Bruins Hit The Halfway Mark; Outgun Colorado 77-60
by Tydides on Jan 28, 2012 3:12 PM PST
in Basketball
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PrintWell it's official. Our basketball team is better than USC's. Behind hot three point shooting from Tyler Lamb, Norman Powell, and Jerime Anderson, the Bruins took a game that had been tight before halftime and put Colorado away early in the second half . Although the Buffaloes shot 46% from the floor, CU didn't seem as effective offensively as that number indicates.
Overall, the Bruins were 9-13 from 3 point territory, spreading the CU defense and opening up the rest of the floor, which resulted in UCLA's 60% overall shooting. Maybe the only complaint you could have about the game overall was the trademarked bad start for the Bruins, spotting Colorado an early lead with their lethargic play.
What made this game seem different, IMO, was that our two non-point-guards played like point guards. Lazeric Jones tallied 9 assists, Anderson had 8, and even Lamb chipped in 6. It's always more fun to watch a team with guards that make good decisions and distribute the ball.
Maybe if we had played like this before the 21st game of the season, this season, and our embattled coach's lame duck tenure, would have a much brighter outlook. However, this is the hand that the Bruins have dealt themselves. As we hinted earlier, Colorado is not a team with the talent to match their record. We expected this victory, as did Vegas and the other gamblers out there.
In contrast to this two game stretch that would tell us little about this team (unless we lost), the next four games will probably define the remainder of the regular season. Now we'll see if we can finally get a conference road win. The Washington road trip is next followed by the NorCal schools at home.
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wait how does this game confirm we are better than U$C?
away game against Washington, we really shouldn’t have a chance..
Oh well, nice to enjoy a dominating win today.
+1
Love the transitive property, yo!
by UCLA_beer&mathematics on Jan 28, 2012 10:45 PM PST up reply actions
UW this year is absolutely beatable. South Dakota State and others have done it by forcing them to slow down.
That, and using a zone to stifle their guard penetration as well as beating them on the glass.
Chances of Howland using a zone for all 40 minutes against a team that usually leads the Pac12 in adjusted tempo? Hmmm …
We have not won at UW since 2004
I think
by DCBruins on Jan 28, 2012 3:58 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Yup. Not even with Kevin Love.
The SPTRs are always a major factor there. A guy inbounding the ball and running out of time throws the ball intentionally and directly into Alfred Aboya’s face from two feet away and doesn’t get called for anything.
by Seth Chandler on Jan 29, 2012 1:10 AM PST up reply actions
Where on earth was this defensive intensity at all this year?
UCLA actually looked like it was a Ben Howland-coached team today. Imagine if they did this at all against Oregon, OSU, Stanford, Texas, Kansas, and Michigan … well, they’d be 18-3 and in the top 10.
To be fair
I think they stepped up the intensity in the second half. Colorado went on a 19-8 run in the latter part of the first half thanks to bad transition D and poor rebounding on bad shots.
Yeah they shot 56%+
In the first half. Our offense carried us tonight .
by DCBruins on Jan 28, 2012 3:53 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Could that be because of the turnovers?
Or the lack of second shots?
by Seth Chandler on Jan 29, 2012 1:12 AM PST up reply actions
Good Guard Play Created Better Outside Shots
Yes, we won’t shoot that high of a percentage regularly — but, many of the three point shots were taken by unguarded and well set players. Our guards were doing a good job of demanding attention while also knowing who was spotting up and where.
sjh
Yep
The set offense was very good . But keep in mind CO is a bad road team
by DCBruins on Jan 28, 2012 3:55 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
I know pictures can lie
But doesn’t Josh Smith look fat and pathetic trying to play defense in the selected photo?
Well, he actually stayed solid on that play and didn't bite on the pump fake
The Colorado player had to step back and hit a one-handed fadeaway. It was a good shot, but Smith had him defended pretty well.
Fair enough.
He has built us such bad-will with me I just couldn’t resist taking a cheap shot.
Bad Will v. Disappointment?
Josh seems a very likeable somewhat grounded kid — especially when compared to the “entitled” who habit the multi-star talents.
I’m really disappointed in his conditioning — but he has been contrite and handled it well. His team mates seem to really like him and, when he is on the bench, he does not pout — he cheers them on.
My sense is that he really does not love playing basketball. Just my take — that he feels he must because he has so much potential. Take his potential and LMR’s desire and you’d have an unbeatable player.
Finally, it’s easy to say he should eat better or control himself but poor eating habits can be rooted in much deeper problems — like subconsciously sabotaging his basketball career.
I really like Josh. I’d not play him as much; But, I won’t stop liking him.
sjh
Josh is a gentle Bruin
He seems like one of the nicest kid to play in UCLA uniform. Only if a coach could inspire him to play the half the passion of PAA, LMR or …hey Stover … We could have a potential all American in our roster.
by Nestor on Jan 28, 2012 4:12 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
I said it before, wins and losses don't bother me as much
as when I see a coach letting his players down and not getting everything out of them. That is what disappoints me about the Josh Smith/CBH situation, as much as Smith has let his teammates down, it feel like CBH has let him down.
I was watching an interview with KL about his play and conditioning and he said that they had him on muscle milk at UCLA and his voice kind of trailed off and I thought I saw him shake his head a bit. What is going on with the UCLA conditioning? If KL can lose 30, Smith could lose 60 easy, and be unstoppable.
But KL Didn't Like Being Told by CBH That He Was Out of Shape and ...
really did not get into shape until AFTER he left UCLA.
He bristled when CBH sat him because he was not fit and bitched a bit about it, too.
He later got the message and improved his conditioning but the bulk of it was done after he declared for the draft and was preparing for it.
I credit CBH with sending him the message to which he ultimately listened.
sjh
I agree...I think he got his religion when he saw the NBA lurking ahead.
Gotta remember he was only a year out of high school at the end of his college ‘career’. He also could have matured a bit during that one year and thereby finally received the message Howland espoused.
Josh’s turn.
" ..... to play (with) half the passion of PAA, LMR .... "
Don’t we all wish not just Smith would do that, but everyone every game !
Our team would be the ultimate juggernaut of Pac 12, blitzing all the way through the tournament. Whatever the talent level of the players, a desire to compete, the intensity to defend and prevail are really the two key components of winning games, home and away.
MaClean & Bailey said it well in their postgame comments. This afternoon’s game should really serve as THE BLUEPRINT for the rest of the games this season.
I could not have agreed more.
Why can't Howland get his players in shape?
Since the early group, Howland’s teams seem to sag very quickly. Coach had a seven man rotation and they ran a full court zone press. Why can’t this coach get the message to his players that they have to be in shape. Be it Love or Smith or anybody else.
As for Smith, whether or not he’s a nice kid or has personal problems is irrelevant in my mind. I only care that he gives 100% to the team and his body says he doesn’t. I think he should sort out his personal issues off his athletic scholarship.
Coach Wooden had an entirely different breed of players in his day
Coaches had way more leverage in those days. Frosh weren’t allowed on the varsity squad, the one-and-done was unheard of, and so on. Likewise, social mores have changed considerably. While no doubt Wooden had his own rebels to deal with, the way in which we discipline rebelliousness/insubordination is entirely different today. Not necessarily better or worse, just different.
And I don’t doubt the big money aspect of college athletics leads coaches to be entirely more lax in their discipline — that is, they’re a lot more reluctant to drop the hammer, so to speak, because they know a recalcitrant student can do considerable damage. Of course, in Howland’s case, that lax discipline allowed the recalcitrant students to do the damage regardless.
Still, no excuses for Howland. Yes, kids are very different today. But he’s done a poor job the last few years of identifying which kids can be taught by him and which ones needed different teachers. It’s an inexact science, and clearly only a handful of people have succeeded doing so consistently. Howland’s future at UCLA depends on his ability to correct his mistakes.
Is Josh Smith one of them? For all the bluster regarding his circumstance, I don’t believe he’s one of the recalcitrant ones. I believe he truly wants to succeed, and be healthy to boot. But getting on that track when you’ve spent the better part of your life off of it is no small task. And it doesn’t help when you’ve also spent the last five-to-six years of your life having AAU coaches tell you nothing needs to change. I think Josh Smith knows better, and that he truly wants to change. Will he achieve it? Hopefully.
Re: Will he achieve it ? Hopefully.
His NBA stocks after next season depend on it.
Coach Howland’s job too, for reasons we all agreed on. So how Smith plays and the team’s overall success because of him hinges, to a large extent, on his physical conditioning.
AAU coaches’ words are just that. This is the era of one and done. It is what you do that one year after high school that either makes or breaks you. So with all that accolades you had before you ever played a single minute of NCAA basketball, and all people saw was Fat Albert and his limited repertoire of skills, then you are better off working as night club bouncer or TSA agent at the airport.
Not so much as to sabotage his own career, which translates into plenty of $$$$$ ...
Knowing what I know, obesity stems from myriad reasons, apart from being biological & genetically determined. Much of it can be social too.
Individuals can be told however many times the importance of healthy lifestyles, but if they lack the willingness to discipline their own lives, nothing works.
same goes for attitude towards sports...
such as getting in shape for the upcoming season, practicing jump shots, adding new shots to one’s arsenal, practicing free throws…the list goes on.
Micheal, Kobe and others are not who they are because they got trophies for showing up. It definitely was not a coach who entirely made them what they are/were.
I just dread seeing that bulging midsection of his the other day when somebody posted ....
a picture of Smith dunking. Because he had to stretch his body, if not consciously leaping for that particular action, those rippling layers of " you know what " literally caught your attention.
I understand efforts are being made, as we speak. It is to his credit that he finally realized the down side of it. This season’s half way done. He might need to really work on it with Herculean determination if he expects to have decent NBA stocks.
I was at the Utah game on Thursday
and Josh Smith didn’t exactly look svelte. I keep thinking he’s going to get thinner but it’s not happening.
by CharliePotts on Jan 28, 2012 7:33 PM PST up reply actions
good win against someone with a better conference record
we saw a better team and effort today than usual with solid guard play, zone utilization, and they seemed like they wanted to play. Now the big elephant in the room is still with us.- we cannot or will not shoot free throws well. I am tired of hearing how they practice them but no improvement. Now I coached, mainly womens teams in recent years but we demanded at least a 70% completion rate and one year even averaqged 82% which was good but we still had them do the drills every practice. One of the girls went from 51% the previous year on another team to 78% for us. It can be done with concentration, a solid stroke, and drills to make them better. Girls are easier to improve as they are not worried about their various dunks.
NCAA Women basketball does not have NBA's allure, glamor & media hypes to compete against.
Nothing like the Jrue Holiday types to put up with.
This is the Game I wanted, to set us up for a run................Team win!
They’re long, athletic, tall, and have gaurd play.
The perfect test, to tune us up for quality play.
I knew they would push our PG’s, and Zeke and Jeremy came through.
Didn’t think they could control our bigs, and the Wears got off.
Great team win with Tyler and Powell ballin it up.
We are now ready for the northern schools.
Go Bruins!
Slow Start
How many times this year we had slow starts and never recovered because we were behind so much? I mentioned several times that I hate the starting five without Josh. I honestly think it would make a big difference if we can score easier with Josh in there. In today’s game excepting two stolen lazy passes Anderson made, everyone played a solid game. I really like Lamp in particular. Jones played a perfect game.
Agreed. Lamb & Jones were a handful for Colorado
Had they been playing at such level consistently, I can understand Howland not giving too many minutes to Powell yet. With a senior that is exerting his playing skills and leadership role, coupled with a versatile sophomore, it would be legitimate reasons for a talented, albeit green Powell bidding his time on the bench.
Anderson shows his experience, finally.
We are lucky the two Wears came to Westwood. Their one two punch is tough to deal with when everything clicked. Those powerful, flying dunks reminded me of Bill Walton when I first saw him play, his senior year in 1974. To this day, the image of a tall, lanky, yet unusually athletic player’s incredibly swift leaps towards the basket still mesmerizes me.
For a split second or two today, when I saw the Wear dude surged towards the basket, his long arms fully extended, and grabbed the ball in midair before jamming it down the basket utterly jolted me out of my seat. It elicited all those unforgettable moments I had in Pauley, jaws dropped, in total disbelief of the incredible athleticism unfolding on the hardwood floor.
Let’s give credit where credit is due. Way to go, guys. This is the BLUEPRINT for victories.
Went to game today
By far, the best crowd of the year, I would assume, the largest of the year, lots of enthusiasm, seems like the team fed off it.
It’s always more enjoyable to watch a team, that hustles and looks for the open guy. My family had a great time, now if we can only win a road game or two, or three or four!
Howland needs to keep the sneakers on.
Todays Attendance was 9,253
Our best-attended “home” game this season, a little more than the 9,247 who showed up at the Honda Center for the Arizona game, and the 9,076 for ASU game. Considering it was 78 degrees today in Los Angeles, not a bad crowd.
Here'a another tidbit...
When it came to us moving on as a result of ‘them’ winning, I actually had to think about it for a while.
It was a pretty random opening comment in an article re: UCLA-Colorado.
That said… I don’t mind.
by Kenneth Powers on Jan 28, 2012 8:00 PM PST up reply actions
USC's best shot at avoiding an 0-18 conference season
by Kenneth Powers on Jan 28, 2012 8:13 PM PST up reply actions
Score just reset to 0-0.
Now 4-0 Utah.
by Kenneth Powers on Jan 28, 2012 8:22 PM PST up reply actions
Now I see what you were saying.
It just happened on the feed I am watching. Funny
Been a Bruin since birth
Ever? Well, let's go back a few years...
in the time machine to my days when So Cal was #2 and we were #1. We kept them out of the dance, when there were only 32 teams moving on, and we beat them to keep them out of the tournament. Nowadays, they would have made it in. Ah, those were the good ole days.
Showin my age, sorry.
Just don't ask a Trogan to do it
Counting is an advanced math course there. Not everyone has to take it.
That's misleading
Many trOJan athletes took those courses in reform school and that is why they don’t have to take them now.
Enjoyed this game more than most this season.
Spent the afternoon with my son. Did catch a few minutes of the game at one point. Didn’t bother recording the game to watch tonight; I’ll actually just go to sleep – which I need after a day with him. Even early in the season I would have waited until I could watch the game, often staying up until 11 or 12…then getting on BN to read and write about it. I honestly think it’s pretty pathetic that I don’t care, but I haven’t found any reason to do so. This pre-geezer is off to bed. (Note – that part isn’t quite as pitiful as first glance may provide, as I’m two hours ahead of PST as shown below…but then again, I really don’t care.)
Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.
How many more home/away games do we have in the decrepit Spokes Arena?
Do we know if Pauley will be done on time? My bet is against based on who is managing the work. I suspect we won’t get into it again until February 2013.
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