It's Sunday afternoon, which means work is on the horizon, which will be no easier despite Ben Howland's squad picking up a pair of wins over the weekend. As we've talked about before, this was a game we were expected to win, and one that is irrelevant in the larger scheme of things. In short, Howland is our Jeff Tedford for hoops (good, but not great coach, who can build excitement, but never get to the top), the real problem is our idiotic athletic director, Chianti Dan Guerrero, and the sleazy bureaucrats he's surrounding himself with at Morgan Center.
I won't continue to beat a dead horse. We know what needs to happen.
Fire Dan Guerrero. Replace him with someone who can competently hire an elite basketball coach to take UCLA back to its rightful place at the top of the college basketball world.
With that, let's turn to bits and pieces of news from around the UCLA-iverse at the end of the weekend:
- Let's start with a piece about Westwood's most beloved Bruin: Coach. Over at WWL, Ramona Shelburne has a really good story about a group of basketball coaches from war-torn Uganda who came from across the globe to study the teachings of Coach, on both basketball and life (HT bruinfollower). The L.A. Times also covered this heart-touching exchange here. Just absolutely amazing at how much of an impact this wonderful man from Indiana had, touching the souls of not just every Bruin to grace the Hills of Westwood, but positively impacting lives on the other side of the world.
- Following up on UCLA's sale of the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden, the Rafu Shimpo (Los Angeles' Japanese daily newspaper) has a lengthy summary of the on-going university goal of selling off the cultural treasure and the resulting protests. Of course, the comments from Murphy Hall officials are tone-deaf and laughable, somehow claiming that selling the garden would meet the Carters' intent in gifting it to UCLA in perpetuity. Of course, these are the same fools who complain about a lack of money, yet make Chianti Dan Guerrero, a complete and total failure, the highest paid athletic director in the Pac-12. If these are the Baghdad Bob folks running UCLA, no wonder Chianti Dan still has a job. Total UCLA facepalm.
- Turning to your need for
crackfootball recruiting news, Rahshaun Haylock at Fox Sports has a recap of Mora's recruiting efforts since taking over the reins in Westwood, touching on targets (Treggs, Payton, Allison) that Mora and Klemm are working on getting to Westwood as National Letter of Intent signing day looms on Wednesday. Haylock doesn't provide anything new, but if you've been living under a rock, you can get the quick and dirty on Mora's recruiting and goals (a top-ten class nationally) in a few paragraphs. If you really need your fix, I'd highly recommend checking out Tracy Pierson and Brandon Huffman's excellent work at BRO. - Speaking of football recruiting, one of those top targets (that we are very unlikely to land) is super-safety Shaq Thompson out of Grant High in Sacramento. His hometown newspaper, the Sacramento Bee has an extended profile of Shaq that talks about his recruitment, the twists and turns its taken since Lupoi bolted for Seattle, the good work that Shaq has done in the community, and just how big of a deal he is in the Sacramento area (which is enjoying the spotlight with elite recruits like Arik, Shaq, and Nate Iese getting a lot of national love).
- Turning to Coach B.J. Snow and the women's soccer team, Sports Illustrated has an article that discusses Snow's focus on individual player development during the off-season. While the Bruins lose top player Sydney Leroux, the rest of the squad is young, with freshmen getting a lot of playing time in this past campaign that ended way too early in the NCAA tournament. With the talent on the roster, Snow should be in position to make a deep run next season.
- Finally, this past Friday, a female UCLA student was sexually assaulted near the steps between Saxon Suites and Gayley. We all know about the nasty nickname those stairs have (which I remember hearing about when I was on campus). So, folks, please be careful, be aware of your surroundings, and try to walk in pairs or groups. The suspect is described as a white male, with short brown hair, blue eyes, standing at approximately 6 feet tall, weighing approximately 150 pounds, and being approximately 21 years old. If you have any information, please contact the UCPD at 310-825-1491.
Alright folks, those are your Bruin Bites for the end of the weekend. Hopefully, it'll give you something to read as you watch the Pro Bowl (yawn) and bide your time until the recruiting news drops on Wednesday. Fire away with your thoughts in the comment thread.
GO BRUINS