Here is the story I wrote on former UCLA safety James Washington being interested in joining coach Rick Neuheisel’s staff.
Also, here is the seventh set:
Gordon, Lee, Anderson: Do you think their playing time and contributions matches the expectations they had coming into the season?
Not at all. Most high-caliber freshmen come in thinking they will make an easy transition to college, play big minutes and be a huge piece to the team. The one guy I would like to see more of is Lee, but there isn’t much room for him.
If UCLA has a player with a stellar high school academic record, could they put him on a regent’s / academic scholarship to free up a football/basketball scholarship if desired? The Ivies basically do this I believe since they “don’t give athletic scholarships”.
No. If a player is on scholarship and playing football or basketball, it must count against the program’s scholarship allotment. The Ivies do it because, in theory, they don’t give athletic scholarships. However, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and the Ivies find ways to get players financial aid and other scholarship money.
Is there any limit to how many games a basketball recruit can attend free of charge? Does it matter if he’s signed a binding letter or not?
No limit. They can come watch to their heart’s content.
Who do you think the likely candidates for Arizona’s basketball head coaching position will be?
Not sure if Pitt’s Jamie Dixon will get involved in it, and I haven’t followed it that closely yet. Sorry, but I don’t have any good answers for you, but I will poke around Saturday and post something Sunday or Monday about it.
If Holiday stays, what is the next most likely source of a scholarship opening up for UCLA to accept another commitment if it so desires?
Somebody transfers or decides they are done playing basketball. I’m not going to get into names of the potential players leaving, though.
Tom Izzo was reportedly considered for the head coaching position of the Michigan State football team. How do you think Howland would do coaching UCLA on the gridiron?
I think he would be in for a culture shock with many of UCLA’s current players, many of whom shy away from contact. I would like to see his practices with football. Talk about live hitting. Wow.
Is Jrue the most composed freshmen you’ve covered at UCLA?
I would say he is. I remember Farmar and Afflalo being very composed, as was Shipp, but Holiday shows so little emotion it comes across that he is ultra-composed.
Do you think Herb Sendek and ASU will continue to challenge for the top half of the pac-10 in the coming years? Or is their recent success largely dependent on Harden?
I think in most seasons Arizona State will be a middle of the road Pac-10 team, making a run every now and again at the conference lead and getting to the NCAAs 50 percent of the time. Much of the success is do to Harden, but who is to say he can’t get another Harden in the future.