Basketball
Waking Up To A New Reality In Howlandwood
by Nestor on Nov 17, 2009 4:59 AM PST
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There is not much I can offer in terms of game observations on last night's season opener since I didn't get to watch a minute of that travesty. The box score gives us a decent glimpse of how agonizing and ugly it must have been for those who were at the game or were watching it on WWL. Going into this year I was hoping for a 20 win season and making into the tournament. However, after a box score like last night, it seems like we all would be well advised to recalibrate our expectations and wake up to a new reality in the world of Ben Ball.
The report from the LAT predictably is not pretty:
When asked what happened, a dazed Malcolm Lee said: "To tell you the truth, I don't know."
The final statistics told much of the story. The Bruins suffered a terrible shooting night that only got worse when Fullerton shifted mainly to zone in the second half, packing the paint.
The result? UCLA rushed its way through 84 shots, making only 31%, including five of 29 from three-point range.
"I can't remember one of our teams taking 84 shots, even though it was a double-overtime game," Howland said.
Looking at the box score I see ND playing 40 minutes and making 2 out of his 14 shots. He did get 14 rebounds I guess but when you miss that many shots that number seems to be somewhat irrelevant. The question I have is why does this guy continue to get so many mins, especially since RN sounded like was doing ok off the bench.
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Center Court: Ben Ball (CSUF) Second Half Thread
by Bellerophon on Nov 16, 2009 9:54 PM PST
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589 comments
Cal State Fullerton Titans at UCLA Bruins, Nov. 16, 2009, 8:59 p.m. PST
Since we're in the wee hours here on the Best, err, I mean West Coast, I'm filling in for Nestor. Well, folks, it has not been a pretty half. Our Ben Ball Warriors have come out and played sloppy basketball and go into the half-time break down to the Cal State Fullerton Titans by a score of 27-33. Turnovers, poor shot selection, and stone cold shooting from the charity stripe are the stories of the first half.
Fortunately, Malcolm Lee and Michael Roll have kept the Bruins in the game with smart cuts and smart possession. If you're cut off from WWL, you can track the second half against the Titans at the official site. Nikola Dragovic continues to frustrate with ill-advised chucks, but Reeves Nelson has been an absolute beast.
Let's hope the Bruins can get it together. Fire away in our second half (change up the mojo) thread.
GO BRUINS!
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Ben Ball Gameday Roundup: Opening Night At Pauley
by Nestor on Nov 16, 2009 5:09 AM PST
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Per the official site our regular season opener against Cal State Fullerton actually starts tomorrow morning (for Bruins who live out in the East Coast) as the tipoff is scheduled for 12:04 am (so that we can get on WWL). Still I am sure there will be many BNers staying up across the nation to check out the first game of the season and find out whether our young guys have made defensive improvement since the first two exhibtions games of the pre season.
Coach Howland's cubs are still having problem with defending the dribble:
"We're still having a problem defending the dribble," he said Thursday after watching film of a recent victory over Humboldt State. "There were a number of times we were getting beat off dribble penetration."
This is a young team that has yet to adopt Howland's trademark pressure defense. He expressed concern about an athletic Cal State Fullerton visiting Pauley Pavilion on Monday night.
"A bunch of really good athletes who can really break you down on the dribble," he said. "So that's something we'll be working on."
The Bruins planned to install double teams -- something new for the freshmen -- at Thursday's practice.
"It'll take a little bit of time to develop," senior James Keefe said. "I think it's going to be a team defense that's going to make us go."
He was also not happy with the defensive performance of seniors such as ND:
"Obviously he hasn't shot it well," Howland said. "And I thought his defense left something to be desired in the second game against Humboldt."
With freshman Tyler Honeycutt injured, Dragovic has been asked to play more minutes at small forward, a change that pits him against smaller, quicker opponents.
It will be interesting to see how CBH allocates the mins between ND and JK in first few games. From what I have seen JK is playing a much more complete game from the 4 spot and giving us a better defensive presence than ND. If ND continues to struggle with his shot and doesn't play up to the standards of Ben Ball defense, I'd love to see coach go with the combination of DG and JK in the frontcourt. More after the jump.
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UCLA vs. Humboldt St.: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Nov 11, 2009 12:54 AM PST
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27 comments
While far from perfect, UCLA's performance versus Humboldt St. was infinitely better than the one they put on six days ago versus Concordia. It's a good thing too as the Bruins have only five days before the games start to count. With the team almost completely healthy (Tyler Honeycutt was the only Bruin not dressed to play tonight), UCLA can now go ahead full bore and begin to work out the kinks that are all too evident in their play.
The Good
Two New Guards- If anyone was questioning how important Michael Roll and Jerime Andersen are to the Bruins, they aren't anymore. While James Keefe played the role of stabilizer in the last game, Roll took on those duties versus Humboldt St. The senior led the Bruins with 17 points on 50% shooting, but most importantly, he was tenacious on defense and ball mover on offense. Roll threw some fantastic entry passes and was quick to get the ball out of his hands to stretch the Humboldt St. defense with ball movement. Meanwhile, Andersen took over the point and maintained complete control of the offense. He kept the pace of the game where the Bruins wanted it for the most part, applied the ball pressure on defense that is so key to Howland's offense and was deadly getting to the rim upon occasion. Surprisingly, he was even able to play 29 minutes despite being sidelined for much of the past few weeks.
Second Half Defense- After a dreadful defensive effort in the first half, UCLA came out in the second half ready to defend. Andersen increased his ball pressure, while Malcolm Lee did a much better job denying his man the ball. This kept the guards from being able to penetrate and forced the Humboldt St. guards from doing much. While poor outside shooting from Humboldt St. did help out the Bruins, the fact that 12 of the starting guards' 16 shots came from behind the arc says something. The Bruin big men also did a better job of working to keep the Humboldt St. bigs away from the rim and on the defensive boards as the Lumberjacks saw their offensive boards cut nearly in half in the second frame. In total, UCLA held Humboldt St. to just 23% shooting in the second half.
Ball Awareness- It appeared as if the UCLA defense had no idea where the ball was last week, but tonight they were on it from the opening tip. UCLA forced 19 Lumberjack turnovers, thanks to Drew Gordon's six steals and three blocks, both team highs. When the ball was on the block, help was coming from all over and hands were on the ball to knock it free. Players also did a good job of reading eyes and passing lanes to make things difficult on the Lumberlacks, forcing turnovers. The ball pressure up top by the guards and high hands forced a lot of lobbed entry passes, which the UCLA big men recognized and got hands to.
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Center Court: Ben Ball (Humboldt State) Second Half Thread
by Nestor on Nov 10, 2009 8:28 PM PST
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Uh, I guess with our guards (JA and MR) back in action the Ben Ball warriors look just a little different tonight. Bruins are up against Humboldt State by a score of 41-34. If not for couple of missed dunks and missed FTs the margin would be higher. They were up by 10 pts couple of different times during the half. The ball movement is so much better tonight with JA running the point. He looks relatively healthy (knock on wood) as do MR. So far this half it looks like they have taken couple of steps forward after last week's sloppy outing. DG filled up the box score with 11 pts, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 4 steals.
Still they have lot more to work on. For the short term they will have to do a better job of playing interior defense in the second half and also rebound better. They were out rebounded by a margin of 11-24. That number will not be acceptable for CBH. He is going to be zoning in on that number during half time and also preach defense. We have a lot of work to do in that department.
Let's hope they can come out and keep improving in the second half and wrap things up setting themselves up in a decent frame of mine heading into season opener next week. Time for the second half thread. Fire away.
GO BRUINS.
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Center Court: Ben Ball (Humboldt State) Open Thread
by Nestor on Nov 10, 2009 7:00 PM PST
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286 comments
Half an hour to go till the Ben Ball warriors tip off in our second exhibition game of the season. Tonight we get to welcome JA and MR back in the lineup, who are taking on Humboldt State. You can read up on the Lumberjacks over here. Once again, if you don't know by now this game is not on TV. UCLA All-Access will carry this game online. You can get more details here.
Tonight's exhibition against the Lumberjacks has a deja vu feeling around it. Last time UCLA took on Humboldt State for an exhibition game was on November 9, 2006. That day on BN - just like we are doing today - we were celebrating the signing of another 5 star blue chip center from the Pacific Northwest. Okay to be technically accurarte KL sent in his LOI today. We haven't gotten the LOI from MS (that would be Mr. Smith) yet but you get the idea.
If you are watching the game on your computers tonight, share your quick takes, rapid commentary on our Ben Ball warriors right here on BN. Most importantly, if you can please post the game score updates in our game thread as much as you. That way rest of the BNers who can't follow the game anywhere else can get direct updates from you in our game thread. It will be much appreciated.
So let's get this party started. Fire away.
GO BRUINS.
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Prayers For The Captain
by Nestor on Nov 10, 2009 9:08 AM PST
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10 comments
Barnes2JJ already fanshotted this which we promoted on the home page. Still this deserves another stand along post to ensure that Big Fella has the total attention and prayers from the entire Bruins Nation. If you haven't read by now, AP reported today Kareem is battling "a rare form of leukemia."
No need for us to get down. The early prognosis is encouraging and the Captain just like he has entire life is battling like a warrior (emphasis added):
A longtime student in martial arts, Abdul-Jabbar said he took the approach of a samurai -- to face death without fear.
"I had my face on," he said.
Instead, doctors told him CML was treatable with proper medication and monitoring.
Abdul-Jabbar is a special assistant with the Lakers and said he hasn't had to cut back his level of activity of coaching, change his regimen or adjust his diet. "I'm able to sneak out for Thai food," he said.
"There is hope. This condition can be treated. You can still live a productive, full life," he said. "I'm living proof I can make it."
And just like the Big Red, who made his retirement statement about everyone except for himself, the Big Fella is using this news to help everyone else:
"I've never been a person to share my private life. But I can help save lives," he said in a midtown Manhattan conference room. "It's incumbent on someone like me to talk about this."
I am guessing Coach cracked out a huge smile when he read those quotes.
Once again, the prayers of the entire blue and gold bleeding nation is with the Big Fella today.
GO BRUINS.
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UCLA vs. Concordia: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Nov 4, 2009 11:34 PM PST
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41 comments
Ouch. That was ugly. I think we were all braced for an up and down season with inconsistencies, poor performances and plays that make you scratch your head, but needing a late three to top Concordia by one in an exhibition game? I don't think anyone expected that. UCLA has a lot to fix, from the coaches on down to the players and getting Michael Roll, Jerime Andersen and Brendan Lane won't be enough, although it will most definitely help.
The Good
James Keefe- In my opinion, Keefe was the Bruins' best player on the night. He knocked down a couple threes, was sound on his rotations and was strong on the boards, not just getting rebounds himself, but also boxing people out so teammates could rebound. This senior came to play and while he wasn't spectacular, he was solid all the way around and was a stabilizing force on a team that clearly lacked stability. It was nice to see one guy out there that you knew what you were going to get from him and it was clear from the opening tip who the senior on the court was.
Drew Gordon- He led UCLA in scoring with 17 on 8-11 shooting and was also the Bruins' top rebounder with 11. Gordon showed a much improved outside shot and feel for the game, jumping some passing lanes and even delivering some outstanding passes. He was very active and was able to get a tip to some rebounds, keeping them alive for others. While Gordon still have moments where he is out of control, I think that he was better than he was last season. He will always be a bit out of control, but that is okay because it will play him into as many plays as it plays him out of.
Pac-10 Logo- The John and Nell Wooden Court now has a Pac-10 logo out of bounds along the baseline. I assume that this will be on the floor of every Pac-10 school and I'm glad. While I don't think it looks great, it's a step in the right direction for the conference. Having the logo on the court gives the conference some brand recognition and helps to promote the conference, something other conferences have been doing for years, but the Pac-10 has been well behind on. New commissioner Larry Scott has the right idea and is moving in the right direction, even if the look isn't the greatest.
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