Check out the latest batch of weekly answers…
1) Jon, thanks for all the great work. It is obviously still very early in the recruiting season for football but what is your gut feeling about how things will shake out for UCLA this season given our needs, available scholarships, and the given talent pool. Thanks again. – Anonymous
I think that fans will end up disappointed unless the Bruins land Hundley. They’re doing some good things with the OL/DL recruiting, but as of yet, not having as much success on the major skill guys. But fans will be upset because it will be difficult to land a top-10 ranking with a smaller class, but I’ve seen Neuheisel work recruiting miracles before.
2) Any updates on B-Ball players and how they’ve done this summer? Bigger, faster, stronger, more consistent jumpers, etc? Also over/under 16 wins this year? – Eric
Laz Jones has been very impressive, showing an aggressiveness that Jerime Anderson lacks, or rather, that he lacks when it seems to matter. I’ve heard really good things on Tyler Honeycutt, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he actually became the focal point of the offense. I think it’s still Malcolm Lee’s team, but I just think Honeycutt is too good not to demand attention. Reeves Nelson has been working on his mid-range game with success, but really, it all comes down to Josh Smith. The pieces are in place for a top-3 Pac-10 finish if Smith is able to perform at a consistent level for 20+ minutes, and Howland is pleased with his offseason conditioning to this point. But we’ll see how it looks in November.
3) Every summer, we would hear stories of Luc’s shot getting better and it never did. Now, every year, I hear how much better Malcom Lee’s jump shot is. Are they playing on different sized hoops in the summer? why does this improvement never show up during the season? I thought they play against NBA guys – Bobby
Lee’s improvement did show up during the season, but he got put in a bad position running the point with an offense that lacked perimeter shooters. He was not able to move off the ball well, simply because there was no one else on offense to keep defenses honest. So many of Lee’s attempts last year were contested. I don’t think Lee is Michael Jordan, but he’ll have a much better year next year.
4) On Jerry Neuheisel’s Scout page, it shows interest in programs like Penn State and South Carolina. Do you think these schools are interested in JN as a player, or are they just looking at “Rick’s kid”. – Anonymous
Jerry Neuheisel, by all accounts, is having an impressive summer, and while I’m not sure he’s at a UCLA level quite yet, he is a legit recruit. I think other schools are showing interest, including some that Rick has ties to, but I think most know he’ll end up at UCLA.
5) Do you think Xavier Sua Filo will continue to play for us once he gets back from his mission. Also, do you think he will be as effective as he was given the 2 years off? – Anonymous
Yes and…that’s a tough one. The transition back for offensive linemen is an extremely difficult one, because it’s almost impossible to stay at the same size with the same strength. Ben Olson said that when he was on his mission, he was lucky if he could throw for an hour a week. I’m sure Su’a-Filo is getting his time in, dropping to the floor for a quick set of pushups, but he’s not in a quality weight room with strength-and-conditioning coaches. It will be imperative for him to get a quick start back in the weight room when he gets back, and if he regains his strength quickly, he’ll be fine.