According to the article, Hasiak is going to be redshirted by coach Rick Neuheisel and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

I’m sorry, but in my humble opinion it has been one thing after another for this young man…

First this top-notch recruit from Hawaii gets into fights with teammates and gets suspended more than once by UCLA coaches for insubordination and attitude problems, now this.

It’s getting fairly clear that this kid is the proverbial square peg in the round hole as far as the Bruins are concerned. Anyone who has that many problems at a school and in its football program after only one year on campus is simply too ill-fitting for that school and team.

I fully understand that Hasiak has a world of talent and all the potential in the world at a position where UCLA desperately needs the help. However…

It may be best for everyone involved if he transferred to a non-BCS school or a school in the FCS (formerly Division 1-AA) like Montana or Cal Poly. If I were Hasiak and was having all the problems that he is having, I would at least consider that option.

The bottom line here is that it is not working out with Hasiak and the Bruin program. It’s a real shame and sad to say, but perhaps they both need to cut their losses and make a mutual agreement to part ways; if I were Neuheisel I would discuss that with Hasiak and his family.

Hopefully this kid will ultimately work things out, but at this moment, transferring may not be the worst idea, as UCLA is not a good fit for everyone.

We’ll see what transpires with this.

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And it was evident that the ghost of the late great John Wooden was in their corner this weekend, as UCLA’s baseball team won a spot in the College World Series for the first time since 1997 by beating Cal State Fullerton 8-1 at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Sunday night, in the third game of a best-of-3 NCAA Super Regional.

After the Bruins were one out away from being eliminated before defeating the Titans in 10 innings on Saturday, 11-7, Rob Rassmussen threw his first complete game as a Bruin on Sunday to clinch the team’s ticket to Omaha, as he struck out nine CSUF batters while giving up just two hits in winning his 11th game of the year.

UCLA’s bats came through as well, with the Bruins (48-14) scoring three runs in the third inning to take a lead they will not relinquish, and Beau Amaral getting three RBIs on the night, two of them on a home run in the eighth inning that put the final nail in Cal State Fullerton’s (46-18) coffin. 

The win certainly exorcised some Titan demons, CSUF having beaten UCLA 19 times in their 24 previous meetings since John Savage became the coach in Westwood in 2005. “…we needed to do this as a program”, he said. 

This World Series berth will be only the third one in Bruin history, the first one coming in 1969 with Chris Chambliss, who would go on to stardom with the Reggie Jackson / Billy Martin “Bronx Zoo” New York Yankees of the 1970s, leading UCLA that year.

Though they have never won a game in Omaha, having an all-time record of 0-4 there, the Bruins, who will start the Series with Florida either this Saturday or Sunday, have a chance to make some noise for one important reason: Pitching. 

It has been pitching, particularly the starting staff of Rassmussen, Garrett Claypool, Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer that has carried UCLA all season, and since good pitching beats good hitting and is the key to any team, I do not expect the Bruins to go home winless this time around.

It goes without saying that regardless of what happens in Omaha, this has been a dream season in Westwood – the question now is will the Bruins triumph at Rosenblatt Stadium and bring home the school’s 107th national championship (and the baseball program’s first)?

Time will tell, but I think they have a shot.

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And if he was watching (which I’m sure he was), John Wooden would have very pleased.

Led by an outburst of hitting that broke records for most runs and hits in a Women’s College World Series game, the UCLA Bruins won their 12th national championship over Arizona in Oklahoma City last night, 15-9.

Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, who won her first title as a head coach after winning six rings as a Bruin player and assistant, said, “This was about being able to bring back the pride, history, and tradition of a great softball program and what it feels like to be on top.”

Megan Langenfeld, after hitting  four home runs in the series, including three in the two games with the Wildcats, was named the series’ Most Outstanding Player. Andrea Harrison, Julie Burney, and Samantha Camuso also slugged homers for the Bruins (50-11), with Harrison hitting a grand slam in the second inning after Arizona’s Kenzie Fowler intentionally walked Langenfeld to load the bases, staking UCLA to a 6-0 advantage and never being really threatened after that.

Wearing black wristbands with the letters “JW” on them in tribute to the late great coach during the series, this marks the nation-leading 106th NCAA title for UCLA, which continues to be the only school with triple digits in that category.

On the men’s side of the diamond, the Bruins have a chance at an invitation to the College World Series in Omaha as they host Cal State Fullerton in a best-of-three Super Regional this weekend, starting this Friday at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Coach John Savage’s UCLA team was much impressive in winning their NCAA regional, blowing out Kent State and beating defending national champion LSU and U.C. Irvine to earn a spot in the Super Regional against a tough Titan squad from Fullerton, who beat the Bruins in both of their head-to-head contests this season. 

However, with the pitching staff that  UCLA has, led by Trevor Bauer and Gerrit Cole, the Bruins have a good chance of punching their first ticket to Omaha since  the Troy Glaus-led 1997 team. If they and the rest of the Bruin pitchers perform on the mound like they do all year, Westwood may see both of their diamond programs reach their perspective College World Series, which is truly a rarity as I doubt that has happened before in the same season.

I certainly wish John Savage’s crew the best of luck.

And congratulations to Kelly Inouye’s band of Bruin sisters!

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If such is the case, then at least five libraries were torched this past Friday, because we lost a man who was not only the greatest coach in the history of sports, but one of the greatest all around human beings ever, a person whose life and influence transcends athletics.

John Robert Wooden, first and foremost, was a teacher – I believe he preferred to describe himself that way.

I won’t go on about his 620 wins and ten national championships in 12 years, including seven in a row from 1967-1973, during a 27-year tenure as coach of the UCLA basketball team. Nor will I go into detail about his iconic Pyramid of Success, a Ten Commandments for the 20th century that tells people how best to live life and conduct oneself, or the various maxims that he espoused such as…

“Be quick, but don’t hurry.”

“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”

“It’s what you know AFTER you know everything that counts.” 

“Make each day your masterpiece.”

I’ll leave those statistics and other obvious things for those who will inevitably review all that stuff for the newspapers, sports channels, and the internet.

Coach Wooden’s – I prefer to call him Mr. Wooden because he was much more than a coach to me – impact on UCLA was a very simple one: He put it on the map.

Before he arrived from Indiana State in 1948 to coach the basketball version of the Bruins, the University of California at Los Angeles was a nice, sleepy little college in a quaint, sleepy little community called Westwood, considered on the outskirts of L.A.

Although they had a few successes in football, including a Rose Bowl appearance in 1943, people thought of UCLA as a commuter school, a twiggy little brother off the U.C. Berkeley tree that was a shadow dweller to well-established crosstown rival USC.

By the time Mr. Wooden retired as the Bruins’ coach after winning his tenth NCAA title in 1975, UCLA was no longer anyone’s twig or in anybody’s shadow.

That quaint little brother of Berkeley had become one of America’s elite institutions of higher learning, am place that would eventually claim more national championships than anyone else and become the nation’s most popular university, with more students applying there than any other school.

And on top of everything else, Mr. Wooden’s success led to the building of the legendary Pauley Pavilion. Just as Yankee Stadium was “The House That Ruth Built”, that on-campus icon was “The House That Wooden Built”.

I had the extreme personal privilege of meeting the man when I was a student at UCLA and played the saxophone in the Bruin Varsity Band at the basketball games in the late 1980s. Mr. Wooden regularly attended the contests; he would always sit just across from me and the band.

Needless to say, it was a thrill just being thirty feet from him, but I felt that I just had to meet the coaching legend. That chance came after a game just before Christmas of 1989.

Wearing my blue mock-turtleneck band shirt and with the game program I hand, I walked up to where he was sitting, my knees virtually knocking like crazy, and said while shaking like the proverbial leaf, “Excuse me Mr. Wooden, sir, may I have your autograph?”

The man had a reputation as being very generous with fans, and he did not disappoint with me. Right there under the championship banners that his teams put up, not only did he sign my program “Merry Christmas, John Wooden”, he also shook my hand and gave me a warm smile. To say that it was quite the thrill would be an understatement of the highest order.

To this day I still have that game program, as well as a book written by Mr. Wooden that he signed for me a year or two ago; to sell those mementos on Ebay or to give them away will always be completely unthinkable. How could I possibly dare to do that to the greatest coach that ever lived?

For practically all of my adult life, I have tried to follow the tenets of the great coach’s Pyramid of Success. I’ve done okay in applying some of those tenets to my own life, but have failed miserably in others, which continues to disappoint me because I feel that I have let Mr. Wooden down, as well as the rest of the UCLA community.

I still have copies of that pyramid on my bedroom walls, as a reminder to always strive to achieve the standards that he set when he first started the pyramid as a high school teacher and coach in Kentucky and his native Indiana in 1934.

It goes without saying that the whole world, in and out of sports, will dearly miss this coaching and teaching legend.

Like Elton John when he sang about being in the 22nd row in his ode to Marilyn Monroe, “Candle in the Wind”, I’m just a guy in the 222nd row when it comes to John Wooden, but I will forever that man just as much as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton and the countless others whose lives have been touch so greatly by him.

Mr. Wooden has often said that he did not fear death because he would be with his beloved wife Nell, who passed away in 1985.

Since that’s the case, I’m sure that he is happy wherever he is, because he’s with her now.

And I’m more than positive that this inspirational teacher, coach, and human being will rest in peace.

“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”  – John Wooden  (1910-2010)

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After a season in which they tallied their highest number of wins in over forty years and was ranked in the top 15 for the entire campaign, including achieving the #1 spot in early April, UCLA’s baseball team will begin their quest for the College World Series in Omaha this Friday as they host a regional for the first time since 1986.

Pundits have stated that the sixth-ranked Bruins (43-13) have the toughest bracket, as Mid-American Conference Champion Kent State, Big West power UC Irvine and LSU, who’s merely the defending national champion, come to Jackie Robinson Stadium for this double elimination regional to try and earn the right to go to the best-of-3 Super Regionals later on this month.

UCLA will begin with Kent State’s Golden Flashes this Friday night, after UC Irvine’s Anteaters and LSU’s Tigers do battle. With Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer, Rob Rasmussen and Garret Claypool all having outstanding seasons on the mound, Coach John Savage’s Bruins have as good a chance as anyone to make it to the Super Regionals and hopefully the ultimate prize, Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium – it would be their first trip there since 1997, and only their third appearance in Omaha overall.

Former major league manager Gene Mauch once said that if you don’t have good pitching, you don’t have a good team. Since UCLA has  had an abundance of good hurlers this season, success in this first step of the post season is not out of the question in the slightest – if the hitters, led by Dean Espy, come through, the Bruins will be in very good shape.

While the baseball version of the Bruins is trying to get to their College World Series, their softball counterparts are already heading to theirs.

After smacking around  and effectively owning Louisiana Lafayette with a combined score of 20-3 over two games, invoking the mercy rule in both contests, UCLA’s softball team (45-11) will be in Oklahoma City as they are playing  in the eight-team, double elimination Women’s College World Series this weekend.

Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez’s ladies, ranked #5, will take on Florida in their first contest this Thursday afternoon as they go for their 12th national championship and first since 2004.

The Bruin bats were absolutely on fire against Louisiana Lafayette’s Ragin’ Cajuns in the Super Regionals, which they hosted at UCLA, as home runs were flying out of Easton Stadium. ULL was no match for the Bruins as they lost by scores of 10-1 and 10-2,  with both games going five innings.

As college softball has achieved great parity in recent years, including having the top two ranked teams, Alabama and Michigan, lose in their super regionals, the field is wide open this year. Any one of those eight teams in Oklahoma City, which includes Georgia, Tennessee, perennial power Arizona and defending champion Washington, can take home the trophy.

With that being the case, UCLA, led by national player of the year finalist Megan Lagenfeld, will have to step up, play their best softball, and in the words of the immortal John Wooden, “Be at your best when your best is needed”, as they go for the school’s 106th NCAA title and join the women’s gymnastics team among this year’s national champions in Westwood.

They way the UCLA softballers have played as of late, a championship is more than attainable – we’ll see how it goes.

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After much wrangling and an intense fundraising effort, the Bruin Athletic Department officially began the renovation of Pauley Pavilion as a groundbreaking ceremony commenced on the north side of that iconic arena.

The plan is for the outside of Pauley to be worked on first as a new outside concourse will be added. That will allow the basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics teams to continue holding games, matches, and meets in that building for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year.

For 2011-2012, however, Pauley will be unavailable as the interior structure will be getting a complete makeover. The seating capacity will increase from 12,800 to 14,000 as more bathrooms will be added, the  locker rooms will be upgraded and the steps will be narrower so it will be easier for fans to navigate them, among other things.

In short, the house that John Wooden built will be a state of the art arena that will be worthy of UCLA’s longtime tradition of excellence on the field, court, and floor.

The volleyball and gymnastics teams will spend their 2011-2012 seasons in the  smaller John Wooden Center next door to Pauley, while the basketball team is planning to play their home games at the Great Western Forum, the former home of the Lakers – not a bad place to spend a year while your house is being rebuilt.

Meanwhile on the baseball diamond, the Bruins continued their winning ways, remaining in contention for a Pac-10 championship as well as being selected to host an upcoming NCAA regional, not to mention being ranked in the top 15.

Last week they swept USC at Jackie Robinson Stadium in an epic three-game set, which included an exciting 2-1 victory on May 16 when Cody Keefer slammed a two-run  homer in the bottom of the ninth with UCLA down to their last out.

The Bruins then beat UC Santa Barbara 6-2 this past Tuesday night. With only seven games remaining in the regular season, it looks good for coach John Savage’s bunch, particularly if the pitching holds up.

All things considered, it has been good times in Westwood as of late.

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In a convincing fashion, UCLA’s Women’s Gymnastics team won the NCAA championship at the University of Florida last night with a score of 197.725, beating second place Oklahoma by a fifth of a point.

This makes it Coach Valorie Kondos-Field’s sixth title, and the school’s record 105th.

“…really I can’t remember in my 29 teams at UCLA having a team that bought in from day one, said Kondos-Field. “They bought into every little thing that we asked them to do…” which undoubtedly contributed to their dominating performance.

To say that the Bruins dominated would be an understatement, as they posted eleven scores of 9.9 or better, led by Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs’ 9.95 on floor and the same score from Brittani McCullough on the vault.

The all-around scores were likewise dominated by the ladies from Westwood, as Vanessa Zamarripa (39.625) and Anna Li, in her last team competition (39.575) finished one-two in that area, including scoring 9.9s on the uneven bars.

UCLA especially stepped up on the balance beam, which traditionally has been an Achilles’ heel for the team. All six Bruins scored 9.8 or better on that apparatus, led by Hopfner-Hibbs and Zamarrippa’s 9.9.

After doing so well on the beam, it was practically a done deal as the Bruins had only the floor exercise, their strongest event, to do. All they needed was a 9.7 or better from either McCullough or Hopfner-Hibbs to clinch the title, and McCullough sealed the title with a career-high tying 9.925.

The best thing about these band of sisters is that except for Li, everyone returns in 2011. Hence the possible dynasty.

Truly congratulations are in order for these Bruins. The Bruin Nation is certainly very proud; I know I am.

It would have been good enough if that was the only news coming out of Westwood, but to add to the joy, Brian Price, the outstanding defensive lineman for the Bruins and the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, was chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the third pick of the NFL Draft’s second round, 35th overall.

The best part about that was he was the first local taken, ahead of all the USC Trojan players in the draft, including Taylor Mays, who was taken by the San Francisco 49ers later in the round, which was “…pretty cool, ” according to Price. “UCLA is getting back on the map”, he added.

The fact that he was picked before any Trojans confirmed that.

And to add a little blue and gold cherry to the top of the sundae, the Bruin baseball and softball teams scored victories as well, baseball beating Arizona in Tucson in the first game of an important Pac-10 series, 6-3 in ten innings, upping their conference record to 6-4 in what has become a tight race, 28-6 overall. The softball team, like their baseball counterparts ranked in the top ten, also took care of business in beating Stanford yesterday via the mercy rule, 10-0 in five innings.

If all of those triumphs didn’t make yesterday a great day to be a member of Bruin Nation, I honestly don’t know what would…except for perhaps a BCS title in football and a Final Four in basketball.

And sooner or later, those will eventually come;  just give it time.

Meanwhile, I’ll sit back and enjoy our now- 105 national titles.

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After a school record 22-0 start, the Bruin baseball team is ranked number one in the country for the first time since 1997, which incidentally is the last time they went to the College World Series.

Led by coach John Savage, the Bruins have achieved this ranking largely on their strength of their starting pitching. Garrett Claypool (5-1, 1.91 ERA), Trevor Bauer (5-1, 1.95 ERA), Gerrit Cole (6-0, 2.37 ERA) and Rob Rassmussen(5-0, 2.89 ERA) have been lights out in shutting down opposing bats, as has closer Dan Klein, who has six saves to go with his Mariano Rivera-like 0.39 earned run average.

The Bruin bats have unexpectedly come alive as well, considering that they lost much of their power from last season. First baseman Dean Espy leads the team with a  whopping .416 average, second baseman Tyler Rahmatulla is the RBI leader with 28,  catcher Steve Rodriguez has five home runs to top the squad, and right fielder Brett Krill has turned in a solid season of four homers and 20 RBIs while batting .300.

With an overall record of 26-3, having recently taken two out of three games from Oregon State in Corvallis to currently stand at 4-2 in the Pac-10 Conference and after having whipped UC Riverside 10-0 on Tuesday night, UCLA stands a very good chance at going to Omaha in June for the College World Series, as long as they stay healthy and don’t go into any prolonged slumps.

The Westwood faithful  has certainly gotten excited about this team. I recently attended a game at Jackie Robinson Stadium, where the Bruins play their home games, on a weeknight when crowds are usually quite scarce; the place was nearly filled to capacity – that should say something.

As great as the Bruins have been on the diamond, there’s another sport on campus that people are especially jacked up about.

The women’s gymnastics team has been on fire the past few weeks, not only capturing the Pac-10 Championship in Tucson, AZ a few weeks ago, but also winning the NCAA Los Angeles Regional in Pauley Pavilion this past Saturday by an incredible score of 197.825, which was the highest of all the 36 teams in the six regionals. They also had the nation’s highest score at the Pac-10s.

These young ladies, led by Valorie Kondos Field, have been brilliant. Anna Li  brought down the house in achieving a perfect 10.0 on the uneven parallel bars for the second straight meet, having done the same thing at the Pac-10 Championships. She also got a 9.95 on the vault in her last appearance at Pauley, and still finished second in the all around to Vanessa Zamarrippa, who got a score of 39.675.

That should show the awesome depth Kondos Field’s program has; the best thing about all of this is that save for Li, the whole squad returns intact in 2011.

Combined with Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs’ all around score of 39.6, which tied for third and gave the Bruins a complete sweep along with Brittani McCullough dazzling the Pauley faithful with her floor routine, which scored a 9.925 and was good for first place in that event, UCLA is clearly peaking at the right time.

Miss Val’s ladies are ranked as the overall #1 seed heading into the NCAA Nationals, which will be held on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, FL  this April 22-24. They will be favored to capture their sixth national title, their first since 2004, and the school’s 105th overall. If the cards are played right, this could be the next dynasty.

I think folks can see why Bruins are excited in Westwood. With two sports being ranked number one and having dream seasons to this point, UCLA is reminding people that there are still two top athletic programs in Los Angeles; USC doesn’t even field a gymnastics team, despite having a ready facility at the Galen Center.

The Bruin Nation is keeping their fingers crossed for both baseball and women’s gymnastics. This could be a spring to remember, starting a week from this Thursday if the Bruin gymnasts get it done.

I certainly wish the Bruin ballplayers and gymnastics team the utmost best of luck.

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First of all, the offense has take major strides in their new system, named “The Revolver.” This new system, formerly known as “The Pistol” which was developed over at Nevada, but brought to BCS attention by Indiana. This offense has brought new dimensions to the quick running game, as well as new Play-Action, made available by the new quarterback spacing. Basically, the Revolver is an Ace (One back set) with a quarterback in the shotgun.

Some of the standouts include “veteran” sophomore QB Kevin Prince, who has improved vastly since last season’s camp. The receiving corps has picked up right where they left off, as Nelson Rosario and Taylor Embree, as well as new additions in the versatile Colorado transfer Josh Smith and tight end Joe Fauria. Sophomore Morrell Presley has continued to impress, playing tight-end, H-Back, and wideout in practice. Damien Thigpen has been amazing this Spring, playing literally every specialist position possible, ranging from returns to F-Back, a hybrid wing back built specifically for the new offense. The O-Line has made major strides this Spring as well. The biggest challenge was replacing Left Tackle Xavier Su a’Filo, who left the team for an LDS mission, but Nik Abele, Sean Sheller, and Brett Downey have made huge strides to replace the potential All-PAC 10 Tackle. Running back Jonathan Franklin has also made major improvement in ball control and being an all purpose back for next year.

On defense, the unit loses one of the most dominant PAC 10 defensive players in recent years in Brian Price, but key defenders such as LB, Akeem Ayers, DB’s Aaron Hester, Rahim Moore (led NCAA in interceptions last year), Glenn Love, and Sheldon Price all return to give hope to the defense for next year. While the unit will be much different, expect a quicker, more aggressive unit this year.

As Spring ball winds down, it should prove to be a very different, more exciting look for the Bruins, in their goal to improve to an 8 win season… a difficult, difficult task if you ask me

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After all the futility that the UCLA Bruins have gone through in basketball this season, the most positive thing that I can say about this hoops squad can be summed up in three words:

It is over.

Bruin fans will no longer have to suffer through games such as the 20-point blowouts at the hands of Portland (of all people!), Washington, and USC.

They will no longer have to sit through humiliating losses such as Mississippi State and two local mid-major teams that are supposed to be glorified scrimmages and guaranteed wins every year: Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State.

And they will no longer have to endure such madness as players air balling free throws and put backs, opponents creating highlight reel-level dunks, and putting up enough bricks on jump shots to solve L.A.’s homeless problem; that has all happened with Ben Howland’s Bad News Bruins this year.

Not to mention a key post guy who was actually playing well, Drew Gordon, quitting the team and transferring to New Mexico amid much acrimony; would you believe he ended up fourth on the team in minutes and points (11.2) per game?

And he only played six games!

Quite a sad comment on the Bruins’ fortunes.

Having assured themselves of only their third losing season in 55 years, it would be easy to point fingers, assign blame, and single out scapegoats. It would be easy to make excuses, such as the fact that UCLA was rocked by the early departures of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, and especially Jrue Holiday.

However, even though Jerime Anderson and Malcolm Lee were failures at point guard, and Nikola Dragovic was absolutely pathetic at times, shooting just 38 percent for the year (I’m SO glad that senior’s gone!), I won’t put the blame of the Bruins’ Charlie Brown-like woes solely on them.

Or anyone else for that matter.

I must be honest: I felt that for all intents and purposes, the season ended on January 16th at Pauley Pavilion, when crosstown enemy USC scored their biggest win in their history over UCLA in  that building, 67-46, in a game where the Bruins seemingly didn’t even try and let the Trojans run all over them and push them around on their home floor.

From that point on, I knew that the players just didn’t have it; I began to look toward next year then.

Shockingly enough, there were some Bruin bright spots on the hardwood.

Reeves Nelson and Tyler Honeycutt played well and were effective on the boards, especially Nelson, who was a beast. They will undoubtedly be impact players next season, particularly if Nelson’s corneas hold up; he needs to wear goggles from now on.

And though you can’t mistake him for Kobe Bryant or LeBron James, and he certainly wasn’t the type of go-to guy that can win games for you, Michael Roll had a very good senior campaign at forward, leading the Bruins in field goals, assists (if you can believe that), and three-point percentage (46 percent), and was UCLA’s top scorer at 13.5 points a game.

On top of all of that, he was named to the All-Pac 10 Conference’s first team for his efforts; to that I say “Well done.”

I’m sure that many folks are wondering about the Bruins’ prospects for 2010-2011.

They have to be better, because they can’t get much worse.

One could say that some of UCLA’s best players are not in Westwood yet; Lazeric Jones, a well-regarded junior college transfer from Chicago, will take over at the point. Tyler Lamb, a guard from Santa Ana Mater Dei High School, and Josh Smith, a 6′9″ giant weighing over 300 ponds, will get an excellent chance to earn playing time.

If I were them, I would be most excited about stepping into a situation like UCLA’s where I can contribute right away and help turn things around quickly; that’s the position these new players will be in.

Will those newcomers, along with Nelson, Honeycutt, Anderson, and Lee, be able to lead the Bruins back to respectability?

Though I am confident that they will win more than the 14 games they won this year, it remains to be seen whether or not this disaster of a season is a mere one-year bump in the road, or the starting point to long rebuilding process.

I certainly hope that it will be more one than the other.

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The baseball teams from UCLA and USC clashed in the first Dodgertown Classic at Dodger Stadium, a college baseball round robin tournament sponsored by the Dodgers.

To say that it was a huge success would be a pronounced understatement, as not only did 14,588 show up when a crowd of about three or four thousand was expected, they had to open up the left and right field pavilions because the field level couldn’t hold everyone.

And in another incredible turn of events, the lines at the food concessions ran long, with people wailting up to two hours to buy food due to the fact that not enough workers were there. They actually ran out of Dodger Dogs, if that can be believed. Imagine a game at Chavez Ravine without Dodger Dogs!

Considering that it was February with Spring Training games still a few days away, the atmosphere was electrifying. The crowd was split 50 /50 between Bruin and Trojan fans; even the two bands were there playing their fight songs and helping to pump the crowd up.

A new aspect of the crosstown war was certainly born that day, no doubt helped by the way the game commenced.

It was a tight, well played affair for the first 6 1/2 innings, as the pitchers kept both teams at bay. UCLA left fielder Cody Keefer, who went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored, excited the Bruin faithful when he gunned down USC’s Mike Hart trying to score in the 4th.

After both teams traded runs in the sixth, the Bruins exploded for five runs in the 7th and 8th innings. Justin Uribe singled up the middle off Trojan pitcher Shuhei Fujiya to score two runs and take a 3-1 advantage, then Niko Gallego blasted a solo home run into the left field pavilion to lead off the eighth, as UCLA added three runs to pull away sending the blue-clad fans into a frenzy and the cardinal and gold followers to the exits.

Bruin closer Dan Klein retired the side in the ninth, striking out the last two Trojan batters and pleasing a Bruin Nation that has suffered mostly defeat at the hands of the various USC teams such as football and basketball this year.

UCLA’s win over ‘SC raised their record to 6-0, solidified their ranking in the top 25, and gave the Bruins their best start since 1997, which incidentally was the last time they went to the College World Series.

USC’s record fell to 3-4, an uncharacteristically slow start for them.

This contest between the crosstown enemies showed me two things:

1.   That baseball is still right up there with football as the national pastime; having nearly 15,000 people show up to watch two college teams in late winter should more than convince people of that, and…

2.   As was previously said, this could well be a brilliant new aspect of the crosstown rivalry between the two schools.

That’s why it would be a very good idea to have the Bruin and Trojan baseball programs play a game at Dodger Stadium every year; It would generate good publicity for both college baseball and baseball in general, give the fans of both schools something to look forward to, and get excited about in a sport that’s more or less under the mainstream radar in L.A.

In the meantime, I’ll be satisfied with the memory of UCLA beating their crosstown enemies in the Bruins’ first ever appearance at Dodger Stadium, and hope that the people in the charge of the Dodgertown Classic and the two schools’ athletic departments see the wisdom in making this clash an annual event.

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I’ll give you the “statistical rundown”:

1. John Wooden (620-147), 10 National Championships, 12 Final Four Appearances (316-67 in Conference)
2. Jim Harrick (192-62), 1 National Championship, 1 Final Four Appearance, (108-36 in conference)
3. Ben Howland (145-49), 3 Final Four Appearances, (77-32 in conference)
4. Gene Bartow (52-9), 1 Final Four Appearance, (24-4 in conference)
5. Larry Brown (42-17, 1 Final Four Appearance, (25-11 in conference)
6. Gary Cunningham (80-8), (29-3 in conference)
7. Larry Farmer (61-23), (39-15 in conference)
8. Steve Lavin (145-78), (81-48 in conference)
9. Walt Hazzard (77-47), (47-25 in conference)
10. Caddy Works (173-159), (82-108 in conference)
11. Wilbur Johns (93-120), (34-56 in conference)
12. Fred Cozens (21-4), (9-0 in conference)* only played 25 games…

By this logic, you need to notice that this is purely on the formula of National Championships>Final Four>Overall Record, not anything like personal preference, nothing like that.

As you can see, in the 91 years of Bruin Basketball, this will basically be the first time that any coach who is remotely as successful as Ben Howland will be persecuted as a disgrace of a program.

Ben Howland has performed tasks that only three other coaches have done at UCLA, salvaged a program that was on the verge of being a bottom-feeder program, sent out seven first round picks in his time here, and changed the identity of defensive basketball.

This year, on the other hand, Howland basically was in the room when the sh- confetti hit the fan. The reason? The year of “13-9” and of Florida’s All-Star Donovans. 2006 was the worst class in the history of the “text” for UCLA. Check out that year’s class and some of the names on that list, both for players and for schools.

Some highlights after the jump:

Via Rivals

North Carolina: eadlining is Brandan Wright, the nation’s No. 5 player. Adding to the arsenal is the best incoming backcourt in the nation, which features Wayne Ellington, the No. 9 player in the country, and Oak Hill point guard Tywon Lawson. All three players will make an instant impact and could use the college game as a quick springboard to the NBA.

Ohio State: It’s almost sacrilege to list the Buckeyes second with their stellar class this year. How many guys like Greg Oden, the best big man in the high school ranks since Shaquille O’Neal, come around? Not a lot. And now with the new NBA age limit, Oden will fine tune his pro-ready game in Columbus for at least a year. Coming along with him is his long time teammate and close friend Mike Conley, the No. 3 ranked point guard in the country, with him.

Texas: The Longhorns have become a national recruiting force during the last five years on the basketball front and reinforced that when Kevin Durant, the second ranked player in the country, picked the Big 12 school over North Carolina and Connecticut.

Stanford: 9. Stanford – The Cardinal isn’t bringing in the big class like so many other schools but they are bringing in big time talent. Brook Lopez, the fourth best player in the country, is thought to be a future NBA forward by many observers. His twin brother Robin Lopez isn’t too shabby either at No. 17 overall in the country. 6-foot-9 Texas forward Will Paul was a guard before he hit a huge growth spurt.

Duke: After hitting it big in 2005, Coach K and company are adding key components to their stellar freshmen class. Gerald Henderson is the slasher that the team is missing and should be a major player for the Blue Devils next year. New Jersey native Brian Zoubek is a rarity in college hoops – a skilled 7-footer. Jon Scheyer, a four-star guard from suburban Chicago, is a versatile winner that will shine in Duke’s system.

Arizona: Lute Olson went hard after San Diego wing forwardChase Budinger and his hard work paid off when the No. 10 overall prospect picked the Wildcats over several other Pac-10 schools. He’s one of the highest ranked players to ever commit to Arizona. He’s joined by 6-foot-8 forward Jordan Hill and Houston point guard Nic Wise, who will finally sign with the school three years after he committed.

First, where was UCLA in that article? Second, how many current/future NBA stars are there on that list? Guess what, the most talented team in the PAC 10 is Cal. They were all from this (or 2005 with a redshirt) class.

In the 2006-07 year, UCLA struck gold for the second time in a row and got back to the Final Four for the second time in a row. Let’s look at the players the were/should have been here right now: (listed in order of playing time this year)

• Michael Roll
• Nikola Dragovic
• James Keefe
• Mustafa Abdul-Hamid
• Russell Westbrook (Went pro after his sophomore season)

… How did we not see this coming! This was one of the most terrible, over-speculated, and just pathetic recruiting classes, with the exception of Westbrook. We all knew that he was going pro when he developed out, he was bound to do that.

How could this happen though? Not enough scholarships, or just overzealous speculation for the next class? Both really; here are the players that are/should be here now;

• Michael Roll
• Nikola Dragovic
• James Keefe
• Mustafa Abdul-Hamid
• Chase Stanback (Transfered)
• Kevin Love (Went pro)
• Russell Westbrook (Went pro)

As you can see, you can fill out a pretty good starting lineup from these guys? Did Howland think that he absolutely needed to keep Love and Westbrook? No, he had faith in picking up a decent center to anchor the team, and keeping Roll up to speed. His one mistake? Influencing Stanback to transfer. This mistake is the most apparent reason for any woes today, but he did have a chance at making things up next year: (Red means scrub walk-on player)

• Michael Roll
• Malcolm Lee
• Nikola Dragovic
• Jerime Anderson
• James Keefe
• J’mison Morgan
• Mustafa Abdul-Hamid
• Spencer Soo
• Tyler Trapani
• Blake Arnet
• Matt DeMarcus
• Kevin Schmidt
• Jrue Holiday (Went Pro)
• Drew Gordon (Transfered mid-Sophomore year)

You try arranging a starting lineup out of returners! Look at that! They all ended up being busts! This all traces back to 2006, that dismal year. Imagine this, and this is farfetched:

• Jrue Holiday (PG)
• Michael Roll (SG)
• Chase Stanback (SF)
• Reeves Nelson (PF/C)
• Drew Gordon (PF/C)

That’s a damn good lineup if you ask me. And it didn’t ask for much. Did Howland hit the PERFECT STORM? Not really, but he did have some bad breaks. That terrible 2006 recruiting class was something that ending up nipping UCLA in the long run, and the bust from last year will hurt us again in four years if the “Fab Four Three” don’t hurry up and develop.

Am I saying that Howland is going to get pressured? Yep, absolutely, a losing season is not ever acceptable at a program that is four (actually two thanks to John Calipari) years removed from a National Championship appearance. But do I think he will drive this program back into the ground? No way.

UCLA is in the darkest part of its illustrious existence, but hopefully Harvey Dent was right saying that it is darkest before the dawn.

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UCLA has 24 commits, I’ve emphasized my personal favorites: (from UCLA’s official site)

This day was basically one of the best in recent history for anyone who even roots for UCLA. With 24 signees, the class has evolved into one of those “Landmark” types of classes. Of course, it all got going with the signing of Edison Line Backer, Jordan Zumwalt. Zumwalt initially signed with Stanford, but Harbaugh didn’t make sure he had Jordan locked down, and he slipped into Westwood.

However, the biggest sign for the Bruins today was Owamagbe Odighizuwa, the 5 Star D-Lineman is one of those guys who is predicted to immediately make an impact on the team, and in a place where UCLA is very, very thin.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but stick around as the information is finalized.

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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.

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However, it was not to watch a basketball game – shockingly enough, considering that with its 11 national championships, hoops are to Bruins the way football is to crosstown enemy USC – iconic in UCLA lore.

And although it has won 19 NCAA titles of its own and has a coach in Al Scates who’s a legend in his own right, I wasn’t at Pauley Pavilion to see the volleyball team, either.

The team I was going to see, compared to football and basketball, is a tad under the radar in the grand scheme of college sports, though it has grown immensely over the past decade.

Compared to March Madness and the BCS, this sport doesn’t get quite as much mainstream attention, not even compared to the Women’s Basketball Final Four.

Which is most unfortunate, because these are some of the best athletes one will ever see, young ladies who rarely stand 5′6″ but can do things that Tim Tebow can only dream about.

For instance, ever tried to just stand on a four-inch wide piece of wood that’s four feet off the ground?

Ever tried to swing from one bar to another when they’re not the same height? Or do crazy tricks while jumping over a padded vault or running around a large mat?

These ladies I was going to see can run, jump, spin, twist, and dance on all those things, and do them very well. The routines they can do are so mind boggling and gravity-defying, it could easy debilitate the average jock.

I’m taking about a sport that has been one of the most successful programs at UCLA this century – the women’s gymnastics team.

Led by the dynamic Valorie Kondos Field, who’s been the head coach since 1991, the Bruin gymnasts have been nothing short of incredible in winning five NCAA championships, including four in a five-year span from 2000-2004.

Only Georgia, with ten titles, and Utah, with nine, have won more.

Many outstanding gymnasts have donned the blue leotard in Kondos Field’s tenure, including Olympians such as Yvonne Tousek and Kate Richardson from Canada, and a whole slew of Americans led by Jamie Dantzscher, Kristen Maloney, Tasha Schwikert and Mohini Bhardwaj, who was a silver medalist at the Athens Games.

The fact that these Bruins are either the first or second reanked academic team on campus every year is another big selling point. This program has been loaded with Academic All-Americans over the years, and continues to be.

Indeed, these are real student-athletes, which in the era of football players getting arrested or being ineligible due to bad grades and basketball players going the one-and-done route, is a refreshing relief.

And very nice to see; I only wish my grades approached these gymnasts’ when I was a UCLA student.

As for this year, the Bruins have perhaps their best chance at winning an NCAA title in several years.

Anna Li is the lone senior among the bunch and a five time All-American who, along with floor exercise All-American Brittani McCullough, is the leader of a team that has been ranked number one this season, and is always near the top of the polls. 

Vanessa Zamarripa and Canadian Olympian/World medalist Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs deserve mention for their impressive performances. Zamarripa collected three perfect 10s on vault, finishing third in the all around during last year’s NCAA Championships, and has picked up where she left off this season. Hopfner-Hibbs was equally outstanding in winning  the Pac-10 Conference Freshman of the Year in 2009 and scoring as high as 9.95 on the vault and floor.

Niki Tom and Mizuki Sato have been excellent as well, both of them being all Pac-10 performers.

These are just some of the amazing young ladies that grace the mats in Westwood; they are so good at what they do that I thoroughly enjoy myself at the meets.

The only disappointment that I have in all of this is a very small one: The fact that USC seems afraid to face these athletes, as the Trojans do not field a gymnastics team, thus leaving the Bruin gymnasts on the outside of the crosstown war looking in.

I feel for those young women in that regard; it would be exciting to see the rivalry on the vault, beam , bars, and floor.

Then again, perhaps ‘SC has no gymnastics program because the Trojans know they would be dominated by their Bruin counterparts, which is undoubtedly something they don’t want.

In the meantime, people need to come out to Pauley on Sunday afternoons, which is when they usually have their home meets, and support this great team, which boasts the highest average attendance in UCLA sports outside of football and men’s basketball.

Here’s a case in point: Their opening meet against then-second ranked Utah at Pauley drew over 5,100 fans. The women’s basketball game vs. number two-ranked Stanford, held the next day in the same venue, drew less than half of that total.

That is saying something.

These ladies have certainly upheld the Bruins’ tradition of excellence in that hallowed arena, and then some.

If you would like to see what I’m talking about, the Bruin gymnasts’ upcoming home meets are on January 31st, February 14th and 21st, and March 14th, all starting at 2:00 p.m.

I highly encourage everyone to check them out. Trust me – you’ll be glad that you went.

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On the other hand, UCLA played a hard fought, complete effort, spirited game this time around and it payed out dividends. This change of attitude was a surprise… to me at least, because the players went through their usual rounds of saying how much they were going to improve, how much they were going to change their attitude, or how hard they will work, and guess what? They actually did it!

If you didn’t already know, UCLA basically got into a defensive battle, and ended up taking the lead with 7.6 seconds left. Washington inbounded the ball, and blew past Mustafa Abdul Hamid only to score and take the lead 61-60 with 3.3 seconds remaining. Malcolm Lee was having trouble trying to shake free his man to inbound the ball, so Michael Roll pushed the ball up to the walk on Mustafa Abdul Hamid, who has already hit a game winner this year against Concordia. Mustafa dribbled to the 3 point line, did a little shot fake, and then let it loose with about .2 seconds left on the clock. The ball went up, and then through the net–nothing in between–and UCLA won the game.

The students were just overexcited or something, and they rushed the court… well almost rushed the court.

Here’s a quote from Eamonn Brennan about that terrible decision

[H]ooray for security personnel! UCLA is the most storied program in all of college basketball… Had this court storm occurred, it would have gone on record as the worst, least-deserved court storm of all-time, and this is coming from someone that more often than not doesn’t care about court storms.

UCLA shouldn’t ever rush the court. When teams beat UCLA, they rush the court, not the other way around.

Anyways, analysis after the break…

The real factor, aside from effort, was the ability of UCLA’s flexibility on defense. The 2-3 Zone has never looked so effective for an extended amount of time.

On offense, UCLA did an extremely sufficient job at using their interior passing on overplays and overaggressive traps, and really proved to any doubters that Howland can dish out a good offensive game plan, especially in the first half. In the post, Keefe was given the start as Nelson was getting over the flu this week, and it only proved their respective strengths and weaknesses. Of course, Nelson is the better low post offensive player and Keefe is the better defensive player. Collectively, they form a pretty good duo, but Reeves has the pure opportunity to become a really great low post combination player. Last night, Reeves finished with 9 in the first half alone. Also, Dragovic kept his word and only attempted one three late in the game, and used his size to get closer to the basket.

Honestly, UCLA only had one problem and that was the fact that Washington was just nailing everything they shot. Of course, everything evened out, and it came down to free throws again. Free throws have been, and will always be an issue in close games, and there wouldn’t have ever been any dramatics had UCLA hit more of their free throws.

All in all, UCLA has the opportunity to build some momentum, but not even the most educated UCLA fan can predict how UCLA will react to this emotional win. It’s all about consistency, and it would really help if UCLA can play a good game against Washington State this weekend.

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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.

UCLA was likewise horrible in the paint, performing like Mini-Me as the Trojans (11-6, 3-2 in the Pac-10) bullied them around in outscoring them 28-14 in the key.

Nikola Dragovic was particularly pathetic as he scored a mere two points and missed all six of this shots from the floor, while his Balkan counterpart, Nikola Vucevic, had a career high 19 points.

Dwight Lewis was the real Bruin killer, however. He made five of nine three pointers on his way to a game high 24 points; he scored more than half of UCLA’s team total all by himself.

Any chance the Bruins had of being competitive in this hoops version of the crosstown war came to a screeching halt when ‘SC went on a 17-5 run to start the second half. After another Trojan run with five minutes left, the fans started heading for the exits in droves; it must have been like rats running from a sinking ship, because that’s exactly what UCLA was on Saturday.

And who could blame them?

Coach Ben Howland put it best when after the slaughter was over, he said, “I’m embarrassed for our team…the program, (the) former players and coaches.”

Quite the understatement, don’t you think?

It’s time for some harsh reality Bruin Nation: The players – if that’s what you want to call them – on this season’s edition of the UCLA basketball team are just not very good, mediocre at best. Some of them have the potential to be solid players in the future, but as for this year, forget it.

This team cannot shoot (especially from the charity stripe) or rebound consistently. Too many of them lack good fundamentals and they turn the ball over way too much; these Bruins have more turnovers than assists this year, sad but incredibly true.

All of that adds up to what will likely be the worst UCLA hoops squad in decades, maybe even worse than former coach Steve Lavin’s last team that went 11-19 in 2002-2003.

As much as it hurts me to do, I’m officially writing them off for this season.

Being that the Bruins’ next opponent is a Washington team that could well blow them out the way that USC did, I feel I have no choice.

I am sorry to say this, but these Bruins are in ruins.

At least for this year.

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As a Bruin, I am absolutely disgusted with UCLA’s performance in Pauley Pavilion last night. UCLA was destroyed and I mean destroyed by USC, by the score of 67-46, their biggest victory ever at Pauley Pavilion. You can check out the box score here. UCLA, who never led in the blowout, were out-rebounded 37-22, and out-shot (50.2% to 33.3%). The player of the game: Dwight Lewis. I predicted that this could happen yesterday:

Dwight Lewis is principally known as a “Bruin Slayer” as his past few outings against UCLA have been big, most likely the deciding factor for beating UCLA.

Lewis had a career high (24 Points) and five three pointers against the typical Howland defense; stingy, tough, relentl-… sorry, I couldn’t kid myself anymore. UCLA has one of the worst defenses in the nation (ranking 125th in the Pomeroy rankings), and seems helpless in both zone and in man.

Down low, Nikola Vucevic had a game changing 19 points, and helped shut down Reeves Nelson defensively.

There really isn’t any point in analyzing this game. It’s not worth it. The bigger question was brought up over at Bruins Nation, where they are currently question the integrity of Ben Howland, the coach who brought UCLA back from the abyss to three straight Final Fours, a National Championship game appearance, and a handful of NBA premier players to a program with little integrity.

My thoughts after the break:

Questioning Ben Howland is like questioning Pete Carroll after USC went 9-4 last year. There are numerous arguments that were brought forth in favor of getting rid of Howland because he is either stubborn, or doesn’t run the offense that John Calipari does, or he is a bad recruiter.

Going right down to the Win or Loss column, it would seem that UCLA is headed directly to a losing season, and a pretty embarrassing one at that. That, obviously, will never, ever be acceptable at UCLA. However, attacking a coach that has done unbelievable things with a program in ruins, and kept it going for three years, and brought a new identity back to a type of hard-nosed, grind it out, basketball team.

Until this year, UCLA has played hard, fluid, tenacious basketball. Until this year, everyone was on the Howland bandwagon. Until this year, UCLA has competed on a consistently high level. I honestly can’t bring myself to put Howland on the hot seat; it’s unacceptable, but you gotta have faith!

We’ll see how much UCLA loses by when they face the Washington schools next week.

On the USC side of things, it would seem as if USC has something to really build on now, with their first road win coming in good fashion, it would seem as if this coaching staff has themselves a good head start at catching up to UCLA and play with them consistently and not just every other year.

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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.

USC is led by three veteran players; Dwight Lewis, Marcus Johnson, and Mike Gerrity who transferred over last year.

Dwight Lewis is principally known as a “Bruin Slayer” as his past few outings against UCLA have been big, most likely the deciding factor for beating UCLA. So far this year, Lewis has averaged 13.2 PPG, but has been almost disgusting in the other categories. His assist to turnover ratio is 1:2, and is seldom found near the boards.

His likely opposite will be Malcolm Lee, that is, if UCLA decides to go with the man defense instead of the newfangled zone defense that has Howland losing sleep about even considering going against his mojo. Malcolm Lee didn’t have a great offensive showing up north, but he did have a good defensive effort out there. Cal’s Jerome Randle was stuffed in that game, and Stanford’s Landry Fields was contained to a certain degree. The only difference is that Lewis, although he is really good, is USC’s only major threat on the court, whereas Cal and Stanford have other firepower in their lineups.

Marcus Johnson is another big factor in this game as he is doing good enough to keep his team afloat. He averages just under 10 points per game, and just under 5 rebounds per game. He is one of those long, athletic guys who can frustrate smaller defenders. He will most likely be defended by UCLA freshman, Tyler Honeycutt.

If there is a deciding factor in this game, it would have to be Gerrity. The small guard has been able to rack up consistent points, and has been the staple to the quicker lineup. He averages a solid 10 points per game, but isn’t the greatest shooter at 41% on the year, but still, his leadership at the point has been the most obvious improvement for the Trojans this year. Up in the Bay Area though, Gerrity seemed out of his comfort zone, frequently committing bad turnovers. He will most likely be seeing Jerime Anderson and Malcolm Lee in a rotation tonight.

Jerime Anderson has looked practically pathetic so far in this early year, and has been beat off the dribble more times that I can even fathom. If he can’t contain Gerrity, it will be basically Gerrity versus UCLA at that point because there isn’t anyone who is quick enough to matchup one on one with him.

In the front court, Alex Stephenson and Nikola Vucevic (in tandem) average 18 rebounds per game, and three blocks. They combine for 21 Points per game, shooting around 50:50 from the field. As is the story with the Bruins, USC’s big men have had free throw problems, Vucevic is shooting 65% from the line, pretty good compared to UCLA, but Stephenson is even worse than many of the Bruins right now. Reeves Nelson, James Keefe, Nikola Dragovic, and Brandon Lane will be scrambling in and out of the lineup to find some sort of combination that works against the bigger, and stronger Trojan Duo.

UCLA, on film, has the better team. If history tells us anything, UCLA will have a decent night shooting, and USC might have to play catch-up for most of the game. However, if your mind tells you anything as a UCLA fan, USC could come out fired up, and then just totally trash the Bruins late in the first and put it on cruise control for the rest of the way.

In my opinion, if UCLA gets beat off the dribble by either Gerrity or Lewis, they’ll have to change it up to that zone and hope USC can’t find their stroke. However, if UCLA can contain them to a relatively close margin, and it would come down the the wire, USC has practically zero depth, especially with Lil’ Romeo getting kicked off the team earlier this week, and UCLA gets the nod.

Final Predictions:

There are plenty of “if’s” going into this game for both UCLA and USC . Any UCLA fan would tell you that they have no clue how this team will play tonight. If UCLA comes out focused right from tipoff, it should be easy for them to take it to the Trojans and put them away early. However, if USC can get something going offensively, and just play “OK” defense, they will be able to pull it out. Hm, I think I’m going to say that because Norm Chow stayed at UCLA, they’ll win it tonight… that’s how shaky this game could be.

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Youth. Inexperience. Mediocrity.

After starting the year 2-6 with losses to Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State (of all people!), the Bruins have gone 5-3 since that horrendous beginning, including 2-2 in the Pac-10 conference.

It was a foregone conclusion that UCLA was going to be rebuilding after losing standouts like Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, and Jrue Holiday to the NBA.

One could say that the team has improved over the past eight games in winning five out of their last eight, but issues still remain.

Malcolm Lee, Tyler Honeycutt, Reeves Nelson and Jerime Anderson are young layers who have talent and potential, but have made costly mistakes such as turnovers – which cost them in their 70-59 loss to Stanford yesterday.

Nelson, in particular, is a beast in the paint as far as battling for rebounds, but can’t shoot free throws. Anderson has continued to make too many mistakes at guard; his tipped pass at the end of overtime at California could have spelled disaster for the Bruins if not for the ball falling into Michael Roll’s hands and him making the winning shot with less than two seconds left this past Wednesday.

In short, UCLA has suffered from a combination of freshman growing pains and Howland’s reluctance to open up the offense and needing his arm twisted to play zone defense, which he has finally done at times these past two weeks.

One source of hope is the fact that the Pac-10 is down this year with no teams standing out, which makes these conference games winnable. The one team that’s ranked in the top 25, Washington, is sure to fall out of the polls after an 0-3 start in league play, which included getting swept by the Arizona schools this weekend.

With their record currently at 7-9, UCLA does have a shot at finishing  at .500, which Howland has marked as his goal. It all depends on how much the Bruins continue to progress and which team shows up at games.

USC comes to Pauley Pavilion this coming Saturday, and although the recent sanctions have rendered their season meaningless, with them being banned from all tournament play, the Trojans did go on an eight game winning streak led by forward Leonard Washington and transfer guard  Mike Gerrity, who immediately turned ‘SC around upon arriving at Galen Center.

Beating them will be difficult, as Garrity clearly has the edge over Anderson and Lee at Guard and Washington has the edge in the frontcourt over Nelson and Nikola Dragovic.

Hopefully the Bruins, with their fans’ help, will find a way to win in their friendly confines.

It’s more or less a given that the only way UCLA will see post season play will be to win the Pac-10 tournament in March.

Unfortunately, no one in Bruin Nation is expecting that this year, so the only thing to do is to look for progress and improvement from this bunch.

If they show that, then the future will look quite bright in Westwood.

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Being a loyal alumnus and a dedicated member of Bruin Nation, that was a difficult thing to say. But it’s also the truth.

This program has had three coaches over these past ten years, including the current one, Rick Neuheisel. UCLA’s previous two head honchos, Bob Toledo and Karl Dorrell, were fired after failing to live up to expectations and falling behind crosstown enemy USC in the areas of execution and success.

Let’s take stock in the just completed decade:

An overall record of 67 wins and 57 losses, with a sub-par 41-43 record in the Pacific 10 Conference.

No BCS bowl appearances and a 3-5 record in the bowls they did appear in; two Sun Bowls were as good as it got for the Bruins.

A failure to reach the top ten in the polls, UCLA’s highest ranking being at No.11 during the 2005 season.

And worst of all, the Bruins beat the Trojans only once in ten tries, losing seven in a row in one stretch.

A performance like this wouldn’t be so bad at some schools, but compared to earlier decades in which UCLA enjoyed Pac-10 glory, Rose Bowl berths, and top ten rankings, this was an unacceptable period.

However, despite all of this there were bright spots as the Bruins did achieve some big wins over significant opponents, wins that made for some good memories in Westwood.

I thought I would list the six victories that were the best in my view, in descending order, starting with…

6.  UCLA 20, Alabama 17 – 2001

This was by far the biggest road triumph during the decade, as the Bruins overcame a 10-0 Crimson Tide lead in front of a typically large and hostile SEC crowd in Tuscaloosa.

The defense came alive in sacking the Tide’s quarterback three times. DeShaun Foster ran for 110 yards, Cory Paus threw a 53 yard touchdown pass to Tab Perry to silence the ‘Bama faithful, and most significantly UCLA had no penalties or turnovers, the first and perhaps the only time that has ever happened.

5.  UCLA 35, Alabama 24 – 2000

After a disappointing 1999, the Bruins began the new millenium against a team that was ranked third in the country, coming off an SEC championship and a win in the Orange Bowl.

Led by DeShaun Foster’s 187 yards and three rushing touchdowns along with Freddie Mitchell’s 46 yard TD catch and a touchdown throw off an option play, Bob Toledo’s squad overcame a 71 yard punt return and a 91 yard interception return, both going for scores, to get the victory as the defense forced three key turnovers.

It was a pretty decent way to begin a new century.

4.  UCLA 23, Michigan 20 – 2000

The biggest thing I remember about this contest at the Rose Bowl was that it was excruciatingly hot, 103 degrees in Pasadena; 15 people had to go to the hospital for heat exhaustion that day.

It turned out to be worth it as UCLA came back from a 20-10 deficit in the fourth quarter behind Ryan McCann’s 236 yards passing and two touchdowns. Freddie Mitchell stepped up huge in catching ten passes for 137 yards, and Jason Stephens clinched the win with a last minute pick.

For the second time in three weeks, a number three ranked team fell to the Bruins.

3.  UCLA 41, Oklahoma 24 – 2005

This was a statement game in Westwood, as the Sooners from Norman were coming off a BCS national championship appearance and had one of the game’s top running backs in Adrian Peterson.

Peterson was held to 58 yards on the ground as UCLA came back from an early Sooner lead to overtake OU. Drew Olson threw for 314 yards with three touchdowns as the Bruins scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, and the defense forced three Oklahoma fumbles which they turned into 17 points.

2.  UCLA 47, California 40 – 2005

This battle at the Rose Bowl between the University of California’s two flagship campuses was epic, the best one in the longtime series.

It marked the first time that the Bruins and Berkeley’s Golden Bears met while ranked in the top 20, Cal at No.10 and UCLA at No. 18. Since both teams had high scoring offenses that year, it promised to be an exciting contest.

The crowd of 84,811 was not disappointed, as the game went back and forth with the Bruins overcoming a nine point Bear advantage and hundred yard rushing games by Cal running backs Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett in the final quarter. Maurice Jones-Drew helped to knock out the Bears with 299 yards of total offense and five touchdowns, which included an 81 yard punt return for a score that excited his UCLA teammates and Bruin fans.

The fact that the Bruins ended the game with a last minute interception and a final score by Drew only served to put an exclamation point on the whole thing.

UCLA showed much heart and guts in the victory, which should have gotten a prominent spot on ESPN Classic.

Now you know I could not make a list of great Bruin wins without including at least one triumph over the Trojan enemies.

Choosing this game as the most significant victory of the decade was admittedly predictable, but as a fervent member of Bruin Nation, it’s my duty and obligation…

1.   UCLA 13, USC 9 – 2006

A game that will live forever in UCLA lore and, to the delight of Bruins everywhere, in Trojan infamy.

This was unquestionably the biggest upset in the history of the crosstown rivalry, and perhaps the biggest upset not only in UCLA football history, but in the entire history of Bruin athletics.

With ‘SC as a powerhouse and a defending national champion, complete with a 10-1 record, a No.2 ranking and playing for a spot in the BCS title game, how could it not have been an upset for the ages? Especially with UCLA being only 6-5 that afternoon of December 2nd.

Led by Justin Hickman and Bruce Davis, the Bruin defense absolutely shined in stuffing the vaunted Trojan offensive attack time after time, particularly on 4th down conversions.

Before 90,266 rabid fans, Eric McNeal’s tipped interception to stop a potentially game winning USC drive and Aaron Perez’s 63 yard punt sealed the deal on a victory that broke a streak of 63 games in which the Trojans scored at least 20 points, and most importantly denied the Men of Troy a shot at the national championship.

It was the highest ranked team that UCLA had ever beaten, as well as coach Karl Dorrell’s signature win.

And I had the privilege, pleasure, and honor of being at the Rose Bowl to witness it.

I hope these recollections of this past decade’s bright spots provided happy memories for Bruin fans and alumni, in light of the overall disappointment that these past ten years have brought to Westwood.

Perhaps the next decade that’s upon us will bring better results for Bruin football, and I’ll be able to make a list in 2020 of at least ten great wins rather than a mere six.

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Oh, and Happy New Year!

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The temperature at Washington D.C’s RFK Stadium was 32 degrees with a wind chill factor of 19 and 20 mile-an-hour winds; plus the field was frozen, making it difficult to get footing.

And on top of everything else, the Temple Owls, playing in their first bowl game since 1979 after having their first winning season in 19 years, were extremely motivated, rocking on the sidelines as they raced to a 21-10 lead in the first half.

In only their third bowl game ever, Temple outplayed the Bruins in the game’s first two quarters, with Owl quarterback Vaughn Charlton completing 12 out of 16 passes for 153 yards and a score.

Then the second half started.

Led by Terrance Austin’s 32 yard touchdown catch on a fourth down play from Kevin Prince early in the third quarter and linebacker Akeem Ayers intercepting a fourth quarter pass at the Temple two yard line and running it back for the winning score, UCLA overwhelmed the Owls to earn a 30-21 victory in the Eagle Bank Bowl in front of a small but bundled up crowd of 23,072.

After having given up 241 yards and 21 points in the first half, the Bruin defense stepped up big time in allowing a mere 41 yards the rest of the way, shutting out Temple and their two stud running backs, 5′5″ speedster Matt Brown, who led everyone with 83 yards on 20 carries, and standout freshman Bernard Pierce, who was knocked out of the contest just before halftime with an injury.

Being that Pierce had over 1,500 rushing yards this season and was his conference’s freshman of the year, losing him clearly hurt Temple and their chances.

The plays that turned the momentum around for UCLA?

Stopping Brown on a fourth and one play from the Bruin eight yard line in the third quarter was key, keeping the game within reach, as well as Rahim Moore’s 10th interception (which leads the NCAA) later that quarter to end another Owl threat.

After a shaky start in which he was like a baseball pitcher who couldn’t find the strike zone, UCLA’s Prince settled down to throw for a total of 221 yards on 18-for -31 passing, with a 47 yard score to Nelson Rosario to go along with his TD to Austin.

Chane Moline made some key second half runs, ending with 113 yards, 69 of them rushing, in his last game as a Bruin.

The Bosworth twins, Kyle and Korey, also played well in their final games, as did Reggie Carter, who came up with a sack in that pivotal third quarter, and Brian Price who, as expected, announced after the contest that he was making himself available for the NFL draft.

Since Price was the Pac-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, no one was surprised at his decision; he is projected as a first round pick.

It was plain to see that UCLA (7-6) gave an outstanding effort throughout the game, as they have had for much of the season.

The execution, however, was not quite there until the last two quarters, much like it was for a good part of 2009; A+ for effort, a somewhat lesser grade at times for results.

The fact that the Bruins overcame adversity, the cold, and an Owl team (9-4) from Philadelphia determined to show that they can play with the BCS big boys says much about UCLA’s character and resilience. As coach Rick Neuheisel mentioned afterward, the Bruins could have went with the “it’s not our day” mentality after falling behind, but they fought back and got the win, their first in the post season since beating Northwestern in the 2005 Sun Bowl.

That not only boded well for the outgoing seniors, allowing them to go out on a good note, it also bodes well for next year, as UCLA continues to build their program.

By winning their bowl game, a significant step was taken in doing just that.

In the meantime, I’m sure that after earning their first winning season in three years, the Bruins will more than enjoy their flight back from the frigid District of Columbia, return to Westwood knowing that their football campaign ended well, and look forward to Spring practice and 2010.

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Titled, “Laying the Foundation,” these articles are my effort to follow the progress of the Trojans as they vie for the best high school players in the nation.

For successful college football programs, the recruiting and signing of a talented athlete is the difference between winning and losing.

It’s that simple.

It doesn’t matter how well you coach a player or how brilliant your game plan is, without the talent to implement that coaching and utilize that game plan, it is all for nought.

So, for me, recruiting is an integral part of any successful college football program.

Of course, part of what goes into the recruiting process is finding out the mental make-up of the student-athlete you are attempting to sign.

We read stories everyday of a kid who makes a bad choice and finds themselves being kicked off a team or, God forbid, being incarcerated for that lapse of judgment.

For coaches, part of the recruiting process is also determining the values that a prospective student-athlete possesses.

It is an undeniable fact that a college football player not only represents himself while playing for a university but also the school itself.

Which brings me to the topic of the article in question.

The last “Laying the Foundation” article I wrote dealt specifically with Tony Jefferson, the southern California athlete who recently gave his verbal pledge to Oklahoma after reneging on his word first to Stanford and then to UCLA.

In that article, I offered an opinion that the ease with which Jefferson broke his promise to these respective universities was a red flag of sorts regarding the kids values, and those counting on him should be wary of future problems that may come along with whatever talents he brings to the field.

Now, I am completely aware that coaches also break their words to players that they have offered scholarships to when a better player comes their way.

This is wrong as well and I offer no excuses for those coaches that engage in that behavior.

Having said that, the instances of recruits going back on their verbal pledges is far more predominant than the other way around.

Of course, there are mitigating circumstances that sometimes preclude the keeping of your word when it comes to verbal commitments that these prep athletes give to schools that offer scholarships.

For example, if a college coach that is recruiting you leaves or is fired, or if family circumstances develop that changes things, then the verbal commitment should not be considered a binding representation of the players word.

However, that was not the tone of what I was trying to say.

I was simply opining that an athlete who gives his or her verbal pledge should do so with the predominant notion that their word is important and that a lot of consideration should go into that decision before it is rendered.

Recruiting decisions are often based on filling needs and when a player gives a verbal commitment, then often coaching staffs move on to fill the next need.

When a player reneges on that promise to attend the school that they have given the verbal commitment to, they throw the entire recruiting plan for that school into disarray.

My point was that careful consideration should be entertained prior to giving the verbal commitment and once rendered, it should be honored unless circumstances such as those I have outlined occur.

Naively, I thought my assertions were self evident and that any reasonable person would agree that a persons word, by and large, was a value that should be embraced by all members of a civilized society.

Surprisingly, this was not the case.

Although my article has not received an abundance of comments (maybe because many agree with me, maybe not), the comments I have received have been of a nature that it is perfectly okay to break your promise, whatever the cause.

One person has even gone so far as to suggest there should be no contracts whatsoever that bind either coaches or players to the promises they make.

For me, this is alarming and symptomatic of the eroding values that society is displaying in modern times.

To rationalize the breaking of a persons word is just another convenient excuse to act in a irresponsible manner and it is this kind od a lack of accountability that plagues society in the world we live in.

Of course, in the grand scheme of things, a kid going back on his word isn’t cataclysmic by nature and maybe I am making too big a deal of this.

After all, people are dying every day in a world full of injustice.

But change starts in small ways and the keeping of your word is as good a place to start changing the world as any.

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