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July 31, 2007
Hoops snoozer
I was down on campus last week to check out some hoops in the men's gym, and, boy, did I pick the wrong day to do that. The only current player I saw was Lorenzo Mata, and during his three games I watched he did basically little more than run the court. He attempted one shot (a dunk) and rarely fought for post position. (Of course, what else should I expect, since summer pick-up games aren't a great venue to run an offense and search out a center).
Among the former UCLA players there were Ryan Hollins, Brian Morrison and Janou Rubin. I'll be down there again at some point this week, with hopefully more current UCLA guys to watch.
Posted by Brian Dohn at July 31, 2007 04:37 AM
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Comments
Apparently SAC is being used and won't have the pick up games until the 13th.
Posted by: Lapu at July 31, 2007 08:16 PM
Brian, I would recommend you stop by at Say No this weekend for the playoffs. The teams from Pomona and Hollywood are going to square off for Summer League supremacy.
These games have a 24 second clock, 3 officials per game and the NBA stripe. They play four 8 minute quarters with usually 3 minute halves and 3 or 5 minutes between games.
I've seen Mata, Roll and Westbrook play in several games. Russell is the most impressive. He explodes to the rim on drives and finishes well and is able to hit the perimeter shot. His handles have improved but will lose the ball now and then setting his man up for a drive.
The place is air conditioned. A huge plus. The metal benches are horrible. Sitting on broken shards of glass would probably more comfortable. But what the heck, it's free. Parking costs about $5 though you can hunt for a free spot. If you don't want to look too much, the film school on Ivar charges anywhere from $3 to $6 depending on what time you park.
If you come by on Sunday, there is a farmer's market next to the facility that runs from the morning to about 2pm. You can probably find some fresh fruit or vegie juice to keep you in shape for your next marathon. Or incense and scented candles if you're into that.
I don't keep up with the standings or the teams. It's rather poorly organized in this regard, but the players I've seen so far are Jamal Boykins, Nicon Robinson (Cal), Calvin Haynes, Omari Johnson (Oregon State), Derek Glasser, Jeff Pendergraph (ASU) Marcus Johnson (UConn), Alex Stepheson (UNC), Davon Jefferson, Kyle Austin, Kasey Cunningham (USC) as well as the assorted Bruins including Mustafa Abdul-Hamid. The rest are a pretty talented assortment of mid major players from CSUN, Pep, LBSU, UCI, etc.
Lastly, I've heard Darren plays in the Pomona Say No. Maybe his team was one of the top five and may make the trip to Hollywood.
Posted by: Dr Death at July 31, 2007 11:49 PM