With no football game to prep for this weekend, this week is shaping up to be our first major Ben Ball game week of 2008-09 season. Bruins have a huge game coming up this Thursday night against Michigan Wolverines. Even though because of our high pre season ranking, we will probably head into this game as “favorites” in the eyes of many casual basketball observers around the country (who are probably already looking ahead to a possible UCLA-Duke matchup in the finals), I think this game is a huge question mark for our Ben Ball warriors.

Let’s just get this out of the way. I hope no one here on Bruin Nation is thinking about Duke after this post. This week should be all about Wolverines.

Given our recent history against John  Beilein, I think this game will be a toss-up against a much improved Wolverines team. They will be fired up and ready to go all out to make a national statement in Beilein’s second year in what at least in my book is the marquee All Sports school in the Big-10 (in essence UCLA’s twin brother from the Midwest). Kevin Pearson from the Press Enterprise has a brief capsule on Bruin’s familiar opponent:

This will be the seventh straight season that UCLA has played Michigan, so there's no lack of familiarity. But the connection goes deeper than that.

Second-year Michigan coach John Beilein, who came to Ann Arbor a year ago, also faced UCLA when he was leading West Virginia with his unusual 1-3-1 attack the two years before that. So these teams really should know the score.

"Well, Josh (Shipp) does and Darren (Collison) and Alfred (Aboya) do," Howland said.

"You have to stay focused on what they're doing," Shipp said. "They do a lot of backdoor cuts. They're just waiting for you to break down."

Twice with West Virginia, Beilein's teams beat UCLA. Then last year the Bruins turned it around in Ann Arbor, thanks to a 41-18 run over the final 14 minutes for a 69-54 win.

"They're a much-improved team," Howland said of the Wolverines, led by 6-foot-5 sophomore guard Manny Harris, averaging 28 points in his two starts.

We will have more on other Michigan players later this week. But one immediate question Coach Howland will have to answer is who will be guarding Harris. Given Howland’s comments in the Daily Bruin, it seems like JH might get a shot:

Just two games into his college career, Howland said that he has a huge role defensively in store for Holiday: the task of guarding the other team’s best player. It is the role that former Bruins Arron Afflalo and Russell Westbrook played during their time at UCLA, and it is the assignment Howland said Holiday will draw this season due to the physical gifts he possesses.

“For us to be the team that we want to be, bottom line is (he’s going to have to do that),” Howland said. “There’s going to be games where he’s going to be guarding great players, and there’s going to be times where it’s going to be hard. But he’ll figure it out.”

Howland noted that it is not an easy task for the young freshman to undertake, and there will be a learning curve, as was the case with both Afflalo and Westbrook early in their careers.

Howland said that during Afflalo’s first season, the freshman struggled with the assignment and had some off nights defensively. The same was said of Westbrook, who evolved from an average defender to the Pac-10 defensive player of the year.

Yet, Howland cautioned that Holiday’s learning curve will be much shorter than the other two Bruins and that much of the experience and learning will have to be done on the fly.

“It’s always hard when you’re changing levels, whether you’re going from high school to college or college to the NBA,” Howland said. “It’s just different. There’s no doubt that Jrue’s going to end up being a really good player for us. He’s thrusted into a very difficult role right away, and I think I alluded to this after the game – I’m expecting him to come in here and guard their best player on the other team.”

For many of us this will be our first opportunity to see JH and rest of the freshmen. That’s some treat if we get to see JH taking on Manny Harris in our first true national telecast (ESPNU doesn’t really count) of the season. At this point given what I have read on paper, it seems like a scary proposition for us. If any of you have a different thought on it and want to talk me down, would love to hear your takes in the comment threads.

Meanwhile, JH and his team-mates have been going through grueling film sessions following the (expected) not so polished performances in their first two games of the season:

Gordon said before the film session, he thought UCLA's five freshmen played well against the Redhawks. And after the film session?

"We've got a lot of work to do," Gordon said. "You can see it come together on some plays, but on other plays you'd just be like, `It's the beginning of the season.' "

Howland is a detail-oriented coach who sweats every little morsel, including reminding players to wear sweat shirts if the weather is chilly.

So, when it comes to watching tape after a mistake-filled performance, which comes in the second college game for UCLA's freshmen, the rewind button gets a workout.

"You have the rewind button. Horrible," Gordon said. "When he sees something he doesn't like, he will let you know about it. And you will see six, seven, eight times.

"I got it coach. Rewind. I got it. I got it, coach. Rewind. We'll just watch this one more time. Rewind. Actually, you know what? Rewind. All right coach. We're good. It's tough. You definitely know what you did wrong."

And I am sure this constant drilling down of details will be relentless on CBH’s part through rest of this season with his young warriors.

Hope our kids are paying attention and focused with a sense of urgency because if they aren’t ready, they will be playing for third place after Thursday night is over. Hey, it won’t be the end of the world because it’s the same experience we went though in 2005-06.  We took it in the chin against Memphis at MSG and then barely got out alive against Drexel courtesy of last second free throws from Jordan Farmar. We went through few more ups and downs during that regular season with a team featuring a mix of veterans and young players who gelled later in the season culminating in a memorable run. I expect us to go through same growing pains this season and will not be surprised at all if we run into a massive challenge this Thursday night.

Let’s just hope our guys are taking in all the lessons Howland is relentlessly teaching this early in the season.

GO BRUINS.

Let’s follow up on the recruiting fall out from Lute Olson’s tragic retirement from Arizona. We all wish Lute well. It didn’t take that long though for three Arizona high profile recruits – Abdul Gaddy Jr, Mike Moser, and Solomon Hill – to decommit from next year’s class. Right now UCLA is going to get involved with two of these kids: Gaddy and Moser. For Gaddy, per Dohn’s report today it might come down between Washington and UCLA:

The father of highly regarded high school point guard Abdul Gaddy Jr. said his son could decide between UCLA and Washington within a week, and added the family learned Arizona coach Lute Olson was retiring from a UCLA assistant the night before the story broke.

Gaddy, a 6-foot-3 senior at Bellarmine Prep of Tacoma (Wash.), twice committed to Arizona, and de-committed for a second time when Olson announced his retirement last week. A few weeks ago Gaddy pared his college choices to UCLA and Arizona, but Abdul Sr. said what transpired with Olson made the family re-evaluate Washington.

"How (Washington) got back involved was after the Arizona situation, I think (Abdul Jr.) thought, 'You know what, maybe this is a sign to stay close to home?' " Abdul Sr. said. "He works out with some of the players at Washington, including Isaiah Thomas, one of the freshman that came in this year. And the location being 40 minutes from our home plays into it."

Abdul Sr. said he believes his son wants to sign with a school during the early period, which begins Nov. 12. He added the decision to de-commit stems from the uncertainty enveloping Arizona's program.

Reading the tea leaves it seems like right now Washington is probably the favorite to get a commitment from Gaddy. On paper arguments for Ben Howland and UCLA basketball program are overwhelming.

We don’t need to lay out the specific stats. concerning our national championships, our appearances in the Final-4, and the recent amazing run under Ben Howland (dominating the conference for last three seasons). Those numbers speak of themselves.

Also, the evidence can’t get any clearer in terms of CBH’s ability to develop elite point guards at UCLA. I don’t see any need to rehash what Howland has done with JF, AA, RW and DC last few years in Westwood.

A Gaddy commitment to UCLA also makes sense in terms of UCLA’s current roster. Even though getting Gaddy will be icing on the cake for the great recruiting class Howland has put together this year (following last year’s number 1 recruiting class), he still would fit in well in terms of roster needs. If JH and ML have great seasons in next two years, one of them could explore the option of leaving early. Having Gaddy in the fold would enable Howland and his coaching staff to have a seamless transition in terms of roster movement.

So with that and the fact that UCLA just barely missed out with Gaddy last time around, it seems like a no brainer argument for Bruins. However, as we all know recruiting can be an interesting world. The allure of staying close to home can be very strong for recruits and their parents. In addition given the fact that they have now gotten jolted twice by a major program in this process, I can see how the Gaddies would want to think about staying close to home. That is why I think right now it will not be a surprise (to me at least) if Gaddy decides to stay close to home. Then again, we know how tenacious Howland and his staff can be (Howland is already up in Tacoma, WA to recruit Gaddy), so we are not going to count them out.

Meanwhile, as mentioned above there is another elite Arizona recruit who has opened up his recruiting process. 6-7 wing Mike Moser from Portland (Ore) is looking at other options, which might include UCLA. From what I hear Moser could wait till Spring to make his final decision. A key data point, I am sure Howland and his staff will point out in their pursuit of Moser will be the following news coming out of Milwaukee this week. LRMAM is in serious consideration for breaking into the starting line up for Milwaukee Bucks:

The Bucks open their home season on Saturday night against Toronto.

Skiles said he had made a decision on whether to start rookie Luc Richard Mbah a Moute in the opener, but he declined to reveal it. On Friday after the Bucks lost in overtime to the Bulls, Skiles said he was considering putting the second-round pick in the starting lineup.

If Mbah a Moute starts, it would likely be at the power forward spot, with Charlie Villanueva coming off the bench. But the 22-year-old from Cameroon also has played at small forward and shooting guard and displayed a remarkable versatility.

"In the exhibition season, he has shown he can defend at a very high level in the NBA, at multiple positions," Skiles said of the 6-foot-8 forward from UCLA. "He also rebounds it; he also takes good care of the ball. And he's a very smart player.

"He's going to be a guy that's going to help us. Now, the problem is, you can base decisions on exhibition season and sometimes be wrong, because it's not the regular season. That would surprise me if that's the case with Luc, because he has such a level head, and because he can defend.

"Defending doesn't change. I played him at the 2 in the game when Michael (Redd) was out, and he acquitted himself very well. So we'll see."

None of that should be a surprise to any here on BN.

I don’t know whether or now Howland and his staff will be successful in getting either Gaddy or Moser or both of them. What I do know is that whether or not if those kids come in, UCLA is already sitting pretty with this year’s class, and getting those kids will be gravy at this point. As for those kids, if they come in, they are guaranteed to get coaching from one of the best if not the best in America, giving them a serious shot in shining at the next level.

The evidence at this point is overwhelming … in favor of Ben Ball warriors.

Trust in Howland.

GO BRUINS.

UPDATE (N): Gaddy decides to commit to Washington. Not a surprise at this point. Good luck to Gaddy. We wish him well. GO BRUINS.

So are you guys getting ready?

While UCLA football for the first time in almost a decade keeping all of us interested on a week to week basis, the Ben Ball party is about to get started here in Westwood.

Bruins will have a media day on Wednesday as practice will officially get started this Friday.

So with that in mind wanted to share some snipets from what I consider to be the best pre season analysis available anywhere in the traditional media: Blue Ribbon College Yearbook preview, which is currently available free on ESPN.

There are not a lot of surprises here. The folks at Blue Ribbon concludes UCLA basketball program is in tip top shape thanks to who we believe is the best coach in this game:

Last season, Howland became the third coach in NCAA history to have won at least 30 games in three consecutive seasons, along with Adolph Rupp and John Calipari, who also joined the exclusive club on the strength of his NCAA runner-up team. Yes, John Wooden never did so.

As for life at UCLA, in what has become an annual summer occurrence, Howland signed another contract extension. This one guarantees him $1.97 million this season, not including incentives. And Howland makes no bones about this being his dream job; it would surprise few if he retired here, although many coaches have that urge at some point to test the NBA waters.

The program couldn't be in better shape, that despite the host of early departures the last three seasons. UCLA continues to draw the nation's top recruits -- this season's class ranked by the majority as the country's best.

As for our players, of course it all starts with DC, who Coach Howland believes (and we agree) is the best pg in the country:

"I have no doubt, no one does, that Darren would've been a first-round pick in the NBA draft," Howland said. "He gives us an All-American at the point. To me, he's the best point guard in the country.

"He's a next-level player coming back for another season. The leadership and veteran presence he brings is hard to explain. And he's stronger than ever; he's been lifting since the season ended, he might be 175 pounds for the opener.

"Darren's going to have the ball in his hands a lot, and he's always been our defensive point guard. This is a kid that could lead the conference in three-point and free-throw percent-age, assists and steals."

Providing DC with veteran leadership will be JS, who for the first time since his freshman year is coming into a season totally healthy:

Shipp was 100 percent healthy this spring and summer.

"This is the first summer Josh was able to work out and play basketball in three years; he could actually focus on his game rather than recovering from surgery," Howland said. "I'm counting on a big year from Josh, we haven't seen his best basketball."

It will be very interesting to see what kind of season we get from JS this season. I think if this kid is finally feeling totally healthy can show us that defensive aggression and nose for the ball that made him a fan favorite way back in his freshman season, he could leave Westwood with a memorable legacy. If Josh can bring defensive intensity evey game and play within Howland's offensive scheme, it is going to be fun to watch him.

Speaking of fun, it's Holiday time Westwood:

"First of all, with Jrue, he has a good body, he's going to be around 200 pounds this season and he's very athletic," Howland said. "And he has the potential to be outstanding defen-sively once he learns the schemes. For a high school kid, he's solid defensively; he doesn't gamble.

"He has a great left hand, not only dribbling wise but he can shoot with it, and not just layups, either, he can shoot from 8-10 feet with his left. For a right-handed player, he has as good of a left hand as I've ever seen at this level."

The 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year, Holiday would have played the point if Collison had departed for the NBA, but as it is, he'll probably see limited minutes at the one, which is no problem; he's a natural scorer but more than willing to pass when penetrating the lane.

We are getting so spoiled under Howland. After being treated to JF and AA, he transitioned us into DC and AA, which evolved into DC and RW. Now we get to have DC and JH with all the talented guards waiting in the wings. And yet there are some people out there who tried to claim with a straight face Howland can't develop guards. lol

Anyway, there are lot more good stuff in the Blue Ribbon preview. You can read rest of it here.

I did find it interesting that they have AA2 and JMM (BoBo) pegged as starters in the front court with AA2 at 4 and JMM at 5. My hunch is that we will have JK getting the starting nod at 4 with AA2 at 5.  Should be more than interesting how it all shapes up when practice gets started at the Cathedral of College Hoops this Friday in Westwood. Besides the (much deserved) glowing preview, I do have lot of questions around our team, which I will try to lay out in next few days. Still despite those questions, with Howland in charge we can look forward to another fun year at UCLA.

So after a long season ... once again time to get started dreaming about more shining moments in blue and gold:

We are ready for the Ben Ball party.  Are you?

Thank God for Ben Howland.

GO BRUINS.

I still miss this kid:

To show what it's like to scrap with Richard Hamilton every day, Arron Afflalo held out his arms.

"Look at this," he said. "I have the most scratches of all-time in Pistons history."

One of the highlights of the daily scrimmages is the physical and verbal jousting between the two shooting guards. On Wednesday, Afflalo knocked Hamilton hard to the floor and when Afflalo went to help him up, Hamilton angrily waved him away.

A few plays later, Hamilton aggressively forced Afflalo out of bounds, causing a turnover. What he said to Afflalo could not be printed in a family newspaper.

"I try to talk to him and I talk bad to him sometimes," Hamilton said. "But that motivates him. He never backs down. I love that from him. He ain't never going to back down and if he does, I am going to be disappointed in him. I tell him, 'In a  game if somebody hits you, you hit him back. We all got your back.'

Where again did AA honed that ferocious mentality?

Afflalo, in his second year out of UCLA, figures to play a more consistent role off the bench this season. His rugged and fearless defensive play might be his calling card and his ticket to more playing time, but he has worked hard to improve both his ball-handling and shooting skills.

That is from a profile in the Detroit News, which starts with these two words: “Bruisin’ Bruin.” Just a little example of why blue chip recruits like Anthony Stover are flocking to Westwood and high profile alums are constantly working in that magical four letter word in their hoops discussion.

I have written this before … I don’t think Bruin Nation has felt this jazzed about our basketball program since the days of Coach. Okay 66, Fox 71, we will never get back to the level of hanging 10 Banners and the streak of 88 wins .. but right now … this is a pretty damn good feeling.

It feels even more special, when recalling the struggle and growing pains we all went through during Howland’s first two and half seasons in Westwood. Just something to keep in mind, when you take in all the football actions tonight and rest of this first season of CRN.

I hope all the talented football players in our football program such as Harwell, Bell, Carter, ATV, Ayers, Coleman, Moore, Baca, Dye, Dean and incoming recruits such as Brehaut and Todd Golper read up a little on AA, JF, RH, CB, DT (non bandwagoners should have no problem figuring out the last three initials). If those kids can capture the same spirit of the legacy AA and his team-mates left behind in Westwood after helping Howland rebuild this program in his first three seasons, we are going to be all right.

Even though AA et al. didn’t bring home a banner, I will always remember those kids with the same reverence I have for Ed O and Tyus Edney. They are the ones who formed the foundation of the Ben Ball in Westwood. Hopefully the kids who are now playing under CRN and his new staff will work to build this program with the same sense of passion, dedication, and fiery competitive spirit that facilitated Howland’s masterful rebuilding efforts at UCLA.

Anyway, sorry for getting a little sidetrack from the AA story. But reading about AA, BDiddy’s quote, and the news of our latest high profile commit just drove home the point for me how good it feels when everything starts clicking for our program, after going through the growing pains under a competent head coach. When everything starts clicking in the world of Bruin football in next few tears, it will feel better than more than I can write in any blogpost.

GO BRUINS.

We have some significant news from the football team. There has been some shuffling around in our depth chart and it has to do with our OL. Nate Chandler, a red shirt freshman TE is moving over to the OL (per Chow’s request). Dohn has the details:

Chandler met with offensive coordinator Norm Chow last week and agreed to move to tackle as UCLA tries to solve its depth issues and find a replacement for Sheller.

"It's going to help the team eventually, so I'm down with it," Chandler said. "I have no problems with it. At first, it was kind of tough, but I talked to Norm and he said, `I can make you into a great tackle.' I believe in him, and I think I can do it myself."

The 6-foot-6, 273-pound Chandler said he wants to gain 10 to 15 pounds. He was considered a strong tight end prospect, but the Bruins have depth at that position.

However, Sheller was injured in an offseason off-roading accident and is out for the season after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery.

It creates a hole at right tackle, and Chandler said he was told he could compete for playing time immediately. Incoming junior college transfer Donovan Edwards, providing he meets UCLA's academic requirements, will also compete for the spot.

"I'm definitely going to have a chance to compete for the spot, so I'm going in with the mindset that I can play," Chandler said. "I think that's possible."

Great comments from Chandler. This move could work out well for all parties involved. Given his previous experience as a TE, Chandler could emerge as an athletic TE. If he excels at his new spot, it will make him that much more marketable in case he is pursuing a football career beyond college (which I imagine is the dream of Chandler and all other blue chip recruits at UCLA).

Dohn also has some encouraging news re. Raymond Carter:

Carter looks fine in workouts and is expected to be ready for training camp next month.

If Carter works his way to his old self (and get back that speed) it will be a huge boost to our RB corps. I will start posting my notes going through our dept chart tomorrow.

Moving over to hoops, now that is he back from Korea, Jordan is looking to take another trip. This one though seems to have a deeper purpose than just promoting the NBA:

The Lakers' guard, who is Jewish, will travel to Israel to run basketball camps for Israeli and Palestinian children in association with the Peres Peace Center. The goal of the camps, which take place Aug. 4 to 11, is to bring Israeli and Palestinian children together through basketball and create a foundation for peaceful relations between them in years to come.

"If you can have a good time with someone you're supposed to be enemies with, and you guys can work together, things can be better for your future," Farmar said.

Farmar, who averaged 9.1 points and 2.7 assists in his second season with the Lakers, also participated in the NBA's fifth-annual "Play for Peace" clinic in 2006, a little more than a month after he was drafted out of UCLA.

"Sports can be a ground where everyone has fun and when you're out there having a good time; you don't really think about everything else that's going on," Farmar said.

Farmar was also in the news recently doing a fundraiser for Senator Obama. So just like Kareem, Baron, Arthur Ashe, Jordan is emerging as yet another Bruin superstar, who is making a name for himself beyond the basketball court.

Don’t worry our Republican friends. Not to be outdone (angling for the hearts and minds of Bruin Nation), Senator McCain recently lampooned a certain “school” (which happens to be his wife’s alma mater) by calling it out as “the University of Spoiled Children.” Good for Senator McCain. 

GO BRUINS.

Jordan must have been reading our minds re. getting excited about former Bruins playing for the Lakers.

Talk about timing, here is your chance to score two lower level center court tickets to game 4 Lakers/Celtics.

All you have to do is the win the raffle contest courtesy of our own Jordan Farmar. And if you enter this contest, not only you get a chance to go to the Laker game, you get to support the Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA. From Celebrities For Charity :

Help the Jordan Farmar Foundation at The Giving Back Fund with its efforts to support the UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, the Special Olympics, and the Metropolitan YMCA and, in return, you could be enjoying premier seats at an NBA Championship Game and the Ultimate Lakers' Fan Experience. Tickets start at just $2.00 each and decrease for orders of more than 5 tickets. The Jordan Farmar Foundation is utilizing the CFC Foundation and its patent pending concepts and technologies to conduct this raffle and tickets are only available online at this web site. Enter online today and rest assured that CFC never stores your credit card information and utilizes secure routers and IBM Servers, professionally managed, to ensure that your information is secure and that your order is accurately processed with the utmost efficiency.

In addition to this, you should also rest assured that CFC values your generosity and that its patent pending concepts and technologies are designed to deliver the utmost efficiency and unprecedented results. Direct Expenses amount to approximately 7.5% of Adjusted Gross Revenue and decrease to approximately 3.5% of Adjusted Gross Revenue as more tickets, per order, are purchased. These expenses yield a return to charity of approximately 92.5% of Adjusted Gross Revenue, which increases to approximately 96% of Adjusted Gross Revenue as more tickets, per order, are purchased. These proceeds will benefit the Jordan Farmar Foundation, The Giving Back Fund, and the many other charities supported by the Celebrities For Charity Foundation.

You can order your tickets here. The deadline to enter the raffle is June 10m 2008.

And here is another reminder on what the former Ben Ball warrior has been up to downtown:

Soon it will be RW, DC and other future Ben Ball warriors showing off the same skills at an NBA arena near you. After all it’s UCLA where amazing begins.

GO BRUINS.

We will start our Humpday walk with some cool news from the basketball program. Russell Westbrook once again shows his team-first mentality on his way out of UCLA (emphasis added):

UCLA guard Russell Westbrook is no longer attending classes, but sources said he made arrangements with several of his professors to receive incomplete grades until his NBA status is decided.

While Westbrook is expected to remain in the draft, barring an injury during workouts, and be a lottery pick, his current plan is to return to UCLA in the summer and finish those classes. That will help UCLA, which would not take as big a hit in the APR if Westbrook leaves UCLA in good academic standing. 

That’s a pretty dramatic contrast from the report concerning you know who. It’s moves like this that will allow someone like RW to cement his legacy at UCLA.

While RW will most likely not be around with us next year, LRMAM’s situation remains in flux. From Dohn:

One thing I'm hearing about UCLA power forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is that he wants to remain in the NBA draft, and is willing to do so with a second-round guarantee.
However, from talking to several people, that does not simply mean being taken in the second round, but rather a team telling him they would draft him in the second round and give him a guaranteed deal, like what happened with former UCLA player Trevor Ariza and the New York Knicks.
I'm also hearing Mbah a Moute's decision on whether to return to UCLA may not be made until the day of the June 16 deadline to remove one's name from the NBA draft.
As for his showing in Orlando, the consensus from several folks there was the same as when he went there -- his athleticism and defense is good, but his shooting remains a huge question.

I am not going to prolong the debate on LRMAM we have had since last week. At this point I hope whatever LRMAM decides to do hope it all works out for him. In my book with the recruits we have coming in, we are going to be in good shape no matter what. Not losing sleep over the June 16^th deadline.

Moving on – in case you missed it – fresh off winning Bru-103, Kevin Chappell won the Jack Nicklaus college player of the year award:  

UCLA's Kevin Chappell enjoyed an award-winning day on Monday, highlighted by the announcement that he was named the Jack Nicklaus award winner as the College Player of the Year.

A day after winning the NCAA championship, he traveled to Columbus, OH, to receive the Nicklaus Award, annually given to the best player in collegiate golf. He became the first UCLA golfer since Duffy Waldorf in 1985 to win player of the year honors.

Hopefully one day we will see Chappell winning the US Open and then giving a HT to the UCLA basketball team for winning the National Championship, just like Corey Pavin did out in Shinnecock Hills back in 1995. That was the probably the only I have ever rooted for a golfer in a big stage.

Speaking of Bruin legends, Kareem has moved his blog from the LAT to a new place. Thursday night’s game is brining back a lot of memories for the Big Fella, who recalled the 85 Finals as the highlight of his legendary career:

I guess you could say that Game 1 was a wake up call for us, me in particular, when we lost big to Boston (148-114). For me it just pointed out that I had taken the wrong approach to dealing with the whole length of the playoffs and I needed to be in better condition. We had a three day gap and I was able to use the time and get sharp again in terms of being in shape and ready to run the court. For the rest of the series I did very well. When you go out there and everything is on the line and you’re not prepared, that is embarrassing to you as a professional. I felt like I had let my team down. They rely on me to do my job on a certain level and then here I am when everything is on the line and let them down. So I just made them a promise that if we didn’t play well, it wasn’t going to be because I wasn’t ready to play. Luckily I was able to turn it around.

Having played the series in Milwaukee and then the series the year before that we had given away, it was very important that we played well and live up to our potential. I was very thrilled to be a catalyst in that. But it wasn’t just some kind of one man show. James Worthy and Earvin were extraordinary that series. We had a great team effort, guys coming off the bench, everything. Everybody really wanted it and worked hard to make us successful.

I think that was the highlight of my career just because of the significance of finally beating the Celtics for me personally and for the Laker franchise. That I was the key element in that winning the MVP, it really was a special time for me.

For all the young BNers who weren’t around in 85, here is how the story ended:

Here is to a same ending for Trevor and Jordan .

GO BRUINS.

So we begin today’s walk on a down beat note. The season came to an end for the baseball team last night. And again it was the Fullerton Titans who sent the Bruins back home. From the Daily Bruin:

With his team trailing by a run with two outs in the ninth, junior third baseman Jermaine Curtis stepped up to the plate.

Junior center fielder Tim Murphy, who led off the inning with a single, stood at third representing the tying run.

Curtis slapped a sharp line drive to center field, but the ball sailed right into center fielder Josh Fellhauer’s glove. The catch ended the game and the Bruins’ season – a season that began with great expectations.

Though this season differed from the last in many ways, each had the same result. Like a year ago at Goodwin Field, the No. 2 UCLA baseball was eliminated by No. 1 Cal State Fullerton, this time falling a win short of reaching its second consecutive NCAA Super Regional appearance.

After UCLA won the first matchup between the two teams on Friday night, it was unable to put Fullerton away in the final two games of the regional. The Bruins never seemed to capitalize on opportunities in their 5-4 defeat on Monday night in front of 3,012 fans.

In the most important game of the year, coach John Savage sent freshman left-hander Rob Rasmussen to the mound in hopes of obtaining the final win. Rasmussen, making his second career start, gave up three runs on six hits in three innings pitched.

Here is the recap from the official site which ended with the following notes:

The UCLA baseball team ended its season having become the first team in program history to advance to the postseason for three consecutive seasons...UCLA finished its 2008 campaign with a 33-27 overall record, totaling 33 wins or more for the third straight season - the last time the Bruins accomplished that feat was from 1985-1987...four Bruins earned All-Fullerton Regional honors - Brandon Crawford, Jermaine Curtis, Alden Carrithers and Casey Haerther...Haerther moved into a three-way tie for third place on UCLA's single-season doubles list, delivering his team-leading 23rd double of the season in the top of the fourth inning (Bill Scott, 2000; Tim DeCinces, 1995; Eric Karros, 1987).

No doubt the program has gone to a different level under the leadership of John Savage. However, according to rye whose opinion hold a lot of weight around these parts when it comes to UCLA baseball, it was a disappointing season.  From my perspective I started following the team closely after the end of the basketball season this spring. I was heartened by the fact they were able to make a late season push even though they had a pretty difficult schedule. But it is still a disappointing end of the season. Hopefully they will be able to put together a more complete season next year and get the proverbial monkey off their back if they take on the Titans again in the post season.

But no worries. Hunt for Bru-104 is not over. As was pointed here yesterday the track team still has a shot. And you can read all the details here.

Moving on to football, Dohn posted a lot of tibbits on recruiting yesterday on his blog. He started out by posting a (partial) list of the OL offers UCLA has made this season. If you read through the list, you will notice lot of them are not from Southern California. The reason we hear is that this year is not a prime year for OL talent in So Cal prep scene. Moreover, CRN is also working hard to take advantage of UCLA’s brand at a national level. More from Dohn:

I spoke to UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel recently about recruiting, and how it appeared the Bruins were taking on a more national approach rather than focusing so much energy in Southern California.
He said part of the reason this year it seems like that is because it is not a great year for talent in SoCal, especially along the line of scrimmage, where UCLA needs lots of help.
"If we could do it without leaving Southern California, that would be great,'' Neuheisel said. "However, I think UCLA is also a national name, and I think it is important we recruit some places outside of this area. We're working hard to drum up some guys abroad. That's what going on. This is an anomaly because usually you can get all the players you need in state."
Neuheisel also said his days as a player and assistant coach at UCLA suggest the Bruins can recruit on a national scope.
"We were able to carry the day often in recruiting,'' Neuheisel said. "I just believe we can do it. We have to go out and see what exactly can be done. But the key is not so much you go and get returns on it, but to make sure the guys you get can play."

Makes sense to me. One of the guys who can play is JUCO transfer Donovan Edwards. DE has just set an official visit date for Westwood. he is being pursued by number of other Pac-10 schools including California and Southern California. He is currently “leaning towards” UCLA. If he decides to commit he will be able to come in right away and join the team this Fall.

And we will end the walk with this profile from USA Today on a certain Ben Ball warrior growing into a Laker star (emphasis added):

Jordan Farmar is frisky and fresh, a young NBA point guard who appears to be accelerating toward the Avenue of the Stars in the world of pro basketball.

The energetic Los Angeles Laker, a critical piece of the team's bench rotation, believes he already could be a luminary in the league. The SoCal kid is that good — and, yes, he knows it. Farmar, 21, also is intelligent enough to realize that being a household name and being a champion might not be complementary goals at this juncture.

"I didn't think in my wildest dreams I'd be drafted by the Lakers. I feel extremely blessed," he said Monday after practice. "At times I say, 'Man, this is pretty incredible. I'm actually a part of this.' I'm trying to make the most of it. It's been a great ride. Nothing better than to top it off with a championship."

The former high school star and second-year guard from UCLA — imagine growing up in L.A. and playing for the Bruins and the Lakers — is an important reason why the Lakers have advanced to the Finals against the Boston Celtics, beginning with Game 1 on Thursday.

As I was saying last night when a kid grows up in or with Southern California roots and falls in love with the game of basketball, it is natural for him or her to fall in love with both the Bruins and the Lakers. They all go together. We will celebrate all of that in the coming days here on BN.

GO BRUINS.