« January 2008 |
Main
| March 2008 »
From UCLA Sports Information: John Wooden, UCLA's legendary former basketball coach, is resting comfortably this evening in an area hospital. The name of the hospital is being withheld at the request of the family.
Coach Wooden, 97, is doing fine and has visited with family throughout the day, according to his daughter, Nan Muehlhausen.
Coach Wooden was hospitalized earlier today. He has a hairline fracture of his left wrist and a fractured left collarbone from a fall in his condo last night. He also hit his head, but a CT scan of his head and neck were negative.
"Dad's spirits are good," Muehlhausen said. "He is up and joking around with the family. He will probably be in the hospital for a couple of more days before he goes home.
"We appreciate everyone's concern, but we are requesting that people do not call the hospital and do not try to visit Dad at this time."
"The entire UCLA community wishes Coach Wooden a speedy recovery," said UCLA Coach Ben Howland, who is in Tucson for Sunday's game versus Arizona. "We are glad that his injuries are not more serious, and we look forward to seeing him when we return to Los Angeles."
The Bruins were traveling most of the day between Tempe and Tucson in advance of Sunday’s game against Arizona, but Coach Ben Howland took some time off from film study to speak with reporters this afternoon.
Asked about UCLA’s streak of seven straight wins over the Wildcats, he said, "Things go in cycles; I don’t look at anything except tomorrow’s game. What I know is this is a very important game for both teams. They need it to ensure that they’re going to get at least a 9-9 record and hopefully 10-8. . . . We want to try and win the conference and ensure that we’re going to get a high seed in the NCAAs. I know that both teams will be sky-high and very motivated."
Although he noted that the schedule was not the reason UCLA lost its last Sunday game at Washington, Howland did change the schedule this time. "We’re going to practice tomorrow; we’re not going to be sitting around all day," he said. "We won’t go long, but we’re going to . . . get prepared for them. Today’s an off day for us, essentially, which I hope will help us a little more mentally." The Bruins practiced on the Friday after the win at Washington State earlier in the month.
Other highlights:
>> About UCLA’s 82-60 win over Arizona at Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 2, Howland remembered that "I thought we did a really good job against them defensively and that helped our offense get started. That was our best weekend. We played great against Arizona State, and our players obviously have great respect for Arizona and their program and their tradition, so I knew our guys were really up for that game. I remember Luc [Richard Mbah A Moute] sprained his ankle and that was the unfortunate part of that game."
>> Howland said he thought that interim Arizona Coach Kevin O’Neill has done a good job in trying circumstances. "I think Kevin’s doing a really good job and it’s a tough break anytime you lose one of your key guys to injury — we’ve done that — when you lose more than one, it’s even more difficult. [Bret] Brielmaier has been in and out of there, and Nick Wise obviously has been a big hit for them and they’ve still been able to play well. And they’ve had an unbelievable schedule. It’s never easy when you go into the year not knowing if you’re taking over; I know the team has responded real well. So I commend him; I think he’s done a great job." Howland added that Arizona’s streak of 23 straight invitations to the NCAA Tournament "is incredible."
>> Howland was happy about UCLA’s sharper shooting from long distance last night as the Bruins made 10 three-pointers. "It really helps us, especially when you’re getting zoned," he said. "That’s when you’ve got to make three-pointers because that’s what a zone gives up. Hopefully, you’re going to get some wide-open shots."
>> On Josh Shipp, who broke out of an 0-20 slump with four three-point baskets, Howland said: "He did a good job last night getting some shots in transition, but what I was really excited about was not only that he knocked down his threes, but he had eight assists — now, that’s really impressive to me. I always love guys who make plays for others and make other players better."
>> The Bruin coach was asked about the pounding that freshman center Kevin Love was receiving each game. "He’s obviously a very good player," Howland said, "and people are trying to do whatever they can, because he’s shooting 60% from the field. So, of course, you’re going to try to scheme and limit the amount of opportunities that a guy shooting 60% shoots. Fortunately, he’s very good at getting to the line. He is getting whacked and he handles it pretty well. He’s pretty tough; he gets hit a lot. That’s part of being a very good player and being a post player."
>> In light of Thursday’s incident during the Arizona-USC game in which an attendee chucked a water bottle from the stands onto the court (hitting USC’s Dwight Lewis on the foot), Howland was asked if fans were getting too crazy. "I’m sure the game management people will get that under control in a hurry because that’s a safety issue. What I do think is good is that’s there more awareness of it now than maybe there was years ago; that’s a positive thing. I’m proud of our fans for the most part. I think our fans are classy in a general sense, I really believe that they are among the best in terms of showing class towards their opponent."
Howland also said he thought the Pac-10 would get six teams in the NCAA Tournament, but did not think any team with a losing record would make it. "The conference is so good because there are no dogs that you’re just racking up wins on. Every win is a hard-earned victory for anybody in this league. In some leagues, you have a little more difference between the top half and the bottom half. This league has so much parity that between one and nine, anybody can beat anybody."
Thursday night’s first half against Arizona State was a tight, low-scoring game until the Bruins got it going near the end. Up only 23-18, Sun Devil star freshman James Harden missed a dunk and UCLA’s Josh Shipp sank a three-pointer to extend the lead to 26-18, where it appeared the half would end.
But a Shipp outlet to Darren Collison found the Bruin junior guard all alone on the left wing and he converted a long three-pointer just before the half to give UCLA an insurmountable 11-point lead at halftime. Here's how Chris Roberts called the play on the Bruin radio network: Also of note:
>> San Diego El Camino High’s Nelson Rosario — who will attend UCLA in the fall as a football wide receiver — had 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocked shots Thursday night to help his team to a 65-58 overtime win over Helix in the San Diego Section Division I quarterfinals. "For a guy whose third-best sport is basketball, he’s very dang good," El Camino Coach Ray Johnson said in the San Diego Union-Tribune. Rosario’s second-best sport is track, and he’ll likely be a scorer in three events in the California State track and field championships in June.
>> Saturday’s Washington State at Stanford game will be televised live in Southern California on FSN West beginning at 1 p.m. The Cardinal (12-3 in Pac-10) defeated WSU (10-6) in Pullman, 67-65, in overtime last month.
Audio courtesy of Chris Roberts and KLAC-AM (570)
UCLA scored its biggest-ever win at Arizona State tonight, beating up the Sun Devils by a 70-49 final, a point more than the Bruins' 99-79 win in Tempe in 1956! Highlights:
>> The Bruins had an 11-point lead after the first half, but didn't let up in the second half. They outscored ASU by 10, 41-31, in the second half and shot 57.7% from the field. They also dominated the boards, grabbing 16 boards to eight for the Devils (34-20 for the game). Josh Shipp and Russell Westbrook each had 11 points in the second half.
>> UCLA shot 49% from the field (24-49) and held ASU down to 40.9% (18-44) for the game. The Bruins hit 10 three-pointers, the most they've had in a conference game this season (previous high, nine, twice). And while ASU was only 7-12 from the foul line, the Bruins were ultra-efficient at 12-13. That's what good teams do.
>> The Bruins had four players in double figures tonight. Kevin Love struggled in the lane, but ended with a game-high 18 points on 6-11 field goals and 6-7 from the foul line, plus a game-high 12 rebounds for his 17th double-double of the season (10th in the last 12). Darren Collison and Josh Shipp each had 17 and Shipp broke out of his three-point shooting slump with a 4-8 night. He also had eight assists and no turnovers. Westbrook had 13.
>> Shipp told FSN's Don MacLean on the "Bruins Live" postgame show, "I was able to get some easy looks. I've been working on my shooting and I was able to knock them down tonight." About Sunday's game at Arizona, MacLean noted that UCLA has another "extra day" as it did before the loss at Washington. Said Shipp: "We just have to stay mentally tough. We had some slip-ups in the Washington game and we just have to stay mentally focused."
>> Said Collison on "Bruins Live" about his sharpshooting tonight: "I felt good out there. I shot the ball well today during warmups; I just can't explain it." He told MacLean that his great three-point shooting came "in the course of the game, that's what we saw." He said the Bruins were focused on ball movement to keep the game moving, recognizing that ASU wanted to slow the game down.
The Bruins shot only 39.1% for the half (9-23), but ASU was worse at just 33% (7-21), including some missed layins and dunks. UCLA had an 18-12 rebounding edge, but the difference came on three-point shooting: 6-11 for UCLA (Darren Collison 4-4, Josh Shipp 2-5) while ASU was 2-7. The Bruins finished the half on an 18-7 run.
The Devils also are in foul trouble: Jerren Shipp has three and Ty Abbott and Rihards Kuksiks have two each. Russell Westbrook, Alfred Aboya and James Keefe each have two for the Bruins.
>> Westbrook a three, Collison a three, the Bruins are filling the ASU passing lanes and the Bruins have a 37-20 lead with 17:57 to go. FSN analyst Don MacLean made a good point about Luc Richard Mbah A Moute's excellent defensive work on James Harden, especially keeping him from driving the lane.
>> Shipp's slump is over . . . as long as he can play against Arizona State every game. He was 5-8 against them from long distance at Pauley, and 4-7 so far tonight (2-5 first half, 2-2 second half). The Bruins are up, 51-32, with 12:12 to go.
>> You won't see this often: ASU's Abbott missed a right-hand dunk and then Westbrook had a breakaway and missed his own right-hand slam try. It happened with 11:45 to go in the game.
>> Arizona State has cut the Bruins' lead from 20 to 14 at 51-37 with 8:35 to play with a 9-3 run, but UCLA is shooting 69.2% (9-13) in the second half!
>> Defense matters: the Bruins went without a field goal for 6:22, from Josh Shipp's triple at 12:17, for a 51-32 lead, to Kevin Love's tip-in at 5:55 to play for a 55-39 lead. Arizona State was only able to outscore UCLA by a 7-4 margin during that time.
This game had every reason to be close, but it wasn't. Collison's three-point shooting and terrific defense on ASU's Harden and filling the passing allowed the Bruins to ease to a win that keeps them in first place.
Final score: UCLA 70, Arizona State 49
It's over! Josh Shipp hit his first three-pointer in February with 17:26 to go in the first half to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead. He had missed 20 in a row in the last six games since the ASU game at Pauley Pavilion; he was 5-8 from long distance against the Sun Devils there Jan. 31.
>> Russell Westbrook came up gimpy in the second minute of the game, hopping off his left foot, which he rolled against Oregon last Saturday. He has stayed in the game, however, but picked up his second personal foul on an offensive charge with 13:52 to play.
>> We have a grinder. With 7:43 to play in the half, the Bruins have an 11-9 lead. UCLA has only 12 shots (made 4) and Arizona State only 13 (made 4); both sides are playing very tightly on the defensive end. For the Bruins, some nice offensive movement has been negated by two offensive fouls called against James Keefe on bad screens. Has Keefe picked up Alfred Aboya's disease?
>> A long three-pointer by Darren Collison and then a trap led to a turnover and a Westbrook two-hand dunk; in 27 seconds, a tense 11-11 game was 16-11 for the Bruins. Now, after an offensive rebound by Aboya, the Bruins have it out of bounds with 3:59 to play.
>> The difference between two teams whose statistics are similar: the zone sags in and Collison makes a three-pointer; Jeff Pendergraph (a 79.8% foul shooter) missed the front end of a one-and-one and Kevin Love makes both ends of a one-and-one. It puts the Bruins up — suddenly — by eight, 21-13.
>> Same thing with a minute to go: James Harden misses a dunk for ASU and Shipp drills a three-pointer for a 26-18 lead. Small things means a lot.
Then Collison nails a long three-pointer after nearly falling down as the half ends. It's his fourth three-pointer of the game and the Bruins end the half up, 29-18.
The Bruins (24-3 overall, 12-2 in the Pac-10) are a 6 1/2-point choice to defeat Arizona State tonight in Tempe. The Sun Devils started the season hot at 14-2 and 4-0 in the conference, but are 3-7 since then. The over-under line is set at 125, so the oddsmakers think the final will be 66-59 for the Bruins.
>> UCLA has won seven straight against the Sun Devils and lead the series, 55-14. The games at Wells Fargo Arena, however, have been difficult. The Bruins have won the last three games there by a combined total of 11 points: 86-82 in 2005, 61-60 in 2006 and 67-61 last season.
>> ASU has a strong home record of 12-3, but UCLA is even better on the road at 7-1. Some bracketeers think the Sun Devils are in fairly good shape, but could really use a win tonight to cement their case. Seth Davis wrote on SI.com: ASU is 5-7 in its last 12 games, so a win over the No. 10 [RPI] Bruins would pretty much lock up a bid. At the very least, if they lose this one, they’ll need to beat USC at home on Saturday. If, on the other hand, they get swept at home by the L.A. schools, they will be in a precarious spot.
Arizona is considered a little surer bet for the tournament because of its difficult nonconference schedule.
>> SI.com’s Grant Wahl compiled an excellent article on just how rough things are getting for opposing teams in some arenas around the country. Included is the best reporting we’ve seen so far of just how bad it was for Kevin Love and his family at the UCLA-Oregon game in Eugene. Hint: It was bad.
>> The Bruins would like to see Josh Shipp end his 0-20 slump from three-point range tonight and the Sun Devils will depend on Latvian import Rihards Kuksiks for some three-point support to help its interior scorers Jeff Pendergraph and freshman James Harden.
Kuksiks told Norm Frauenheim of the Arizona Republic that "my English sometimes is not so good," but he’s done well enough to get through a year of prep school at the Florida Air Academy (also attended by UCLA forward Luc Richard Mbah A Moute) and now most of his freshman season at Arizona State. According to Frauenheim, Kuksiks is still looking for a good bowl of borscht!
>> The Bruins are second in the conference in field-goal percentage at 48.5% and have improved their field-goal defense to 42.1%, fifth-best in the league, and are best in the Pac-10 in rebounding defense at 27.0 per game. Arizona State shoots only 46.7% from the field (seventh), but opponents are only hitting 40.9% against the Sun Devils: That’s third-best in the league. The two teams are 1-2 in the league in steals (UCLA 7.56 per game to ASU’s 6.96) and both have positive turnover ratios.
 Bruin teams are in action all over the place this weekend; if you’re in town, you can say goodbye to one of UCLA’s best-ever women’s basketball stars this weekend, senior Lindsay Pluimer (pictured) in her home finales.
Baseball:
>> The Bruins were crushing Cal State Northridge on Tuesday, 22-2, when the game was halted due to darkness; it will be completed April 15. UCLA (2-1) outlasted UC Santa Barbara, 5-4, in 13 innings Wednesday at Jackie Robinson Stadium. On Friday, UCLA will meet Southern University in the inaugural Urban Invitational at 6 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins will then play Bethune-Cookman at the MLB Urban Youth Academy at 5 p.m. Saturday. The academy is at 901 E. Artesia Blvd., Compton. (telephone: [310] 763-3479). The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. The Bruins will finish the weekend at USC at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Softball:
>> The 14-2 Bruins moved up to No. 4 in the national rankings this week and Anjelica Selden was awarded two National Player of the Week awards and Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honors for her three-win, 38-strikeout performance at the Palm Springs Classic last weekend. Freshman second baseman Gionna DiSalvatore was named Pac-10 Player of the Week for her 8-12 hitting spree and slugging percentage of 1.250 in Palm Springs. UCLA shut out Cal State Bakersfield on Wednesday, 3-0, with Donna Kerr (6-1) pitching four innings and Megan Langenfeld finishing the final three frames. This weekend, UCLA plays in the San Diego Classic against James Madison (2 p.m.) and San Diego (4:30 p.m.) on Friday at the University of San Diego, against Eastern Michigan (9 a.m.) and San Diego State (2 p.m.) on Saturday at San Diego State and against Saint Peter's at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at USD.
Track and field:
>> The men’s and women’s teams are in Seattle this weekend for the Mountain Pacific Indoor Championships. More important, the Bruins will open their outdoor season March 8 with the UCLA Invitational at Drake Stadium.
Men’s basketball:
>> UCLA (24-3 overall, 12-2 in the Pac-10) is in the Arizona desert trying to hold on to a one-game lead in the Pac-10. The Bruins are ranked fourth in the nation and have a chance to move up after Tennessee’s loss to Vanderbilt this week, but must defeat Arizona State (17-9, 7-7 in Pac-10 play) tonight and Arizona in Tucson at 1 p.m. Sunday. Tonight’s game will be televised locally on FSN Prime Ticket beginning at 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Pacific time and will be televised nationally on CBS.
Men’s golf:
>> The Bruin "Blue Team" (second squad) finished second this week at the Cal State Bakersfield Spring Invitational, one shot behind Cal State Stanislaus. Junior Erik Flores was the tournament champion, carding a 10-under 206 for the three rounds, one shot ahead of fellow Bruin Craig Leslie. The Bruins are off this weekend.
Men’s tennis:
>> Sixth-ranked UCLA (8-1) stomped UC Santa Barbara at home Wednesday and will travel to La Jolla this weekend for the 119th Pacific Coast Doubles Championships.
Men’s volleyball:
>> Hoping that a change of scenery will help, slumping — but still seventh-ranked — UCLA (10-7) is in Muncie, Ind., this week for matches against No. 14 Ball State on Friday and Saturday evenings, both starting at 4:30 p.m. Pacific time. The Cardinals (10-6) have won nine of their last 10. Live audio of the matches can be heard on the BallStateSports.com website.
Women’s basketball:
>> The Bruins (14-13 overall, 9-7 [5th] in Pac-10 play) finish their 2007-08 home schedule with games against Arizona State (18-9, 12-4) tonight at Pauley Pavilion and on Saturday against Arizona (9-18, 3-13) at 11 a.m. Both games will be audiocast on uclabruins.com with Dave Marcus on the play-by-play and Michael Sondheimer as analyst. Saturday’s game also will be available on KTLK-AM (1150). These will be the final home games in the outstanding career of senior Lindsay Pluimer, who ranks sixth in the Pac-10 in scoring (14.5 points per game), eighth in rebounding (6.4 per game) and in the top 10 in six of the 13 individual categories.
Women’s golf:
>> The Bruins are top-ranked, but all bets are off in high winds and strong UCLA efforts in rounds one and three at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational — second-best each day — was for naught as the second round blew any chance UCLA had for victory. The Bruins finished sixth overall with their best individual performance by All-American Tiffany Joh. She overcame an 80 in the second round to shoot a two-under 70 in the final round and finish fifth overall. UCLA is off until March 9.
Women’s gymnastics:
>> UCLA (12-1) lost to No. 2 Utah last Sunday and suffered injuries to all-around stars Anna Li and Brittani McCullough, both of whom had concussions. The Bruins are, however, ranked ninth in the country and will take on No. 10 Oregon State (8-1) at 2 p.m. Sunday at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA will webcast the meet on uclabruins.com, with Darren Preston and former U.S. Olympian and NCAA champion Steve McCain on the call. Sunday's meet is UCLA's second annual Breast Cancer Awareness meet and the Bruins will wear leotards with pink accents and pink ribbons. All fans are encouraged to wear pink, and pink wristbands will be given away to all attendees. Pink Crocs will also be given away to 30 lucky fans.
Women’s swimming:
>> UCLA is competing in the Pac-10 Swim Championships this week in Long Beach (swimming) and Federal Way, Wash. (diving). Ranked 15th in the nation, the Bruins set a school record 7:14.73 in the 4 x 200 m freestyle relay Wednesday with freshmen Lauren Hall, Alex Sullivan and Emily Bibb plus junior Anna Poteete. The meet continues through Saturday at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach.
Women’s tennis:
>> The Bruins (8-3) are ranked 11th in the nation, but dropped Wednesday’s match to No. 4 Baylor (10-1), 5-2, at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. UCLA has its hands full this weekend as well, with No. 6 Stanford coming to the LATC at 1:30 p.m. Friday, followed on Saturday by No. 8 California.
Women’s water polo:
>> No. 1-ranked UCLA (17-0) has only one match this week, at UC Santa Barbara, beginning at noon Saturday.
Lindsay Pluimer photo courtesy of UCLA
UCLA’s annual "Junior Day" is coming up March 8 and Bruin team members and the coaching staff will be talking up the benefits of coming to the nation’s most popular university . . . at least by the number of admission applications received.
According to sources close to the program and reports on Scout.com, UCLA has offered scholarships to at least the following high school players:
> Tyler Gaffney (6-1, 215), running back from San Diego Cathedral HS
> Cierre Wood (6-0, 200), running back from Oxnard Santa Clara HS
> Shaquelle Evans (6-2, 190), wide receiver from Inglewood HS
> Je’Ron Stokes (6-1, 180), wide receiver from Northeast (Philadelphia, Pa.) HS
> Todd Golper (6-1, 225), linebacker from Arcadia HS
> Manti Te’o (6-2, 225), linebacker from Punahou (Honolulu, Hi.) HS
Plus cornerback Marlon Pollard (6-0, 165) from San Bernardino Cajon HS, who has already made a verbal commitment to attend UCLA.
These recruits and a bevy of others who are offensive and defensive linemen, an emphasis for the 2009 class, will tour the campus, meet with Bruin head Coach Rick Neuheisel and the position coaches and attend the UCLA-California basketball game in Pauley Pavilion.
 Bruin Coach Ben Howland was pleased with the wins over Oregon State and Oregon, but he knows that the Bruins haven’t won anything yet.
"This league is going to come down to the conference tournament, and how people do in that, as to whether they get invited and who doesn’t to the NCAAs," he told reporters during his weekly news conference on campus. "I was shocked that this league has never had a team that’s 9-9 that’s been invited to the NCAA Tournament, because so many of the other leagues have. We’ve had teams that were 7-9 get in from the ACC or the SEC in years past, definitely 8-8s all the time. I’m very confident that we’ll have someone in our league invited that is 9-9 this year because our league’s so good. I think that’s understood across this country that it’s the best league, top to bottom. The University of Washington is in ninth place right now and they’re a pretty darn good ninth-place team.
"Oregon State is definitely not on the level of the other nine teams. Those nine teams: anybody can beat anybody on a given night. That’s what makes it so difficult [for us] and so fun for you and the fans."
Asked about what it would take to obtain his goal of playing first- and second-round games in Anaheim and regional games in Phoenix, he said: "Winning the Pac-10. I think either Stanford or UCLA will get that path. I don’t think it will be anybody else in the West who will get that path. I just don’t want to travel across the country if we can avoid it."
Howland has said repeatedly that he isn’t concerned with being a No. 1 seed or a No. 2 seed in the West regional as long as the Bruins can play close to home. "The difference between being a one [seed] or a two, or even one through three this year," he said, "will be negligible."
>> On the injury front, Howland said, "Nikola Dragovic has a strain in his groin that he did yesterday in some shooting. He won’t practice today, or probably tomorrow; I’m not sure how long he’ll be out." He added that Luc Richard Mbah A Moute’s ankle is "still sore" but he is practicing, and that Kevin Love has a stomach virus.
>> Guard Russell Westbrook turned his ankle during the Oregon game, but came right back into action. "That was a pretty good sprain that he had in the game and he came back out there," Howland said. "I asked our trainer [Carrie Rubertino], ‘How is he able to come back out?’ but he’s sprained it so many other times –- stretched out those ligaments many times -– so therefore he’s able to come back. He had soreness and will be sore today, but he should be able to practice. When I watched on film, he really turned it good."
>> On Josh Shipp’s 0-20 shooting slump on three-point shots, Howland said: "Today I had him come in. It’s probably, in reality, my poor coaching, just not doing enough repetitions. Shooting is repetition. Today, I had him come in this morning and he was 200 for 285 shots [70.2%]. He really shot well this morning, so a lot of it is my not doing a good enough job getting him in there and getting more shots, more repetition.
"Part of that too, is when you play a guy so many minutes and you’re beaten up –- and we ask him to do everything, play really good defense –- and still knock down shots from the perimeter, When you’re playing 35 minutes a game and you’re playing really hard, it’s not easy. But I think today was a really good step back in the right direction.
"He’s been coming in to look at the film of the last three games, just to see the shots. I’m really confident that he’ll get it going again. In fact, I want him to see the ASU game; he shot really well the first time we played ASU. When he’s open, we expect him to take the shot.
"One thing I think he’s got to do, is shot fake. So many people -– because he’s so good -– are running at him and flying at him, he’s got to be able to shot-fake it and bounce it some. He’s actually doing a better job of that."
>> The Bruin coach also said that it’s likely that he’ll be able to play Love and a resurgent Lorenzo Mata-Real at the same time again this season. "I could see those guys playing together again, though, especially when you look at the bigger lineups we’ll play against here in the future."
>> Howland added that he’s thinking about conditioning at this time of the season. "We didn’t practice yesterday; our guys lifted and did some biking and that’s always good to try and get two days off, especially this time of year. We’re playing our last game in February on Thursday and we’re almost into March.
"In one way, I thought Luc benefited from being out 13 days in that he seemed to have his legs back. At the end of our season, I tell them all to take a couple of weeks off, just so they can get their bodies back. We started back in October, and it is quite a physical pounding, so there’s a fine line between making sure they get enough shots and enough repetition and then doing too much to where it affects you, especially with a limited bench. The fact that I’m not playing our bench a lot makes it more difficult, especially for Darren [Collison], Russell, Josh in particular."
>> Concerning Arizona State (17-9, 7-7 in the Pac-10) on Thursday, Howland said he didn’t anticipate substantive changes in how the Bruins will prepare for the Sun Devils in their second game of the season. "They’re still doing the same defense -- that’s a match-up, 3-2 zone with a lot of switching, man-to-man principles. Our preparation for an opponent, in terms of how we do it, doesn’t change. It’s just based on personnel, what they’re doing different, if they’re doing something different than the first time."
Even though the Bruins won easily in their first meeting at home, 84-51, Howland expects a tough game Thursday and into the future. "Look at the youth of the team right now, it’s incredible," he explained. "They have good, young players in their program. They’re going to be very good not only this year. I think we’re going to get six, seven teams in [to the NCAA Tournament] and they’ll be one of them. If they beat us on Thursday, it obviously enhances their resume to get in. So we know they’re going to play very, very hard and be very motivated. That’s the same thing we saw on Saturday; if Oregon beats us, that enhances their chances of getting into the NCAA Tournament."
>> Beyond Shipp’s slump from long range, Howland also wants his team to work on foul shooting. "We didn’t shoot the fouls well this last weekend; that’s one thing that was a sore point. We’re going to work on it today at the end of practice because we’ve got to make our foul shots and we’ve been doing a very good job of that this year. I think this is the best foul-shooting team we’ve had since I’ve been here. It can be very frustrating for a coach, I know; I’ve been there."
>> Asked about the Memphis-Tennessee game last Saturday, he said the close loss by the Tigers "probably helps them in the long run, to lose that game and get [rid of] that pressure of being undefeated. Ask the Patriots: was it important to be undefeated or to win the whole thing?"
In response to a question about whether he prefers to play a tough schedule or be much better than every team he plays, Howland intimated that he’d prefer both. "I’d rather win every game and be way better than everybody else. It would sure make me happier."
Ben Howland photo courtesy UCLA.
|
|
Subscribe to this Blog What is RSS?