National Signing Day 2010: Which USC Recruits Might Play Early (Part 1)

With the exception of a few recruits, such as Seantrel Henderson, who will wait to sign his LOI, this years Trojan recruiting class has been signed, sealed and delivered.

Looking ahead to the 2010 college football season, it is reasonable to speculate which of these talented recruits will see early playing time and those who will redshirt, destined to see the field at a later date.

With this in mind, here is a thumbnail sketch of those recruits and their likelihood to contribute early for the Trojans:

Seantrel Henderson:

Assuming that this fiver star recruit does sign his LOI with the Trojans, expect the massive offensive lineman to see playing time from the first moment he steps on the field. No redshirt for Henderson to be sure.

Marquis Jackson:

Still to sign his LOI (why I’m not sure), Jackson, as a JC transfer, will probably be given a chance to vie for a backup position to Nick Perry at defensive end. With the Trojans needing to replace Everson Griffin, there will be ample opportunities for Malik Jackson’s brother (also a defensive end) to contest playing time with him and others.

Soma Vainuku:

Vainuku, who also plays linebacker, will first be tried at fullback, which is the position the Trojans recruited him for. With Stanley Havili and DJ Shoemate ahead of him at the position, look for Vainuku to redshirt.

Christian Thomas:

One of three of the nations best five tight ends to sign with the Trojans, Thomas will be given ample opportunity to back up Rhett Ellison and Blake Ayles. Having said that, I expect two of the three tight end recruits to redshirt in 2010.

Giovanni Di Poalo:

This talented offensive lineman from Ventura, Ca. will be given a shot at a backup position on the O-line. Listed as a center, Di Poalo’s odds of redshirting increase exponentially if Seantrel Henderson does indeed sign with the Trojans.

Markeith Ambles:

The Trojans really cleaned up at the wide receiver position and Ambles is a large part of that haul. Ronald Johnson and Brice Butler are the likely starters in 2010, but with his talent, expect Ambles to vie for that third wideout (or slot) position. At least one of these wide receiver recruits will redshirt, which one(s) will be determined at spring and fall practice.

Glen Stanley:

This extremely talented JC linebacker from Arizona brings speed and intensity to the position and given the Trojans lack of depth at linebacker, Stanley will be given every opportunity to see the field.

Hayes Pullard:

Recruited as a middle linebacker, Pullard may see some backup time behind Chris Galippo but the smart money has Pullard redshirting in 2010.

Nickell Robey:

Robey, a recruit that Lane Kiffin brought with him from Tennessee, is a superb kick returner and with both Damien Williams and Joe McKnight now gone, Nickell Robey will be given a long look in practice as a returner. If Robey can bring some of the electricity of his high school returns to the college game, he will play in 2010. If this is the case, Robey will also backup the cornerbacks, which is his regular position.

Demetrius Wright:

Another very talented cornerback, Demetrius Wright will also get a long look in practice and with the Trojans preparing to graduate Shareece Wright (no relation) next year, Demetrius Wright will be given every opportunity to see the field in 2010.

So there you have it. A look at the first half of the Trojans high school class of 2009.

Of course, the majority of questions asked in regard to who redshirts and who doesn’t will be answered in spring and fall practice.

Those players who prove their worth will be given opportunities to see the field early. In this regard, Lane Kiffin holds the same criteria as Pete Carroll who was never shy about playing freshmen.

This a very talented class of freshmen and don’t be surprised if more than a few avoid a redshirt year in 2010.

Next: Part 2 of the USC 2009 recruiting class and their likelihood of early playing time.

UCLA Football: Bruins Do Well On Signing Day

Going into this off-season, I knew right away that among the UCLA Bruins’ most pressing neesds were at linebacker and on the defensive line, as five players out of the defensive front seven had moved on.

The running back position needed a bit of shoring up as well.

After watching Fox Sports Prime Ticket’s Signing Day Special last night, it’s safe to say that coach Rick Neuheisel filled those needs, as he and his Bruin coaching staff put together a very strong recruiting class, one that Scout.com has rated as #6 in the country.

Plus for the second straight year, UCLA’s class ranked higher than USC’s which despite signing Seantrel Henderson, who at 6′8″ and 330 ponds was the top offensive line prospect in the nation, landed at #7.

Among the Bruins’ top signings were…

1.   Malcolm Jones, the running back from Oaks Christian who was named the Gatorade State Player of the Year,

2.   Jordan Zumwalt, the standout linebacker from Huntington Beach Edison  who fills a need and could see immediate playing time,

3.   Owamagbe Odighizuwa, a defensive lineman from Portland, OR who is considered one of the best from that region, and…

4.   Cassius March, a 270-lb. defensive lineman and Jones’ teammate at Oaks Christian who UCLA desperately needed.

Two other top defensive recruits, safety Dietrich Riley from La Canada St. Francis and linebacker Josh Shirley from Fontana Kaiser, were considered locks for USC but chose to sign with the Bruins; Shirley made his choice on the signing day show, which gave me a thrill.

As did Cathedral’s Anthony Jefferson, a cornerback who also put on a UCLA cap on camera with several members of his family watching.

Though the Bruins could have added a few more offensive linemen, Chris Ward (Santa Ana Mater Dei), Wade Yandall (Carson), and Kody Innes (Scottsdale, AZ  Saguaro) were very good pickups who have a chance to contribute right away.

Which is what Neuheisel was aiming for as he continues to rebuild the program.

As for these new members of Bruin Nation,  if I could say anything to them it would be this:

Congratulations and thank you so much for deciding to sign with not only a great program that’s on the rise, but also with a school considered to be among the nation’s all-around best in academics as well as athletics, if not the best.

However, now the real work begins. If the Bruins are to achieve superiority in the Pac-10 and to unseat USC as Los Angeles’ elite college football team, your dedication and hard work is needed and expected. This rebuilding cannot be done without you – that’s why coach Neuheisel brought you here.

I and all the members of  the UCLA Bruin Nation wish you nothing but the best of luck and success as you begin your days in Westwood.

I don’t think I can put it better than that.

The next step now is Spring practice, which is coming up in a couple of months. That will give me a good idea as to who will step up and how our 2010 season may go.

I’m looking forward to seeing what happens then.

The All-Time UCLA Bruins Basketball Team

I’ve been wanting to write this article for a long time.

And in light of the sub-par season that the UCLA basketball program has had this year - though they have been playing better as of late - this should serve as something to cheer up members of Bruin Nation.

Considering the illustrious history that this Bruin hoops program in Westwood has had, with its 11 national championships, including ten titles in a 12-year span and seven in a row from 1967-1973, it’s inevitable that an all-time UCLA basketball team (according to me) be annopunced.

So let’s get going and begin with the starters…

POINT GUARD:  WALT HAZZARD – A two-time All American in the early 1960s, he ran the point on the Bruins’ first title team ion 1964, winning player of the year honors that season.

Not only that, he won a gold medal for the U.S. team at the 1964 Olympics, enjoyed a ten-year career in the NBA, and was UCLA’s coach for four years in the 1980s.

GUARD:  GAIL GOODRICH -  Was Hazzard’s backcourt partner for the Bruins’ undeferated season in ‘64, and then led the team to a second championship with 42 points in the 1965 final, leading the team in scoring both years. He had a stellar 14-year carer with the Los Angeles Lakers, having his jersey retired by them along with UCLA.

FORWARD:   SIDNEY WICKS -  Another one of the many All Americans during the glory years, he helped lead the Bruins to three straight titles, leading the team in scoring and rebounding in his last two years, and becoming co-player of the year in his senior season. He also had a solid NBA career and was one of Hazzard’s assistant coaches in Westwood.

FORWARD:   MARQUES JOHNSON -  A leader on UCLA’s 1975 national championship squad, he was the first recipient of the John R. Wooden award – college basketball’s answer to the Heisman trophy – in 1977, had a very good pro career, and is an outstanding TV commentator for basketball.

Picking the all-time starter at center is absolutely impossible, as the Bruins had two equally brilliant legends at the position.

Since I truly feel that neither player can be left out in favor of the other, I’ve taken the unique stance of naming both of them on this list:

BILL WALTON - He had more rebounds than anyone in UCLA history, and is the all-time single season leader in that category, too. The big redhead was a three-time consensus All American who had an epic NCAA final against Memphis in 1973 when he scored 44 points on 21-of-22 shooting, and won two NBA rings during his pro career.

If he had been healthier and avoided all the injuries that he sustained, he would have been even better than he was.

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR -  If I had to pick the single greatest player in the history of UCLA Bruin basketball, this man would be it.

Going by the name of Lew Alcindor at the time, he was a three-time consensus All American who led the Bruins to three national championships between 1967 and 1969. He’s the all-time Bruin leader in scoring average, and was so dominant on the court that the NCAA instituted a no-dunk rule for a time, all because of him.

However, his exploits in college pale in comparison to what he did afterward; six titles in the NBA, including five with Magic Johnson and the legendary “Showtime” Lakers in the 80s in the course of a 20-year pro career, using his lethal skyhook to decimate opponents.

And most significantly, he scored more points than anyone in the history of the sport, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s record in 1984.

If that doesn’t justify him as the Bruins’ greatest player, nothing does.

Incidentally, all of the above players have one thing in common: Their jersey numbers have all been retired.

And rightfully so.

All right, now that the starters have been named, I’ll commence with the rest of the all-time roster:

Keith Erickson, guard:  One of the stalwarts on the Bruins’ early championship teams.

Mike Warren, guard:  Another standout from the Jabbar (Alcindor) years, he was the the point guard on those dominant squads. Made a big name for himself as an actor after his playing days with his role on TV’s “Hill Street Blues” in the 80s. 

Tyus Edney, guard:  One of the leaders of UCLA’s last championship team in 1995. Running the show at the point, his baseline-to-baseline run and last second layup to beat Missouri in the second round of the NCAA tournament that year puts him on this roster.

Ed O’ Bannon, forward:  The leader (along with Edney) of that 32-2 team that won UCLA’s 11th NCAA hoops title, he was the John R. Wooden Award winner that year as well as winning several other player of the year trophies. He led the Bruins in scoring and rebounding his last two years, was a top-ten pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and had his #31 jersey retired in 1996. 

Don Maclean, forward:  UCLA’s all-time scoring leader who was the man for the bruins in the late 80s and early 1990s. He led them to an Elite Eight appearance in 1992, and is currently doing very well as an analyst for Fox Sports and on UCLA’s radio broadcasts.

Reggie Miller, forward:  Though the Bruins weren’t world beaters during his time in Westwood, as they won but one Pac-10 championship and one NIT title – a step down considering their previous NCAA success - this man has had perhaps the best post-Bruin NBA career outside of Abdul-Jabbar’s; he’s the all time leading scorer for the Indiana Pacers and made more three-point baskets than anyone in NBA history.

Considering that he was arguably the best UCLA basketball player in the 80s, it would be a sin to omit him from this list.

And along with his sister Cheryl, he was part of what is definitely the best sibling combination in the history of basketball.

Don Barksdale, forward:  If there could be a basketball equivalent to Jackie Robinson, this man would fit the bill rather nicely.

A standout for the Bruins during the World War II years, he was the first African American to make All American, the first black player to make the NBA All-Star team, and the first black man to play on the Olympic basketball team.

That alone merits his inclusion onto this team.

Willie Naulls, center:  “Wonderful” Willie, as he called himself, was a star in the mid-1950s for a Bruin squad that was still building and feeling its oats.

He provided an identity for a UCLA team that needed one at that time, as they had to lay in the tiny Men’s Gym, also called the “B.O. Barn” for the way it smelled when it was cramped with fans.

As for choosing a coach for this all-time team, only a complete idiot and a moronic fool would not automatically pick this man:  JOHN ROBERT WOODEN.

Winning 620 games in his 27 years as the Bruin head man, he was the architect of UCLA’s ten national titles in 12 years, including that seven consecutive.

By doing what he did, he didn’t just put UCLA basketball on the map, he put UCLA on the map, turning it from being seen as just a nice little college before he arrived to being seen as a top-notch, all-around national institution by the time he retired in 1975.

I won’t go over all of his achievements, or his iconic “Pyramid of Success” that been like a Bible to countless numbers of people; that would take at least a week.

So I’ll just state this about the man:

He was the greatest coach in the history of sports. Period.

I do not care who anyone else names, Wooden was better.

And I’m sure that millions would agree with those statements.

Making up a team such as this was difficult, to say the least.

Many great basketball players have worn UCLA’s blue and gold-trimmed uniform over the decades; if I listed all of them on this all-time Bruin team, I would be writing for three days.

So if I have left out anyone that people feel should be included in here, I apologize in advance.

In the meantime, I hope this roster of all-time UCLA Basketball Bruins brings back some good memories and recollections of glory days, and helps the members of Bruin Nation look forward to good times in the future.

Reed Between the Lines: Johnson’s Arrival Spells Confusion at 2B

Reed Johnson is now a Dodger.  The outfielder will fill a fourth-outfielder role after Juan Pierre was traded to the White Sox.  Johnson is a good addition; he plays stellar defense in left-field, where he will presumably see most of his innings, and he has a decent bat.  However, the fact that he’s a right-hander is troubling.  Initial reports indicated the Dodgers were looking into a lefty outfielder.  While Johnson is a much better addition than, say, Garret Anderson or Brian Giles, the bench is now all right-handers: Brad Ausmus, Jamey Carroll, and Johnson.  The backup shortstop role still needs to be decided, and likely will not until after Spring Training.  But even with the backup shortstop competition, that would be between Nick Green and Chin-Lung Hu, both right-handers.

Doug Mientkiewicz and Xavier Paul are both lefty options, and the team can add a fifth outfielder as well.  But as of now, with the addition of Johnson, the team has little room for the three current second-basemen: Carroll, Ronnie Belliard, and incumbent Blake DeWitt.  The addition could make DeWitt the odd-man out, as if he starts, the bench becomes all right-handed.  Time will tell what Johnson’s arrival could mean for LA, but as of now, there’s more confusion than before.

Dodgers Add Belliard, Ausmus to Bench

The Dodgers did their best to shore up the bench, resigning utility-man Ronnie Belliard and catcher Brad Ausmus to one-year deals.  Belliard came from Washington in a waiver deal, and proceeded to tear apart opponents.  He had a line of .351/.398/.636 while with LA, and supplanted Orlando Hudson as the starting second baseman in the playoffs.  Belliard had a memorable moment in the NLDS when he singled to score Juan Pierre in the bottom of the ninth of Game Two with the Dodgers down by one.

Ausmus brought stability to the backup catcher role, and his bat was just icing on the cake; the career .252 hitter batted .295 with the Dodgers, the highest batting average of his 17-year career.

According to Ken Gurnick, the Dodgers are looking to add a left-handed outfielder to the bench.  They can choose between Garret Anderson, a product of Kennedy High in Granada Hills, Jim Edmonds, the eight-time Gold Glove winner, or even Gary Sheffield, who spent some of his better seasons wearing the Blue.

Oops? Volquest.com reports Lane Kiffin committed his first NCAA Violation

Tennessee’s local news station, WBIR put up a post saying:

The former Vols football coach picked up a recruit from the airport in a limo.

Kiffin committed six secondary violations while at Tennessee.

While this has almost zero credibility with no details available without being a subscriber to Volquest.com, who didn’t see this coming?

Of course, none of this has been confirmed, so stay tuned for more.

Gary Matthews, Jr. Headed to New York, Angels ‘Stoked’

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim got a long-overdue lesson in math this week. They learned about the age-old principle of addition by subtraction.

It’s simple. All you have to do is subtract $21 million of useless player from the payroll and you’ll wind up adding emotional stability and tangible worth to your squad.

On Friday, the Angels put their lesson to good use when they sent reserve outfielder and resident malcontent Gary Matthews, Jr. to the New York Mets, agreeing to pay more than $21 million of the remaining $23.5 million left on his contract.

It’s not often you see a team is willing to pay a player that kind of money just to go away, but in this case, it’s a welcome sacrifice. (more…)

L.A. Angels Swing Into New Season With New Faces and A New Lineup

GM Tony Reagins says his Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim could still make a move or two this offseason, noting the team’s lingering need for a fifth starting pitcher and a utility man off the bench.

Like most of what he and his predecessor Bill Stoneman say, this sounds like another half truth.

The Angels do indeed need have a few holes to fill in their lineup. But by now, there are fewer players left to fill those holes in any substantive way. Those who might, like Ben Sheets, have already been dismissed by Reagins.

In all likelihood, the starting 2010 Angels have already been scouted, signed, and allotted parking spaces at the Big A.

The only thing left for Reagins and the rest of the staff to do is put those Angels in order.

For that reason, I humbly present to you, dear reader, my ideal batting order for the 2010 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

3B Maicer Izturis

We’ve only hit the lead-off spot and right off the bat, we’ve got our first controversy.

With the departure of Chone Figgins, it seems most cannot wait to crown Brandon Wood the next Troy Glaus. I, on the other hand, can’t wait for Wood to be bench after he reveals himself to be the next Dallas McPherson. (more…)

UCLA – USC: Trojans Embarrass Bruins At Pauley, 67-46

I was afraid this might happen, the way the basketball teams from UCLA and the University of Southern California have been playing of late.

I was afraid that the edge that the Trojans’ guards and forwards had over their Bruin counterparts would lead to a convincing USC victory in Pauley Pavilion this past Saturday.

I was proved to be right, as the Trojans rolled over UCLA, 67-46, in front of a crowd of 11,108 that was no doubt disgusted at what they saw.

Considering that the 21 point differential was USC’s largest over the Bruins since 1945 and their biggest ever at Pauley, one may wonder if the Bruin players really understood the magnitude of the crosstown rivalry.

It was like UCLA (2-3, 7-10 in the Pac-10 Conference) didn’t even try, like they laid down for their enemies from South Central L.A.

The final statistics certainly indicated that, as the Bruins put up a brick house big enough to solve L.A’s homeless problem in making just 15 of their 45 shots. They were out rebounded 37-22 and had only five assists to ‘SC’s 13 while committing 12 turnovers. (more…)

UCLA vs. USC Basketball (Round 1) Pregame

Well the crosstown rivalry was renewed (again) on the gridiron, but the hardwood’s matchup is kinda of a lack-luster. UCLA (7-9) will take on USC (10-6) at Pauley tonight.

This is a game where one team has practically zero motivation, and another has zero confidence, and in a conference where you can play the worst game you’ve played all year and beat the top team in the conference, this game… honestly, has zero NCAA tournament implications.

However, bragging rights are still in the equation.

UCLA is coming off a roller coaster ride in the Bay Area as they upset Cal, thanks to a Michael Roll jump-shot in OT, and then committing 22 turnovers in Maples to fall to Stanford.

USC, with a couple of marquee wins against UNLV and Tennessee, still is trying to find their way in this crazy conference. USC’s trendy type of left wing basketball is starting to catch on in this conference as they haven’t been playing “good” basketball in conference thus far, but that is mostly OJ Mayo’s fault. If you live under a rock like some of us, USC self imposed sanctions by banning itself from any form of postseason play.

More after the break.

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