Here is the 10th set:
You’re Manny Pacquiao’s manager. Which Pac 10 basketball coach do you hire as his trainer for the upcoming fight with De La Hoya? Which UCLA basketball and football player do you put in the ring as his sparring partner?
I’m going with UCLA’s Ben Howland. Some of his games seems more physical than a fight. In the ring as a sparing partners, I’ll take Alfred Aboya in hoops, and Kai Maiava in football.
Any thoughts on Drew Gordon? Physically, I think he’s got a solid body for the game. That block in the Southern Illinois game was great. Do you think we’re going to see more of that kind of energy from Gordon?
I think Gordon’s value to UCLA is as a rebounder and an energy guy. He is someone that needs to bring a spark off the bench. If UCLA is going to count on him as a scorer, this team will have a lot of trouble. But he does have very good athleticism.
Has Howland ever considered scheduling a closed door scrimmage with another school like Pitt instead of an exhibition game?
I’m sure he would love to, but there is no way the administration would allow it because a school cannot sell tickets to a closed-door scrimmage, but they can bilk the fans into paying decent dollars into watching Biola get massacred.
how was practice this week? that of a team ready to win or was it sub-par?
Practice was good this week. I thought UCLA had good spirit. I give UCLA a chance to win, but I’m not sure the Bruins will win.
Was Dorrell the most boring and cliche filled coach you’ve covered?
I did cover Tim Blackwell when he was the manage of the Double-A New Haven Ravens, and I would pit him in the same mold as Dorrell. Very nice men who had very little to say publicly.
how would you assess the development of darius savage this year? before the season, neuheisal predicted savage has an “NFL future.” are the coaches still that high on him?
Disappointing. I know the coaching staff wants him to get his weight down, but he had technique issues with his footwork that never seemed to get ironed out. I don’t think the “NFL future” thing is in the bag at this point.
What is the difference between a redshirt and a greyshirt year?
A red-shirt is a kid who sits out the season. A grey-shirt is someone who enters school in January, like Taylor Embree did last year.
what is the difference between the new offense philosophy
under Rick Neuheisal and Norm Chow, than it was under the previous regime?
It is much less complex offensively. The idea is to create mismatches on the field, and utilize those match-ups to make big plays. Unfortunately for UCLA, a weak offensive line and poor quarterback play has made it impossible to see much of a difference.