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Good news from basketball front ...

By Nestor

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Per Scout.com recruiting services - Westbrook committed to UCLA yesterday. This is obviously good news.  And it ensures we are not going to be facing the worst case scenario I laid out couple days ago in this post. So even if Jordan and AA decide to go pro. this is the lineup we are going to have next season:

1- DC, Westbrook, Hamid
2- Roll, Shipp, Westbrook
3- Shipp, Luc, Keefe
4- Luc, Keefe, Aboya, Wright, Spica*
5- Mata, Aboya, Wright, Spica*

We are going to have to wait a while to find out whether Spica qualifies or not.

I think in case both Jordan and AA bolt (which again is not even close to being a given), it will probably mean DC/Shipp playing 30-35 mins a game, which is not ideal - but not exactly disastrous.  Keefe IMO may be switched around at either 3 or 4, same with Shipp who may be starting at 3 but could be over at 2. If Luc improves his mid range jump shots he could see time at 3. So we will have multiple options based on the diverse skill sets of number of players. Howland will try to figure out which is the best possible combination during the first month of the season. So that is not exactly a team with a thin bench even without Jordan or Arron.

Of course we are going to be in even better situation if either AA or Jordan decide to come back. My money right now is on AA coming back and Jordan leaving Westwood. We will see what happens I guess. Sportsline Doyle also has this thought on Jordan and Arron:

Jordan Farmar, UCLA: The Bruins will be an NCAA Tournament team next season even if he does turn pro, but Farmar would be the difference between just another NCAA Tournament team ... and another run to the Final Four. Darren Collison is better than most people realize, but he's a change-of-pace guard who's best suited, for now, in a complementary role. If Farmar goes pro, Collison becomes a 35-minute player. UCLA would be in good hands, but not great hands. As for you, sophomore Arron Afflalo, what are you thinking? Don't enter the draft. Use your free pass next year, when you might have a shot at the first round. Now? No shot. Is that clear enough? None. Zero.
Either we are not in bad shape. In worst case scenario right now we will still have team deep enough to seriously contend for the Pac-10 title and perhaps even make a Sweet-16 run. And if we get either AA or Jordan back we could be in position to repeat the great season we had this past year setting up for the grand arrival of those two kids from Oregon. Not too shabby ...

GO BRUINS.

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