Look forward to visiting next year.  

I graduated in 2005. So my 4 years of basketball consisted of my freshman year with Kapono, Barnes, and Gadzuric not living up to their potential but upsetting Cincy only to lose in the Sweet 16, a horrendous sophomore year where firelavin.com was in full effect, my junior year with Howland coming on board but having to take control of a very bad Lavin team and seeing Ariza skip out after his freshman year, and finally, my senior year where even after a 1st round NCAA tournament loss, you could tell this program was on the rise with Farmar, Afflalo, Shipp, and Mata bringing back UCLA to the forefront of college b-ball.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE UCLA football, but I remember my first time walking into Pauley as a freshman and seeing my first game and that was when my obsession with college hoops was born. I was close to tears last night in an NYC bar that was dominated by the NYC Bruins. But at the same time I realize how extremely lucky I am right now to see UCLA into what I am calling its 2nd Golden Years.

It's time to turn the page on the 2007-2008 year. I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to watch Mr. Love play and if this was indeed his first and final year with us, hopefully he realizes how much excitement he brought to all of us this year. As for RW and DC, they are the epitome of what this site has coined as "Ben Ball Warriors." And thank you Lorenzo. I was fortunate enough to see you play when you came in as a freshman as I was on my out and I am that much luckier for it.

I'm taking a little break from college sports. I have my Dodgers and Lakers to keep me busy right now. UCLA football and basketball back-to-back is incredibly draining, but I will look forward to August when you can smell the grass of the Rose Bowl once again and when September brings about a new found optimism with UCLA Football.

GO BRUINS!

if somehow we can find out when they will be arriving on campus we could do something much like the send-off (but in reverse). We can welcome home them with applause and praise, acknowledging a remarkable season. I think something like that would bring a smile to their faces.

At the poll! Little biased? haha! And the (lol) after Lute, priceless! I needed a good laugh!

I have to echo the comments made on "The Rare Sunday" post from earlier today. Man, I really can't stop thinking about how we didn't play our game! But great season, great coach, great team, great fans. I wouldn't trade my membership to the UCLA community for anything. I will forever hold my BruinCard dearly in my wallet.

Nothing left to do but relax and look forward to number 12, coming next year! I'm already excited to see the new recruits in action.

And I'm also glad to be meeting other Bay Area Bruins this year. I will definitely try to get out to more BAB events and keep meeting Bruins from throughout history.

Thanks, Bruins, for an amazing year of basketball!

...there is a homecoming reception for the team just like the one that sent them off.  There's no shame in what happened in San Antonio.  This was an amzaing team and an amazing year.  I'm sorry that Lo didn't get a championship, and I hope DC and KL are smart enough to stick around (RW is gone baby gone...he's too good).

it is extremely difficult to get to the final four. Of course you need a great team that is well coached,  but you also need a few bounces, a few calls to go your way.  That said, it is nothing short of amazing what CBH and the warriors have accomplished.  We cannot become complacent and assume we will be there every year.  It just won't happen. But I firmly believe with CBH we will break on thru to the other side very soon.  In the meantime, we will have a quality product to root for, one that will play with grit and intensity and make us proud.

Well done boys.

proud beyond measure to be a BRUIN after witnessing the accomplishments of our team this season, as well as the undying love and support that they receive from this forum.  I wish there would be a homecoming for them and I did try to find out from my dance team friends when the players were coming back but I never got a response. In that case, I vow to personally thank every player I see on campus from Mata to Matt Lee for all of the joy they have brought us this season.  And I will make sure to tell them that BruinsNation is grateful and is always behind them! :)

Here's to bleeding blue and gold!

They seem like great young men who worked so hard and have dealt with so much pressure. It's tough to see the pain on their faces. We all wanted the championship so much for them. It's amazing how they can be so gracious after such a painful loss. I've posted before on my experience meeting several football players after the loss at Notre Dame in 06. I was blown away by how polite and gracious they were after such a difficult loss. My heart ached for them, but it solidified my bruin pride knowing what great people they are. CBH will no doubt teach the players how to deal with adversity and disappointment which will only add to their character and make them stronger in many ways.  

I met Jeff Tedford a few weeks ago. He was very friendly and affable. I asked him about recruiting, and the first thing he mentioned was how hard the staff was trying to recruit kids with character. Beyond winning, CBH and great coaches mold young men and emphasize the importance of representing their university with class and respect. These players are winners and I wish we could all thank them for their hard work and how they conduct and carry themselves.  

I've followed Bruin BB since 1964. Some of those teams were more memorable than others. The '73, '75 and '95 Championship teams are close to my heart. I have a feeling that I will have a soft place in my heart for this year's team even though they didn't win the NC.  They had a fighting spirit and comraderie that is rare.  I am sad for all of them.  DC is a warrior.  He has been roundly criticized in the MSM for having an off game on the big stage.  Like the courageous man he is, he has taken full blame for the loss which he should not.  Memphis geared their entire defense to neutralize Darren.  That's an honor to be feared as a great point guard. Lorenzo, thank you for your commitment and courage.  K-Love demonstrated all season long why he was the best BB player in America and I am only too proud that he chose my alma mater over all schools to display his talent as well as his exemplary character.

When I first saw our warriors lose, it was painful but I got over it because I know we'll be back. However, two things that continue to bother me are the continuous Bruin and CBH bashing from different commentators and Bruin-haters on TV/radio, and how some Bruin fans are on panic mode and so ready to criticize our program. Firstly, many continue to bash us that 3 trips to the Final Four is nothing because the committee always gave us a favorable bracket and so on. Hey, we had to face Memphis during our previous Final Four trip...so is Memphis also getting a favorable bracket? We have it somewhat easier because we've been consistent during the season, giving ourselves a higher seed. At the same time, we have seen many big name teams fall to lower seed teams during the Madness. It's not the bracket, it's the consistency. Also, I read some ignoramus somewhere claim that our 3 trips to the Final Four means nothing. Where is Florida now? Where is Kentucky? Where is Ohio State? and I'm sure there are many more teams that used to be big time but were nowhere near the Final Four. We have been consistently good with many different freshmen players through 3 different years. CBH can't be blamed for players leaving early. I think every year he operates based on the assumption that this is last chance with that particular team because players will leave. I give him all the credit for his accomplishments.

Secondly, the panic mode. Bruin fans, calm down. Let next season play out before starting to question CBH already. Sure we could have used more offense, sure we didn't adjust during the game, sure Josh Shipp hit a wall at the worst of time, and so on...but it's done. Given the size and speed of their players and how deep their bench was, there was little we could have done to counter because we had not perimeter game on that given night. We all learn as we go. We didn't get to the Final Four by luck, we got there by learning and studying the game. We will add bigger and more versatile guards next season and I'm sure the Ben Ball style will change again just like we changed from Farmar to Collison and Westbrook. So let next season play out...

Go, Go, Go Bruins! Challenging the Future!
(anyone remember where that's from? or is it still being used...)

Although we rooted with our hearts, this team's offensive inconsistency left most fans with the feeling that if an opponent played really well against us, we would run out of miracles.  That finally happened against Memphis, a very very good team. The Bruin Faithful love our team and out coach, but that doesn't stop everyone from second guessing what might have been done to change the outcome.  This season was a rousing success, even if we didn't raise Banner 12.  The future is bright.  Go Bruins!