George Washington-UCLA: postgame

Bruin guard Darren Collison was in good spirits after his 26-minute, 14-point performance tonight. He told KLAC-AM 570's Chris Roberts, "It's all fine. It's all about me playing with my confidence." He said he was surprised that he played so many minutes, but he was pleased with the results. He still wants to work on his shot, though (he was 4-9 from the field).

Collison added that being on the floor with Russell Westbrook is "actually easier for me, we get a lot of good things together."

Also of note:

>> Bruin soph guard Russell Westbrook had a career-high 19 points (previous was 15 against Yale in his last game).

>> Bruin junior guard Darren Collison opened his season with 26 minutes, 14 points and five assists and no turnovers.

>> Bruin freshman center Kevin Love had his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

>> UCLA had a season-low 11 turnovers and out-rebounded GWU, 34-30. UCLA has out-rebounded each of its opponents this season.

>> The Bruins shot 21-26 from the foul line (80.8%), its best foul-shooting night on the season (previous, 15-20 vs. Portland State, 75%).

>> The Bruins scored on 58% of their possessions tonight (39-67) with 20-33 in the first half (60%) and 19-34 (56%) in the second half. The Colonials scored on just 42% of their possessions (27-65) with 16-32 in the first half (50%) and 11-33 in the second half (33%).

>> Quotes from George Washington Coach Karl Hobbs:

"It was really simple. We have a lot of work to do to compete. We’re not disciplined. We did not get back on defense. UCLA is a physical team; anytime you play against a physical team like this, you’re going to have a lot of fouls.

"This team (UCLA) is very good. There is a reason why they are projected to be a Final Four team, plus they have six McDonald’ s All-Americans. We did not really focus on anybody; Westbrook had a great game for them. By playing a terrific team, that will help us out for the conference."

>> Quotes from UCLA Coach Ben Howland:

"I was very pleased with this win. They are a good team that has been in the Tournament the past three years and is very well coached.

"I felt we got off to a really good start, but let up a bit toward the end of the half. We did a good job attacking the press to begin the second half. We also handled the ball well and kept the amount of turnovers down against their pressure.

"I was especially impressed with Russell Westbrook tonight; penetrating, jump stops and kick-outs. He did a great job offensively. I also felt we did a good job on the boards and Russell used his athletic ability to grab seven rebounds.

"It was really good to have Darren Collison out there. He made a lot of progress since the beginning of the week. It was amazing to see how great he did, having not played in a game in 26 days. We’re excited to have him back because he is such a great athlete."

Comments

[Randy]

Memo to Karl Hobbs: UCLA has only 2 McDonald's All-Americans (Love & Keefe), not 6.

[Alan Winters]

The GW coach isn't very well informed or wants to make it appear that UCLA only won because of a major talent differential. UCLA has 2 , not 6, McDonalds All American players on the team---Love and Keefe...and Keefe is injured. Not one other current Bruin player was even ranked in the Top 30 players in their senior class coming out of high school. Howland has assembled a group of great kids who are smart and complement each other...and are clearly super well-coached.

[Dr. JwB]

I know I'm not the first person to point this out, but having Collison hurt will end up benefiting the Bruins in the long run. Westbrook is developing much more quickly than we he was coming in off the bench for a few minutes, and having two guys who can run the point makes us less vulnerable to foul trouble or injury when the games count.

Last year he impressed me with his raw talent. This year he impresses me as a player. Big difference.

Bring on the Longhorns! (Can you imagine this matchup if underclassmen weren't allowed to leave early for the NBA draft?)

[Daniel T.]

I think we will know how good thsi team really is after Sunday. This will be a classic game for the Bruin's defense to slow down a scoring machine in Texas.

[Erkki Corpuz]

How's your laptop? And your glasses?