Roll Likely To Red Shirt & Howland's Candor

by Nestor on Feb 16, 2008 6:46 AM PST in Basketball Comment 2 comments

As I said before Achilles was right when he said that he was almost 100 percent sure that Roll was going to red shirt. From Dohn today:

After balking at the suggestion for weeks, UCLA coach Ben Howland said Friday it is "very, very likely" junior wing Michael Roll will redshirt this season because of a lingering foot injury.

Roll ruptured the plantar fascia in his left foot Dec. 31 and was limited to six games this season because of the injury. He also missed the beginning of the season because of a similar injury.

"Bottom line is Mike is still in pain right now," Howland said. "He's still suffering pain."

Howland said Roll played much of his sophomore season with pain in his foot from plantar fasciitis. However, Howland added Roll went outside of UCLA and used a personal doctor for a treatment, which Howland said was an injection.

"The worst thing that bothers me about his situation is that he had his plantar fasciitis injected," said Howland, who believed cortisone was used. "The first time I heard of plantar fasciitis was when I was the coach at Pitt, (and it) was that you don't inject that. It increases the likelihood that it will rupture. And I actually talked to Mike about that.

"So the question was: Was he suffering so much pain that he couldn't go through the season with that pain again? Because he had it the year before as a sophomore. Hindsight is 20-20, but I'm always disappointed that it's the result of a decision."

More from Pucin:

Also using hindsight, Howland said he wished he had never suggested that James Keefe take a redshirt season to rehabilitate his surgically repaired shoulder. When Roll was injured the second time, Keefe had to speed his recovery and be available for Pacific 10 Conference games.

"I knew that with Mike it was a long, long deal," Howland said. "I struggled with that whole decision, both to redshirt James and to bring him back.

"What an idiot I am to have thought that to begin with. What a dummy I am to have thought otherwise."

Again Howland's candor is unbelievable. The guy is so confident in how he manages this program that he has no problem thinking out his decisions and often questioning himself aloud.

This also ties back to Meriones's great take re. the depth (or lack thereof) in our backcourt. It's the reason why I believe Howland had been hoping against hope and thought that somehow Roll would make it back by the end of the regular season. Roll's contribution to this team again goes well beyond his 3 pt shooting. His 15-22 mins on the court optimizes Howland's rotation pattern and has a ripple effect (a positive) throughout the game.

Oh well at this point let's hope Roll is totally healthy for next year. I think both Roll and Keefe's will help to make our program steady as we will be dealing with NBA related departures. Their veteran presence will be huge keys to our old school (and I love it) program under Coach Howland.

GO BRUINS.

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C'mon, Chace, we NEED you, kid!

In 1995, we won a title thanks in no small part to the efforts of two freshmen -- one was a versatile, 6-9 player who could score inside and out and had uncommon fundamental skills for his size.

The other was a hyper-athletic guard who had a rough transition from HS to college, and was overshadowed by the 6-9 freshman for a time, until something in his mind just clicked and he played the smart, disciplined defense we needed and he exploded in the stretch, culminating in a breakout performance in our title-winning game.

It has been twelve seasons between that title season and this one.

A title this season would be Banner 12.

History loves stories of growth.

History loves to repeat itself.

History loves bookends to its stories.

You can do it, Chace. We believe in you. You don't have to be Toby Bailey... but be the VERY best you can be, starting in practice.

GO DO IT.

WE BELIEVE.

"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008

by Meriones on Feb 16, 2008 8:31 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

I remember when we signed Roll and Keefe

I was ecstatic and couldn't wait to see them play. It has been frustrating not getting them onto the court much because of injuries.

I hope you guys get well soon and become regular contributors in big games with big minutes. Keep your head up and your nose to the grindstone. All good things come to those who wait.

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden

by MexiBruin on Feb 16, 2008 10:26 AM PST reply actions 0 recs