UCLA 75, Cal-State Bakersfield 64
Without Nikola Dragovic in the starting lineup - he was suspended indefinitely after being arrested for felony assault charges (see here: Drago - the Bruins struggled out of the gate against the visiting Roadrunners.
UCLA (1-1) was down by as many as 11 in the first half and was still down 10 with 3 minutes, 57 seconds left in the first half, before sophomore forward Drew Gordon sparked a 10-0 run to close the half. Gordon had six points and a monstrous block of Cal-State Bakersfield's Stephon Carter that swung the momentum in the Bruins' favor.
The roll continued into the second half, as UCLA outscored the Roadrunners 17-6 in the early going of the second half and maintained a 15-point lead for much of the half by shooting 59.3 percent from the field, after shooting just 31 percent against Cal-State Fullerton.
Gordon led all scorers with 19 points, and all five Bruin starters scored in double figures, with senior guard Michael Roll chipping in 12 points and sophomore point guard Jerime Anderson, sophomore guard Malcolm Lee and senior forward James Keefe each adding 10. Carter and Trent Blakely led Cal-State Bakersfield (1-2) with 15 points each.
After saying he regretted not playing freshman forward Reeves Nelson more in the season-opening loss to Cal-State Fullerton, Howland deployed his freshmen throughout the game, with Nelson and forwards Brendan Lane and Mike Moser rotated throughout the game.
Don't know if anyone else noticed at the game, but after the game ended, bobo seemed pissed. He walked quickly through the line of players shaking hands and was the first to enter the locker room way ahead of everyone else. Is he that bad that he's not getting any time. Even lane played more than him.
he looked very unhappy.
Howland is going to lose the guy if he doesn't watch out. He lost like 50 pounds and looks like a force inside...two blocks and a rebound in about 90 seconds last night. I don't get it.
Who cares if Bobo leaves? He's not even good. He is slow, clumsy, and has no offensive game AT ALL, and he looks lost on the court.
Reeves Nelson looks like he is gonna be a stud!!!
Drew Gordon needs to lose his negative attitude and stop pouting whenever he misses a shot or when CBH pulls him. Yeah, he scored 19 pts but half of those were on wide open dunks that seemed to just fall in his lap.
Jerime needs to take it the rack WAAYY more, he looked good when he did
Malcolm does not look as explosive as he seemed to promise last year
Brendan Lane looks like he could be a guy to put up some solid minutes.
Moser looks so weird when he runs, anybody else notice that?
Once again, our offense is soooo boring. 3 guys passing it around the perimeter with the occasional pass down low which then gets passed right back out again. Bruins need someone who can step up and drive the ball to the hoop with consistency and effectiveness.
I don't either. It's not like Howland couldn't test drive him for a short stretch during the games. Look how many chances JA gets screwing up...granted we don't have anyone to really back him up. Still, the downside is little in playing Bobo, but it could have big upside. He's shown dedication by dropping that kind of weight and in limited minutes last year and this game, he has looked good.
A zone by design is to slow down an offense. Dont forget the Syracuse and other schools have won national championships playing a 2-3 zone. If played well, it's effective. The ball has to be worked around the perimeter to search for break downs in the zone. I was happy whit the Bruins patience last night. They were not just chucking 3 pointers up all night.
It wasnt perfect but it was better. This team is going to improve all year. This is going to be a deep team next year. Reeves will step right into Keefe's spot now. We all haven't even seen Honeycutt. There is a lot of promise to this young team.
Bobo needs to stay focused on the long term goal. No one saw Ryan Hollins as an NBA pick...but Howland made him that way because he taught him tough defense. Bobo will develop over time too.
He still looks clumsy to me. Deon Thompson of North carolina was a very highly rated big man out of high school and he has seen limited minutes up till this year. He just had to wait his turn.
You really see any playing time for him once MR. Smith comes in next year.. Don't see any minutes coming his way