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To say that UCLA coach Ben Howland has a lot of respect for Memphis would be an understatement, as he showed during today’s national teleconference:
"I think, number one, they have a great team. It's really athletic, really good guard play when you look at [Derrick] Rose and you look at Chris Douglas-Roberts and [Antonio] Anderson. You have three really, really good perimeter players. Those are the three leading scorers.
"I think they play with a lot of passion. They're really hard and physical. They block a lot of shots inside, both [Robert] Dozier and [Joey] Dorsey are very, very good shot blockers. So they really get out and extend.
"When you get past those guys, you gotta deal with those two big guys that are swatting shots. So they're a team that plays really, really hard. They're very, very well coached. Because they can score you in the half-court.
"When you look at the teams, they average 79, almost 80 points a game; we average 73, almost 74. I think there's 6.5 points total difference in terms of scoring average between the two teams. We hold our opponents to 58; they to 61. This is a 3-point differential there. And we've played similar schedules. Their strength of schedule going into the NCAA was 27. Ours was 14.
"It's just an incredible challenge to try to plan to defend them and score on them because of their athletic ability.
"And also they've got older guys. They have guys that have been there. When we played them two years ago in '06, a lot of these guys were on the team and they've added the best, arguably the best, point guard in the country coming out of high school for sure in Rose.
"And I think Chris Douglas-Roberts is an All-American. We have an All-American, [Kevin] Love. It's a team that has some similarities."
>> About Rose, Howland said "He reminds me honestly of Jason Kidd. He has a Jason Kidd-type body. He's six-three, six-four, just so strong and physical. He overpowers you. I mean, I watched him get a rebound yesterday. He grabbed a two-handed rebound way above the rim early in that game and starting the fast break. He defends like Kidd, and he's a much better shooter at the same stage.
"I can't think of much higher praise to give a player, because I love Jason Kidd. What a great winner and a great player. But this kid, more than any point guard I've seen, reminds me of Jason Kidd, and I think that's who he'll be typed at the next level."
>> Asked about Darren Collison’s uncanny ability to make key baskets at crucial times, Howland noted that "First of all, he's used to it. He's done it a lot over the past couple of years. He plays a couple of minutes. But Darren is very, very bright. He's got a good feel for the end of possessions and making plays for himself and for others. I thought one of the big plays against Xavier was made by Kevin, where we were up 12 and he got an offensive rebound on a missed foul shot that we took and kicked it back out to Darren who then knocked down a long 3 to make it to 15.
"But Darren's very good. A lot of ball screens. People try to trap it or people try to plug it. They play it different ways. Try to squeeze it and go underneath it. And he's able to read what they're doing and still make pretty good decisions and you have to guard him. He's shooting 66 percent from 3 in the tournament. He's shooting over 53 percent on the season from 3. That's a pretty incredible number. You have to be out and respect his jump shot."
>> Howland had high praise for guard Mike Roll, who lost his season to injuries. "Michael had a tough year from the standpoint that he had plantar fasciitis really bad and he had it bad enough that he really felt like he wanted to try to get an injection, which was something I was against because I thought it would increase the chance for it to rupture, which it did.
"So that thing ruptured right after our first exhibition game in practice the next day and then he was playing great, too. It's the best he's ever played since he's been here in his two-plus years of being here. And then he tried to come back after a month out and rehabbing it and he actually played in a couple of games and he was back for probably another three weeks before it completely ruptured again.
"So it's been very frustrating for him the injury, but he's been a great supporter. You see him on the bench there. Always talking it up to his teammates. He's an unbelievable teammate and a great kid. So even though he hasn't been able to play in any of these games since early in December, he's been an integral part just emotionally because he's really close to these guys having been on the previous two teams. Has a great relationship with his teammates and is very, very supportive.
"So I'm really proud of Mike in that respect. And he'll have red-shirted this year, medical red-shirt, and then he'll have two years left starting next year."
>> Asked about the coaching experience that gave him the UCLA opportunity, his tenure at Pittsburgh, Howland remembered, "Well, the opportunity that Mark Nordenberg and Steve Pederson gave me to be the coach there was really a special opportunity to begin with, coming from Northern Arizona, to hire some yokel from way out West that nobody back East had ever heard of was probably unexpected for most people back there.
"And I'm really glad that they gave me the opportunity to come be the coach there and it was a great experience and I had a great four years in Pittsburgh. And had it not been for this opening here at UCLA, I would probably still be there, assuming they still wanted me.
"I'm proud to see how well the program has continued under Jamie Dixon's leadership. It's been great. Winning the Big East championship this year, which is now the second one in the last six years is really special. Seven out of eight times that program has now gone to the championship game in the Big East tournament, which is the biggest deal in the Big East.
"And prior to coming there, they had never been. So I'm really, really excited to see how the program is done and, no, there's no question it was a great experience because it allowed me to coach at the highest level. No league is better in the Big East year in, year out.
"I got to coach against some of the legendary coaches like Coach [Jim] Boeheim and Coach [Jim] Calhoun, and that was good to make you improve and challenge you.
"I had a great experience and would have easily seen myself staying in Pittsburgh for the rest of my life were it not for the opportunity to come to my childhood dream job all the way through as a young assistant coach out West."
>> Howland also noted the special nature of the UCLA head coaching position and the relationship to the Wooden legacy and to get to know John Wooden personally: "My relationship with Coach has obviously been special for me, just to have the opportunity to get to know him and be a part of his program and be the actual caretaker at this time of Coach Wooden's UCLA program, because that's what it is. It's his program and always will be. And so I'm proud that our team has experienced a lot of success these last three years and, of course, it would be very special to win a national championship. I think that's why everybody is in this business, to have that as a goal, and it's obviously a very elusive and difficult goal to reach.
"And Roy [Williams] already has one at Carolina just a couple of years ago, and the other three of us would love to get one as the head coach leading the program."
Bruin point guard Darren Collison told reporters on a conference call this afternoon "We’re peaking at the right time, this is where we wanted to be defensively. Coach [Ben] Howland has been doing a good job of stressing to us all season long about our defense and that’s something that we’re going to be targeting throughout these next two games."
Asked about the 37-1 Tigers, Collison was resolute: "Really nothing concerns me about the other team; every team is good. You’re always going to face very talented players and good teams. They’re really athletic and you have to give them credit because they’ve made it this far and we’re going to have our hands full, but we’ve just got to continue to do the job like we have been doing and we should be all right.
"They’re real athletic, that’s all that really stood out to me. When you drive, you’ve got to really know your surroundings, you have to have good offensive awareness where your other teammates are at because three or four guys are coming at you toward the basket.
"We haven’t talked about the match-ups yet; most likely I will [be on Derrick Rose]. For a freshman to do what he does is a terrific accomplishment. There’s so much responsibility as the point guard. Good player, I’ve played against him a couple of times in camps; he’s real athletic.
"It’s going to be a high-scoring game. Hopefully, we don’t allow it with our defense, but both teams can really score the ball, both teams have really good, athletic, talented players and again, if it comes down to defense, it’s who wants it more.
"We’re expecting a 30-point game to a 100-point game. That’s just been our mind-set throughout the whole season. We learned how to play up-tempo with teams and we learned how to slow it down with teams. We just have to slow them down as much as you can"
Reporters asked the junior guard about Memphis’ athletic ability, but Collison said his team’s experience would be a key to being competitive. "I know last year playing against the Florida guys, there were a couple of other teams we played against last year who were as athletic as Memphis. So that’s nothing new to the guys that have been here on this team.
"You just got to take it to them. You can’t have an underdog mindset. You’ve got to really respect your opponent but at the same time you’ve got to go at them. Ever since I’ve been here, we’ve always been the least favored and we’ve made to three Final Four appearances. It doesn’t blow my mind away. It’s just something we have to worry about ourselves and regardless of what anybody else says, it’s going to come down to how we play."
Other highlights:
>> Asked about the size differential between him (6-0) and Rose (6-3) and others, he noted that "Size difference has always been a factor with just about any player I play against because I’m normally the smallest guy on the court, but again I have my quickness."
>> Collison was asked about the 2006 West Region final in which the Bruins upset Memphis, 50-45: "It was a grind-it-out game. They had a point guard named Darius Washington who was very good and a couple of other players who went to the NBA. It just came down to our defensive mind-set that we had that game and I think it’s going to be just the same philosophy as we have going into Saturday’s [game].
"That was one of the games that identified us as a defensive team. Even though it was a low-scoring game, we weren’t capitalizing as much on the offensive end, we weren’t as talented [as now], but defensively, we were a heck of a good team and that’s how we made our run that year."
>> On making it back to the Final Four again, Collison said "It was extremely difficult because any time you try to get back to the same spot a third time; it’s hard because a lot of teams know about you already. You already put yourself on the map and that’s the most difficult thing. A lot of teams had us marked on their calendar. It made us better as a team because we know we have to bring it every single day. When we didn’t, when we didn’t play our best, that’s when we started to have problems. We lost three games on the year and that’s when we knew we didn’t play our best."
>> Asked if he thought his early-season injuries might have kept him from being a first-team All-American, Collison replied "I’m in the Final Four and I’m happy; none of that stuff even matters."
UCLA’s freshman center Kevin Love told reporters on a conference call today that despite Memphis being favored over the Bruins in Saturday’s national semifinal, "As long as we believe we can win, I think we’ll be fine.
"We’ve been in games this year when we’ve been down, we’ve been in games that we’ve been up and we’ve been in tight games as well. We’ve done pretty good. If that’s the case, then that will give us a little extra bit of incentive. We know that Memphis is a very good team, just watching them yesterday, the way they get up and down the floor, and they’re very long. They push it, so we’re going to have to get back in transition if we’re going to contain them.
"They’re very unique. I think [John] Calipari, their coach, mentioned that they’re kind of like Princeton on steroids a little bit, so they’re going to be very tough to defend. I don’t think there is as team as athletic as them in the country, tell you the truth. It’s going to be a tough game for us, but we’re just going to have to play our style of ball and hopefully it will work out for us.
"[Joey] Dorsey, I know he likes to jump, he likes to block shots, so we’ll see what happens. He can really run the floor well. They’re long. They’re athletic, they go for every, every rebound, so hopefully that will help us on the fast break, but they’re also fast as well, they get out. Everybody runs the floor and they really pound it on the defensive end as well, trying to get all over the players that they are guarding, and hopefully our guards will be able to handle the pressure.
"Chris Douglas-Roberts probably forces the biggest match-up problem with us. He’s 6-5, 6-6, he’s very athletic, he’s unorthodox, he uses his left hand a lot, his right hand a lot, he does so many different things, he’s ambidextrous. He causes a lot of match-up problems for us.
"We’re going to have to scheme for them in different ways because they’re no joke, just every team that’s left, every team is here for a reason, all No. 1 seeds."
More highlights:
>> Asked about what he expects from his first Final Four, Love said "The coaches and players on the team are telling me what to expect, but they all said it’s a lot of fun. There’s a lot of different basketball obligations, media obligations and certain people that are going to want to try to talk to you, but it’s all about keeping it in the family, keeping it in the UCLA program and just keeping a steady head and trying to stay away from as many distractions as possible and just focus on the game ahead of you."
>> Love reflected on the changes he’s going through since he came to UCLA last fall, noting, "At the beginning of the year, everybody asked the same question: what kind of adjustment period is there going to be as far as basketball, schoolwise. Everybody asked about that, but nobody asked about the conditioning aspect and that was a big thing, especially for big men, because we have guards here and usually most of the guards in college basketball can run for days, can wake up, eat hamburgers, cheeseburgers and fries every day and be fine running out there and playing big minutes. I’m not saying I ate that stuff, but I had to adjust in different ways.
"I feel like I didn’t know, 100%, what to expect from the rigors of the college basketball prospectus and having to deal with school and weightlifting and sleep deprivation. It was tough, I don’t know if it could have been more prepared, but throughout the season, I had to switch off my eating habits –- it was never about what I ate -– it was just when I ate it. That was the biggest thing for me. I feel like I’ve done a great job getting into better shape, and I played 38 minutes on Thursday, which is the most I’ve played all season, and came back on Saturday and felt great. So that’s just an outcome from using by body well.
"There was a lot of stuff that I had to learn. I remember looking at film about two weeks ago, it was from one of our first games –- it might have been the San Bernardino game -– all the way back 'til then, and watching me play defense and playing defense now, there is such a difference. I mentioned in the locker room after Saturday’s game that against Texas, I only played 22 minutes, because at that time I wasn’t playing my best defense and Lorenzo [Mata-Real] had been here for 3 1/2, four years now. I feel like I am doing a lot better job and rotating, hedging and the other stuff that has made be a better defender now.
"I didn’t make much defense in high school, I just kind of stood around and waited for rebounds and got four, five blocks a game, but other than that I wasn’t out 20 feet from the basket trying to defend, but I’ve gotten a lot better."
>> He also endorsed his UCLA basketball experience, saying, "I would definitely recommend it, especially to a player who wants to get better, especially on the defensive end. I knew coming in that’s what I was going to have to get better at and I had mentioned that since day one. It was a big learning curve for me and there was a lot of extra work, but I think I grew from it and just kept an open mind, open arms and just kept my ears open and listened to the coaches.
>> On being named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press, Love said, "This ranks up there with the best because it’s such a prestigious honor, to be mentioned right up there in the same breath as [Tyler] Hansbrough, Mike Beasley and all the players that were on it. It really feels great."
The Times' UCLA football beat writer Chris Foster reports that Bob Lopez, who served as UCLA's director of football operations during all five years of the Karl Dorrell regime, has left the football staff.
Lopez will move on to San Diego State to assist head coach Chuck Long. Lopez first met Dorrell when both were at Northern Arizona during the 1990 and 1991 seasons, when Dorrell was offensive coordinator and Lopez was the recruiting coordinator.
Bruins Kevin Love and Darren Collison were both selected to the Associated Press All-American teams announced today.
Love was a first-team selection, joining unanimous picks Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina junior) and Michael Beasley (Kansas State freshman), sophomore D.J. Augustin of Texas and junior Chris Douglas-Roberts of Memphis. It was the first time ever that no senior was chosen for the first team.
Collison made the third team along with Stanford soph Brook Lopez, the only other Pac-10 player to make the AP's All-American list.
Bruin Coach Ben Howland spoke with reporters after Memphis defeated Texas to advance to the Final Four and play Memphis next Saturday at 3:07 p.m. Pacific time. He knows the Bruins will be in a struggle with a team that’s even more talented that the one UCLA defeated, 50-45, two years ago in the West Region final:
"They’re better because they have [Derrick] Rose. Rose is really a special talent. At the end of the day, when you look at it, you’ve got to say that Derrick Rose and Kevin Love are the two best freshmen in the country along with [Michael] Beasley, in terms of how they’ve performed; [O.J.] Mayo is in that group. Bottom line is, Derrick Rose is great, man, is he a good player and he has really improved as the season progressed. He’s a great point guard.
"Chris Douglas-Roberts, I think he was a freshman the first time we played the first time [2006 West Region final]; he’s a first-team All-American. I mean, he’s great. Antonio Anderson has now been in the program now for three or four years, he’s terrific. So they’re better. Joey Dorsey’s still there; he was a big, strong physical player then and he’s still there. He has 127 offensive rebounds; that’s a lot of offensive rebounds."
That said, he has not begun his preparations yet. "I haven’t watched them at all. I saw them against USC in Madison Square Garden early in the season. I did see the Tennessee game in its entirety; that was a very good game and that’s the only two games I’ve seen.
"[Today,] I went to church. I have plenty of time to watch a lot of tape. We don’t play until Saturday and I actually had to do a CBS thing this morning at 10:25 [a.m.], and then I got a ride to church and I went to church and my mom’s still here and then I came home and did a little exercise."
>> Howland noted that the 2006 West Region final game was a long time ago and the Tigers are a different team now: "The main things with them are not getting killed in transition; they’re so good at putting pressure on you with their fast break and they create a lot of their offense with their defense; they’re really a good defensive team. Look for example, they’re holding their opponents on the year to 38% from the field. They’re out-boarding their opponents by about seven a game. They force a lot of steals; they have 319 steals on the year, which is a lot of steals. To put that in perspective, we have 279, so that’s actually closer than I thought. But they’re a very good offensive rebounding team, they really get on the glass and do a great job that way. They’re just a really, really good team and we’ve got our hands full and we know it.
"They’ve got a lot of guys that can really play, they’ve got a lot of depth. Andre Allen is playing 14 minutes a game; he’s a senior. They have a lot of guys. They play nine guys at least 14 minutes a game and no one is averaging more than 28. I guess against Texas today, some guys played more minutes: Dorsey played 36, Antonio Anderson played 38, Roberts and Rose played 34, so those four guys played super minutes. It looks like [Robert] Dozier was in foul trouble because he fouled out. Chris Douglas-Roberts got to the line today 17 times, that’s a lot of free throws.
"I mean, think about it, Michigan State, they had down, 50-20, at the half. I’d say that’s an impressive score. Because Michigan State was really, really hard for us, we crushed them by one. They had them down 30 in a half. That’s saying something. I haven’t seen that game; I can’t wait to watch it because I can’t believe it." For the record, the Bruins actually beat Michigan State 68-63 back on November 20 and without Darren Collison, but who’s counting?
>> On Memphis’ star freshman Rose: "Where I think he’s really improved is his ability to shoot the three. He’s a very effective three-point shooter. They’ve done a great job developing that; he’s shooting with a lot of confidence. He’s really playing well now in the NCAA Tournament, I do know that. He’s averaging 17.2 [points] a game in the last five games; Chris Douglas-Roberts is averaging 21 [plus] Antonio Anderson, so you look at those perimeter players, those three guys, they have size and they are athletic.
"Derrick Rose is going to be drafted when he does come out, whenever that may be, in the top five in the country. He’s a great player. He’s 6-3, really, really strong, very, very athletic. He’s just really, really good. He’s arguably the best point guard in the country. It’s a great challenge [for Darren Collison] because he’s so good. So I’m sure that Darren will be pumped up and wanting to play well.
"Joey’s the main guy that I look at because he’s a senior, he’s experienced, he’s built like Hulk. He’s so strong, so athletic, so tough, I really like him. He’s older, he’s got to be at least 23 by now. I think Dozier is really athletic and long; when you look at their blocked shots, Dozier’s got 64 blocks, Dorsey has 70; they have 235 blocks. That’s a lot more blocks than we have. They block shots."
>> The Bruins will have a busy schedule in San Antonio, as Howland noted: "Today’s off, tomorrow they’ll come in and lift and they’ll also do a bike -– get a cardiovascular [workout] in. Tuesday, we’ll practice normal time -– 3 o’clock or 3:15 or whatever it is; Wednesday, we’ll practice; we’re planning on noon right now because we’re trying to fly out at 5 o’clock on Wednesday, tentatively. Then we’ll practice there on Thursday afternoon, we have a salute dinner for all four teams that the NCAA [puts on] Thursday night that all teams go to. It’s really been a nice event; they started it our first year in the Final Four two years ago. It’s a great event; it was hosted by Jim Nantz the last couple years. Really nice, everyone gets a beautiful watch and a beautiful box that it comes in, so it’s a special night.
"Then Friday we have the unbelievable requirement from 10:45 in the morning until 1:30 between the required practice and all the media events, on the front end and the back end. I think our media requirements start at 10:45 a.m., we go until 11:50, then we practice -– required -– 12 to 12:50 and then we come back off and have more media until 1:30.
"The thing is, there’s so much required of us that it goes by quickly because there are so many things that is required for the guys to do, so it doesn’t seem like it’s long at all."
>> About his All-American freshman Love, Howland was asked if it was difficult to have him fit in when he came to UCLA last fall. "We didn’t balance any of the attention [on him], we have nothing to do with controlling that, that’s been off the hook from day one. Bottom line is, guys earn their minutes and we started practice with everybody have a right to start and it’s figured out based on who performs."
Howland also noted that the Bruin players were happy to have someone who could help them achieve their goals. "In their mind, they’re the kind of guys who [think], ‘here’s a guy who can help us finish what we’ve almost done two years in a row.’ They’re all about winning. You look at Josh [Shipp], he’s a great example of that. Luc [Richard Mbah A Moute], those guys are doing whatever they’ve got to do to. People are being critical of them in the paper, but at the end of the day, they are genuinely, authentically happy that this team is doing so well and winning. And they’re doing whatever they’ve got to do to help their team win. That’s so gratifying to see that, to see guys that are selfless, care about the team first. This is a quote now -– ‘It’s amazing what you can do when no one cares about who gets the credit’ –- it’s a paraphrase. Any guess? [John Wooden was the response] That’s right; I was reading that last night.
"This is really my first experience, with a veteran group of returning guys that have been to Final Fours one and two years and adding the best high school player in the nation. I hope this becomes a habit because that’s a good habit to have, but I’m not speaking from a lot of experience here.
"[Kevin is] pretty confident and what I think has happened is they’ve really jelled. All the guys genuinely respect Kevin as a player and like him as a person and know he’s about winning too. I mean he’s very, very unselfish. You saw some of the passes last night; the outlet pass to Russell [Westbrook] when they made a little run at us, the little dive and then a great pass to Josh. He’s a great passer; he honestly gets joy like a Magic Johnson or a [Larry] Bird out of making a great pass, which for me as a coach -– how much I love the game -– that’s so neat to see. It’s so great. He totally gets it. There’s no such thing as a selfish rebounder either. I think they short-handed him on the rebounds; I’ve got to watch it again or have someone do it, but I think he had more than 10."
When did Love’s role on the team solidify? "I think it took a little while, I would say around December. And that’s part of the guys getting to know each other and playing together and being a group. They’re all pretty good leaders, though, in their own way. They really are: Russell, Luc, Josh, Darren, him, obviously those five guys that start have leadership qualities that are evident."
>> About Mbah A Moute’s health, the Bruin coach said: "He saw Carrie [Rubertino], our trainer, today, but I’m assuming no news is good news. Boy, he played good yesterday, that was fun. He has a little bit of swelling, but he seems to be doing OK."
>> Asked about what he remembered from the 2006 game, Howland said: "I thought we did a good job early in the game. We attacked their press, they were pressing early and we scored a couple quick baskets and I thought that helped us get off to a good start. We did a good job slowing the ball down, but we didn’t have to face Derrick Rose two years ago either. He’s a difference maker."
The Bruin coach was also asked about whether he planned to change any of the team’s preparations from the last two years. "No," he said, adding, "Any suggestions? If there’s something you can tell me to do that’s going to make we win, I am happy to hear it."
After the Bruins whipped Xavier, 76-59, to win the West Regional, Musketeer Coach Sean Miller was asked what makes UCLA so tough. His answer was instructive:
"The thing that amazes me about UCLA’s defense is they don’t foul. I mean, they are physical, they blitz and trap every pick and roll you set, they trap the low post, they pressure the ball, they sometimes have four players on the court who are 6-7 or taller and they don’t foul. I’m telling you, if you play as hard as they do and have the size that they do and the strategy and that offensive team can’t put fouls on them, it’s really, really hard to score.
"We got one foul on Kevin Love in the first four minutes and I got excited. If we’d have played 200 more minutes, he would not have picked his second foul up. He doesn’t foul. It will be interesting in San Antonio as the best of the best goes there because, again, when you play that hard and you’re that physical and you trap; [for example,] transition defense, they fly back in transition defense like all teams do and if you set a ball screen, that 6-9, 270-pound player stops, runs dead opposite to half court and blitzes the ball screen, turns, runs full speed to the hoop and a lot of action is happening and they don’t foul. And you have to make field goals and I like the way Derrick [Brown] answered it, we can play better than we played today and at the same time, UCLA’s defense is obviously outstanding. The team that cracks it will probably be hitting on all cylinders and I would be curious to see if they can put four more fouls on UCLA and get to the foul line more themselves and to me, that’s the key against playing their defense because the things that they are able to do without fouling are against all odds."
The Bruins have been among the national leaders all season in fewest fouls called against them, ranking fifth at 14.2 per game. UCLA actually had more fouls than Xavier yesterday: 19 to 15.
>> The All-West Regional team included Kevin Love (Most Valuable Player), Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook, plus Tyrone Brazelton from Western Kentucky and Josh Duncan of Xavier.
>> Bruin Coach Ben Howland was on the CBS pre-game show today before Memphis’ 85-67 win over Texas. Highlights:
"Our team is really doing a good job of playing well down the stretch of games. Obviously, we’ve been in some close games. We had a very difficult game against Texas A&M in the second round. Western Kentucky gave us a great game and came back on us when we had a big lead. We played very well against Xavier yesterday, but no question, we’re playing good basketball right now and I feel good about our team."
Asked about the impact of Love, he said, "First of all, Kevin is a great competitor. He really, really brings a competitive spirit that I think is special for a young man his age. He’s playing his best basketball during the NCAA Tournament and he’s had an unbelievable year, an All-American year. He’s a great rebounder, a great outlet passer, an outstanding post force inside offensively, which is something we’ve lacked our previous two Final Four runs, on a consistent basis. So he’s had a great all-around game."
Asked if he was happy not to see Florida in San Antonio, Howland said: "They had a great team the last two years, one of the best teams you can say over the last 10 years, maybe more. But this year is no exception. When you look at today’s game between Memphis and Texas, who would you rather have? Each team is great. Texas beats us here at Pauley Pavilion earlier in the year, so we’re familiar with them. [John] Calipari has done an unbelievable job with Memphis, they’ve only lost one game all year, so this tournament is so tough, there’s no easy team. So whoever wins it, it’s truly going to be a great team."
Asked if he planned to change his Final Four preparations after losing in the Final Four the last two years, Howland said: "No, not really. I really believe this is our best team in the last three years and the reason is because we have six players who played on either both of those teams who went to the Final Four or at least last year’s Final Four. So we have all that experience returning and then we add the best post player coming out of high school in the country, Kevin Love, who’s lived up [to] and beyond all the hype and all the expectation. He’s absolutely terrific and it’s just amazing; you think about all the pressure he’s dealt with from the media and all the attention, all the expectation and yet he’s delivered more then anybody expected . . . except, of course, for himself and my view. I knew Kevin would be this good."
The Bruin men’s basketball team is heading back to the Final Four once again, but there was a lot of other important action this week:
Baseball:
>> Last week: What to make of this 2008 UCLA baseball team? After losing three in a row to Long Beach State, the Bruins dropped from No. 11 in the nation to No. 23 and then lost another game, at San Diego State on Tuesday, 6-3 (Matt Drummond, 0-2, took the loss). But then UCLA went to Tucson for a three-game series against No. 6 Arizona and wins two in a row: 4-3 in 10 innings on Friday night (third baseman Jermaine Curtis had four hits and Drummond, 2-1, won in relief) and 20-8 on Saturday thanks to a 7-for-7, four RBI and four runs scored day by first baseman Casey Haerther (Charles Brewer, 3-2, got the win).
>> This week: The Bruins (12-9, 2-0 Pac-10) finish their series with Arizona today in Tucson, then head home for a 13-game homestand, starting with San Diego State on Tuesday, April 1 at 6 p.m. Then UCLA will square off with rival USC at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday (6 p.m.), Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).
Football:
>> This week: Spring football starts on Spaulding Field on campus April 3 and will continue through April 26 with the Spring game at the Rose Bowl. This week’s practices are open to the public, starting at 3:55 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.
Rowing:
>> Last week: The Bruins debuted at No. 13 in the national rankings and are in Redwood Shores, Calif., this weekend for the Pac-10 Challenge against three top 10 teams in Virginia, Ohio State and California on Saturday and Sunday.
>> This week: The Bruins will be in the San Diego Crew Classic in Mission Bay on Saturday and Sunday.
Softball:
>> Last week: UCLA is now the top-ranked team in the nation and won its first two Pac-10 games convincingly this weekend. UCLA defeated Oregon State, 3-0, on Friday (Anjelica Selden, 14-2, got the win) and then freshman Donna Kerr lowered her ERA to 0.48 and improved to 12-1 with a 2-0 shutout of Oregon on Saturday. Megan Langenfeld picked up saves by pitching scoreless seventh innings in both games.
>> This week: UCLA (30-3) faces Oregon again today at Easton Stadium at noon, then has four more home games coming up this week: Washington on Wednesday, Stanford on Friday and California on Saturday and Sunday.
>> Of note: Four Bruins were named to the American team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing this August: catcher Stacey Nuveman, first baseman Tairia Mims Flowers, third baseman Andrea Duran and shortstop Natasha Watley. Triple gold medalist pitcher Lisa Fernandez was not selected for the team, but is listed as an injury replacement; she had taken three years off from softball to start her family and did not regain her earlier form. The U.S. Team will face the Bruins in an exhibition on Tuesday evening, April 22, at Easton Stadium.
Men’s Basketball:
>> Last week: UCLA (35-3) has won 14 straight games and is heading to San Antonio for the Final Four, the third season in a row that the Bruins will play in the national semifinals. UCLA defeated Western Kentucky, 88-78, on Thursday, cruising to a 21-point lead at half and then holding on after a furious rally by the Hilltoppers. On Saturday, UCLA defeated Xavier, 76-57, building a nine-point edge at halftime and then extending the lead behind 19 points each from Kevin Love and Darren Collison.
>> This week: The Bruins will play Saturday in one national semifinal and if they win, will play for the national championship on Monday, April 7.
Men’s Golf:
>> Last week: Third-ranked UCLA led after 18 holes, but fell to seventh in the U.S. Collegiate Championships in Alpharetta, Ga. The top Bruin finisher was senior Kevin Chappell, who tied for 10th. In a separate tournament, five individual Bruins competed in the Cal Poly Men’s Intercollegiates with freshman Philip Francis tying for seventh in the best finish by a UCLA golfer.
>> This week: UCLA remains in the south and will play in the Administaff Augusta State Invitational at the Champions Retreat Golf Course in Augusta, Ga., beginning Friday.
Men’s Soccer:
>> Last week: Five Bruins made up a quarter of the U.S. Under-23 National Team squad that qualified for the Beijing Olympic tournament at last week’s CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Defenders Kamani Hill (2004-05), Patrick Ianni (2003-05) and Marvell Wynne (2004-05) and forwards Chad Barrett (2003-04) and Sal Zizzo (2005-06) were all on the squad and at least one Bruin started in every game. The U.S. finished the tournament with a 3-1-1 record, won Group A and allowed just two goals while scoring six.
Men’s Tennis:
>> Last week: The Bruins are ranked sixth in the nation and looked like it this past week, shutting out Loyola Marymount, 7-0, at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on Tuesday, then winning its opening Pac-10 matches easily, stomping No. 20 Washington, 6-1, in Seattle on Friday and Oregon, 6-1, in Eugene on Saturday.
>> This week: UCLA has won nine matches in a row and is 15-1 on the season. Next up are California and Stanford in matches to be played Friday and Saturday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, starting at 1:30 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
Men’s Track & Field:
>> Last week: The Bruins were ranked seventh in the nation in the U.S. Track Coaches Assn.’s pre-season poll and then racked up 238 points to win the Cal/Nevada Championships easily in a two-meet in Fresno. Senior John Caulfield threw a lifetime best of 197-10 -– best in the nation so far -– to win the discus and he also won the shot put with a seasonal best of 62-7 3/4. UCLA won seven events in all, including Henry Hagenbuch’s lifetime-best 3:50.65 in the 1500 m; Boldizsar Kocsor’s win in the hammer (217-3), Elijah Wells in the 400 m (48.02), Jonathan Clark in the triple jump at 49-9 1/4 and vaulter Johnny Quinn with a lifetime best of 17-0 3/4.
>> This week: UCLA will send selected individuals to the Texas Relays in Austin.
Men’s Volleyball:
>> Last week: No. 8 UCLA is putting on a performance this season that would make both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde proud. Fresh off an upset of No. 1 BYU, the Bruins lost to UC San Diego for the first time ever Friday, losing the match in five sets. UCLA had won 44 in a row over the Tritons. Then on Saturday, the Bruins stopped No. 3 Long Beach State in four games and snapped a five-game losing streak at the Walter Pyramid, led by 6-9 hitter Sean O’Malley with 19 kills.
>> This week: The Bruins are now 15-11 overall and 10-8 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, residing in fifth place. UCLA will play UC Santa Barbara in Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday and then face MPSF leader Cal State Northridge on Friday, also in Pauley.
Women’s Basketball:
>> Last week: UCLA senior Lindsey Pluimer was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic Team for the third year in a row. In addition to being an All-Conference first-team selection on the court, she was honored for her 3.71 grade-point average in Communications Studies. Sophomore guard Erica Tukiainen received honorable mention.
Women’s Golf:
>> This week: The second-ranked Bruins head back into action this week in the PING/ASU Sun Devil Invitational in Tempe on Friday. It’s their last tournament before the Pac-10 Championships on April 21-23.
Women’s Gymnastics:
>> Last week: Defending champion UCLA finished third in the Pac-10 Conference Championships in Seattle, finishing behind Stanford and Oregon State after a fall on the final rotation of the meet. Tasha Schwikert was UCLA’s only individual winner, taking her seventh career Pac-10 title, with a share of the uneven bars title with a 9.95.
>> This week: The Bruins are off; next up is the NCAA Regionals on April 12.
>> Of note: Freshman Brittani McCullough, whose season ended due to injury back on March 9, was named Pac-10 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. Four Bruins were named to the Pac-10 All-Academic team, including juniors Ariana Berlin and Kristina Comforte and senior Tasha Schwikert on the second team, and senior Natalie Padilla as honorable mention.
Women’s Swimming:
>> Last week: Ten Bruins were named to the Pac-10 All-Academic teams, including first-team selections Tess Schofield (Communication Studies, 3.83 grade-point average) and Katherine Wong (History, 3.72). All-American Nicolette Teo (Anthropology, 3.58), Ellen Brooks (Art History, 3.57) and Kristen Fischer (Comm Studies, 3.57) each earned second-team honors. Honorable Mention recognition was given to Shannon Hackett, Brittany Hill, Julie Imagane, Marisa Samaniego and Chiemi Yamamoto.
Women’s Tennis:
>> Last week: Eighth-ranked UCLA had a good week, blanking Hawaii in Honolulu, 7-0 on Tuesday and then starting Pac-10 play with a 7-0 whitewash of Oregon on Saturday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. It was Bruin Coach Stella Sampras Webster’s 200th career win in her 12 seasons in Westwood (200-102).
>> This week: The Bruins are now 14-4 and head north for matches with No. 7 California in Berkeley in Friday and fifth-ranked Stanford in Palo Alto on Saturday.
Women’s Track & Field:
>> Last week: The Bruins were ranked sixth in the nation in the coaches’ pre-season poll and finished second at the Cal/Nevada Championships in Fresno. The Bruins had three winners over the two-day event, including freshman Lindsay Rowe in the 100 m hurdles in a lifetime best of 13.74, senior high jumper Allie Miller (5-7) and the 4 x 400 m relay team of Chanelle Curry, Krystin Lacy, Ashlea McLaughlin and Nicole Leach (3:39.30).
>> This week: The Bruins will send some athletes to the Stanford Invitational.
Women’s Water Polo:
>> Last week: No. 1 UCLA scored an impressive 9-3 win over Hawaii in Honolulu on Saturday, led by Courtney Mathewson’s three-goal performance. The Bruins are now 22-0 on the season and 8-0 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.
>> This week: UCLA will entertain California at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center on Friday, followed by a match with Pacific on Saturday, both starting at 1 p.m.
Bruin Coach Ben Howland told CBS-TV’s Verne Lundquist after the game, "We played very well. We played good defense. I think that’s 14 wins in a row, so struggling is a matter of perspective. As long as these guys get the ‘W,’ that’s all that matters and they’ve done a terrific job the entire year, and we’re honored to represent the West and go to San Antonio."
In the postgame news conference, Howland was calm, but you could tell how excited he was about beating Xavier and winning decisively. He immediately noted the Bruin defensive effort that held the Musketeers to just 36% shooting and called that "really the key to the game, and outboarding them by eight.
"They got off to a good start on the offensive glass with seven offensive rebounds in the first five minutes of the game. So we did hold them to seven the last 35 minutes, and I thought that all five of these guys had terrific games up here, and it was a great team effort. I was especially pleased with Luc [Richard Mbah A Moute] getting a double-double. When he gets on the boards like that, and seven offensive rebounds, it’s incredible.
"I thought Darren [Collison] did a great job handling their pressure. I thought Russell [Westbrook] was outstanding defensively on [Stanley] Burrell; he had eight points. Josh [Shipp], I was so excited, as he knows, when I see that jump-stop and pass to Kevin [Love] for the dunk early in the second half, that brings joy to my heart, as all these guys know. So, it was a great overall team effort and Darren did a great job running the show, and we’re getting spoiled with Kevin getting a double-double — which seems to happen a lot — and his teammates did a great job getting the ball down low. And he actually knocked down his threes today — two for four. Anyway, it’s a great win for us and we’re excited about the opportunity to advance to San Antonio."
>> What about making it to another Final Four?
"Obviously, it’s unbelievable. I think it’s only happened three times now since they’ve gone to the field of 64, so that’s a real credit to how good our players are and how well they perform under pressure and over the last three years. As I said before, I think this is by far the best team in the last three years because we do have a key ingredient in an inside player who can score and rebound like nobody else in the country, along with all the experience and the outstanding perimeter play of Luc, Josh, Darren andLorenz Russell. And, also, our bench has been very good. I think James Keefe has done a terrific job [as well as] Lorenzo [Mata-Real] [and] Alfred [Aboya]. I know these guys played a lot of minutes tonight, but that’s what they’ve been doing all year. So, it’s exciting. I’m proud and very grateful.
"Obviously, the guys that returned from the previous couple of years have had that tough loss against Florida both times. And it was obviously very disappointing. We were beaten by a great team; both years, Florida was just special. I think that the experience the guys that played on those two teams have gained along with Russell and James really helps this team, and I think this is the best field for the Final Four this year in the past three years. It doesn’t matter if it’s Louisville or Carolina, Texas or Memphis, Davidson or Kansas, this is going to be the toughest four teams that’s been in this tournament in a while. And that’s going to make it doubly difficult for us."
>> Asked about why the Bruin defense is so good, he said, "I think the key is we have players who have quick feet and you’ve got to have quick feet and play defense not with your hands or your arms, but with your feet, so that’s really the difference, I think."
>> Howland was asked about Love and how he’s helped the Bruins. "He’s a great player, again he was MVP of the Regional and deservedly so, and with that maturity, answering all the questions he was asked up here, there were some curve balls thrown. You know he’s very, very mature. He has a special gift and he is an outstanding leader, and he leads a lot of times through example with his competitiveness, his toughness, his battle in the way he battles. I was watching that Texas A&M game; it was just amazing how he was battling with those seven blocks in that game. He does whatever it takes to help his team win and he’s very verbal. He’s obviously very intelligent and bright and has the respect of his teammates and has earned it."
>> He also was asked about Collison and his comments about how Howland is much more like another player than a coach. "The part I heard that I’ll ask him about is, ‘I don’t like it all the time.’ But it means a lot to me that he feels my passion, that he knows I’m with them 110% all the time. And we’re always striving to play a perfect game, knowing that we never will, but knowing that we worked really, really hard and spent a lot of time and effort in preparation for every opponent and really work hard at our games and really sacrificed for one another. It’s a total team effort and [the] guys have just been fantastic."
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