UCLA Basketball: DaddyBall Wins While the Team Loses

Congratulations to Isaac Hamilton for making second team All-Pac 12.  Steve Alford also succeeded in his goal to showcase Bryce who was an honorable mention All PAC 12.   This was the worst showing for UCLA in the All-PAC team in over a decade.  Even the last losing season, Michael Roll made the all PAC 10 team.  In other words, it was a bad all PAC 12 for UCLA.  (No player made the All-Freshman or All-Defensive Team.)

Putting aside the individual honors Steve tonight at the press conference tonight  stated:

Collectively as a team we are not playing our best basketball.  And it is not better now than it was a month and a half ago.  . . . We've gotten really good effort.  . . . It just hasn't produce wins or the type of play we are use to in February and March.

Gee, Steve why is that.  What happen?  A few reasons.

Gyorgy Goloman returned.  GG was forced back in the rotation and UCLA has gone 4-12 since he is back.  GG was not ready and sorry to say it, GG is not a good enough athlete to help against certain teams.  (Ironically he was playing well against Oregon State in a game where he was athletically equal or superior and played a season low in minutes, other than his brief appearance in his first game back.) Bad coaching.

UCLA went 3-7 when UCLA abandoned Big-Big.  Yes Big-Big did not always work.  However, you play 21 games one way and then you totally abandoned it?  Bad coaching.

You play 21 games before you finally put your best four in the correct position in Jonah Bolden.  You make an Australian who has not played competitive basketball in over year play out of position a lot as a three and admit you were screwing around.

UCLA went 4-5 at home in the PAC 12.  The PAC 12 was a league where road wins were tough and UCLA couldn't even win at home.  Eleventh Place Arizona State was the same 4-5 at home .  This is the mark of a team without talent or poorly coached.  Since UCLA beat Kentucky and Arizona, I think it is pretty easy to say bad coaching.

Thanks Steve for screwing up the team.  But hey Daddy ball was successful.  Bryce won an award even if it was part of the reason for the bad results as a team.

Go Bruins!   Beat SC.