UCLA walloped by Washington, 97-68
It was one of those days, and it started early.
An awkward 3-point attempt by Nikola Dragovic on the first possession.
Two missed free throws by Reeves Nelson.
A six-point deficit turning into a 10-point deficit, then 11, 12, 13...
By the time UCLA head coach Ben Howland called his fourth timeout with 5 minutes, 23 seconds left in the first half of the Bruins' ESPN Gameday matchup with Washington on Saturday night, the Bruins were down 20.
By the time the timeout was over, it's a surprise UCLA wasn't down 200.
And too bad the refs couldn't call the fight, as the Huskies continued to put on a show in front of the nationally television audience and buried the Bruins 97-68 at Bank of America Arena, UCLA's worst loss of the Howland era and worst loss ever at Washington.
"The lights were bright tonight and they just came out with a level of intensity that was a lot bigger than our own," said UCLA freshman forward Reeves Nelson, who led the Bruins with 14 points. "It was senior night, and (Washington forward Quincy Pondexter) just made a lot of plays. He's a great player and he put on a show tonight, especially in the first half."
Pondexter killed UCLA from the Huskies' opening possession.
The Bruins opened in a 2-3 zone and seemed to have Washington solved early in the possession, but Pondexter moved around the perimeter and hit a contested 3-pointer with time running out.
That was only the beginning.
The NBA-bound senior had 14 first-half points on 5-of-7 shooting and finished with 20 for the game, after scoring 23 points in the teams' first matchup, a 62-61, last-second Bruins win.
"Looks like they were just shooting all night last night," said UCLA senior guard Michael Roll, who struggled in the first half with 0-for-5 shooting and finished with six points, his lowest in Pac-10 play. "They were just making shots. It started the first possession - we played good defense, got down the shot clock and Quincy just hit a three."
Pondexter wasn't the only one.
Washington sophomore guard Isaiah Thomas had 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting, after hitting just 4-of-11 shots for 11 points in the first matchup.
Thomas, who entered the game shooting under 30 percent from behind the 3-point line in Pac-10 play, hit three of his first four for 13 first-half points.
Thomas cooled off in the second half, but the damage had been done.
"He had a lot of confidence today, and once he hit that first shot, I think he fed off the crowd and all the intensity everybody else on his team had," Nelson said. "Once you have a confidence as a shooter, it's a lot easier to hit shots, especially at home."
Meanwhile, UCLA (12-14, 7-7) struggled to even take shots at times.
Washington (18-9, 7-7) put on a devastating half-court press that simply befuddled the Bruin backcourt, forcing 18 turnovers, including seven by UCLA point guards Malcolm Lee and Jerime Anderson. With the Huskies overplaying the backcourt, the Bruins couldn't settle into a half-court offense and seemed lost offensively when things broke down.
"We really did a poor job handling their defensive pressure," Howland said. "That was the biggest thing in the first half, when they got the lead. We could not handle the pressure defense. We were having a hard time getting catches and running anything."
Running wasn't just a problem offensively.
As Washington's lead got bigger and bigger, UCLA's defensive tenacity dwindled and dwindled, the Huskies able to put on a clinic in their last home game.
Roll was visibly frustrated at times with the effort of some of his teammates, who failed to execute simple passes, were seconds late on defensive rotations and put little emphasis on the glass, where the Bruins were out-rebounded 33-23.
"I saw it a lot and it's frustrating," Roll said. "We were down a lot, yeah, but if we come out in the second half and we punch them in the mouth right away, we could've got back in there real easy. But we just kinda folded."
Others shared the sentiment.
"People were watching and they can decide for themselves if we gave up," Nelson said. "You know how I have to answer that."
Dragovic is a black hole: the ball goes in to him, it never comes out. Bricks, airballs, forced 3-point shots, awkward jumpers, you name it, he's got it. The only thing he doesn't have is tough defense. It looks like taking bad shots is contagious and it has now afflicted the whole team.
The UCLA basketball team is not representing the school very well.
Way to represent on ESPN primetime!
I can't believe Howland continues to start Dragovic. I understand he's a senior, but at what point do you sit him? I mean its ridiculous. Does he have naked pictures?
Drago doesn't appear to give a damn about what happens out there. Sit his ass, he is killing us.
Scapegoating Dragovic (and ONLY Drago) to make some sense of this season is becoming tiresome. Go back to Bruins Nation, Nestor sycophant.
THIS IS ALL HOWLAND. WE WILL NOT RECRUIT B/C OF HIS DRY PERSONALITY AND HIS BORING OFFENSIVE STYLE. DEFENSE WAS HIS CALLING CARD, BUT NOW THAT IS EVEN HORRIBLE. WHO'S NEXT?
Ragovich will be my undoing
STOP FN BLAMING BEN U ASS's.....We are missing pieces Drago was never a leader look at the teams he has been on NO PRESSURE for him to perform!ONE BAD SEASON GET OVER IT!You sound like SUCERS ready to jump off the wagon ....you'll jump right back next year!GROW A PAIR!IM A TRUE POWDER BLUE FAN!GO BRUINS!
STOP FN BLAMING BEN U ASS's.....We are missing pieces Drago was never a leader look at the teams he has been on NO PRESSURE for him to perform!ONE BAD SEASON GET OVER IT!You sound like SUCERS ready to jump off the wagon ....you'll jump right back next year!GROW A PAIR!IM A TRUE POWDER BLUE FAN!GO BRUINS!
STOP FN BLAMING BEN U ASS's.....We are missing pieces Drago was never a leader look at the teams he has been on NO PRESSURE for him to perform!ONE BAD SEASON GET OVER IT!You sound like SUCERS ready to jump off the wagon ....you'll jump right back next year!GROW A PAIR!IM A TRUE POWDER BLUE FAN!GO BRUINS!
I think ASS's should actually be ASSES or maybe it's ASS'...
It's definitely a bad season. I'll be the first to say that the style argument and the whole gruff personality is tiresome. As long as we win, we can score in the 50s and 60s and it ain't gonna mattuh. Winning cures all.
But Ben's psychotic fixture on Drago and the year before on Shipp is inexplicable. It's called consistency. And his decisions are not consistent. If we were winning, not that big a deal. FI, not playing Westbrook more being the prime example, but again, since we were winning back then, not a big deal. But now we are losing, which again might okay, because sometimes you get a season like this. But we are not 'just' losing, we are getting our asses handed to us. We are losing disgracefully.
As far as I can tell, Ben made up the roster. He's the one allotting playing time. He's getting paid the big bucks. He's the one to blame.
The Canada v. Great Britain curling match was a lot more exciting and world class curling on TV only comes about once every 4 years.
I just want to know at what point Milosh gets to ride the pine and make way for next year's crop.
And this certainly isn't scapegoating - he's just TERRIBLE for a senior playing basketball at UCLA.
To Reformed Droog:
I'm assuming you're referring to Dragovic when you say Milosh (sic)--way to show off your world-class education with an ignorant, snarky remark. Wonder what you called Mbah a Moute and Aboya when THEY weren't performing up to your standards...
Bandwagoning fool...just go away.
BNers are sure fair weather fans. I'll admit that drago gets on my nerves, but the scapegoating is just sorry. He isn't the only one stinking it up this season. Howland is playing the guys he thinks gives us the best chance at winning. Those calling for him to play the younger kids to build upon the future are essentially asking the team to fold. Ben's a competitor and he will compete to the end even if it means a subpar .500 season. BNers were worshipping Howland when he was winning, but now ready to toss him aside after ONE bad season. Losers. Maybe UNC should toss Roy Williams aside too. Nestor, go ahead and get on your bully pulpit and preach to your brainless masses since you already regulate dissent on your site.
Yep Ruins Nation is now sticking the knife in Ben's back, WAH didn't win on national TV. Gold it looks like Nestor is now starting to hate you and this paper was the last one they liked. You shouldn't be so honest with little Muresh he can't handle it, he is just a loser. Dudes on that site are not athletes just baby bear fans.
@Anon 1:52am...
The Milosh comment came from the follow commercial I would have to imagine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljKnzB-xexk
I gotta admit, Nestor drives me nuts. He somehow thinks HIS opinion is that of all UCLA fans and alumni.
I agree about Nestor. Most of the people at BN are afraid to speak up in any way contrary to him because of the way he runs his site. He took that dictator attitude when he was trying to oust Dorrel, and it probably served his purpose well. Being a leader like Germany had once tends to show a united front to serve a purpose. He has continued his dictatorial ways afterward and that does not foster free and open speech/discussion. It feels like the site is too often after regime change, ready at a moment's notice to start building a case. This is not even close to what is needed on the roundball side, and to start putting his machine in motion is ridiculous. Only the young needy lemmings will gladly join in, just to be part of the group. Too many people want to say they were first in the movement. Others have disliked Ben for a while already and want him out despite his success. The attitude that 'we are entitled' is for other 'universities' nearby, not for UCLA.
It was revealing that Nestor has only followed UCLA basketball since the late 80s. He was not around to gain the wisdom along with the pride of the Wooden years. Nestor, cool your jets. Leave individual players alone, and let the caretaker of Coach's program sort it out. Take some advice from those who have followed our Bruins more than twice as long as you have - both Ben himself and I fit in that category. Ben has nothing but respect for UCLA's tradition, growing up in SoCal like a lot of us. Even young Jon Gold noticed that. If John Wooden was running the BN site, I don't think he would stoop to belittling any Bruin player on the internet for all to see. We all make mistakes, just take a new direction after some deep thought. Wooden's objectives were not to win, but to attain success. Winning at all costs is for those who didn't quite get it right, maybe because of faulty education at poorly run private institutions.
By the way, I just posted at 9:10 AM, and want to add - no offense to Mike Garrett and the university of southern cal trogans. Ahem.
I was at UW's hec ed yesterday and it was pitiful. after the game, we went down to the court and we noticed Terrance Jones, Terrance Ross, and Aziz Ndjay. The environent at Hec Ed last night was CRAZY. Not only was it senior night, but the Huskies were definitely bitter about last game.
Either way, Husky fans put on a good show and I wouldn't be surprised if Romar brings in Terrance Jones to replace Qpon for another good team for the 2010-11 season.
Just sayin.....
Oh yeah, and no Josh Smith at this one.
@anonymous 1:52 AM
How exactly was my (joke) comment ignorant? And are you trying to imply that I'm racist? WHAT'S YOUR DEAL? had it right - it was an allusion to the commercial.
Bandwagon fan? Hahaha, you're a clown.
It's best to understand what you're reading before replying, but hey, that's why the Internet is great for guys like you - you can walk away from your foolishness if you just post as "anonymous."
Nelson plays hard, but we seriously have no one on the inside. zone can only help so much, and he's just too small. and we don't have ANYONE who can handle the ball.
and the guys don't GO after the ball. they just wait for the ball to come to them.
...and the worst thing anyone could possibly say about me is that I belong to the BN rabble.
Can't believe I'm taking the time to defend myself, but:
(A) I've been critical of Dragovich from the first time I saw him play. Unlike other people without registered names, you can check my comments on this blog going back over several years.
(B) I'm the biggest CBH fan and would like to see him stay at UCLA for as long as he'd like to stay, winning championships or not. PERIOD.
(C) The second worst thing you could possibly say about me is that I'm a bandwagon fan. I've SUFFERED with UCLA fans through many tough seasons. Don't assume to know anything about me because you can't understand sarcasm.
While those people calling for people's heads are ridiculous, so too are those who can't openly listen to the critical rantings of fellow fans.
How can a team give up when they were never giving maximum or near maximum effort? Howland has lost this team.
Last year was Howland's mulligan. This is year is just disgraceful.
CBH showed some flexibility this year...i must say i led the early season call for him to switch to zone.
but his sticking with Drago so much cost us probably 3-4 games. and more importantly, stole time from lane and bobo to get experience.
i don't care how out of shape bobo is, play him! i dont care if he throws up all over the bench every game, how many big bodies are there in the pac 10 that were 5 star recruits and have sat for two years?? ugh.
larry david over at Southern Cal far outdid CBH this year in the coaching Dept. still love my CBH, but MAN!
Is it curling season yet?
Coach John would have been feeling deep sympathy pains for Coach Ben. If Coach Ben had as many viable options to pull from his hat as posters on this board seem to believe he had, I'm sure he would have. No doubt about it. He sticks with Dragovic because he believes Nicola is the best option at this point. From what I hear, Dragovic does well in practice and has the ability to sink a lot of shots. So, how do you not start a player that does well in practice? Successful team sport is a carefully blended mix of multifarious ingredients. At the moment, the mix for Coach Ben just isn't working on a consistent basis. It may take the rest of this season to sort things out. I'm sure Coach Ben will do just that. The pathetic splenetic drivel that Nestor is dishing up on BN is an insult to fair-minded sports fans everywhere. I refuse to believe True Blue Bruins would engage in character slander of this low caliber. Nestor should be taken to task for his destructive haranguing and I urge all decent Bruin fans to boycott his disgraceful site.
to "to BRUINBEATCH said" like i said GROW A PAIR! You dont use a better name because you know that next season you will be singing a far diffrent tune and you dont want to be called out on it!UCLA WILL BE FINE AND BACK ON TOP....you heard it hear first from me BRUINBEATCH!BEATCH!
Nestor--sic semper tyrannis
Does anybody know if Nestor enjoys stage plays? Maybe I'll just hang around a few until he shows up.
I realize this is not (supposed to be) a BN/Nestor-bashing site, but I think people here have raised an important point:
Nestor thinks he represents UCLA fans, and worse yet, I'm sure many people from other schools who happen across BN think he does as well. It is well-documented how Nestor threatens to ban people with opinions different from his own (and if you want to see something interesting, you should do some Googling and find out how Nestor served as Howard Dean's internet guy and did the same thing to people who ever said anything negative).
The problem is that his site offers the best links to articles. The unfortunate part is that you have to read his terrible grammar/spelling and hypocritical opinions (like defending Howland to the death a few years ago and now turning against him, or threatening to ban people for personal attacks on players and then constantly saying how these players have no heart and don't care, even if it is true). The other sites don't offer as much information as BN does. It's like having to choose betweeen playing at a really nice bball court where no one passes and everyone sucks, or having to play on a crappy court with people who know how to play (for the most part).
Hopefully, people will come to realize that Nestor does not represent MOST UCLA fans. As mentioned above, there is a name for people who loudly defend a winner and then crap all over a team that is losing...
Let's all go to the Bruins Nation website and post comments disagreeing w/ Nestor. He says today's Mon, tell him it's Tues. Roll plays basketball, tell him he plays football. You get the idea. That'll drive him crazy and the poor little thing will spend all day removing dissenters' opionions. But seriously folks, as good as some of the info (NOT OPIONION) is on BN, I stopped reading a long time ago because of that clown Nestor and his censorship brigade. It's pathetic for grown ass people to beg forgiveness for disagreeing w/ him. Whatever.
Drago was Ucla's second highest scorer on Saturday..just saying.
"Nestor served as Howard Dean's internet guy"
No wonder.
YEEEEEEEEHAAAWWWWWWWWWWWW!
"Nestor," say it with a South American accent and you immediately think of Shining Path--the Maoist guerrilla group in Peru. Commandante Nestor, the leader of El Bruin Nacion. See the similarities from Wikipedia:
The Shining Path(Colmmandante Nestor's El Bruin Nacion-EBN) believed that by imposing a dictatorship of the proletariat, inducing cultural revolution, and eventually sparking world revolution, they could arrive at pure communism. The Shining Path(EBN) also believed that all existing socialist countries were revisionist, and that the Shining Path itself(embodied by Commandante Nestor) was the vanguard of the world communist movement. The Shining Path's(EBN) ideology and tactics have been influential on other Maoist insurgent groups, notably the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and other Revolutionary Internationalist Movement-affiliated organizations.[1]
Widely condemned for its brutality,[2][3] including violence deployed against peasants, trade union organizers, popularly elected officials and the general civilian population,[4] the Shining Path(EBN) is regarded by Peru(other Bruin fans) as a terrorist organization.
The following lyric is dedicated to Commandante Nestor, please insert Commandante Nestor's name in place of Commandante Che Guevara's and place your right hand over your heart when reciting:
Learned to love,
From the historic high,
Where the sun of your bravery
He laid siege to the death.
Here remains the clear,
The endearing transparency
From your dear presence,
Comandante Che Guevara.
You come burning the breeze
with spring suns
to plant the flag
with the light of your smile
Here remains the clear,
The endearing transparency
From your dear presence,
Comandante Che Guevara.
Your revolutionary love
it leads to new company
where the firm expects
your arm libertarian.
Here remains the clear,
The endearing transparency
From your dear presence,
Comandante Che Guevara.
Here remains the clear,
The endearing transparency
From your dear presence,
Comandante Che Guevara.
We will continue
with you as we
and with Fidel we say to you:
"Â Hasta siempre Comandante!"
Here remains the clear,
The endearing transparency
From your dear presence,
Comandante Che Guevara.
Here is is clear,
The endearing transparency
From your dear presence,
Comandante Che Guevara.
Nestor, you must be going insane reading this thread . . .
YOU CAN'T BAN ANYONE HERE!!!!
It was nice to see that I wasn't the only one hating the grammar/spelling that I saw coming from Nestor, D'Jango. What bothers me the most about that issue is how many of his followers would protect him whenever anyone would stand up to point it out. Nestor has even used threatening words to some who had only complained about his grammar. The feeling is that it is better to have a large quantity of posts than fewer posts with proper spelling and grammar. Sorry, but I'll take the quality over the quantity.
Nestor you are a little jerk