Final observations last night

I was feeling pretty under the weather last night when I got home from football/basketball, so I didn't have a chance to post some more thoughts from UCLA's 84-59 win over Cal State Los Angeles. Here they are:

* The more I watched Tyler Lamb, the more I saw a future college star. He's a long way from the NBA, of course, but I was really impressed by his offensive capabilities last night. When I watch a guy on offense, I watch three things: Is he a one-trick pony? Can he create for himself? Does he know how to use his body? Against a far inferior opponent, granted, Lamb was no-yes-yes, which you want. Early in the game, he had a drive and layup where he absorbed contact and kind of floated, adjusting his attempt and buying time. Very nice.

* If UCLA gets half the production it got from Brendan Lane last night on a game-by-game basis, they should be very good in the post. Lane was really good last night - not great, but really good - and I'll need to see him against bigger, stronger, faster opponents, emphasis on bigger and stronger, but he is a huge upgrade over the backup four last season. That's the main difference between last year and this year - the elite talent still might not be what it was during the back-to-back-to-back run, but there seems to be much better depth than last year.

* Still curious to see how the point guard battle shakes out. Zeke Jones and Jerime Anderson were mediocre last night against another point guard, and there are a lot of quick guards in the Pac-10. Now, one key difference from last year - when a PG blew past Jerime Anderson last year, they had to handle...Nikola Dragovic... in the post. Now, they have Joshua Smith and Anthony Stover. Upgrade. But still, on-ball defense has got to be a major concern so far.

* Offensively, Jones and Anderson contrast each other: Jones doesn't push it up the floor as well, but he reads the defense and has some good offensive moves. Anderson can get up the floor, but sometimes doesn't know where to go with it. At least early on, both are going to play major minutes.

* You have to wonder if teams are going to go with a Hack-a-Joshua philosophy. Maybe CSULA was just a really, really bad defensive team in the post - and honestly, that's probably just it - but the big man is just so big that it's almost impossible not to foul him in the post. He goes up really strong and initiates contact, but he'll need to be better at finishing and-ones to really make teams pay.

* Last thing: It might be time to temper the expectations for Malcolm Lee and Tyler Honeycutt. Lee has definitely gotten more patient with the ball - zero turnovers in two games - but for all the hype about being a potential first-round pick this year, the production isn't there. Maybe it will come, but against Westmont and CSULA, you'd expect a potential first-round pick to absolutely get into beast-mode. Lee wasn't. He was a bit passive offensively, not looking like a guy who at times will need to score 25 points to get the Bruins over the hump. Remember when he had 49 points in two games, against NMSU and Notre Dame? He didn't have more than 18 in any other game last year. Honeycutt, meanwhile, still looks very raw on the court sometimes. He's gotten so good at what he's good at - if that makes sense - that he can mask his deficiencies pretty well. But if I'm Howland, I pull him every time he makes a circus pass or goes for style over substance. Even if it's for 30 seconds, he needs to learn that lesson.

* I'm excited to see how this team performs in a real contest, because I truly think they have the potential to be a good team this year. I have them pegged at around 20 wins and anywhere from a fourth to first place finish in the Pac-10. If Howland can shore up the defense, there's more room for optimism. As of now, third is probably about right.