the quality of the college game has decreased significantly.
The Morgan Center must make football excellence a priority for the overall health of the entire UCLA athletic department.
by silverlakebruin on Apr 14, 2011 11:05 AM PDT reply actions
I'm jumping on the silverlakebruin for AD bandwagon
greg in denver, UCLA guy for life - BruinsNation.com
I have been seeing a lot of the squad at the wooden center..
That is the non-draftees. Immediately you can tell the guys are great friends. Jerime is always talking some trash and Lamb and Stover always has a smile on. Reeves has himself a good beard going.
The twins can be seen often at the SAC, and they get pretty serious in their workouts together, no nonsense. Nice guys though when you get them talking.
The biggest take from this is Tyler Lamb’s play. He has definitely added some muscle mass and his outside moves and take moves are unreal. His game speed is VERY high, and he showed some great dunks over JA.
Right before I left the other day Jerime bricked an open dunk real bad, getting laughs from the whole gym. All in all I really like the camaraderie of these kids and am glad they are as close knit as they are.
I remember playing against
a frosh JA in a pickup game at Wooden. He was quick, but his handle was suspect and his shot wasn’t falling. He, in the end, just out-athleted us and ended up winning, but I was worried about his prospects. If you’re a D1 player at UCLA expected to take the keys to the PG position, I should not be able to almost block you.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
by OswegoBruin on Apr 14, 2011 12:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Not saying he wasn't putting in 100%
but i’ve also played with Lorenzo Mata, DeAndre Robinson, etc, and they easily dominated with little to no effort. And they weren’t exactly of the hype that Anderson was.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
I had the same feeling about Malcolm Lee the first time I played him..
He was skinny, didn’t penetrating with authority, and was hardly the recruit I expected. The guy put in some serious work over the years.
Its funny how the teams’ skills translates to wooden. Reeves enjoys chucking 3s and not playing D, and just enjoys himself. JA has to put effort in to score, but he scores well. He always gives effort, even when playing the feeble masses like myself. Oh, and don’t try to drive when stover is underneath. Just don’t.
Tyler Lamb is altogether dominant when he wants to be and can absolutely toy with anyone who tries to guard him. He has insane handles and moves brilliantly with the ball. Very natural smooth player. His ball fakes are fast and its only a matter of time before he gets you off your feet. Even with JA guarding him he is dominate. One of these days that will translate to Pauley., …..right?
Right.
I look for him, with increased minutes, to be a real force. He just needs some run.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
Lamb
Will be interesting to see if Lamb becomes a MONSTER SHEEP next season. As everyone says, the skills are there. Anyone have a wolf handy?
I wish he would have
gotten more minutes last year.
Howland Hot Seat
Everytime someone mentions CBH being on the hot seat if we don’t have an elite season, I just start shaking my head without even thinking about it.
With DG at the helm, does anyone really believe we would ever bring in a better coach than CBH in the next 5 years? Maybe a a decent coach with potential at best.
I know that part of the motivation of our posts are to light fires under certain a$$es but I just don’t see CBH leaving in the foreseeable future.
If Guerrero has to fire Howland
what can he point to in his decade long tenure of having improved?
He can’t fire Howland. Even if Howland goes 12-18 next season, the only way he gets fired is by a new athletic director.
Guerrero is the one whose job is in trouble if Howland doesn’t succeed.
by silverlakebruin on Apr 14, 2011 2:20 PM PDT up reply actions
Correct
The new AD will most likely have to hire new coaches in both major revenue sports just like Guerrero had to do.
by Achilles on Apr 14, 2011 2:22 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
hey, we finally agree on something!
If changes are to be made, it’s got to be Guerrero first.
by insomniacslounge on Apr 14, 2011 3:47 PM PDT up reply actions
No excuses though
Pac-12 title, Elite 8 and elite (yes, key word here is ELITE) 2012 recruiting class are minimum expectations.
I think imposing expectations on tourney is tough
Lot of that has to do with matchups. That is why it is important for this program to win the conference and get a protected seed in the Western region, so we can make a charge in the tourney. The key is to have a season where we consistently improve from game to game and win the conference. We can’t have the up and down season we had this past year and the year before last year’s horrific season.
agreed
it’s why Steve-16s are not a good measure of the program or a coach; consistent quality comes in repeated high seeds and a fair share (over time) of deep tourney runs. Given the up-and-down nature of the Pac-10, I might put high tourney seeds ahead of Pac-10 finishes as the gauge of the program – finishing 2nd in a loaded year for the Pac-10 might be more of an achievement than finishing top in a weak year. But I’m guessing reasonable people might disagree on this.
(and)
from next year, the best team might not even win the Pac-12, given unbalanced scheduling – one of the worse aspects of expansion.
Agreed. I think Ryan described this well previously, too
The real measure of our team will be the regular season. A good consistent team will define itself much more fairly over 30+ games than in a 6 game tournament. You can get a bad matchup or suffer a key injury or just lay an egg in the tourney and be gone. Does anyone really think VCU was a better team than Kansas or Ohio State?
greg in denver, UCLA guy for life - BruinsNation.com
I think VCU was
one of a relatively small number of teams that had the right combination of players, coaching, and style to be able to beat last year’s Kansas team, though I don’t know if they’d win a series. As Bill Self well knows, though, one game is all that matters.
Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.
I don't think we'll have an "up and down" season
But I do think it will be a “down, then up” similar to this most recent one….but with MUCH better results in the Pac 10 tourney
by insomniacslounge on Apr 14, 2011 3:44 PM PDT up reply actions
broken record though...
Every time you assert ‘no excuses, Howland’ (or equivalent), you imply he is in the business of making excuses. Doesn’t seem like he is. Not quite sure what you think you are adding to the dialog by writing the same comment on every thread you see – a thread here that has a Howland quote about high expectations, and not a single comment from BN people making or foreshadowing excuses.
by VeniceBruin on Apr 14, 2011 2:22 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
It's not so literal as to say
Ben is making excuses. I believe A is just asserting the fact that its an expectation with no loopholes.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
That's one possibility
Another is that Ariza has an internet bot set up so that anytime a basketball post is found, it types, “No excuses, Howland.”
:)
by insomniacslounge on Apr 14, 2011 3:46 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
has "A" really "earned his initial"...?
as people might say here, this comment was not in a vacuum, one comment wouldn’t be at issue, but we can document a long pattern of behavior here…
Oswego, if you really want to stick your head in the sand and ignore the evidence coming out about Ariza over a long period, that’s fine, but you can’t expect us all to do the same.
:-)
by VeniceBruin on Apr 14, 2011 4:42 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
You might get put on time-out for that one
But I gotta give you an appreciative nod for the parody of our (on both sides of the issue) back-and-forth over the last few weeks.
by insomniacslounge on Apr 14, 2011 4:49 PM PDT up reply actions
We really need a sarcasm
hashtag or something. lol
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
Peripherally topical: Josh Selby going pro
Draft Express has him going at the end of the 1st round. NBADraft.net has him going in the 2nd. I think he’ll work his way up the boards in the next month tho. All I know is that we never would have stood a chance against Kansas if Selby had been healthy…at least that’s what the ESPN announcers would lead people to believe.
by insomniacslounge on Apr 14, 2011 4:30 PM PDT reply actions
Who is Josh Sel-by?
I’ve never heard his name 15 times.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
About similar reaction
as I had for Honeycutt: oh well. Kid with a massive amount of that elusive ‘potential’; had a decent game or three, thought he was a much better three-point shooter than he was. Averaged under 10 points a game. No big whoop. (I would bet, however, that he’ll play significantly more NBA games over his career than Honeycutt will.)
Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.
Underating Powell
If Powell is not good enough to be a starter next year we are in trouble. Powell will be the best pure athlete on the team and we are not deep at the wing. I realize Powell might not start day one but by the time the PAC 10 starts we need him to be close to the hype.
If Powell is as good as he is supposed to be and Parker can contribute then we will be good. I am more worried about Parker.
Again, there seems to be this agenda to dispose of CBH. Why? He has restored the program, albeit he had one bad year, but over all his recruiting and coaching has been very good. Yes, the fab five class imploded, but the other classes have been solid. His teams and players improve from the time they enter the program to when they leave or from the beginning of the season to the end. I believe the keys to success for the next two years is Josh Smith and the point guard play. I think Josh Smith can be the pied piper in recuiting and he seems to possess both maturity and leadership. I think a healthy Laz Jones, a maturing Jerime Andersen and LDII we will be fine.
Because players leave before their time is due to different reasons and there are other programs with similar issues. Look at UNC their players seem to transferring constantly to other schools or leaving early for the NBA. Next year let’s see something before we begin to fire on CBH. The point guard position has been addressed for the next two years and I agree that we need to recruit one next year to be able to play the following year. We know the Wear twins were highly recruited out of high school and were solid packups at UNC their freshman year. Their progress has been reported as being very good. But saying CBH is a failure or “the writing is on the wall” if he doesn’t put together an elite 8 season and bring some high school, no matter how talented is unjustified. Lastly who knows if Muhammad. Shabbazz is going to pan out. Look at all of the 5* must have recruits that seem take a while to reach that level or never pan out for one reason or another. Fanning the flames of descent for the purpose of removing a coach is in appropriate.
There is no agenda here against Howland
The agenda here is for Bruin sports to compete at certain levels. Your comparison to UNC proves our point. When was their last title? How bad was their bad season? How did they respond this year following their bad season? We wish we struggled like UNC.
If Howland can restore our basketball team to elite status, excellent. We are all for it. I am rooting for him to do it.
If you are satisfied with the last 3 years though, and think a 4th is no big deal, your standards are too low.
greg in denver, UCLA guy for life - BruinsNation.com
Reading comprehension
seems to be at an all-time low…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Lee's family
I read that it was his family pushing him to go pro and that he wanted to come back. Many of us can understand the pressures a family can put on you. A young kid, not knowing any better, trying to listen to what people are telling him. Sure, it was probably misguided but it is what it is. And hopefully he doesn’t regret it.
That would make two
Bruins that I’ve heard left early due to family. Jrue wanted to return, but his brother kept telling him to leave. Bothersome. I’ll take your report with a grain of salt, with all due respect.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
by OswegoBruin on Apr 15, 2011 12:14 PM PDT up reply actions
Jrue wanted to return?
This isn’t one of those times where I fail to detect sarcasm on the internet, is it?
Not at all. There was an article linked
here awhile ago, basically Jrue’s brother saying "Jrue wanted to stay, our family wanted him to stay, but I kept telling him ‘go, go’ " or something to that effect. I’ll do my best to track it down.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
I had no idea!
The part about his brother pushing him to leave sounds familiar, I just never knew he needed any pushing. Thanks for clarifying.
I find it hard to believe
I’m supposed to believe that the advice of Jrue’s older brother outweighed the wishes of both of his parents and Jrue himself? Justin can say what he wants, and maybe he wants to make himself look like he has more influence than he does, but that just doesn’t pass the smell test.
Its nearly guaranteed
that he wasn’t the only reason Jrue left. But if you’re close to your brother (they were) it matters quite a bit.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
I understand closeness and all
But from that situation, it sounds like he was ambivalent about returning at best, and just needed a push. I just can’t imagine that a sibling could convince me not to do something that both myself and my parents, who I would assume I’m even closer to, want. Now if I was actually 50/50 about returning, then the situation becomes a lot more plausible.
doubt it about Jrue
I seriously doubt Jrue was in any conflict. He was always looking to bolt.
Lee Leaving
It’s too bad Lee has chosen to leave. At the moment he’s a solid college player, but an iffy NBA prospect, and the extra year in Westwood would help to raise his draft stock. But I can’t say I’m surprised that he decided to go. After all, he’s been watching guys he played with, including a member of his recruiting class, excelling in the NBA, and he think he can do the same. Remember, Lee is young and, like most young people, confident—perhaps more than is justified, but he needs to find that out for himself. So, however good you think he is, he surely thinks he’s better. That, coupled with watching Mbah-Ah-Moute, Westbrook, Love, Collison and especially Holiday make significant contributions to their respective teams, has to have led him to think that he can go out and do the same. Think about it. Holiday, a guy he no doubt thinks he’s as good as, plays one so-so season for the Bruins, bolts to the pros, and now he’s the starting point guard for a playoff team—that has to have influenced his thought process. Say what you want about Howland (and there are plenty of critical voices on this blog), but he has an exemplary record of preparing guys for the pros. What’s interesting is that the players who have done especially well in the NBA seem to have been constrained by the regimented Howland style, and have been liberated by the pro game to an extent that has allowed them to thrive beyond expectations—Westbrook most of all, but also Collison and Holiday. So maybe Lee has a better chance than some have given him credit for. Then again, there are plenty of high-profile guys who never achieved their potential—like Adam Morrison and Joe Alexander, for instance. So we won’t be able to assess Lee’s prospects until the draft. Also, his recent arthroscopy for a meniscus tear is something of an X Factor in all of this, because the rehab process may inhibit him from showing his full arsenal of skills to scouts. In any event, let’s wish him well and return our thoughts to the Bruin roster that remains. There’s no question that he and Honeycutt will be missed, but with Nelson, Smith and Jones as anchors, Lamb with a year of experience under his belt, and the Wear bros. ready to go—not to mention the recent good news on the recruiting front—we should be at the top of the Pac 12 and ready to make a serious tournament run for the first time in a few years.
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