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Community News: Introducing the Newest Additions to the Bruins Nation Front Page

2013-06-19T18:30:07Z

Obviously, this is fantastic news for the Bruins Nation community. After a long recruiting battle, perhaps an impermissible NCAA benefit or two, and some problems with our LOI fax machine, all of us at Bruins Nation are very pleased to announce that we've landed two blue-chip, outstanding additions to our front page team. So, please give a warm welcome to uclaluv and IE Angel as they join us on the front page.

As many of you know, both are extremely active BN members, both having been with Bruins Nation since 2010. Actually, calling them extremely active might be a wee bit of an understatement, with this pair putting up 95 posts and an eye-popping 13,174 comments combined. So, I think you can all feel safe knowing these two old hands are already well-known to many of you.

And those of you in Southern California should rejoice. After a run of bringing in recruit after recruit from the northern half of the Golden State (bruinclassof10, freesia39, AHMB), you'll finally have some fellow southern voices on the front page, as both uclaluv and IE Angel hail from the Southland. Hopefully, they'll inspire some of you Southern Californians to become more active on BN in the coming months and years, as these two have done for the past 3+ years, especially given the stranglehold Northern California has had on the front page of late.

In terms of logistics, you'll soon see our newest additions listed on the Bruins Nation masthead, along with the other front pagers (including some of the old timers who have been on an extended sabbatical), and pretty soon you'll start seeing some excellent front page contributions from our two newest additions; in fact, IE Angel will begin a very cool series of posts on the past football season during the summer, beginning this Sunday, so stay tuned for that.

Let's all give these excellent long-time community members and excellent contributors a nice warm welcome to their new roles as Bruins Nation front page contributors/editors: we're excited to have them on the team!

GO BRUINS

The UCLA Point Guard Mystery Continues, Present and Future Editions

2013-06-19T12:00:06Z

Alford's number one job may be the one. One as in point guard. Tydides has been rightly pointing out it has been since DC that UCLA has had a real good point guard. And it has been since Jerime Anderson we even recruited someone to play point guard. In fairness, I think Larry Drew II worked out well for UCLA last year and was the pleasant surprise of the season but he was a transfer.

So where do we stand on point guards? Let me set the table of options and then give you coach Alford's answers. It is really early yet and it seemed no one knew when I started to write this on Sunday, literally.

"We've never talked about it," Anderson said in terms of who will be UCLA's starting point guard next season. "I've always looked at myself as a basketball player, so I'm just focusing on improving all aspects of my game. We'll talk about who plays what position when the season starts in September."

I understand waiting to see what certain players look like but I think Coach Alford should probably tell Kyle he is going to be playing some point, right? He was number 6 last year in the PAC 12 in assists.

Howland had always envisioned Anderson being used in a "point forward" type role with defensive ace Norman Powell defending the opponent's floor general, but Alford could have a different plan. The Bruins bring in a Top 50 recruit in 6-3 freshman Zach LaVine, and fellow freshman Bryce Alford (Steve's son) could also run the offense in a pinch.

I am not sure about that. If could be that never happen under Howland because Larry Drew II was so good. It could also be that Norman Powell was not a defensive ace against point guards. It could also be while Kyle is a great passer he is not a point guard even on offense.

But a wild care in the point guard discussion is Bryce Alford. Reading between the lines Bryce sure thinks he is a point guard.

"I was rated the 44th best shooting guard, and I don't even consider myself a shooting guard, so they don't even have that down right. No one knows about me."

Bryce did average 6.3 assists per game which is impressive for someone who also averaged 37.5 points . Bryce has a chip on his shoulder and desire. Good starts to be sure but is he athletic enough? While he is opposite of Kyle in that he can shoot well outside, he has the same questions of whether he can guard another team's point.

Which brings us to Zach LaVine. Here is a tidbit from Chris Foster:

There are three in-coming freshmen, including guard Zach LaVine, who is being counted on to contribute immediately. . . .

"Replacing point guard Larry Drew II is the biggest need. It remains to be seen if sophomore-to-be Kyle Anderson can handle the job on the college level. His size (6-8) is a match-up problem, but he needs to be quicker.

This sums it up to me. Everyone has it wrong. Anderson is not going to get quicker. What Anderson needs to do is learn how to score. Right now he can't take advantage of bigs or smalls covering him from the point to score. But most of all, Anderson needs a coach that will fully utilize his talent.

But this is Wednesday and we now have an answer. It is going to be Kyle and Bryce. In a story appropriately entitled "There Will Be No Honeymoon for Alford", Coach Alford answered.

"He's very versatile at 6-8 with a 7-foot wingspan [and] is really long and extremely talented," Alford said. "We can play him at multiple positions."

Alford's son Bryce, who was invited to the FIBA USA U-19 team tryouts last weekend, will be the other point guard. The younger Alford was a big-time scorer at La Cueva High in Albuquerque and received the necessary waiver to transfer immediately after his father moved from UNM to UCLA

."[Point guard] is a position [where] we'll be tested by youth," Alford said. "Kyle can play all over the floor, and we may have a four-guard lineup with him at the point and Bryce would be the other point guard."

Incoming ESPN 100 recruit Zach LaVine is also listed as a point guard, and while Alford thinks highly of his talent, the Washington native won't be put in a lot of pressure situations early.

It know seems apparent that Alford is really rolling the dice on his son. He likely turned down Freeman who wanted to be a point guard for his son. This could work in that his son can shoot from the outside but this seems to me the two least athletic players are going to be playing point, maybe at the same time. (ZONE?!) What will Kyle think of a four guard lineup where he is really playing the four or power forward? Kyle stayed in part because he wants to be a wing or point, not a four.

I am guessing this is a point guard by committee situation now.

Alford does seem to understand that whatever he does next year, he has to have a true point two seasons from now.

While Tydides detailed the need for Jordan McLaughlin and I must admit I prefer McLaughlin, another UCLA target Josh Perkins, may be a better point guard.

The debate over the country's best point guard in the class of 2014 has been engaging, but limited in its options.

. . .It might not be long before a third candidate emerges: Huntington (W.Va.) Prep's Josh Perkins.

And, more recently, longtime recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer called Perkins one of the best passers he's scouted in the past 10 years.

. . . "As far as degree of difficulty and seeing the play before it happens, yeah, I would say he's the best I've seen," Meyer told the Herald-Leader. "Now, as far as the more realistic passes you've gotta make, there are some other guys who are right there with him. But his creativity, his vision - it's unparalleled from what I've scouted."

A number of things about Perkins v McLaughlin.

Perkins is 6'3". Perkins is bigger than McLaughlin (6'0") but not as quick.
Perkins is a true pass first player. Perkins is a better passer but not as good a scorer .
Perkins is from Colorado although he is playing his senior season at Huntington, West Virginia. Perkins is trying to make himself more nationally known.

They would both be good gets although I lean toward McLaughlin. There is no way they both come and UCLA will take whoever commits first. I guess there are two ways to look at it. Alford is playing them off each other to nail down a point guard. The other side is Alford is risking the key California recruit for a kid who wants to be nationally recruited.

The bottom line is this season Steve Alford needs to show he is a good bench coach of a talented team with some unique issues to run a point guard by committee. At the same time he needs to show he can recruit the elite players starting out with a good point guard.

Unlike past coaches, Alford has been given a team with talent and a key recruit that leans UCLA (McLauglin). He needs to deliver.

Go Bruins.

UCLA Relies On Familiar Formula To Top NC State, 2-1, At College World Series

2013-06-19T06:14:48Z

A 2-1 win was good enough to get UCLA a win in their College World Series opener so they did it again in their second game, upending NC State on Tuesday night in Omaha using the same blueprint they have used all season. They got a great start, this time courtesy of Nick Vander Tuig, backed by some excellent defense and just enough offense before handing the ball to David Berg to wrap things up. It was a prototypical Bruin win, and one that has them one more away from their second trip to the Championship Series in four years.

Vander Tuig limited the Wolfpack to just one run on four hits in seven-plus innings, striking out six without walking any to earn his third win of the postseason. Berg then struck out three to pick up a six-out save and match the single-season NCAA mark with 23 on the season.

Neither team threatened until the third as Vander Tuig and Logan Jernigan traded easy innings, Vander Tuig didn't allow a man to reach in either of the first two innings, while a two-out single was all the Bruins managed off of Jernigan as the expected pitcher's dual lived up to its billing in the early going.

UCLA finally made Jernigan sweat with a two-out double in the third and a walk followed, but both runners were stranded. That wouldn't be the case in the bottom half of the frame, when NC State broke the deadlock.

A leadoff hit by pitch got Vander Tuig in trouble and the Wolfpack made him pay for his miscue. A single and sacrifice bunt moved the runner 90 feet away from the opening run for Trea Turner, who singled to give NC State the 1-0 lead.

Jernigan kept the Bruins down the following inning too, retiring them in order as the Wolfpack grabbed hold of momentum. UCLA's anemic offense looked just that and that slim one-run NC State looked like a good bet to stand up, but the Bruins always managed to find a run or two out of nowhere, which is exactly what they did in the fifth.

A one-out walk got the UCLA rally going and a single by Brenton Allen brought a roar out of the blue clad Bruins in the crowd. After a walk by Brian Carroll to load the bases, the Wolfpack gave Jernigan the hook and in came their ace reliever, Grant Sasser. But Kevin Kramer had no problem with Sasser, dumping the ball into short centerfield for a RBI single to tie the game at a run apiece. UCLA has made the most of walks all season, which they did for their first run, and as is their wont, they also took advantage of a defensive error when Brett Austin let an innocent-looking breaking ball get to the backstop so Allen could scamper home for a 2-1 UCLA lead.

After giving up a run in the third, Vander Tuig found a groove and retired 14 of the next 15 batters he faced. He only had one three-ball count in that stretch, a level of efficiency highlighted by a four-pitch sixth inning.

But NC State did finally get to him in the eighth, or at least as close as they would get when Bryan Adametz singled to lead off the inning. That marked the end of Vander Tuig's night and Berg made his way to the mound. A hit by pitch wasn't the start he was looking for, nor was the long drive he gave up to Turner, but Christoph Bono chased it down at the warning track to kill the dreams in the NC State dugout.

An easy ninth, including a pair of strikeouts to end things moved Berg into the NCA record books, but more importantly, it moved UCLA to within one win of a place in the College World Series Championship Series. Again.

UCLA vs. NC State College World Series GameThread

2013-06-19T00:35:00Z

UCLA got the job done against in their College World Series opener, beating LSU 2-1 in the 2010 LA Regional rematch in a real 2013 Bruin-style game.

The Bruins continue their Omaha campaign underway tonight when they take on North Carolina State. the winner of tonight's game will get tomorrow off, awaiting the survivor of the loser's bracket, while the loser tonight will play the Tar Heels in an elimination game tomorrow.

Nick Vander Tuig gets the nod for UCLA and brings with him a 12-4 record and 2.37 ERA this year. The Wolfpack send sophomore righthander Logan Jernigan to the mound (1-0, 1.19 era in 30 innings/8 starts this season). Ryan's preview has all the other news and notes for tonight's game.

The game is live on ESPN2 right now, so tune in and see if the Bruins can continue their Omaha stay on the right track. For folks away from the TV or an ESPN360 stream, the UCLA audio feed is here. This is your open thread so have at it and go Bruins.

UCLA Basketball schedule for 2013-14 is released

2013-06-18T23:11:17Z

The 2013-14 UCLA Basketball schedule came out today.

Home games are in bold

Date Opponent

Fri Nov 8 Drexel

Tue Nov 12 Oakland

Mon Nov 18 Sacramento State

Nov 22-24 Las Vegas Invitational Regional

Nov 28, 29 Las Vegas Invitational vs Northwestern and Nevada @Orleans Arena, Las Vegas

Tue Dec 3 UC Santa Barbara

Sat Dec 7 @ Missouri

Sat Dec 14 Prairie View A&M

Thu Dec 10 Duke @ Madison Square Garden

Sun Dec 22 Weber State

Sat Dec 28 Alabama

Sat Jan 4 *$c

Thu Jan 9 Arizona

Sat Jan 11 Arizona State

Thu Jan 16 @ Colorado

Sat Jan 18 @ Utah

Thu Jan 23 Stanford

Sat Jan 25 Cal

Thu Jan 30 @ Oregon State

Sat Feb 1 @ Oregon

Sat Feb 8 @ *$c

Thu Feb 13 Utah

Sat Feb 15 Colorado

Thu Feb 20 @ Cal

Sat Feb 22 @ Stanford

Wed Feb 26 Oregon

Sat Mar 1 Oregon State

Thu Mar 6 @ Washington State

Sat Mar 8 @ Washington

Mar 12-15 Pac-12 Tournament @ MGM Grand Las Vegas

Mar 18-23 NCAA First, second, third rounds

Mar 27-30 NCAA Sweet Sixteen, Elite 8

Apr 5-7 NCAA Final Four, Championship @ Cowboys Stadium, Dallas Texas

It is possible some of the Saturday games could be moved to Sunday to accommodate television, but the order of opponents and the relative dates should be pretty firm.

We'll obviously get into more details with the schedule later on, since right now we are a baseball school (Go Bruins!), but here is a brief overview of the season and some interesting stories that will play out.

One of the many failures of Ben Howland was his inability to have the Bruins playing well at the start of a season, which of course resulted in several (too many) embarrassing losses. I never understood why it was possible for the Irvines and San Luis Obispos and Montana States of the world to be ready to go in November while many excused Howland by saying these were "early" games. Early or not, I expect Alford to have U.C.L.A. ready to handle Drexel, Oakland, and Sac State right off the bat in 2013.

After those first three home games, the Las Vegas Invitational should be the Bruins' first big test of the season. U.C.L.A. and Missouri will each host a 4 team field. Complete matchups have not been set yet, but the Bruins will play two games at Pauley the weekend before Thanksgiving, then two games in Las Vegas against Northwestern and Nevada over Thanksgiving weekend. The others receiving invitations are IUPUI, Tenn-Chattanooga, Morehead State, and Gardner-Webb.

Following that, the Bruins will return home to face Ben Howland's first coaching job, the UCSB Gauchos. I wonder who Ben will be pulling for in that one?

The Bruins then travel to Columbia to face Missouri. While the Tigers are also appearing in the LV Invitational, U.C.L.A. and Missouri are not scheduled to meet. Oh my. Missouri would probably love a couple of shots at the Bruins after letting a late lead slip away in 2012 at Pauley, but this game in MO will be their one opportunity.

ESPN will not be able to contain their giddiness at the December matchup of Duke and U.C.L.A. in storied Madison Square Garden in mid December. I'm not sure how our school finals schedule will look, but this isn't the ideal time or place for the Bruins to meet Coach K's perennially excellent team. Look for tWWL to soil itself making ridiculous comparisons between Duke's basketball legacy and U.C.L.A.'s (there is no comparison) and between Coach K and Coach Alford (there is no comparison there either).

Following that, the Bruins will return home to face Ben Howland's alma mater and second coaching job, Weber State. I wonder who Ben will be pulling for in that one?

The Bruins begin Pac-12 play with a freebie against Southern Cal and then will stay at home for their only meeting with the Arizona schools. As much of a joke as the concept of "The Standard" is, it is a bigger joke that conference powers U.C.L.A. and Arizona aren't meeting twice every season. But the conference is richer, so, priorities, right? Washington and WSU are the two conference schools that will not travel to Los Angeles this year. The Bruins will travel to Boulder on Jan 16 so anyone who wants to come to CO for that can bring their skis and we'll make some runs the day after the game. U.C.L.A. will have one Wednesday game, at Oregon, with the rest of the conference schedule maintaining the usual Thursday - Saturday format for the time being.

U.C.L.A. Basketball has hit some all time lows in the last few years, and the recent off season only has made things worse, so personally, I'm pretty meh about the schedule being announced. That stands in stark contrast that to the excitement and anticipation I felt when the 2013 football schedule was announced. These are strange times in Westwood. I'm hope that I'll be more interested as the season draws nearer, but there has been such chaos and embarrassment around our most heralded sport that it's hard to get excited, which tells you all you need to know about the people running our baketball program. I hope there are brighter days ahead for Coach's program.

Hit us up with your thoughts.

Resurgent UCLA and NC State Square Off At College World Series While Rivals Watch

2013-06-18T18:20:58Z

In the first 60 years of the College World Series, UCLA made it to college baseball's mecca just twice. And won zero games.

Since, UCLA has been to Omaha three times in the last four years, and have registered wins in each trip. That includes a win over title favorites LSU on Sunday, which sent them to the winner's brackets where they will face a team that knows their pain of being nationally irrelevant.

NC State is in the College World Series for just the second time in their school's history and first time in 45 years. Like the Bruins, who were long overshadowed in a baseball rich region by USC and Cal St. Fullerton, the Wolfpack played second fiddle to North Carolina, South Carolina and Clemson for decades and watched from their couches as their rivals played for national titles.

But UCLA upended Cal St. Fullerton in the Super Regionals to return to Omaha and while it took until Sunday for NC State to finally get the better of North Carolina, here they stand -- best in their region, on the national stage and playing for a championship of their own.

The Bruins and Wolfpack also have another thing in common: they are flawed.

While UCLA continues to struggle for runs, NC State's rotation beyond ace Carlos Rodon can be an adventure and with Rodon spent in the Wolfpack's win over UNC, the two teams' weaknesses will go head-to-head on Tuesday night as the Bruins try to scratch out runs against Logan Jernigan.

NC State head coach Elliot Avent didn't name his starter for the game until this morning, when he opted for the sophomore right-hander Jernigan instead of the left-hander Brad Stone, who is a better match-up against the left-handed heavy UCLA lineup, but is just a freshman. That Avent had the option of Jernigan or Avent, or even Ethan Ogburn speaks to the Wolfpack's strength and weakness on the mound -- they have options and quality ones at that, but all have battled inconsistency or injury this season and has made it a toss up for Avent all season.

Jernigan went 1-0 with a 1.19 ERA this season, but appeared in just 10 games, eight starts, and has thrown just 30.1 innings this season. He's come on strong of late, including last weekend when he allowed just one run on two hits in five innings to send the Wolfpack to Omaha, but even then he got the hook after just 75 pitches. The NC State bullpen will be on call tonight, but that's just fine with them because Chris Overman and Grant Sasser give them a great one-two punch at the back end of a deep relief corps.

Whether it is Jurnigan or one of their many relievers, the UCLA offense will be tested, but so will the Wolfpack defense, and that bodes well for the Bruins. UCLA feasts on opposition errors, which was on display when LSU's two errors earned them a College World Series opening win, and the Wolfpack are hardly an elite team with the gloves. They have an outstanding outfield, but they're average at best around the infield and opposing base stealers are successful at a 80% clip. A team like UCLA that likes to be aggressive and test defenses loves to see teams like NC State in the other dugout.

UCLA knows that they will get a good start from Nick Vander Tuig. The junior had a rough outing in Omaha last year, allowing four runs in 6.1 innings, but he is 12-4 with a 2.37 ERA this season and has shown all season his growth. Whereas he struggled to get by when he didn't have his best stuff as a sophomore, something that doomed him at the College World Series, he's done an exceptional job pitching around trouble this season and spacious TD Ameritrade Park should play to his strengths now that he has stopped trying to miss bats as often as he did a year ago.

With Vander Tuig on the mound and the defense and bullpen behind him, the question is simple -- can the much maligned UCLA offense do enough to nick the inconsistent NC State rotation and shaky defense?

The 2009 season looked a lot like the decades before it, with UCLA and NC State watching the College World Series from their couches while Cal St. Fullerton and North Carolina went championship hunting. Now, each is in the winner's bracket, and with a victory tonight, either the Bruins or Wolfpack are going to be just one win away from the Championship Series.

How is that for a welcome back to Omaha for two of America's longest suffering programs?

Headlines in the Bruin Twitterverse: Graduation, Moving out, and Baseball Moving On

2013-06-18T15:21:12Z

Congratulations to all the new UCLA Graduates!

The Wear Twins:

Congratulations to Travis & David Wear on getting their UCLA degrees today! pic.twitter.com/EGXSd05RhM
— Steve Alford (@UCLACoachAlford) June 14, 2013

Men's Volleyball:

Celebrating our MVB athletes at the UCLA Student-Athlete graduation tonight. Congrats, Kene, Scott, Connor & Evan! pic.twitter.com/cFeRpz8yKb
— UCLA M. Volleyball (@UCLAMensVB) June 14, 2013

Football:

U...C...L...A. Congrats to these great young men, take this opportunity and be great. #BruinRevolution pic.twitter.com/XPlrGqw9rU
— Jim Mora (@UCLACoachMora) June 14, 2013

Women's Basketball:

Our 4 seniors r 1st generation college graduates & they r finishing on time.That gets far less falderal than winning 26 games. sad! #uclawbb
— Cori Close (@CoachCloseUCLA) June 14, 2013

Our seniors graduating!! So happy for them and wishing them well in the next phase of life! #uclawbb pic.twitter.com/WqqsuzWUYV
— Jenny (Roulier) Huth (@JHuth_UCLA) June 14, 2013

Nice touch with the unis under the robes.

Gymnastics:

WE DID IT!! (Finally). College graduates baby!!! #athletegraduation #teammates #foreverBruins… http://t.co/hu3C9eujUY
— alyssa pritchett (@alyssapritchett) June 14, 2013

Brendan Ayandabejo delivered the speech at the UCLA Athletics Graduation:

Graduation speeches are not easy!!! Wow #bruin pride #UCLA pic.twitter.com/5VIcU1Bkbu
— Brendon Ayanbadejo (@brendon310) June 14, 2013

Even though your UCLA days may be over (or you still have a year of eligibility and are remaining on campus) remember:

Congratulations! 2 ALL the UCLA Graduating Seniors Today! UCLA>All Other Schools #BruinForLife
— Brett A. Hundley Jr (@BrettHundley17) June 14, 2013

And Coach Mora's #1 grad:

BHS & UCLA representing excellence! Myles, Michael, Blake, Dominique, Cole...1 to go!! #BruinRevolution pic.twitter.com/cKUecMvXDx
— Jim Mora (@UCLACoachMora) June 15, 2013

Son Cole will be closeby, playing soccer at Claremont-McKenna. Also, have you seen his academic profile? Wowsa.

Baseball is officially in Omaha, and they marched out Olympics style.

Opening Ceremonies. Wow. http://t.co/n5J4vcDFTE
— Bren†on Δllen ✗ (@BrentonAllen_) June 15, 2013

Let's continue making this a habit:

16 years ago @UCLABaseball "Death Row" invaded Omaha for 1st time in 30 years. Bruins now making it a habit! pic.twitter.com/3AkbNSVcRj
— Eric James Byrnes (@byrnes22) June 17, 2013

And thank you Bruin Alums for feedng our team:

Thanks for Cascio's for having us for dinner. Thanks to @bcraw35 and Gerrit Cole 4 the dinner! #BruinsHelpingBruins pic.twitter.com/gNSra5QS8p
— Adam Plutko (@Papaplut09) June 14, 2013

It's the end of the school year, and it's time to move out of the dorm, and for some students, probably the first time they've seen the floor of the room since they moved in.

I hate packing man ugggghh https://t.co/NW20qeGF4A
— tony parker (@tonyparker32) June 14, 2013

And also the cleaning out of the lockers:

Sad day when they make you move out of your locker #yates #callofDuty #uclagymnastics pic.twitter.com/ufGFO3Wkvt
— Monique De La Torre (@MDLT919) June 13, 2013

Go Bruins. Have a good summer.

Bruin Bites: Marcedes Praises Mora, Deeter Gets Honored, Shabazz as Ninth Overall Pick?

2013-06-17T14:00:05Z

It's Monday morning, and our Bruin baseball team is coming off a huge 2-1 win over #4-seeded LSU in Omaha. If Savage's small-ball, offensively feeble-but-defensively superb squad, can navigate the treacherous path through North Carolina State and either LSU or North Carolina, the Bruins will find themselves in the national title series yet again. So, maybe, just maybe, in spite of our incompetent boob of an athletic director, the Bruins might just bring Westwood its 109th national title. So with that said, here's your Bruin Bites for this Monday morning:

Starting with, what else, football, former UCLA TE Marcedes Lewis had a lot of praise for current UCLA head coach Jim Mora. Lewis, who was part of the offensive triumvirate (along with Drew Olson and Maurice Jones-Drew) that led the Bruins to a 10-2 season in 2005 despite Karl Dorrell's incompetence, is pleased to see a more professional mindset and culture shift around the UCLA football program. But, while Lewis is pleased to see UCLA turning around on the gridiron, he doesn't expect Mora to be around for too long, especially if things take off in Westwood, calling the former Falcons and Seahawks head coach "too good" to not be tempted away from Westwood.
While we're talking about Marcedes, the former Bruin was in Long Beach to put on his annual Marcedes Lewis Football Camp at Long Beach Poly, which brought over 500 youth football players out to run drills and workout with Lewis. Fox Sports has a pretty good write-up on Lewis and his charitable work, which is the kind of stuff that makes you really proud that he's a Bruin.
Speaking of youth and UCLA football, the WWL has more information on the eighth-grader QB from Texas that UCLA made a scholarship offer to. Lindell Stone, who despite being only in the eighth-grade already stands at 6'2" and 190 pounds, is still focused on making his high school squad before worrying about where he plays his college ball. Stone will attend Southlake Carroll HS, which is the alma mater of former Alabama QB (and current New York Jets' QB) Greg McElroy and former Missouri QB (and current Kansas City Chiefs' QB) Chase Daniel.
Turning to hoops, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves recently announced that former UCLA ~~Gucci-styling mercenary~~ one-and-done wing Shabazz Muhammad will be working out for team officials as part of the team's pre-draft evaluations. Minnesota, with the ninth overall pick, is figured to be in the range of picks that Muhammad is likely to fall to following an unimpressive (given the hype) season in Westwood.
Flipping over to baseball, UCLA reliever Ryan Deeter picked up the Elite 89 award, which honors the student-athlete participating in a national championship tournament/game with the highest GPA in the sport(the 89 refers to the 89 annual recipients, one for each NCAA sport). Deeter, who is rocking Westwood with a 3.927 GPA, is majoring in mathematics and economics. Pretty exciting award for the young man: let's hope he can add a national title to his haul this year.
Finally, on the baseball front, former UCLA ace Gerrit Cole's second start for the Pittsburgh Pirates wasn't as pretty, but it was effective, with the former Bruin picking up his second victory in the season in as many starts, helping lead the Pirates over the Dodgers on Sunday. Cole (5.2 IP, 3 ER, 1 K) did just enough to keep Pittsburgh in the game and hold on to the lead his offense managed to get on Dodgers' ace Clayton Kershaw.

Alright folks, those are your various bits and pieces of news from around the UCLA-iverse. Fire away in the comment thread with your thoughts, additions, and various opinions on all things UCLA.

GO BRUINS