Answers, Part VIII

What are the stengths/weaknesses for this years' FB team?
I think the offensive line and running back depth are the biggest concerns heading into the season. The offensive line really could be bothersome. I also have concern about inexperience in the secondary, especially at the safety positions, and defensive end.
The strength, No. 1, are the coordinators. I think they are two of the best in the Pac-10. I believe receiver depth is another strong point, but the best part of the team will be the middle on defense. Between Brian Price and Brigham Harwell at defensive tackles, and Reggie Carter at middle linebacker, UCLA has a strong nucleus there.

What is the best part of being at the Final Four from a journalist perspective?
Watching the game from courtside. Everything else is more difficult to deal with than during the season.

i know north carolina was the overall top seed in the tournament. how were the other number 1 seeds ranked?
It was UNC, Memphis, UCLA and Kansas, which is why UCLA will wear its away uniforms Saturday.

what were the reasons for trevor ariza turning pro after just one season at ucla? it seemed both at the time, and based on his first years in the nba, like he wasn't ready.
He didn’t want to be in school. The only reason he didn’t go to the NBA out of high school was he was too young. The NBA had a rule a player had to be 18 by the time of the draft, and he was 17.

i thought that one of the primary reasons jc basketball transfers historically had not been recruited at ucla and some other schools was because of their limited elgibility. with top players now hanging around for one or two years before turning pro, is ucla in the future likely to consider an outstanding jc player to fill a glaring void (like the absence of a real center)?
It is not easy to get junior college kids into UCLA, and so far Howland hasn’t found any that he thought could fit the mold. Otherwise, he would have been recruited.

Great article on Chow's effect on the O. Is there anything else you have heard from your sources that may have been left out of that article, which also pointed to the overloaded robot theory?
There is a lot of things, but one thing I didn’t get into is I don’t think the offensive players really believed in the offense. Nobody would say it outright, but it was a vibe I got from everybody.

Do any of the Pac-10 schools complain that the conference tournament is always held in L.A.? What determines the location and is it scheduled to be held anywhere else?
No, because they understand it is a television generated deal. Fox Sports owns the tournament, and there is no way they are going to move it because most of their clientele is in Los Angeles.

If Shipp scores like he was in the first half of the year we win, if he doesn't we lose. True or False, and why?
False. If Westbrook or Mbah a Moute suddenly become a third scorer, UCLA can still win. However, Shipp is the best suited to do it.

Why is UCLA spring practice open to the public and USC only allows USC students to attend ? It is prudent to be discussing your game plan and practicing all of your plays in public ?
They are not going over game plan stuff. Everything UCLA is doing is vanilla. Plus, that stuff is overrated in my book.