Answers, Part II
Here is the second set of answers:
What is the best package deal for UCLA and which is most likely to end up here: Lance Stephenson/Renardo Sidney or Gaddy/Bradley?
I don't think a package deal is a good way to do business, but if you want an answer, I'll go with Stephenson and Sidney.
I've read a lot of different reports on the character issues of LS and RS and how RS plays very lethargic...does BH in your opinion seem like he would take those two guys despite these issues to help his program get over the hump and bring home a NC?
I don't think UCLA has fully decided that right now, but from talking to a few of my sources, the belief is Howland can get them to play hard all the time. He has the great equalizer, and that would be sitting them on the bench if they didn't play or practice hard. And I don't see either one transferring after a season because they don't like Howland, mainly because each one wants to get to the NBA ASAP.
Should we expect some commitments from the UCLA overnight camp later this month? Is this the biggest off-season recruiting event for the coaches?
I think you will see a commit or two during the camp (June 22-24), and it is a huge time for them to show off the campus, get to see prospects work out and do some evaluation. However, I don't think it is the biggest event. I still think hosting official visits is a bigger thing because kids get to experience so much more.
do you think that recruits are holding a wait and see how approach on how ucla does this year to in order to access the new coaching staff?
I don't think so because it is a proven staff with Rick Neuheisel, Norm Chow and DeWayne Walker. I think the wait-and-see aspect is more for unproven coaches. Whenever a coach is fired for an under-performing team, there is an understanding that the program needs to rebuild, and that is what UCLA is selling to recruits. But the staff is selling it that it will be a quicker turnaround than normal.
Did coach RN have success at Washington and Colorado in recruiting on the national stage as he hopes to do at UCLA? How attractive is UCLA for recruits on a national stage compared to other pac-10 schools?
A complaint I heard from folks at Washington was he did not spend enough time recruiting Washington, and that proved to be one of his downfalls. Let's be honest, if the Huskies were winning a Pac-10 title every year, he would have remained the coach. At Colorado, the recruiting usually is on a grander stage.
As for the attraction, I think UCLA is slotted behind USC, which is on a whole other level. There is a lure of Los Angeles - the weather, the UCLA education, the social life - that cannot be matched by most other places. Stanford is a national lure, but for a different reason - it's all about the academics.
Does UCLA have any interest in Derrick Jasper, formerly of Kentucky? I understand that he is interested in becoming a Bruin.
There is an interest, but I'm not sure it is very high right now. UCLA is waiting on Alex Stepheson to make a decision, although that could take a little while longer. I know UCLA asked for Jasper's transcripts, but I keep hearing he will wind up at UNLV.
Which blog is more popular? this one or Inside SUC??
The UCLA blog is the most visited site on our website, outside of the Daily News home page. So thanks to everybody for making it so popular.
Can you please explain the APR number for men's basketball and how it is calculated and the effect that Love/Westbrook have on it by withdrawing and not finishing up classes they had enrolled in. At what point does it actually become a problem?
I actually cannot explain it, because it is so confusing. But in a nutshell, a program is awarded for graduating its players, and for keeping them eligible, and Ben Howland has done a great job with that. However, a program loses points every time a player leaves early, but loses more points if the player is not in good academic standing. To that, UCLA lost more points for Kevin Love withdrawing from school than for Chace Stanback transferring, because Love withdrew from classes and would not be eligible if he returned to UCLA.
Scholarship reduction begins when a program drops below 925. UCLA was at 968.
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About Inside UCLA
This is Brian Dohn's sixth season covering UCLA after spending 4 1/2 years covering the Dodgers for the Daily News and other Los Angeles Newspaper Group papers. He graduated from Rutgers, where the first college football game was played in 1869. Sure, the Scarlet Knights suffered for a long time, but now RU is doing what Jerseyans always thought was possible. Winning at Rutgers also proves winning is possible everywhere else in the nation, so underachieving coaches better be careful. Now, if only men's hoops can turn it around.
The answer about Ben's benching a player as an "equalizer" doesn't hold for me. The main reason being players like RS and LS will ultimately take the path of least resistance. They don't want to deal with encumberances or roadblocks especially since college is a mere waystation. I would expect them to go to a team that promises lots of pt no matter what just to show their skills to the nba. It is a platform used by coaches like Calipari or Olson or Floyd. Ben's program does not promise this. I don't see the logic of them choosing UCLA.
For Ben's part, I cannot see him rationalizing to himself,,,"I'll offer you because I feel I can make you play hard for me, and if you don't I'll just bench you". It's the "if you don't" solution that bothers me because that would make the whole recruitment/schollie/pt process seem very inefficient to me. Ben has better ways to use his valuable time and effort.
Anyway, for all we know, by the time they leave high school, the nba may have dropped the one-year rule.
Miltk, I have to disagree. I think that is exactly what Ben's rationale is.
But I don't think that he'll be nearly as blase about it as you described it. He won't recruit them unless he truly feels that he can get them to put out the effort. But I guarantee that he has an "if you don't" contingency in mind. I can easily see him benching a player who isn't giving the effort. He won't sacrifice the team just to make a player happy, that's for sure.
As for what you say about the RS and LS refusing to go to a program that will not promise a lot of PT, I'm not sure I agree with that either. RS surely is aware of his poor reputation. He may very well choose a coach who a) will force him to show more character, and b) will give him credibility for the next level... Ben has a superb reputation, and if RS succeeds with Ben, that pretty much wipes out all previous judgments.