Answers, Part I
Folks, thanks for the questions this week. I am looking at 11 sets of answers throughout today, beginning with this one:
When will you come out with a preseason prediction? August after summer practice? Earlier?
Predictions on what? And it doesn't make sense to predict how the team is going to be until I know who is going to be starting, and that may not be determined until late August or early September.
Did UCLA investigate building a new arena? If so, what factors went against building a new arena (other than can't get rid of Pauley). Too costly to teardown Pauley, no viable location?
Yes, UCLA looked into a new arena, but at the end of the day the most influential person in UCLA basketball wants Pauley to be renovated and not knocked down, so athletic director Dan Guerrero is going to adhere to that request.
Can you give us information on Knoxville, TN? Where should we stay or hang out before and after the game?
I have no idea. I've never been there.
Brian, was the coaching staff stunned by Hinder's commitment so soon to Cal?
Not that I'm aware of, and also I am uncertain if that commit will stick. I don't think UCLA was 100 percent sold on Hinder, but I think by now they are ready to move on.
Are you planning to post a list of recruits at Junior Day?
If I can put one together, I will post it.
Will UCLA make a run at Noel Johnson for SG now that he's de-committed from USC?
Not that I'm aware of. I checked into it and was told there was nothing there.
With UCLA's top uncommitted QB prospect, Austin Hinder, comitting to Cal and seeming VERY solid, who do you anticipate the Bruins looking at next as their 2010 QB recruit?
I posted a partial list Wednesday, but there will be others added and some will be dropped. UCLA continues to look at national prospects, but I don't think that is an avenue the Bruins will hit hard.
Does the coaching staff have a certain number of commits they'd like to get at their upcoming camp or will they just take what they can and continue to work for those commitments down the line?
They will take what they can get and continue working down the line. These are 17-year-old kids, so even if they go into the day thinking they will commit, something can change pretty quickly. And vice versa.
Five years removed, it's unfortunate that Lavin's wishes are still influencing the program to this extent. Dohn, any insight as to why he would be so adamant regarding a Pauley rebuild?
Don't be ridiculous! He's obviously not talking about Lavin. But I'm still puzzled as to why Frisbee would have so much ongoing influence. "Is this a BASKETBALL?!!!" shouldn't carry that much weight anymore, and, in any event, would sound just as good in a new arena.
If you read between the lines, it's clearly not Lavin he's talking about....but Jim Harrick. I can't think of any other BB National Championship winner that might still have sway over the program.
Yes, SB, it's obvious how much Lavin's been influencing this decision all along. I've never believed the "not a big enough footprint" for a new arena argument. If that were so, why not pivot the footprint 90 degrees and extend it out onto the IM field? (Sorry, but the IM field's been getting chopped back for years.)
It's just too bad that recruits will forever compare a "lipstick on an [aging] pig" Pauley Pavilion redo with a sparkling new Galen Center.
You guys are way off base. It could only be...UCLA's all-time leading scorer and current color commentator, Don MacLean! I know he must have great memories of his time at UCLA, but still...
You'd think the most influencial man in UCLA basketball would be the man responsible (and accountable) for our success, i.e. Howland.
AD Dan Guerrero is an upstanding guy. If Sam Gilbert or other influential person wants a renovated Pauley Pavillion then so be it.
what about wooden? isnt he the most influential?
It's called sarcasm, Beast.
i cant believe you all are posting these comments! ULTIMATE BRUIN is going to be so upset!
It's called sarcasm, Lifelongbruin.
or at least I hope it was...
Duh! Lifelongbruin, most influential ucla basketball individual as of right now!
It IS Wooden that wants a renovation rather than a new arena. Pay attention people.
Hmmmm. Ok. I'll have to consider the possibility that Dohn was referring to Wooden, not Frisbee. But I'm skeptical. Frisbee's fingerprints are on everything around that program.
It's so easy to tell which questions are sent in by the silly folks up in Berkeley. They hang around UCLA boards and blogs all the time. It's so sad. However, good job, Brian, in appealing to people all over the state!
Is expanding over the IM field even a possibility now that there is a parking structure underneath it?
Regarding extending over the IM Field: modern design and engineering can make virtually anything possible. Just make the entrance/exit to that parking structure part of the new arena area. Buildings are built over subway lines and their entrances/exits all the time.
you cant extend over the IM field. Then, where would the IM sports be played? plus things like the activites fair at the beginning of the year and the jazzreggae festival need that space much space, which isnt available anywhere on campus., And thats not even considereing the face that you would then be blocking the main pipe line of students from the dorms to the campus... wouldnt work at all
UB upset? Never!
I have nothing but the utmost respect for Coach John R. Wooden. He has done so much for the University -- and not just in terms of BB NCs. Nevertheless, it is apparent from Dohn's "inference" that the Coach has influenced DG into NOT demolishing Pauley. And that is unfortunate. Pauley Pavilion cannot be renovated to the extent necessary to make it the premier collegiate basketball arena in the nation. The only viable option is to tear it down and build a new arena. There is NO "footprint" problem or "water table" problem or any other problem. The parking structure under the IM field goes DEEPER than the current Pauley substructure (which is ony 30 feet). Plus, we have been building over the subterranean LA River for decades. All of downtown LA has more severe water table issues. As to the footprint, we have plenty of room if the old Pauly is destroyed. We can not only dig under the North end adjacent to the IM field, but why not under Spaulding field? We can have locker rooms and other facilities there and rebuild Spaulding on top (ala the IM field). From the IM to Spaulding and Acosta to the West Center there is plenty of "footprint" to build a first class facility. I am sorry Coach, but you are off the mark on this one. Long Live JRW, but exterminate the old Pauley!
I love Coach Wooden, but I think at age 98 decisions about the future are best left in the hands of others.
Tell ya what, Dohn (you self-serving, ego-maniacal blowhard)! If Hinder's commitment doesn't stick, I'll eat every piece of tripe you serve us from now on, no matter how ridiculous it may seem on the surface. If you're not busy slandering Cal recruits, you are leading the UCLA fan mob who thinks they have a viable program and can't understand what stands in the way of the team going to the Rose Bowl every season. Honestly, if your material was in The Onion, you'd get some serious laughs! Think about it.
For the guy looking for what to do in Knoxville...
If you can at all swing it, rent some kind of boat and take it to the game. Everyone docks in a row at the river near the stadium, parties, then climbs across everyone's boats to get on land and into the stadium. Absolutely fantastic time.
Don't you know that Jimmy Hoffa is under Pauley
were you even alive when cal went to their last rose bowl? lol, ucla will get back there before Cal. No rose bowl for 50 years. Talk about a pathetic program.
lawyer joke comes back with more of his garbage. Trashing the greatest coach and teacher in the game. How many banners are hanging in the gym of your fake school? The Sam Gilbert references are so old and tired. Without any evidence, how does it even compare to the hundreds of thousands paid to athletes at your fake school. Bruin greats under Wooden were intelligent and contributed to the great academic tradition at ucla. Fig tech takes anyone as long as they can put their own shoes on. Who cares if they add to the litany of blotter. Thug U! Stay classy.
jelani mccoy wants pauley to be renovated and not knocked down???? aight