Answers, Part I

can you list the scholarship players on the basketball team? there seems to be so much worry about scholarships next year, and I'm just trying to sort it all out.
Well, that’s tricky because you don’t know who is coming back, and who is leaving early. If you operated under the guise that every player who is an underclassmen is coming back, than you have:
Kevin Love, Darren Collison, Russell Westbrook, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Josh Shipp, Alfred Aboya, Michael Roll, Nikola Dragovic, James Keefe and Chace Stanback. That is 10 players, and UCLA has four incoming freshman. Now, the NCAA limit for scholarships is 13, but Love and Collison are expected to leave, and Westbrook, at this time, seems like a toss up.

Who do you have winning it in your bracket?
North Carolina, but I’m not happy with my bracket because I have too many of the top seeds advancing too far.

you mentioned earlier that Coach Neuheisel had problems in later years at a program because once the original talent left he couldn't replace it. Should UCLA fans worry about the same sort of thing now? I thought he landed a solid group of kids for next season.
The kids he brought in this recruiting class are fine, but keep in mind the only one not to commit to Karl Dorrell was junior college quarterback Kevin Craft, who was a late get. Neuheisel's biggest thing was keeping the kids committed, and he got a huge assist from defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker. The question with what transpired in Washington, as I understand it, was the recruiting in the few years after he arrived. Very few all-Pac-10 picks came out of his last few recruiting classes.

There seems to be a lot of analysts that think that the West region is the "easiest"? Do you agree or do you think its more of a testament to how good ucla is?
Part of it is how good UCLA is, but North Carolina is very good, as is Memphis and Kansas. I think with UCLA’s balance, and given Duke is the No. 2 seed in the region, the thought is the bracket is UCLA’s to lose. I look at other regions and see Georgetown as a No. 2 and Wisconsin as a No. 3 in Kansas’ region, or Texas a No. 2 in Memphis’ region, or Tennessee a No. 2 and Louisville a No. 3 in North Carolina’s region. I think Duke is the weakest two seed, and Xavier is the weakest No. 3 seed.

Which potential matchup within the West region or in the final four do you think might present the most problems for UCLA?
I think UConn could give UCLA trouble because of their size inside, but the Huskies’ guard play and the fact the game would be in Phoenix is a huge advantage for UCLA. In all honesty, I figure UCLA will play at least one close game before the Final Four, but I fully expect the Bruins to be there.