Texas wins

The team looked good. Texas is a very good team and we played them to the last minute on their home floor. This is with basically nothing from our freshmen. Assuming Jrue starts to assert himself around midseason and the rest of the frosh develop, we're going to be a good team when the tournament rolls around.

The seniors played great in a hostile environment. Keefe and Dragovic provided some much needed scoring. Aboya and Keefe were able to rebound among a more athletic team.

We're going to be fine.

I liked what I saw from Shipp when he actually decided to go inside a little. D-Col had another stellar game, but it seemed we lacked assertive and verbal leadership in the last 1:45-2:30. Alfred did exactly what he is suppose to do, same for Keefe. Jrue looked lost at times, but he adds a great element to O and D.

All and all, this team looked like it took a step forward tonight. We obviously want to keep progessing like this and try and get hot around March.

That being said...WE LOST.

Also, VB is right. As much as it hurts to say it...we couldn't wear UNC's jock straps, if we get that deep.

I know from watching UNC that they look like superman, but you never know. Anyway's, this is about UCLA right here and now. We are going to keep getting better and this game tonight will only help us in the longrun.

Go bruins!

Obviously, the Bruins have a little ways to go on the offensive side of the ball.

However, we have more upside than this Texas team; they're firing on all cylinders and we're not...yet the game was still close.

By tournament time, CBH will have us playing at a higher level.

As raw as the freshman look, the time to get excited about may be next year and beyond. I am not throwing this season away after a pretty "good" loss, but the team as it's composed now lacks someone who can score when things break down. (What's new?) Even more concerning, they cannot stop the opposition. Collison is a wonderful player, but we can all see the difference it makes when he's not out there with 3 draft picks. Holiday does not seem to have the instincts to take over yet, and that may not come easily on a team that does not offer much offensive back-up. I think the most telling sign is the fact Dragovic sees the floor so much. If Howland had a live body he could put in after that lack of hustle for a loose ball in the first half, he would have. It's just tough to envision a 27+ win year out of a team full of freshman who don't understand D-I ball yet, and upperclassmen who have been riding the pine for 2 years. That will happen when 2 underclassmen are good enough to leave; their void certainly is felt now.

The only surprise to me was how close the game was. Everyone knew the Bruins would most likely lose. Once again the Odds Makers nailed this one making UCLA a 4 point underdog before tip-off. HOW DO THEY DO THAT???

Anyhow, best UCLA can hope for is a #3 or #4 seed in the Big Dance. We will get better, but without a victory over ND - there will be no non-conf quality wins. And with a weak Pac-10 this year, not sure how much that will impress the committee by winning that.

As for UNC, I've said it before... forget about it. They are just in another league. Not even close to the Florida team that returned all players a couple years ago. Doubt UNC will lose any this year. In fact, doubt they won't WIN every game by less than 10 (did you get the double negative there???).

p.s. Shipp's good, but he's not a shooter and his defense needs MAJOR work.

without the freshmen developing fast, man we look gnarly slow and anti-un-dis-athletic, keefe and dragovic look like theyre wearing clown feet for goodness sakes. slooow feet, can get around them and beat them to position so easily. and maybe its just me, but collison doesnt look as laser quick as he did in the past. and i was hoping bobo would make an immediate impact, but wow he looks raw, overweight, underdeveloped, slow....

roll, i just dunno. he made a nice looking 3, but hes really gotta learn how to work to get open, not just let it come. and with the ball, hes gotta broaden his game man, drive for a few steps and dish or something.

if we're gonna have to rely on 3s from dragovic down the stretch, we're in trouble this season. if u were to select the marquee players of this team, and dragovic is one of them, we are waaaaay under the bar for where ucla should be as a program for this year.

but, im hopeful that the freshmen are really as good as advertised and am hopeful that they will develop soon.

oh and like, whatup with that abrams dude?? he must have like half of their points or something from shooting outside...why not keep a body glued to his and make him have to pass or drive???

anyways, now i have to face a classmate from texas lol.

go bruins

There's a huge drop-off in talent this year with Westbrook/Love/Mbah A Mute gone. Jrue Holiday needs to grow up real quick if he wants to be one-and-done as predicted in the off season. Aboya is a servicable center, but he's not a scoring threat, and there's just no post game. A guard-dominated offense will not get us very far in March. I understand Ben Ball means defense first, and that's the reason why the freshmen aren't getting any minutes, but I think we've seen that Roll/Dragovic/Keefe/Aboya have maxed out their potential and can't be relied on to score significant points. This team will have to overachieve big time to get back to the Final Four this year.

I agree with an early comment that Texas is operating on all cylinders and the Bruins only losing by 4 and still trying to find themselves. Look at it this way, if the Bruins were making free throws, UCLA would have gotten the W. FT shooting is very bad this year and we all know that will lose ball games. As for Holiday, he was no offensive threat at all, so why wasnt Roll playing the last few minutes. He'd be looking for a shot or atleast a threat that Texas would have had to guard. As for DC, an outstanding game, best game I've seen him play at UCLA. Sure he missed two big three's at the end, but the dude had to be exhausted carrying this team on his back the entire game. Coach still lacks an offensive game plan. Everyone knows it. Just defend our guards on the perimeter and don't worry about the middle. UCLA'S bigs can't hurt ya.
I'm sure the play will improve, but like it was said earlier. A # 3 or 4 seed is likely. We may not win the Pac 10. The fools across town have a bigger front line that can defend and score. It's gonna be tough. Good luck Bruins, keep playing hard.

how many points/boards did love have last night? i kept hearing his name every 30 seconds from the announcers, i figure he must have been in the game.