Howland ON: Extras
On bad shot selection:
"We got way too anxious on a numer of occasions, even in the first half and early in the second half where we took bad shots. I think we took 64 shots for the game and I counted 14 of them that were not good shots. Nik had four or five of them. Everybody shared in that."
On the team's poor shooting overall:
"Nik is shooting 26 percent from the field and I know he's a better shooter than that. I think we're going to have to really understand that we have to be more patient. When we can get Michael Roll and Nikola and Malcolm open for wide-open shots, they're going to make them. But when they're rushed and they're hurried, it's going to be much the same. We've got to learn from what's happening to us right now. That's something we have to talk about before we practice. We're going to watch some film from the Kansas game."
On finals week:
"Right now we're in finals. We played Sunday, they had Monday and Tuesday off. It's always difficult in finals week when you have practice. I know that a couple of our players have finals on Thursday morning so getting a practice in on Wednesday night will be good for them just to help them study better and get some exercise in. Typical students. They're doing papers and tying up all the loose ends before the quarter ends."
glad mike roll has improved his game around the basket.
drago needs to step it up on defense bc he is getting punished. and maybe cut down on the airballs too.
drago is allergic to defense
Drago lacks fire, unless it is a bar brawl. So far, he is a bust in 2009. For him to put up MULTIPLE airballs against Kansas has to tell you his head is up his you-know-what. On defense, he had gotten better lat last year. Not great, but acceptable. So far, his defense has been HORRIBLE. He gets beat to the basket more that Tiger Woods changes mistresses.
The team free throw % is HORRIBLE. If we shoot just 60% in the Butler game -- we win. Against Kansas, close to the same thing. It would have been a 3 or 4 point game had we just shot 70% or so.
Not surprising. Howland upset the game is too fast paced and his players taking shots too quickly. Must want to slow it down to a 48-42 game. Yawn...
I can't take him seriously anymore with his double standard for Drago. Drago doesn't play defense, doesn't play hard, and isn't effective, yet is guaranteed to play significant minutes every game. Younger playes get the hook after 20 seconds for making a mistake, even if they are playing hard...
Still waiting for that zone he talked about... Like most things howland he will agree its the right thing to do when confronted, than repeat the same mistakes over and over again without making any changes... The guy makes Bobby Knight look flexible.
From LA Times:
The Bruins are continuing to pound the recruiting trail, looking to fill out a backcourt that is thin this season.
"We're really scouring," Howland said. "We want to recruit a point guard and probably another wing."
Coaches were at the recent Westchester tournament to see prospects Jordin Mayes of Westchester High, Deonte Burton of Compton Centennial and Spencer Dinwiddie of Woodland Hills Taft.
UCLA is also pursuing Lazeric Jones, a junior college guard in Illinois.
Can we get some more information on these items please? I'm sure most visitors to this blog would appreciate that.