UCLA is the Place to be During the NBA Lockout

by freesia39 on Aug 31, 2011 5:50 AM PDT

The Student Activities Center (but always the Men's Gym in my mind) has always been the place to be in Los Angeles during the summer if you wanted to watch NBA players play intense pickup games.

This summer, with the NBA lockout, UCLA is definitely the place to be to get in some quality work.

Last week, the likes of Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith and Russell Westbrook were at UCLA, and there were enough NBA players on hand to hold a players' association meeting, according to Adam Mills, the long-time organizer of these games.

Pickup games at the Student Activities Center are also proving to be extremely valuable for our basketball team. The ones that are here for summer school are playing when they get a chance, gaining experience you cannot find anywhere else. The players are also tweeting who they've played and worked out with so far this summer, putting together the best ever "What I did on my summer vacation" essay. Some sampling after the jump.

Anthony Stover on August 29th:

Rehab, workout w/ Elton brand then pick up.

August 27th:

Pick up with some 76ers

August 17th:

S/o to Kobe and Paul Pierce. Met them today

Reeves Nelson on July 27th:

Just got out the gym with that man Melo. It's crazy how skilled he is. I'm bout to learn a bunch.

Yes, that Carmelo Anthony.

Zeek Jones on August 26th:

S/O to @thekidet @Jrue_Holiday11 & @B1rdman44 for letting me hoop with them today #goodruns

So to our recruits, UCLA is the place to be year round - even during the "off" season, where the stars of the NBA not only come back to school to finish their degrees, but also are ready and willing to play a few pickup games with you. Why wouldn't you want to come here?

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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Comments

Seriously, UCLA is the place to be for future basketball stars

but not just that, but for those who want to have a strong academic background for when the basketball playing dreams finish.

by BruinEngy on Aug 30, 2011 6:21 PM PDT reply actions

Go Bruins!

I love how casual “s/o to Kobe and Paul Pierce” sounds

by kevdude on Aug 30, 2011 7:45 PM PDT reply actions

Read this Recruits

Learn from CBH during the season and play with the pros in the off season.

by DCBruins on Aug 30, 2011 8:03 PM PDT reply actions

If Arizona is "Point Guard U"

I guess that makes us “NBA U”.

by Tydides on Aug 30, 2011 8:13 PM PDT up reply actions

Actually we beat them out as Point Guard U

They can have the nickname, we can have the reality.

by DCBruins on Aug 31, 2011 11:40 AM PDT up reply actions

Arizona fans are really cute sometimes

by Nestor on Aug 31, 2011 12:07 PM PDT up reply actions

This is true

And I move to make Point Guard U a subset of NBA U, thereby giving us both titles.

by Tydides on Aug 31, 2011 1:35 PM PDT up reply actions

What U.C.L.A. has that no other school can offer.

The opportunity to play for a storied program,
The opportunity to get coached by Ben Howland,
The opportunity to compete for an NCAA Title right now,
The opportunity to get a world class education, alongside K Love and R Westbrook,
And the opportunity to play with pros.

Not in Kentucky. Not in Arizona. Not anywhere but Westwood. Sorry, wildcats.

For a guy like Shabazz Muhammad, who is likely to spend just a year in college before going to the NBA, U.C.L.A. offers far more opportunities than anywhere else.

greg in denver, U.C.L.A. guy for life - BruinsNation.com

by gbruin on Aug 30, 2011 11:41 PM PDT reply actions

How do I get season tix to the games at the Men's Gym?

Sort of tongue in cheek, but not really. Even when I was there as a student, I never went to the Men’s Gym. Could we as alumni get in to watch at all?

I guess the Men’s Gym is one of those things I took for granted until I left…

by Go Bruinz on Aug 31, 2011 1:25 AM PDT reply actions

It's open to everybody, right?

by LA Bruin on Aug 31, 2011 7:54 AM PDT up reply actions

Yep.

Just head to the top floor of SAC and if there aren’t any UCLA Rec employees or security-type looking individuals shooing you away, you’re good to go. I used to go there in between classes during my last handful of classes during summer session at UCLA just to catch who was running on the courts, and it was pretty much a who’s who of pros. Oh, and Terrell Owens too, but that…that didn’t excite me at all.

GO BRUINS!

by jlegs on Aug 31, 2011 10:14 AM PDT up reply actions

Go Bruins!

by uclaluv on Aug 31, 2011 9:02 AM PDT reply actions

Usually late morning/noon until late afternoon.

But that was when I was still an undergrad two summers ago.

GO BRUINS!

by jlegs on Aug 31, 2011 10:16 AM PDT up reply actions

Amundson sounds like a smart kid ...

“I don’t really live beyond my means — I don’t have four or five cars,” he said, chuckling. “I’m not too worried about it affecting me. But I’ve been saving my money, making sure I have cash in the bank before this thing started.”

by LA Bruin on Aug 31, 2011 1:03 PM PDT reply actions

That totally reminds me

I forgot to put it in my write-up, but my favorite part of the article is that Holliday is living with his parents. Even NBA players wind up “boomeranging” back to their parents. ;-)

by freesia39 on Aug 31, 2011 8:06 PM PDT up reply actions