Answers, Part IX
Thanks for all the questions this week and I hope the answers were helpful. Now, here is the ninth and final set of answers to the questions:
Are walkons in football or basketball given any preferential treatment by the admissions office or did they all have to compete with the general freshmen population to get into UCLA? Or are recruited walkons given any special treatment into getting accepted by UCLA?It is my understanding they must gain admission like the rest of the general student population.
I've read where Pat Summitt has her women hoopsters play against men (probably from intermural teams) in practice to get them better prepared. Is this a common practice? Have you heard if Coach Caldwell is trying to do the same at UCLA? I ask you since Rutgers has a fine women's program and UCLA now has one of Summitt's former assistants.I know Rutgers does it, and when I covered Connecticut men's basketball, the women's team did it. I do not know if Nikki Caldwell will try it.
Welcome back, Brian. congrats on the young Dohn. Before you left, you mentioned an update about the fb season ticket sales this year vs last year. Do you have some info about that?UCLA told me they are ahead of last year's pace, when it sold a record 49,000 season tickets, but would not give me a number of tickets sold to this point.
I saw that Mata-Real and Bozeman are both playing on the Lakers' summer league team. Have you heard anything about their chances of getting a contract with the Lakers or their NBDL team?Both players are participating because the Lakers need bodies to fill out the roster. Mata-Real still wants to play in Spain, where he could earn more money. Bozeman would have a better chance at an NBDL team, but I do not know if that is something he wants to do.
In past years, they have done 'Breakfast with the Bruins' on the morning of the Fall scrimmage. Since the scrimmage is at 5:00pm this year, have you heard of anything similar to that for the fans on the day of the scrimmage? Did Neuheisel scrap it?
I do not know. If they are going to hold something like that, they usually give us pretty good advanced warning. As the time gets closer, I will check and have an update.
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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.
If I were the men's bball coach, I would not send my players out to play the women. Let the women play an intramural team or a local high school team.
Why not, miltk?
I know in the past couple of years the women's BBall team has practiced against a select group of guys, none of which were on the mens bball team. Many were high school players that happened to come to UCLA or athletes from other sports (generally track) who just went to play pick up basketball.
The Sparks do it as well; Coop says because of the speed and athleticism
anon,,,,
1...It's wasting the men's time. This has to be a mutually beneficial endeavor, not a charity. The men have better things to do than be a practice team for the women, which is basically what we're talking about here, because this does NOT help the men in any way whatsoever.
2...Let's not forget we're talking about Tenn and Rutgers. You are NOT going to turn down Pat Summit!!!! The boss is clear in both cases.
3...Possible injury,,,,and for what?
The disparity twixt women and men bball is so huge it is what makes women's bball immensely inferior,,,as opposed to other sports like tennis or golf or swimming or track or softball(my favorite to watch)etc etc, which can be appreciated as great sport. It is why television tried to piggyback women's bball on the men's. It is why espn is trying HARD to validate the wnba with those commercials.
also,,,,dan says it all. All you need is a select group of guys, who will be speedier stronger, and faster than the women. The men's team would be pointless. You need to field a team that would give the women at least SOME chance of competing or else there is no point to the exercise.
What good is playing the men when the women could lose 0-100 unless the they got FT's.
Olivier had her teams practice against men even when I was in school in the mid 1990's. From what I've read its a not uncommon practice.
I think that miltk just has a stereotype of women, have you ever seen the women play basketball at UCLA? i'm a season ticket holder, and let me tell you, they would surprise you. they have the fundamentals of basketball that some men never have. And if you want to learn and watch the great game of basketball, you watch womens basketball (not only according to me, but also according to Coach Wooden) Go out to Pauley next year and check it out, i suggest going to a game against a top ranked team playing against the Bruins, UCLA has a good history of knocking them off.
whether or not the women's team is good at women's basketball is not the issue here. fact is, there are many mid to low major teams who have AMAZING fundamentals, but they just don't have the skills, size, and athleticism to compete with high major teams. same goes for just about all women's basketball teams. you match them up against a team of bigger, more athletic men (i'll go easy on them as far as skills. after all the men v women 3 point contests are always close. however, women players are generally much more 1 dimensional) and they won't be able to hang, despite their fundamentals.
The Athletic department may submit walk-on athletes to the special admissions process as they do scholarship athletes.
Just like all student applicants (athletes & non-athletes alike), they go through the regular admissions process. If their applications are denied, then the Athletic Dept. has the option of the special admissions process. Scholarships are irrelevant to this process.
Logically though, it takes a special situation for the Athletic Dept. to put forth the needed extra effort for a walk on, but I know quite a few past & present very deserving & successful UCLA students that gained admission only in this manner. Props to the Athletic Dept. for looking past wins & losses to assist these students.
the first anonymous is absolutly correct, go watch the woman
If it happened, I don't think the men's & women's baksetball teams would be constantly practicing against each other; I would assume it would be more like an occasional 30 minute scrimmage, maybe once a week or once every other week. Certainly the men's team could spare that much time.
And as far as it not being mutually beneficial, it would be in the big picture: A successful women's basketball team would be beneficial to the entire UCLA sports program, and I hope Coach Howland would find the time to accommodate the new women's basketball coach if she asked.