UCLA
2011 Outlook: Who knows… this team has turned over 4 times in the last 2 years it seems. They return some fun Forwards to watch in Reeves Nelson (known as Rocky for all his injuries from hustle) and Honeycutt. They add a huge Center in 6’10 wide body Joshua Smith. He allows Reeves to move to (F) and this should really allow the frontcourt to settle in. Malcom Lee returns and moves to his natural shooting guard spot. The early assessment of a Pac-10 assistant: “UCLA might just win the Pac-10. They are not great, and offensively they might be so-so, but when they go big inside with Josh Smith and Reeves Nelson, as well as Tyler Honeycutt at the 3, they make you take one jump shot and that is it. They will lose to some folks when opponents get a hot hand, but their defense will win them a lot of games.”
My Notes: Can the Bruins overcome the fact that the Bruins committed too many turnovers, couldn’t hit their three-pointers, couldn’t grab an offensive rebound and couldn’t get to the free-throw line. Things were so bad that defensive problems on the perimeter forced Howland to abandon his staple man-to-man principles for a zone. This team could really evolve as the year goes on. Keep an eye on them as I think the key to this team will be finding their PG and especially – HITTING THE 3′s..
Vs Washington: I think this is a team that could quitly sneak into the tournamentand do damage. First off, they are playing Ben Howland M2M. Last year they had to go to ZONE.. sin for Ben.. because they had no athletes. This year.. hard nose M2M from start to end. Their center is a mismatch in the same way Big Baby was years ago. Huge body that you cant do anything with. He is HUGE… but he keeps getting in foul trouble. Watch this as the year goes on and he matures. At the Forward spot they have two I loveee.. Reeves Nelson is clearly on some medication but he is an attacking all star. He will make a difference in a big game and he can score. Honeycut is more smooth, but he can score too. At guard, I have liked since Malcolm Lee he was there and he is a goo creator and good coverage guy. At point, they have a developing freshman in Lazurus. That said… they are not deep and they are a little clunky on offense. On Defense, they were solid until Washington went 3 quick guards deep. They cant guard that 3rd guard.. period. I think that if they can pull it together and keep playing together then they could be first round bet-on material.
Vs Washington Write up: But the enigmatic Bruins also showed flashes of elite-level play against a team that many say is the best in the conference, leaving questions about exactly where this team stands as it tries to climb back to the top. At times, the Bruins looked lost, unable to defend and overwhelmed by the quick, athletic Huskies. At other times, the Bruins looked like the dominant and determined blue-collar workers typical of coach Ben Howland’s top teams. The Bruins went stretches at a time without mustering much offense, and went other stretches where they appeared unstoppable. They fell behind, 52-35, with 14:09 left to play, and then closed to within four over the next eight minutes. But in the end, Washington’s experience — the Huskies have nine players back from a team that went to the Sweet 16 last season — won out over the mistake-prone youthfulness of UCLA. The Bruins start two sophomores and a freshman and have no seniors on the roster.
FREE THROW DISPARITY GOES TO WASTE
UCLA had the right idea: slow the game down, stop the clock, attack Washington’s big men, get to the free-throw line.
The Bruins spent considerably more time at the stripe than did Washington. In fact, UCLA had more attempts in the first half (19) than the Huskies had for the whole game (15). It seemed like the right formula — the Bruins had been a perfect 8-0 when shooting at least the same number of free throws as their opponents.
But what’s the point of getting to the line if you can’t convert? UCLA was 25-for-36 (69.4 percent) on free throws Friday, yet actually raised its overall season average from 64.6 to 65.2. It’s probably not a good sign if even poor performances mark improvement.
“If you’re going to beat the team picked to win the conference, you’ve got to make your foul shots,” coach Ben Howland said. “You’ve got to shoot 80 percent, you’ve got to shoot 85 percent.”
Here’s the problem: Howland doesn’t have one 80-percent free-throw shooter on the squad. Starting guards Lazeric Jones (79.4 percent) and Malcolm Lee (78.7) come the closest.
2BARK, BARK, BARK
A pair of Washington forwards had themselves quite the homecoming Friday.
Junior Darnell Gant (Los Angeles, Calif./Crenshaw) nailed a clutch three-pointer to extend the Huskies’ lead to nine with 3:21 to go, while senior Justin Holiday (Chatsworth, Calif./Campbell Hall) altered UCLA’s attack by forcing Tyler Honeycutt into foul trouble early. Gant’s make came on his only long-range attempt.
Holiday scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds as younger brother and former UCLA guard Jrue Holiday (Philadelphia 76ers) watched from his seat directly across from the Bruins’ bench. After making a three-pointer in front of UCLA’s bench midway through the first half, the elder Holiday turned around and yelled something.
“I don’t know what he said,” Honeycutt said. “But he said something.”
Holiday’s taunting earned him a technical foul. He’ll have bragging rights until the teams meet again on March 3 in Seattle.
KEY MATCHUP
Reeves Nelson vs. Himself — If we’ve learned anything about UCLA this season, it’s that sophomore forward Reeves Nelson is his own worst enemy. The yin and yang tattoo on his left shoulder says it all — it’s about balancing his two energies. At times he’s the most determined player on the floor, hustling and battling for every rebound and loose ball. Other times, he’s way off (a combined 13 points in the games against Montana and UC Irvine serving as proof). And when he’s going good — as he was in the second half of the Bruins’ 80-71 win against Washington State on Wednesday — UCLA appears to be an entirely different offensive machine. He turned it on Wednesday, scoring 13 of his 21 points after the break to help the Bruins erase an eight-point halftime deficit.
ABOUT THE HUSKIES
Washington was ranked as high as No. 11 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll on Nov. 22, but has not appeared in the top 25 since Dec. 6. … The Huskies, 73-67 overtime winners at USC on Wednesday, have not swept an L.A. road trip since 2006 (which is also the last time Washington won at Pauley Pavilion). … Washington leads the Pac-10 in nearly every category, including scoring (89.1 points per game), scoring margin (+21.0) and three-point field goal percentage (41.9%). … Senior forward Justin Holiday, the older brother of former UCLA guard Jrue Holiday (Philadelphia 76ers), led North Hollywood Campbell Hall to the state Div. IV championship. … There are two other local products on Washington’s roster — sophomore forward Tyreese Breshers (Los Angeles, Calif./Price) and junior forward Darnell Gant (Los Angeles, Calif./Crenshaw).
2/21: “I know we’re great for television,” Howland mused. “This is a great team for TV ratings and keeping the fans involved for the sponsors all the way ‘til the very end.” In surviving Stanford on the road with a 69-65 win, UCLA once again showed off its propensity to let opponents back into the game. But a Bruins team — one that is without a single senior — ultimately did not break and managed to maintain second place in the Pac-10 standings.
