Some quick Howland teleconference tidbits

UCLA head coach Ben Howland, almost laughing, in response to how he’s doing:
Ben Howland: “I couldn’t be better. So needless to say, I’m very happy right now.”

On Shabazz Muhammad’s potential impact?
BH: “I think he’s going to have a tremendous impact. He’s a special special talent, and has so many attributes that help our team. No. 1, he’s physically strong enough right now to be an impact player right away, because he’s 220 pounds, 6-foot-6, and long. And is a great scorer. Shooter, scorer. And he’s an outstanding foul shooter. I think he’s a very good rebounder, and he’s a winner. He won three straight championships, and he was the unanimous most valuable player from every national player of the year award this year. The last one to do that, if I’m not mistaken, was Kevin Love. And this is our third national player of the year, Jrue Holiday being the other, and obviously you look at the impact those players had, Kevin and Jrue, and they were huge. And Shabazz undoubtedly is going to have a very impactful season as a freshman.”

On finding out Muhammad’s decision:
BH: “No, you know what, we’ve been recruiting Shabazz and Ron Holmes and Fay Muhammad three years now. And so this was a long process. We felt good about it for quite a long time. When you go back to their roots, you know, Ron and Fay are both Southern Californians and their families are here. Fay is arguably one of the top 3 women athletes in the history of Southern California. She was a starting point guard of a Final Four Long Beach State team, and she just missed the Olympic team both as a basketball player and as a sprinter for our track team. She is an unbelievable athlete. Her brother played in the NFL, you know, played for Fresno State and then played in the NFL for a number of years. And she’s just a great athlete. And Ron was an outstanding guard at USC, and was a very good basketball player. His son, Shabazz, is a product of the two of them and Ron’s tutelage, being a former Division I player and has been one of the main driving forces as to why this kid is where he is right now.”

On selling Muhammad on the idea of resurrecting UCLA:
BH: “Absolutely. We have not been where we wanted to be the last few years, and we want to be champions. And we’ve been, in my tenure here, to the Final Four, and we want to get back there again. And it was fun to watch Kyle Anderson and Shabazz on TV together tonight. I was sitting there going “Wow.” It’s amazing to have two of those kids. And then you add Jordan Adams. And we’re hoping, and praying, and working hard to add at least one more recruit here before this recruiting period is over.”

On Kyle Anderson’s recruitment of Muhammad:
“No question it was huge. And I’ll be honest with you, I think that Shabazz’s interest in UCLA initially encouraged Kyle when Kyle signed. But you can see how close they are. These guys connect on the floor. I mean, it’s a close friendship. In other words, what’s great for me is the kids recruiting each other. That’s the best kind of recruiting in the world. In fact, I’ll tell you what, after Shabazz’s announcement, he called, and I got to be on the phone with him right after, and he put Kyle on the phone, and the first thing I said to Kyle was, “Not only are you a great player, you are a great recruiter.” It was so fun. Those are obviously two of the best players in the country, and you know, the timing of going back into new Pauley, and I feel we have a really good nucleus that returns next year. I’m excited. I’m very excited about that. I think that our players, since we’ve returned for the spring quarter, have done a great job. Tonight, having Shabazz, the No. 1 player in the country, commit to us, and sign his letter of intent, was absolutely just a spectacular day for our team and our program, and all Bruins fans.”

On what it took to land Muhammad and Anderson:
BH: “Opportunity. These kids are looking at UCLA as a great opportunity to come and help us rise right back to the top where we expect to be. They’ve been on this campus multiple times. That campus and the university sells itself. It’s such a great special place. The education is second-to-none. The quality of the people that are in our program that will be working with them, you know, the professors, the support staff, and the academic support, everybody is just tremendous, and all did a great job in helping to recruit this young man. I really believe that having the new Pauley coming on line, and having what is essentially a brand new facility that we’ll be moving into this coming fall, is a huge factor for these kids.”