[UPDATED] Smells Like Team-Spirit

by Nestor on Dec 16, 2007 9:12 AM PST in Basketball

UPDATE:Grok451 has the video of Lee's money shot. GO BRUINS. -N

Well if you want further evidence of why we are in love with our basketball head coach and his Ben Ball warriors, I think this image should do the trick:

Photo Credit: Chris Carlson AP (via LA Times)

Matt Lee made a dream shot which I am sure he will be talking about for rest of his life. Bu to me what was telling about that shot were the moments after. I got the same feeling (and I am not exaggerating) I experience when I saw the bench explode after games against Gonzaga and Missouri in last 12 years. It as absolutely electric to watch he reaction of Matt's team-mates from the bench. And I think it gives us a little peak into the often over used sports cliché of "chemistry" and how that applies to the program Coach Howland has built in Westwood.

In terms of the game, Darren Collison talked about his explosive night. From the LAT:

Collison, who missed most of preseason practice and the first six games because of a sprained left knee, said he had a purpose in his aggressive approach to this game.

"I really wanted to send a message," he said, "to people who talk about how rusty I am. It's just a matter of time. I'll get there."

Also in the same report, Roll talked about getting back into the swing of things:

Also working himself into shape after an injury is swingman Michael Roll, who played a season-high 19 minutes and recorded a Howland-pleasing four assists.

Roll, who missed the first seven games because of a foot injury, was most pleased with finally making his first three-pointer of the season (and his second and third). "Finally," he said. "Glad to get that out of the way."

And here is Coach Howland on what victory number 100 meant to him:. From the Daily News:

The number 100 was special to Howland.

"It means we've had some really good players the last four-plus years," he said. "When I first took this job I said I never thought I would be the head coach at UCLA. It's just a dream and not many people get to say they're living their dream."

I am not going to take too much from last night's game. It came after a long week of finals against an out-manned opponent. It was encouraging to see the shots finally fall in from outside the arc. However, I am sure Coach Howland will remind his team that we just can't get too dependent on those jump shots as we get to play tougher teams.

And despite holding those guys to under 40 percent in shooting, there were some defensive lapses in the first half around the paint, and we are looking at you Kevin. But as we have discussed before it is simply unrealistic on our part to expect Kevin to play the same level of defense as Mata Real or AA2, who have had 2-4 years of Ben Ball mentality drilled into their basketball brain. Kevin will get there in due time. That is exactly what these games are for.

More from Coach Howland on last night's game in the Daily News:

Howland's positive points of the performance were boiled down to making 16 of 17 free throws, and shooting 11 of 26from 3-point range.

Of course, Howland tempered the 3-point shooting by noting the Bruins took only 36 two-point shots and didn't mention the 43-24 rebounding advantage, nor Idaho State's 37.5 shooting percentage.

"It's just nice to be done with finals now and concentrate on basketball for the next three or so weeks," Howland said. "This will be a good time for us as we move into next week, and get back after Christmas. We made a lot of defensive mistakes early in the game, and we didn't get exposed by them because we weren't playing Texas."

What I also enjoyed from the last night was our passing against the zone defense. The passing was crisper and sharper than it has been at any point of the season, and it was giving our shooters a little extra space from the perimeter.

Hopefully, we will get to see more of that in the coming weeks. Anyway, to close the loop on last night's game, I will go back to Lee's shot. It made me appreciate one more time just what Coach Howland has been methodically building in Westwood. Not only has he built a program that will be a perennial contender, he is doing it around a foundation of team-spirit. I haven't had this much following UCLA basketball since I started following it on a day to day basis in 1988 (I was not fortunate to soak in the Wooden years).

In other words, last night's "100" had a very different meaning than the same milestone reached by Coach Howland's previous two predecessors. Just another reason why we see him as the rightful heir of Coach Wooden.

GO BRUINS.

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Comments

DC

you knew he'd get back to All-American form. It was just a matter of time. If you looked at him, even his first and 2nd game back, he was fine physically. I think the biggest thing was getting confidence back in his knee. A few times, one cut would have gotten him to the basket for a layup, but he didn't have the confidence to make the cut so he kicked the ball out instead. Last night you saw him make a couple of those cuts he was unwilling to make the first few games. He's not all the way back, but he has 3 more games to get all the way back.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Dec 16, 2007 9:32 AM PST reply actions

It's surely about confidence

I think equally important is that DC wasn't pressing the issue. I thought he might have been doing that a little since his return and Howland's words before the game confirmed it. What is great about DC is that he's quick, but when he's patient and waits for the right time to attack, he can wreak havoc on an opponent's defense.

I think it says something that we're not completely satisfied with this performance and yet we won by 40. This team still has so much untapped potential.

by Tydides on Dec 16, 2007 11:56 AM PST up reply actions

Nestor,

I was fortunate enough to be around during the years of Coach Wooden, and I can tell you, he is proud of these players and loves this team. You can see it in his eyes when he's in attendance and they do his reaction shots. Or when he talks about Kevin Love and the way he passes and plays defense.

From my own personal perspective, this is the first time I've felt good about Bruins basketball since 1975. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED our '95 team, but that felt like a great group of players overcoming the limitations of a mediocre coach - this feels like a team firing on all cylinders after one thing - THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP. And when we win the first one, we're going to win another one. It's time to be greedy and take back our birthright as the finest collegiate basketball program in the country, bar none.

You hear that you fakers at Duke, or wherever else you think you're the best. The Bruins are Back!!!

Coach Coach Howland and Go Bruins!!

by waters96 on Dec 16, 2007 10:38 AM PST reply actions

In case you missed it

Here's the video.

by Telemachus on Dec 16, 2007 12:25 PM PST reply actions

Matt Lee

Epic.

by lolwtferic on Dec 16, 2007 2:52 PM PST up reply actions

Thanks Grok

That was great.

by Fox 71 on Dec 16, 2007 3:47 PM PST up reply actions

Loved Howland's comment after the game

He addressed the thought of just dribbling out the clock, but that Lee and some other players work very hard in practice and seldom get the chance to shoot in a real game.

Sure, it was a great moment for Lee, but if you were on the other side, you could argue we were pouring it on.

I just thought it was classic Howland to address that feeling head-on after the game.

As for DC, what a great game for a guy who I don't think is near 100% yet.

by Free the 16 on Dec 16, 2007 9:13 PM PST reply actions

If it's a scholarship player

dribble it out. But all bets are off when it's a walk-on. How can you, as an opposing coach, complain about a walk-on trying to put his name in the books? I don't think Idaho State's coach said anything about it, but just for future argument's sake, I don't believe that anyone should begrudge a walk-on a chance to make the most of his opportunity to play.

by Tydides on Dec 17, 2007 1:56 AM PST up reply actions