Former UCLA assistant Korey McCray is heading to LSU, according to Scout.com.
After helping Ben Howland land guard Jordan Adams and big man Tony Parker as part of a touted 2012 class, McCray was not retained by new Bruins coach Steve Alford. He joins to Tigers to replace Robert Kirby, who left Baton Rouge for a position at Memphis.
McCray, who coached the Atlanta Celtics in AAU before going to Westwood, also has a good relationship with 2014 power forward Craig Victor. The four-star prospect’s list of offers includes both LSU and UCLA.
Forward Wanaah Bail has officially signed with UCLA, the school announced today. The top-150 2012 recruit visited and committed to the Bruins late last week.
The 6-foot-9 Bail — a prospect noted for his athleticism — had previously signed a letter of intent with Texas Tech, but left after briefly enrolling in summer school. UCLA said that Bail’s eligibility for the 2013-14 season has yet to be determined. Continue reading →
Another kickoff time has been scheduled, and this one isn’t ideal for UCLA.
Jim Mora’s team will play Nebraska at 9 a.m. PT on ABC. Such an early game time throws a wrench into the Bruins’ routine, which hardly helps going into their toughest nonconference tilt. UCLA enters the season as arguably the Pac-12 South favorite, but is tasked with a brutal slate that includes back-to-back trips to Stanford and Oregon.
Four UCLA games have been officially scheduled. You can see the full list after the jump. Continue reading →
On June 6, 1983, John Savage graduated from Reno High and became the New York Yankees’ sixth-round draft pick. On June 6, 1986, after a collegiate career at Santa Clara, he was plucked out of the 16th round by the Cincinnati Reds. On June 6, 1992, he was married at Our Lady of the Snows, a red-bricked Reno church that hosted a crowd of about 400 — an unintended coincidence, he insists with a laugh.
But it wasn’t until six years later that Savage, now nearing a decade as UCLA’s head baseball coach, noticed the odd chronology. Then in his second season as USC’s pitching coach, he found himself in Omaha celebrating a national championship. June 6, 1998.
“That’s when it became apparent that day was special to me,” he says.
As June 6 rolls by again, another national championship is perhaps the only hole left on his stellar resume — the bulk of which he’s built in Westwood. Continue reading →
Rancho Bernardo’s Gosuke Katoh was drafted by the New York Yankees in the second round yesterday, 66th overall. An All-American second baseman, he doesn’t carry a big bat but is lauded for his defensive skills.
From what he told the Pomerado News, it’s unlikely that he’ll end up in blue and gold:
“I was sitting on the couch waiting around and I wasn’t expecting my name to be called, but then my advisor gave me a quick call and told me I was going to get picked in two picks and it was the Yankees,” Katoh said of the moment leading up to his selection. “I couldn’t talk for a minute because I was really shocked and I didn’t believe him at first. I then put the phone down and looked up at the TV and they said ‘with the 66th pick, the Yankees select Gosuke Katoh’ and I couldn’t believe it.”
Katoh, who signed a scholarship to UCLA earlier this year, seems to have his heart set on joining the Yankees instead of the Bruins. The signing bonus where Katoh was taken is usually around $780,000.
“If everything works out like it should with no road bumps, then I should be a Yankee by next week,” he said.
Phil Steele named both UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr and offensive lineman Xavier Su’a-Filo as preseason All-Americans. The standouts were first- and third-team selections, respectively. The Pac-12 landed 20 players on the list, second behind the SEC’s 27.
Steele also ranks (snubs?) UCLA No. 31 nationally on his preseason countdown — behind Washington, Oregon State and Arizona State.
To reach the College World Series for the third time in four years, UCLA needs to get past Cal State Fullerton — a team Bruins coach John Savage called the best in the country. Tickets for this weekend’s best-of-three Super Regional at CSUF’s Goodwin Field went on sale this morning, and can be purchased either through UCLA’s Central Ticket Office (310-825-2101) or the Titans.
All-session tickets range from $25-32, and single-game tickets from $10-20. All games will be broadcast on ESPN2.
UCLA (42-17) at CSUF (51-8) Friday, June 7, 4 p.m.
Saturday, June 8, 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 9, 7 p.m. (if necessary)
The basketball tournament that bears John Wooden’s name won’t feature UCLA again until 2016.
The Bruins played in the Wooden Classic in 16 of 19 times, including the last 10 straight years. Starting in 2013, that event will combine with the Anaheim Classic to form The Wooden Legacy — an eight-team, three-day, 12-game bracketed tournament.
Since the event is now classified as an exempt tournament, NCAA rules dictate that UCLA can only participate once very four years. Schools from the same conference also cannot compete in the same event together.
“The Wooden Legacy will remain loyal to the initial concept of the event, while also allowing it to grow in stature to include more universities,” said Nan and Jim Wooden, John’s children, in a statement. “UCLA has been a wonderful partner with our family throughout the history of the Wooden Classic and we are grateful that an expanded event carrying our father’s name will continue.” Continue reading →
Eddie Vanderdoes officially announced this morning his intention to enroll at UCLA, paving his way to a future in blue and gold.
The five-star defensive lineman originally signed to Notre Dame, but said he needed to be closer to his family in Northern California. The Placer High product was not officially released from his national letter of intent, but the Irish lifted the recruiting ban — a step that allowed him to sign grant-in-aid and enroll at another school.
Notre Dame said it does not intend to release Vanderdoes from his letter of intent, meaning that he cannot play for the Bruins until 2014.
Here is Vanderdoes’ statement, one he texted to the Sacramento Bee and other outlets.
“I would like to thank the University of Notre Dame for lifting the recruiting ban and allowing me to sign an athletic scholarship with UCLA. Over the past four months, circumstances have changed for me and my family. For very personal reasons, I feel a strong need to remain close to home and be near those who are most important in my life.
“I am honored and humbled that Note Dame thought enough of me as a person and a football player to offer me a scholarship. They have been very gracious to recognize not only how difficult a decision this was, but also how important it was for me to be near my family at this time. I take my commitments seriously, but as circumstances changed, the most important commitment is the one made to family.”
UCLA head coach Jim Mora confirmed the news shortly after Vanderdoes’ announcement. Unless Notre Dame changes its decision not to release Vanderdoes, he will have to sit out a season and lose a year of eligibility as a basic penalty for breaking a NLI. He will have four years to play three.
Irish head coach Brian Kelly said in a statement that his school chose not to release Vanderdoes “in order to protect the integrity of that very important program.” Continue reading →
Here’s a throwback to 2001, when John Wooden gave a TED Talk on coining his definition of success: “Peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you’re capable.”
