Answers, Part XII
Here is the 12th set of answers:
At the end of the season, do you think the football coaches will be able to bring in a class that will improve the overall talent level of the program? Was the type of talent we saw in the prior recruiting class more of a norm or an abnomality with our current coaches?
I think the talent they bring in will be an improvement, but I also think the 2008 recruiting class is an abnormality. I keep hearing admissions is not going to be easy for the football program, and it could get more difficult to get kids in.
Do you think there will be a drop off from Russell Westbrook to Jrue Holiday?
Yup. I think Westbrook's defense will be greatly missed, and since that is the staple of how Ben Howland coaches, there will be a drop off. However, Holiday is a more gifted offensive player, and should be able to make more outside shots. He's also a good rebounder.
Which program would you say is more dominant in the Pac-10 today, and over the past couple of years--UCLA basketball or USC football?
USC football. The Trojans win national championships. The Bruins get to Final Fours.
Who do you think will get more PT this year - Jerime Anderson or Malcolm Lee?
Depends on the health of both of them, but I'm going with Lee at this point.
People talk a lot about how Howland prepares his players to play in the NBA by teaching them to play defense - but how much does the NBA even care about defense?
The NBA cares about defense in the last five minutes of games and in the playoffs.
How successful do you think Mike Montgomery will be at Cal? I think people overlook the fact that at Stanford, while having a severe recruiting disadvantage because of its academic requirements, he simultaneously had a huge recruiting advantage for the kids who got in.
I think it will be a challenge because he doesn't have national titles and a plethora of Final Four appearances to fall back on. I think he can have Cal able to compete for conference titles every few years and make the NCAAs 75 percent of the time, but I don't see Cal becoming like Stanford was when Montgomery was in charge.
could you please include a "Nickname" blurb during your "Getting to know..." mini-interviews (any nicks & explanations)? It's a great way for us to feel a little closer to the players we love to watch.
I will try to remember it for each week.
Who do you expect to be the most proficient rebounder on the basketball team this year?
It depends on foul trouble, rotation and injuries, but if you are putting me on the spot, I will go with Alfred Aboya. He is going to play center and power forward and should log more minutes than the rest of the front court players.
Among the big guys Aboya, Keefe, Morgan, and Gordon, who seems to have the most polished offensive game? Would you characterize any of them as being a good scorer?
None? Keefe can shoot the ball and score junk baskets, and Aboya's jump shot is semi-consistent. I would say those two are adequate scorers.
Are we looking at Jeff Withey now that he's decided to transfer from UofA? What do you think our chances are with him. Any chance of him coming in and playing this year?
Chances? About ziltch. A transfer must sit out one season, plus, in order to transfer to UCLA, Arizona has to release him from his scholarship and allow him to transfer to UCLA. It is rare a player is given his release to transfer to a program within the same conference.
Trojans win National Championships???? Last I checked, they have a total of ONE BCS title. The Bruins have been to 3 straight Final Fours. That is the equal of being in 3 straight BCS titles games (given the hype surrounding the Final Four and the road you need to travel to get there). Let me know when the Trojan FB team accomplishes this feat.
Brian, USC football has only a slight edge, if they have an edge at all. I think they have only one National Championship in the last five years. They've played for a couple more. They've also managed to get beat by teams with nowhere near the talent, which rarely happens to the Bruins in hoops. Getting to a Final Four is really hard in a single elimination tournament, so let's give UCLA a little more credit here.
Though I am happy with how well UCLA hoop is doing, Brian is dead on. USC football has won a championship and been in the hunt just about every year. You can make 10 final fours, but if you don't win one, you're the Buffalo Bills. College football is difficult like the tournament ,maybe even moreso, because if you lose a game during the year, you may not even get a chance to play for the trophy at the end of the year.
Did Jeff Withey commit to Louisville? Then changed his mind and selected Arizona. Now he's going elsewhere?
Steve
There are no national championships in Division I-A football. There is a BCS title, and an Associated Press champion, but no national champions, just mythical national champions, so in that sense, the USC football team has won as many national championships as the UCLA basketball team in the past 10 years - zero.
They don't hang Pac-10 Football Championship banners at SC, only national championships, mythical or not, which now total 11.
At ucla they don't hang Final-4 banners, only national championships.
The bar is mighty high for both programs, and L.A. fans should be mighty proud of both schools' accomplishments.
Making the Final 4 is NOT equal to a BCS title game. Maybe if you made the final TWO.
Unless I'm mistaken, USC has finished in the top 4 in the polls for the past 6 years. That's double your 3 Final Four's not to mention SC finishing the deal twice.
Besides, everyone but ucla and LSU recognize USC as having 2 NC's this past 5 years. Every TV announcer says it. In case you forgot, SC was ranked #1 in every poll but left out of the BCS final because the computer program ranking was so screwed up.
The fact that the system was changed showed that SC was screwed that year.
sc has one football title recently......just one!! get over the ap vote......it's a vote...not a win!