Wide Lane?

just another sorry player recruited by howland. hope we bring in someone legit, this guy must have gotten lucky to have gone to the final 4 when he can't even get into the tournament in such a down pac-10 this year. I thought ucla was a basketball school, and they can't even get int he tournament in a down pac-10. People will point to Florida or North Carolina, but those teams are playing in much tougher conferences this year. This lane dufus shouldn't even be playing college bb.

Lane only played 16 minutes so I don't think this is a huge story.

But the real question is, how many posts will it take until this thread is entirely about USC football?

"Had good reason to fear . . ."

Did he actually say he was afraid? I hope not. Whatever the matchup, if he was actually afraid, it doesn't speak too well of his competitiveness and approach to the game.

Are you for freakin serious Anon 6:17?!? I'm as much disappointed in this season as the next fan, but be realistic. Sure, if you want to set your expectations at "why can't we recruit one (or five) Kevin Love(s) NBA-ready player every year?" then I guess Ben Howland is no good. It's too bad we can't recruit 1st round picks like Jrue Holiday... oh wait...

I don't get the bashing of Howland's talent evaluation, clearly he's pretty good at it. He's not gonna be 100% accurate, not even like 75% accurate. I don't expect any coach to be that good. And to expect it would only mean you've set your standards way too high. That #1 class two years back? 2/5 were clearly good skilled starting players, unfortunately those two left unexpectedly.

Brendan Lane is a freshman, and most freshman are going to play like freshmen. Especially when they aren't physically there yet. I can't believe you're coming down so hard on this guy.

I think the biggest problem Howland has is retaining these 1st round draft picks... Oh wait that's out of his control.

While I'm disappointed in this season, I've overall found that this "Howland is a crappy coach" and "The sky is falling" attitude that is around the blogworld made me more embarrassed to be a fan, than the performance of our 18/19 year olds on the court.

Sorry for the rant... It's been pent up, and Anon 6:17 let that go.

When does women's water polo season start???

Open letter/hypothetical (I know, Trojans, that's a big word; go look it up) question to all Trolls:

Who would you rather have as your program's basketball coach: Ben Howland or Kevin O'Neill? Sure, SC's having fun tweaking UCLA in a down year (too many Bruins on this blog take the bait), and O'Neill deserves props for the job he's done this year.

But, honestly, if you had the choice, who would it be?

some of you guys are just assh*les and sucers!

Hey Jon, your blog is infested with SUC losers. The comment section is becoming pure trash. You should either start deleting the obvious trash or make everyone register and ban users' IP's that are trolls if that's possible.

the SCum hoops team played well. props to them. but their top 7 or 8 are as talented as any team in the conference and they still find ways to struggle.

marcus johnson returning starter 5th yr sr uconn transfer, alex stephenson 4th yr jr unc transfer, dwight lewis returning starter, gerrity 6th yr sr transfer from unc charlotte, leonard washington returning starter. even with all that talent oniel still sucks. both smith and marcus simmons played last yr, throw in vucevic and you have the makings of a pretty good team oompared to other pac teams.

bottom line, SCum fans dont care about hoops. SCum hoops will suck in the future, oneill will never win conf or conf tourney or get SCum past the second rd.

I enjoy reading the posts from whomever wishes to offer a point of view. At the moment, we deserve quite a bit of ribbing from our Trojan friends. We've dumped on their sorry BB program for some considerable time. The sanctions will hurt them a little bit, although I'm sure they'll sweep that under the carpet. USC has always been a farm school for the NFL, and that will never change. As we all know, UCLA is handicapped in recruiting because of our high academic requirements. However, Stanford has proven that it's possible to recruit great athletes who are also quite bright. Ben and Rick simply have to keep plugging away, keep selling the value of a UCLA education, and continue to enhance the Bruin Tradition...most national championships in collegiate history. Go Bruins. Next year will be ours.

And six posts in it turns to USC talk.

Sleepy,

To be completely honest, I take O'Neil.

Howland was handed one of the greatest programs in the history of college basketball.

O'Neil was given a program that was in shambles, pending sanctions, little romeo, Tim Floyd leaving a complete disaster.. I could go on for awhile. Worst of all, nobody at the school even seemed to care.

And who's basketball program is the unwanted stepchild of the city?

Every SC basketball coach is given a program in shambles. Duh!

"Every SC basketball coach is given a program in shambles."

Which is why USC has only swept UCLA in the cross-town twice in the last ten years.

Obviously they did this year. It wasn't because of superior players or the support of an enormous fan base, that leaves coaching.

In head-to-head matchups - O'Neil is doing a better coaching job than Howland

As you so eloquently put it, "Duh!"

No. O'Neil has a lot better players with a more experienced team this year than UCLA. If Howland and staff were coaching that group, they'd be in first place.

O'Neil is dong a much better job because O'Neil is working with garbage.

i wonder what the team had for lunch today?

UCLA looking to renegotiate deal with adidas:

http://www.dailybruin.com/articles/2010/2/17/renegotiating-deal-adidas/

Seriously, we are five point underdogs tonight? Does losing Keefe and playing Lane hurt us that much?

Garbage? Shoot, if you just added Garrety to UCLA's roster, they'd be in first place. USC has a bunch of underachieveing studs. They don't have garbage on their roster...just average coaching.

Anybody who knows anything about basketball would take Howland over O'Neill to run their program. You need to take a big-picture view of both of their coaching careers, not just looking at this season. O'Neill is a good Xs-and-Os coach, but wore out his welcome at Marquette, Tennessee, Arizona and others, with a mediocre overall record. Howland took down-and-out programs at Northern Arizona, Pitt, and UCLA (coming off the disastrous Lavin years) and turned them around dramatically.

O'Neill has done a good job at SC this year, picking up the pieces after numerous recruits left the sinking ship. They're a very good defensive team, mediocre on offense, and would probably have been an NIT-level team if not for sanctions.

Howland has not had his best year. He whiffed on talent evaluations on some recruits (Anderson, Morgan, Keefe), got hurt by NBA early departures (not exactly his fault, as his players tend to improve greatly under his coaching), and misread just how much of a head case Gordon would be, a major loss.

Still, overall, it's no contest. One good season does not a great coach make. Bruins, look at the big picture and be happy we have one of the best coaches in college hoops.

Jeez, O'Neill isn't through his first full season at SuCk and the Trojan basketball wonderlics have already branded him a better coach than Howland. Now that is funny reading. At least you swept the Bruins in a meaningful year for the Trojan basketball program that will lose the core of its starting 5 after this season. Please revisit this "O'Neill is a better coach than Howland" next year when the Bruins go against the ketchup & mustard...and the year after for that matter...I have a feeling your silence will be deafening.

And for all my overly worried fellow Bruin fans: Chicken Little just called and wants his "The sky is falling" line back. Howland didn't just suddenly forget how to coach and recruit. Just relax and take our lumps this year...it happens...doesn't mean you have to like it and not want improvement. We take a mulligan this year, the young players get stronger & smarter, and the Bruins are back competing for the Pac 10 title next year with an NCAA tourney berth. Bank on it.

Go Bruins!

"Chicken Little just called and wants his "The sky is falling" line back."

Hits it out of the park. Nicely done.

I want my line back!

UCLA is 25 pounds underweight at most positions. It appears USC is larger and stronger than UCLA in most match ups on and off the bench. Is it a coincidence the two heaviest players are the two most important players, statistically, on this team (see previous Jon Gold article)? Is there policy for off season muscle weight and core/leg development for incoming freshman and returners?
Do players have muscle weight goals? Why is basketball weight training so apparently underemphasized relative to the Water Polo, Gymnastic, Track, and Football teams at UCLA? Physical development from High School to Division I seems to be alarmingly nonchalant in this program. Howland, a great defensive coach, might be better served spotting players himself. If we want to run a man-to-man system can we afford to wait for physically immature freshman to develop? It typically takes four months to gain twenty-five pounds of muscle for high-metabolism athletes. Honeycutt, a great talent, is forty pounds underweight in muscle mass and undersized versus oppenents at USC and Cal State Fullerton. I challenge anyone guarding a player ten pounds heavier to prevent him/her from moving around/through you?
Not only does it make him vulnerable to injury, an ineffective man-to-man (as opposed to open court of which he is more than talented) defender against normal size teams, but relatively ignored by NBA scouts (the lightest 6'-7" player in the NBA is a GUARD almost twenty pounds heavier than Honeycutt. Who would want a guaranteed four million dollar contract?) Gaining the muscle is one thing but learning how to play with it is another -- it takes some time. Why are we waiting? Honeycutt, the Freshman,and Sophmore class have not appeared to have developed even minimal muscle mass since the Exhibition season started. We're long after the injury now. This is 2010 not 1970. Again,what is the staff, and what are players like Honeycutt waiting for?

steve, you really dont know what you are talking about. Honeycutts injuries have been to weight-bearing bones and he has been prevented from weight lifting. It has been prohibited. He may have been released to do some, but if so just recently. Players dont make gains in muscle mass during BBall season and certainly not in the frosh year.

steve's got it right. ucla operates like a second rate program and just is surviving on a reputation built 30 years ago. where is the accountability? where is the production?

Bbruin, your point is well taken. But have Lee, Anderson, Moser, Lane, and Dragovic been prevented from muscle development in the off-season? Is thirty minutes to three hours on a wood floor four to five days a week less stressful on a spinal stress fracture than a well planned protein diet and a well managed strength training program? Is a strength and muscle mass program, perhaps more than jumping on a wood floor, not essential for recovering from a spinal stress fracture?
My main point is -- why are incoming Freshman (not only Honeycutt of whom I a huge fan of) from March through July (prior to injury I believe for Honeycutt), and July through the season, not gaining significant Division 1 strength ( see Kevin Durant's reported forty pound muscle gain crusade between his Senior in High School and Freshman year in college)If done right, sliding ability, speed, and overall quickness are increased. IMHO Dragovic, tipping over, shoots many short front rim jump shot misses consistently because his leg strength is deficient for his weight, not because he is a poor shooter. While he is physically challenged to bend at the knees at his height, weight training can help him begin to bend and move his feet, slide, and sometimes play defense. I question whether he has taken the steps to develop physically. Should this be left to up to the individual players? Luc, Aboya, Afflalo, and Westbrook though mentally mature beyond their years were, if you did the research, I'm sure, relentless in the weight room and with their protein intake. The difference between Westbrook's dunk against Kansas and the famous one against Cal is weight training. And its interesting how a majority of professional players are able to gain tremendous strength and muscle size prior to and once in the NBA. Why are we not expecting this of all players in OUR program, where coaches (and we have a great one) are making over one point five annually and where players have the potential of earning millions in less than two years. Its an issue of personal maturity but also an issue of management.
More importantly, strength and muscle gain can be essential for recovery from injury for many athletes.
And again consider, if the stress fracture is preventing a player from weight training than should he be playing?