Quick reactions, UCLA @ Stanford

by Underbruin on Jan 3, 2008 10:44 PM PST

Well, trying to get a bit back into posting diaries here. A few brief notes on the game:

Obviously, as N and others have already mentioned, a huge win. This victory sets the tone for UCLA's season, going into Maples and coming out with a solid victory. It also puts pressure on the rest of the Pac-10's upper echelon, who will have to do the same to keep up with the Bruins (and effectively puts the Trees 2 games back to start the year).
The player of the game was not, hard as it may be to believe given his stellar shooting, Josh Shipp. That honor, in my opinion, belongs to Russell Westbrook. He had one of the most efficient games I've ever seen, with 15 points on 6-7 shooting (1-2 on 3s, 2-2 at the line). In addition, he had 6 assists and 2 steals, with 0 turnovers. Despite coming off the bench, he played nearly the whole game (35 minutes), valuable given the loss of Roll and Collison's periodic struggles. An excellent all-around effort.
That having been said, Shipp was huge. Even assuming he won't always be quite that hot from behind the arc (5-8, with several shots well behind the 3-pt line), if he can simply present that kind of threat in a consistent fashion the interior should open up for Love and Luc.
As a team, the defense against Brook Lopez was outstanding, forcing him into a 5-14 night offensively. As an individual, Love showed he can guard players even when they have a significant height advantage on him, which is a major positive.
Alfred Aboya's 3-pointer: early contender for shot of the year? I say yes.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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Here's my question

does Westbrook ever get tired? The guy plays major minutes and never seems out of breath. I believe Howland when he says Westbrook has 4% body fat. The guy is in unbelievable condition.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jan 3, 2008 10:49 PM PST reply actions

Tell me about it!

Seriously, I noticed he hardly even broke a sweat! What I absolutely love about Westbrook is his fearlessness. He had that amazing offensive rebound in the second half where he swooped in, pushed past the big bodies, got the ball, made the basket. I agree with Underbruin. Shipp was on fire, superb, but I'm ecstatic about Westbrook's play tonight. Hopefully this game is an indicator of what's to come the rest of the season...god, I hope so. Aboya's 3--WTF?!!!!

by bruininthelbc on Jan 3, 2008 11:18 PM PST reply actions

Heh, no kidding

It's really a compliment to the team's strength-and-conditioning program to see the progression from freshmen to sophmores (HINT HINT KEVIN LOVE HI THERE BUDDY). I think, though there are plenty of reasons for the improvement most players make, one of the biggest is the added ability to punish opponents deep into games, which is one of the reasons that Bruin teams always seem to finish strong, and always seem to play their best basketball just when everybody else is wearing down at the end of the year.

Russ is just this year's embodiment, much like Afflalo was last season, and Jordan was the year before that.

by Underbruin on Jan 3, 2008 11:21 PM PST reply actions

Couple of thoughts

One wonders, even if UCLA wins the NCAAs this year, if Kevin Love mightn't stay just to do a back-to-back for grins. I doubt it as the money thrown at him would be astronomical (at least compared to the scholarship gig), but it is a compelling thought.

But your main point is well made. There has to be a lot of kids out there who see examples of Farmar amping up like he did and, when he turned pro, DC jumps into breach without even missing a beat. This year, DC sits out an injury and Westbrook not only fills in but also excels.

They gotta be telling themselves that Howland is the best coach to prepare them for the bigs which is why the recruiting is going so well in the out years. (Not to dismiss Howland's superb recruiting talents, of course.)

Success on the court breeds success in recruiting. Betcha this translates to football as well. If Rick Neuheisel starts turning out an exciting product, then he'll have a bunch of recruits beating a path to his doorstep in talent-rich SoCal.

by whp68 on Jan 4, 2008 1:35 PM PST up reply actions