Powell on the Mark: Honeycutt Was Never the UCLA Secretary of Defense

Norman Powell concluded his high school career by winning the San Diego County Slam Dunk contest last Saturday. 

He then did an interview with ESPN's Blair Angulo, a former Daily Bruin staffer. The interview is mostly generic stuff -- (What are your plans for the future?) My first official day [at UCLA], from talking to the coaches, will be June 19th" ... (How did it feel to lose in the playoffs?) "Really, at first I couldn't believe it. But with my performance [missed nine of 10 attempts from beyond the arc] it just wasn't our night." ... (Where do you want to play?) "I really want to start right away and contribute to the team offensively and defensively. I feel like I can go in there as a freshman and be one of the go-to guys." -- then, suddenly, Powell got down to business:

Did you have the chance to watch them play in the NCAA Tournament? 

Yeah, I watched both games. It was a tough loss for them. 

What do you think went wrong? 

I feel like (Tyler) Honeycutt didn't perform like he could have. On the defensive end they really needed him on some plays but he seemed lost. 

You obviously weren't there but did those losses make you a little angry? 

That fired me up. I wanted them to go far. They were underdogs going in there. People were saying, "UCLA is a good team, but they're inconsistent." Looking forward to next year, with me going in there it's like, "OK, we lost in the second round, now let's do better than that, let's push ourselves." Getting to the second round isn't good enough. We have to do better and prove everybody wrong. We have to keep excelling as a team. We're trying to bring back that tradition UCLA once had with John Wooden.

I feel like (Tyler) Honeycutt didn't perform like he could have. On the defensive end they really needed him on some plays but he seemed lost.

We've got to hand it to Norman -- for his honesty, for his basketball acumen and for understanding already that playing winning basketball for Ben Howland mandates defensive intensity -- particularly from a player who is supposed to be a team leader.

Sadly for the 2010-11 Bruins, Powell's comments regarding Honeycutt being lost on the less glamourous end of the court could have been made after at least a dozen different games. (You have to wonder, if a high school kid from San Diego noticed ... you think a professional basketball scout might have picked up on the same thing?)

We're trying to bring back that tradition UCLA once had with John Wooden.

Okay, if the kid keeps talking like that ... he'll be a Bruins Nation front pager by the end of the summer. 

(P.S. -- We tried to adorn this post with a picture of Tyler Honeycutt playing defense but we couldn't find one.)