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For struggling Bruins there is no quick fix

by on Jan. 02, 2010, under Sports

It was weird to see an Arizona/UCLA game as an afterthought on the national scene, but when both teams are right around .500 that is exactly what it was. It was a game between two legendary programs that may have little meaning in terms of the NCAA
Tournament.

Arizona showed flashes of what the future could be. Derrick Williams was big, Kyle Fogg showed some nifty moves and Jamelle Horne seems closer to maximizing his athletic gifts. The future is bright in Tucson.

I am not sure the same could can be said about Westwood. Barring some young Bruins making rapid improvements, it does not look like UCLA is going to contend for Final Fours for a few more years.

Next year’s team could have some issues. Ben Howland already pressed the panic button when he accepted a commitment from junior college point guard Lazeric Jones. The feeling is that Jones will likely be the starter a year from now.

All told, the Bruins could very well start three newcomers. In addition to Jones, the Bruins Welcome in Josh Smith and Tyler Lamb.

Smith is ESPN’s No. 1 center prospect, while Lamb is their No. 11 shooting guard. The 6-10, 270-pound Smith is as skilled a big man as you will find, but he’s also battled conditioning and focus issues. Lamb is really talented, but is he ready to carry a big load in the UCLA offense?

This season the Bruins do not have a go-to guy, and unless a younger player develops, the Bruins may need to rely heavily on the newcomers.

Right now their starting line-up next year could look like this:

PG Lazeric Jones
SG Tyler Lamb/Malcolm Lee
SF Tyler Lamb/Tyler Honeycutt
PF Reeves Nelson
C Josh Smith

It seems as if Mike Moser, Jerime Anderson, Anthony Stover, Brendan Lane and J’Mison Morgan are their rotation players, but this year those five players COMBINE for 11.9 points per game, with 6.5 of those coming from Anderson.

Now, all of those guys came in with great recruiting resumes, but have not yet put it all together. There are also some rumors of discontent by UCLA players. Drew Gordon openly challenged Ben Howland’s offense and there is talk that other players on the roster have said similar things behind the scenes. It would not be a shock to see some more players transfer out ala Gordon.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 2nd, 2010 at 6:52 pm and is filed under Sports. Tags for this post: , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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  • Ferraribubba

    This goes back more than a few years but, like every time that I’ve seen the Stanford band, with their dog Che’  play at basketball games, I never know what to expect next. Fun & games.
    The Bruins were playing USC at the old Sam Barry crackerbox gym on the Trojan campus early in John Wooden’s UCLA career as coach back in the early 1950′s.
    My Old Man and me, ever the Trojan honks were in attendance. In those days they didn’t announce the starters individually, they just ran out onto the court to start the game.
    Well, when the 5 Bruin starters trotted out, guess what?
    For the 1st time in Pacific Coast Conference history, a member school started an all-black quintet!
    For a moment the crowd was stunned. That was until the SC Spirit Band struck up a rousing and loud version of ‘Sweet Georgia Brown.’
    The crowd went wild! The SC fans laughing their Trojan asses off, and the Bruin fans booing, hooting, hollering, and throwing programs, cups, and other assorted trash down onto the court. (He looked just like Mike Stoops does now when he’s on the sidelines.) <g>
    Even the unflappable John Wooden went wild for the first and only time that I’ve ever seen him do that. A Bobby Knight he wasn’t. 
    When the excitment was over, the game began. But for me it was so tame that it was just an after-thought. I can’t even remember who won.
    Like the Cats vs. the Scumdevils, just another night in the Trojan
    (B)ruin rivalry

    Fight On, yer pal Ferrari Bubba

    • Ferraribubba

      Sorry, the reference to our beloved ‘coach’ Stoops was to be at the end of the next paragraph about John Wooden.
      Maybe that’s why I’m not a sports reporter anymore. <g>

      Yer humble servant, Ferrari Bubba

  • John

    You don’t know enough about UCLA basketball to make a conclusion.  Keep dreaming.

  • Brad Allis

    Actually I’ve been covering Pac-10 basketball for a decade and have seen all of their incoming freshmen play on several occassions. Barring a few of the current players making a huge leap next season (which could happen under a coach like Howland) the Bruins just do not look like they will be an Elite team for at least another season. I am not saying they won’t be better, they should be a tournament team next season but I know enough about UCLA basketball to know that just making the tournament is not enough.

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