Coach Howland's star studded recruiting class of 2009 is getting people's attention. Coaches around the league are taking notice and this is happening even before they are blowing up. From Frank Burlison in the Daily News:
"I really think UCLA has the best class (of committed players due to graduate next June) in the country," another Pacific-10 Conference coach said about the apparent fruits of the recruiting efforts of Bruins coach Ben Howland and his staff.
And that coach - not identified because NCAA rules prohibit member coaches from commenting about "prospective student-athletes" by name before they sign letters of intent - made that observation a day before Jrue Holiday and Jerime Anderson turned in marvelous performances while leading the Southern California-based Pump-N-Run Elite team to an 88-74 victory over the Atlantic Celtics on Monday evening during the adidas Super 64 Tournament in Cox Pavilion.
So how spectacular was Jrue's performance? Burlison gives us the scoop:
And that coach - not identified because NCAA rules prohibit member coaches from commenting about "prospective student-athletes" by name before they sign letters of intent - made that observation a day before Jrue Holiday and Jerime Anderson turned in marvelous performances while leading the Southern California-based Pump-N-Run Elite team to an 88-74 victory over the Atlantic Celtics on Monday evening during the adidas Super 64 Tournament in Cox Pavilion.
He finished with 30 points, and nailed five or six shots over or around defenders five or six inches taller.
It's hard to imagine a high school guard playing any better than he did.
Howland would be hard-pressed to keep him out of his starting lineup this coming November, much less a year from November when he'll be eligible for the Bruins.
"That was the best overall individual performance I've seen this summer," Long Beach-based Joel Francisco of ESPN.com said after a game that was played in front of 100-plus coaches including Howland, Roy Williams (North Carolina), Billy Donovan (Florida), Bill Gillispie (Kentucky) and Bruce Pearl (Tennessee).
No wonder coaches around the league (and probably around the country) are just gulping looking at the Monster Coach Howland is putting together at UCLA. He is just picking and choosing, and his competition is just helpless against it.It's hard to imagine a high school guard playing any better than he did.
Howland would be hard-pressed to keep him out of his starting lineup this coming November, much less a year from November when he'll be eligible for the Bruins.
"That was the best overall individual performance I've seen this summer," Long Beach-based Joel Francisco of ESPN.com said after a game that was played in front of 100-plus coaches including Howland, Roy Williams (North Carolina), Billy Donovan (Florida), Bill Gillispie (Kentucky) and Bruce Pearl (Tennessee).
Last year we spend the whole season getting excited about Love. And now it sounds like this year it is going to be all about Jrue, Jerime, Malcom and Drew (and may be one more guy to roundup our own version of "Fab-5").

Via What's Bruin
The fun is never going to stop in the world of Ben Ball recruiting. Coach Howland is just a machine.
GO BRUINS.