UCLA Basketball season ending games/Team Grade Report and Prognosis for the NCAA Tourney (3/08)

The UCLA Bruins have proved they belong. February 23^rd vs. the Oregon Ducks at Pauley Pavilion was a big game.  The Bruins struggled early, which has been the case many times this season only to overcome deficits to rally time and again.  They trailed the Ducks by 11 points in the second half but came on strong to win 75-65.  Kevin Love earned his 16^th double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.  The other leading scorers included Collison with 17, Westbrook with 16 and Shipp with 10.  There was a tense moment when Westbrook went down trying to score on a break-away lay-up and it looked bad in the moment.  After a delay and some treatment by the trainers, he got up and jogged it off before igniting the big rally late.

 

UCLA hit the road the next week and blew out Arizona State before hanging on for a close two point victory at Arizona. The big match up occurred March 6^th at Pauley Pavilion vs. #7 Stanford.  The Cardinals came into the game with a 24-4 overall record and second in the Pac 10 with a 13-3 record.  Bruin’s head Coach Ben Howland has done an amazing job with the program as he hopes to take the team to the final 4 for the 3rd straight year but this time with a successful ending.

  This was another slow start & typical UCLA game.   They started out slow as Brooke and Robin Lopez were too big and Anthony Goods had a strong first half.  Brooke Lopez (pictured below with the short hair) is a projected lottery pick and his 19 points per game average and taller stature was tough task for UCLA.  h

 

The Bruins came out in the second half and overcame a 12 point Stanford lead with their usual great defense. Kevin Love battled Brook Lopez for the conference player of the year (which Love ended up winning Conference Player of the Year). Both players played well but Lopez, a sophomore, has really improved since these teams last met and outplayed Love. Love is pictured below taking on both Lopez brothers.

 

 

The hero of the game was Darren Collison, who played his best game of the year. He kept UCLA in it when Stanford was threatening to run away with the game with his lightning quick penetration.  Collision driving and splitting the Cardinal defense quite a few times was a big key to the game. Josh Shipp has continued to battle his shooting slump with another poor shooting game. Shipp is normally a great shooter but his last few games he has been shooting very poorly.  At one point missing 20 straight 3-point attempts. Except for a few last minute defensive stops, Russell Westbrook had a relatively quiet game, and UCLA missed several very easy shots in regulation, including a missed dunk by Mbah a Moute. However in overtime, UCLA just controlled the game and won by 10, which incidentally is what exactly what they were favored to win by. 

 

In their final season game, they played lackluster throughout most of the game vs. California and only a Shipp’s incredible shot at the end of the game salvaged the win.

 

 TEAM GRADE AND BREAKDOWN:

1) Overall, I would give UCLA an ‘A’ for the season. They

are currently 26-3 going into the pac-10 Tournament,

which is an excellent record considering they play in

the nation's toughest conference. They just won

their 3rd conference title in the last four years. Coach Ben

Howland has come up with an excellent defense scheme

and has the Bruins playing some of the best defense in

the country.  If they are going to the final four, it

will be their defense that gets them there. They have

won almost every close game they have played,

although they have had luck on their side the last two

games- a questionable call and a miracle (possible

illegal) shot gave UCLA their last two wins to clinch

the conference championship. 
 
 

PLAYER-BY-PLAYER GRADE AND BREAKDOWN:

1) Kevin Love. Fr. Grade: “A+”  What can you say about

this 18 year old. He really is the complete package

for a big man, especially for a freshman. He is very

strong underneath; his bread and butter is rebounding

and scoring on second shot attempts.  He also can shoot

the three, is a superb overall passer, an unparalled

outlet passer, and just has that special quality about

him that few have, ala Magic Johnson or Larry Bird: he

makes the players around him play better. He was

recently named Pac 10 Player of the Year and is on the

final 24 list for the Wooden award, which honors the

best player in the country. The only question is does

he stay or go pro next year?

2.Darren Collison.Jr. Grade: “A”  He was injured for the

first part of the season, but came back to regain his

spot as one of the best point guards in the

country.  He is lightning quick and seems to be the go-to man

when UCLA is in trouble near the end of tight

games. He is one of the best ball handlers and has been very reliable   shooting free throws at about 88% this season. He has improved his 3-point   shot and his control of the game is spectacular He may turn pro at the end   of this year.

3)Russell Westbrook. Sophomore guard. Grade: “A-“

Westbrook has shown probably the most improvement of

any player on the team this year. He had to play point

guard when Darren Collison was injured for the first

part of the year, and seemed to really benefit from

the extra playing time. He is the most athletic

player on the team and had several spectacular plays & dunks

during the season. He was also named Pac 10 Defensive

player of the year. Most scouts predict he will be the

best future NBA player on this UCLA team.

4) Josh Shipp. Jr. Grade: “B” Shipp was an excellent

outside shooter for the Bruins the first half of the

season, but has been in a prolonged shooting slump

since.  He has been clutch and a key to the success of the team.

He may also elect to go pro but is better off staying.

5) Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. Jr. Grade: “A-“. Mbah a

Moute is an excellent rebounder and defender  He

suffered a concussion and was out for several games,

and the Bruins really missed his rebounding when he

was out.  He is one of the unsung players for the team and they   count on him for his defense and intangibles. 

6) Alfred Aboya.Jr. Grade: ”B” Fellow Cameroonian

with Mbah a Moute, filled in nicely for him when he

was injured. Comes off bench for Mbah a Moute to play defense against some of 

the better players on the other team

7) Lorenzo Mata-Real.Sr. Grade: “B” Mata-Real does the

dirty work on the team: he is a tough rebounder and

defender. He doesn't have a lot on the offensive side and  usually comes

off the bench to spell Love or Mbah a Moute.

8) James Keefe. So. Grade “B-“- He was planning on redshirting when Roll got   injured. He came back and played vs. Washington State in January and can   contribute key minutes as a roll player.

9) Michael Roll.Jr. GRADE: TBD next year. Coach

Howland decided to redshirt Roll, known primarily for

his outside shooting after sustaining a season-ending

injury after the first few games of the season.

KEY TO NCAA TOURNAMENT:

To me, the key to the Bruins success in the big dance

is whether Josh Shipp can regain his shooting touch and 

everyone remains healthy.

Teams tend to compact their defense to try to contain

Love, and Shipp gets a lot of good looks on his

outside shots. If he can get hot again, Westbrook

adds some offense to his great defense and Collison

controls the game like he has done lately,

UCLA is our favorite to win it all over other high potential

Teams such as North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas, Duke,

Tennessee and Texas, who beat UCLA in LA earlier this year.  They also have experience

on their side having reached the final 4 the last two years.