Tim Haddock: June 2008 Archives

Jill Painter has reported that J'Mison Morgan, who originally signed with LSU to play basketball, attended his first summer school class at UCLA today, making his commitment to UCLA official.
Football players Kevin Prince and Kai Maiava (transfer from Colorado) attended their first summer school classes as well.
Juco OL Donovan Edwards committed to UCLA, but he has work to do in the classroom before he is academically eligible to attend UCLA. Sources say he doesn't have the grades to get into UCLA right now.

Getting a report out of UCLA that redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Sean Sheller was injured Friday in an off-road accident while driving an ATV.
He injured his left knee and ankle. The severity of the injuries has yet to be determined.
When I know more, you will know more.

Luc and Ben Howland talked about where Luc is academically on their conference calls this afternoon.
I saw some questions about it on other posts, so hopefully I can clear some of those questions up.
Luc said he is five or six classes shy of graduating. He said he could take those classes over the summer, some online, and be on target to graduate.
He was asked how his father responded to his decision to stay in the draft and Luc said: "He knew what I was going to do after last night anyway. He supports me whatever I did. His main thing has always been school. Schoolwise, I only have about five or six classes left to graduate. Some of those classes I can take online. That was the main thing with him. He was really happy with the fact that I'm really close to graduating."
As for the APR, Howland said Luc is leaving UCLA on good academic terms. The APR will not be affected. What Howland seemed a little upset about was that because Luc is leaving early, he only has 11 players on scholarship. He can have 13.
If Alex Stepheson decides to come to UCLA, that would give him 12, but still one shy of the max.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute started in three straight NCAA Final Fours in his career at UCLA. Only a handful of other basketball players can claim that.
He is the first since Andre Hutson and Charlie Bell of Michigan State (1999-2001) and the first Bruin to do it since Bill Walton, Jamaal Wilkes and Greg Lee (1972-74)
"After speaking to my family and going through the process, I feel like the time is right for me to take the next step in my basketball career and keep my name in the NBA Draft," said Mbah a Moute. "I had the greatest time of my life at UCLA. Starting in three-straight Final Fours and winning three straight Pac-10 titles is something I'll never forget. I will be a Bruin forever."

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute has decided to remain in the NBA draft and will forgo his senior season at UCLA, coach Ben Howland said today.
"Luc had a great career at UCLA, and I'm really proud of everything he helped our team accomplish during his tenure as a player at UCLA," Howland said. "He was the freshman of the year in the conference, won three Pac-10 titles and started in three Final Fours, but, more than anything, he is a winner.
"I'm sure he'll continue to provide that great attitude and work ethic at the next level in the NBA," Howland added. "I will always be grateful and appreciative of Luc. He's an outstanding player and an even better person."

UCLA is holding a news conference at 3:30 to announce it.
I don't want to even try to guess what his decision might be, but if UCLA is making an announcement, it most likely means he's coming back to school.
That's just going off how the Josh Shipp announcement was handled.

Here are the UCLA athletes going to the U.S. Olympic Trials for track and field in Eugene, Ore. The Trials begin June 27.

Tori Anthony (pole vault)
Ingrid Kantola (pole vault)
Nicole Leach (400m hurdles)
Krishna Curry (800m)
Greg Garza (discus)
Boldizsar Kocsor (hammer)
Kevin Craddock was expected to compete in the 110-meter hurdles, but after injuring his groin at NCAAs, he might not make it to Trials.
Freshman Cory Primm is still on the fence about competing in the 800.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute has until 9 p.m. Pacific time to make up his mind if he wants to stay in the NBA draft or return to UCLA.
Last check, he was having a workout with an NBA team today. He probably will take all the time that is allotted to him to make his decision.
As soon as I know something, you will know something.
Last week, coach Ben Howland said he expects Mbah a Moute to be a second-round pick if he stays in the draft and that he wants a guarantee from a team he will be picked. However, Howland said no team is going to give him that kind of guarantee. He will be too late of pick and there's no telling who will be available as the draft comes to a close.

Mike Powell, the world record holder in the long jump and a two-time silver medalist in the OIympics, has decided to leave the UCLA track and field coaching staff. He was the jumps coach.
Powell is leaving UCLA to continue his involvement with the IAAF, the International Association of Athletics Federation, the international governing body for track and field. He will also continie to coach a number of professional athletes in jumps.
"I had a great experience the past few years and it was a hard decision for me to step down," said Powell. "I made a lot of new friendships and renewed friendships from when I was a student-athlete at UCLA. I had a great group of kids to coach and I will always follow them and support them.
"I came to UCLA because I felt I could help the program out and I feel I was able to do that. I'm excited with where the jumps program is at and I look forward to seeing the next coach continue the success of this group."

Darius Savage and Renee Williams earned All-American honors in track and field after the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
That gives the men five All-Americans in track and field and the women six. Savage was 11th in the discus at NCAAs and Williams was 14th in the triple jump.

The UCLA women, led by hurdler and sprinter Nicole Leach, finished 29th in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday.
Leach was part of the 4x100 relay team that finished eighth in the finals on Saturday, the last day of the meet. LSU won the team portion of the meet with 67 points. UCLA had nine.
On the men's side, UCLA scored 7.5 points and finished in a tie for 34th with Missouri.
Florida State won the men's portion of the meet.
UCLA's Greg Garza and Boldizsar Kocsor are expected to compete in the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., at the end of the month. Garza competes in the discus and Kocsor competes in the hammer.

Greg Garza, Henry Hagenbuch, Boldizsar Kocsor and Johnny Quinn earned All-American honors for UCLA at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in track and field.
Kocsor set a school record in the hammer and finished fourth in the NCAAs.
"That was a tough competition," said Kocsor. "It took 65m to get to the finals today and that's a pretty high. I opened up with a 66m throw and knew I was going to get five more throws, so that took some pressure off of me and let me really get after the throws.
Garza earned All-American honors in the discus, Hagenbuch in the steeplechase and Quinn in the pole vault.

Junior Nicole Leach set a Drake Stadium record time in the 400-meter hurdles, but so did Nickiesha Wilson of LSU. Wilson beat Leach to win the NCAA Outdoor Championship event in Des Moines, Iowa.
Leach ran her race in 54.62 and finished second to Wilson's 54.45. Last year, Leach won the race and Wilson was second.
"I felt like I had a pretty good race," Leach said. "The biggest thing that Bobby (Kersee) and I wanted to work on in the race was alternating coming home and I had a problem at the 10th hurdle. I don't know if that kind of hindered my finish or not.
"I tried to stay in my race and focus on my step pattern. I didn't know she was there because I was focused on me."
Next up for Leach is the Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore., at the end of June.
"This let's me know what I need to work on - the last hurdle," Leach said. "Anything can happen at Trials, so I'm just going to get back to practice, work on what needs fixing, and focus running well at Trials."

Kevin Craddock came into the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, as the winner of the West Regionals and the fourth-ranked hurdler in the nation.
But a nagging groin injury and strep throat kept the junior out of the finals in the 100-meter hurdles.
He finished 24th in his heat race with a time of 14.31 on Thursday.
"Heading into the race I wasn't too sure about my groin, but I got a great start and midway through the race saw that I was with everyone else and decided to try to push ahead," said Craddock. "Once I tried to pull ahead, I felt some pain in my groin and was basically dragging the leg. I knew my race was over so I eased up through the finish line."
Six UCLA men, headed by Greg Garza and Darius Savage in the discus, advanced to events finals which begin today.
For more, go to the UCLA web site.

Junior Nicole Leach will have a chance to repeat as the NCAA champion in the 400 meter hurdles tonight.
She won her heat on Thursday and was the No. 2 qualifier in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
"I feel fine," said Leach. "I still have some parts of my race to work on and I need to execute my step pattern better. The first half of the race was good, but I had some problems in the second half. I just need to put it all together and I'll be fine."
Nickiesha Wilson of LSU won her heat race as well. Leach's time in her race was 55.98 and she will start in lane six for the final race. Leach is also on the 4x100 relay team that finished eighth in qualifying. The relay team races on Saturday for the NCAA championship.
"I have so much adrenaline going through me right now," Leach said. "I'm ready and I've known in practice I'm ready. I'm just going to use the crowd on Saturday and my adrenaline to come away with the win."
Leach is looking beyond NCAAs and has the Olympic on her radar. The Olympic Trials for the track and field team are at the University of Oregon beginning on June 27.
"This is helping to build my confidence," Leach said. "Once I get to Trials, I know it will be a whole new group of people to compete against. It'll help to run in front of a large crowd like they have here because there will be a big audience in Oregon."
Katy Viuf will be competing in the finals of the pole vault today.
For more results, go to the UCLA web site.

Coach Rick Neuheisel announced the team captains for UCLA's football team. Senior tight end Logan Paulsen and defensive tackles Brigham Harwell will serve as captains when the season starts. They were selected by a team vote. Additional captains will be selected on a weekly basis.
On the draft front, Chris Horton signed a contract with the Washington Redskins on Thursday.

Jonathan Ogden, the former UCLA offensive lineman who announced his retirement from the NFL on Wednesday, is one of eight Bruin football players to have his number retired.
Ogden wore No. 79 at UCLA and is the second offensive lineman to have his number retired.
The other seven are:
No. 5: Kenny Easley
No. 13: Kenny Washington
No. 16: Gary Beban (The only Bruin to win the Hesiman Trophy. He did it in 1967).
No. 34: Paul Cameron
No. 38: Burr Baldwin
No. 80: Donn Moonaw (The other OL for UCLA, also known as President Ronald Reagan's minister).
No. 84: Jerry Robinson

Looks like Donovan Edwards is making the rounds around town. The offensive lineman from Diablo Valley Community College was reportedly visiting UCLA today.
Linebacker Jelani Jenkins has also been seen at USC and UCLA in recent days. The recruit out of Maryland has at least one more Pac-10 school on his list of schools he wants to visit.

Six men on the Bruins track and field team advanced to the finals of the NCAA Outdoor Championships is Des Moines, Iowa, on the first day of the meet, which was interupted by weather delays.
Johnny Quinn and Dustin DeLeo are tops in the pole vault, each clearing 17-2.75 meters. They are in a group of 16 pole vaulters who cleared the same height.
Greg Garza was fourth and Darius Savage was eiighth in the discus.
The UCLA web site has complete results for the Bruins from the first day of the meet.

Two players who will be at UCLA next year will be trying to make the USA National U18 basketball team July 1-3 in Washington, D.C.
UCLA signees Drew Gordon and Malcolm Lee will be part of the 25 players invited to the National Team Trials at the Verizon Center.
More on the team and the trials is on the UCLA web site.

Three UCLA women advanced to the finals in their events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
Nicole Leach was the No. 1 qualifier in the 400-meter hurdles and Rhonda Watkins is tied for third in the long jump.
Katy Viuf qualified for the finals of the pole vault.
More is on the UCLA web site.

Now that Ben Howland has Josh Shipp back in his camp, he can focus on whether Luc Richard Mbah a Moute will turn pro.
Moute is working out with NBA teams as he weighs his options before the draft. Howland said Moute will most likely take all his time to make his decision. He has until 9 p.m. PST on Monday to stay in the draft or return to UCLA.
"Luc's in a situation where he's most likely going to be somewhere in the second round if he keeps his name in," Howland said during a teleconference Tuesday. "No one's going to guarantee him anything. People might like them and like what they see."
But Howland said he talked to a "prominent general manager" in the NBA and Moute is taking a huge gamble if he stays in the draft.
"No one's going to guarantee a thing, because they want to see who falls to them," Howland said. "It's a crapshoot when you're talking about the draft, especially as you get into the later part of it."

Josh Shipp is returning to UCLA for his senior season. He withdrew his name from the NBA Draft today and told coach Ben Howland he will be back next season for the Bruins.
"We don't get to the Final Four each of the last two years or win Pac-10 championships without Josh," Howland said on a teleconference this afternoon. "Josh is an integral part of that. No question."
Shipp was the only Bruin to start all 39 games last year, a school record, and averaged 12.2 points and 2.1 assists per game.
"I am glad I went through this process. It gave me the opportunity to get input and prepare my body and my game for the next level," Shipp said in a release.
More telling than Shipp's announcement that he will be returning is the speculation by Howland that Alfred Aboya will also rerturn for his senior year giving the Bruins three seniors on next year's team.
"I'm pretty confident he'll be back," Howland said.
Darren Collison, Aboya and Shipp would all be seniors. If Luc Ricahrd Mbah a Moute decides to come back, that would give Howland four seasoned seniors on his team.
But Moute is still working out with NBA teams and probably won't make a decision about making himself eligible for the draft until Monday.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had a workout with the Charlotte Bobcats yesterday and was planning on going to Toronto for a workout with the Raptors.
The Toronto workout had to be canceled and rescheduled because of a facility issue.
He is still undecided about entering the NBA Draft, but looks like he is working out for anybody who is willing to see him.

The NCAA track and field championships begin Wednesday in Des Moines, Iowa. UCLA has 22 athletes, nine women and the 4x100 relay team, and 13 men competing in the national meet.
Some Bruins to keep an eye on are Nicole Leach and Rhonda Watkins on the women's side and Kevin Craddock and Greg Garza on the men's.
Leach is the reigning 400-meter hurdles NCAA champion and has the second-best time in the country going into Des Moines. Watkins is the reigning long jump NCAA champion and is ranked seventh in the nation.
Craddock won the 110-meter hurdles at the NCAA West Regionals at Cal State Northridge and has the fourth best time in the country. Garza is a two-time All-American and is ranked second in the nation in the discus.
CSTV.com has a complete list of athletes and their rankings.