Mustafa saves the day
Mustafa Abdul-Hamid had seven turnovers tonight, but you probably won't remember those since he drained the game-winning 3-point shot with 16.1 seconds left in an exhibition game against Concordia. UCLA wins - barely - 62-61.
``It was a good pass,'' Abdul-Hamid said. ``I think it was James who made the pass. It was kind of instinct once you're there. Not thinking about it. Just doing what you're supposed to do ad knocking down an open shot. It was a tough game, a long game but I'm glad we all had the mental toughness to make a couple plays at the end and pull it out. They did a great job.''
Actually, I will remember the turnovers--and so will any coach scouting the Bruins. I have nothing but gratitude for Abdul-Hamid; he walked on and donated his time to the team. He is an amateur in the very best sense of the word. But the fact that he ran the point tonight speaks volumes about how paper-thin this team is and begs full-court presses whenever he again plays the point.
Why would the lasting memory of this game possibly be that shot rather than the turnovers? It's like congratulating the crew of the Titanic for their rowing of the rescue boats.
"Mustafa saves the day"... I am gonna go out on a limb here and predict that's the only time we'll hear that statement.
Good for Mustafa! Could be the biggest moment of his career. Good for him. The rest of the team has a lot of work to do for sure.
Howland will earn his paycheck this year.
I think it's safe to assume that Concordia was playing to win and UCLA was playing an 'exhibition'. That at least was the mentality of some of the young players going into that game. These kids need to get their heads straight and come to all these games ready to go to work. Hopefully this was a wake up call.
Todd, I'm not even kidding, that's one of the best lines I've ever heard. I might have to use that one day.
Thanks, Jon. No malice intended towards anyone; I just don't see a big need to congratulate Mustafa after that game.