Answers, Part III

Here is the third set of answers:

You’ve said that Kevin Prince has been looking good at practice. Any word on Kevin Craft? How is he looking at practice?
I don’t recall saying he looked good at practice. I said his “arm looks terrific, from a strength standpoint.” I didn’t pay much attention to Craft when I was out there because I wanted to see how other guys were performing. From what I saw, though, it was the same things I saw from Craft during the season, good and bad.

Some comments from Sidney made it sound like he wasn’t completely “in the loop” on his own recruitment…true? Asked a bit differently, the SC choice was based on x pct Sidney, y pct father/parents, z pct “other” – fill in x, y and z from what you know.
I don’t know if he was in the loop or not. I could see a way he was not. I have no idea what you are taking about with XYZ. I feel like a quarterback with Karl Dorrell’s offense – confused! All I can say is Sidney wanted to go to UCLA, but the scholarship offer was pulled, so he went with his second choice.

Who do you think will be the “leader” on next year’s team? Roll, Dragovic, and Keefe (the seniors-to-be) don’t seem like the leader types, and none of this year’s freshmen really does either. Maybe Anderson…?
I agree with what you are saying. I think Roll and Dragovic have some leadership abilities, but I think Malcolm Lee will have to rise and do it. Of course, if Jrue Holiday stays, it will be his team next season.

Why is there such a defensive drop off in basketball from last year, having only lost Westbrook and Luc. Were they that integral to our Defense? And with the loss of DC, Aboya and Ship next year, should we even think about what is going to happen to our defense?
I don’t mean to be a jerk, but is this a joke? UCLA lost the Pac-10 defensive player of the year in Westbrook, the league’s best defensive power forward in Mbah a Moute and a tough, hard-nosed center in Lorenzo Mata-Real. Oh, and although Kevin Love wasn’t a great defender, he was a great rebounder and helped control the middle. And I’ve been disappointed in Collison’s defense this season.

Is it harder to do the player Q&A’s with the basketball guys than with the football guys?
Yup. The basketball guys are more guarded, and the access to them stinks. We get them one time a week in a relaxed setting, and only four or five show up. I haven’t seen Malcolm Lee or Jerime Anderson or James Keefe on a Tuesday in months. Drew Gordon stopped showing up and Darren Collison is hit or miss. The only guys to count on for showing up are Alfred Aboya (he came when he was sick), Nikola Dragovic, Jrue Holiday and Josh Shipp.

How much can you say about why UCLA passed on Renardo Sidney?
Forget the academic aspect, it had more to do with off-the-court things.

Any sense that Howland is panicking about UCLA’s chances in the tournament?
No. I think Howland is a realist. I think he knows this team isn’t nearly as good as his past few, which is why he was so giddy after the win at Stanford.

In the losses to Arizona and WSU, the Bruins looked unfocused and disinterested much of the time. Is there something going on beneath the surface that we’re not aware of? Howland losing the team? Players bickering with each other?
I don’t think Howland is losing the team, and I don’t think the players are bickering. I think there is a little immaturity on the team, and also the leadership needs to be stronger. When teams don’t win as much as people think they should, the quick response is to believe something is wrong inside the program. This team isn’t as talented as the last few, and that is the biggest reason for the problems.