This follows news earlier this month of both a late-December date with Duke at Madison Square Garden, as well as a spot in the Las Vegas Invitational on Thanksgiving weekend.

It’s no Space Jam, but last night’s Spring Sing intro video pitted four members of the UCLA men’s basketball team against the Company. My vote for best scene starts at 3:23.

One of the first questions asked of Shabazz Muhammad at the NBA draft combine this week was, unsurprisingly, about his age. The former No. 1 recruit’s one-and-done season at UCLA had begun with a suspension and ended with a bizarre report that his father, Ron Holmes, made his son one year younger.

After confirming again that he is 20 years old, Muhammad hinted that the blame lay solely with his father.

“I’m gonna talk for myself now,” he said. “I was a guy who used to just play basketball and let some of my guys talk for me, family members. Right now, I’m more mature as a person.”

Muhammad may also be the only lottery pick who is participating in the NBA draft combine workouts. Top prospects typically opt out since they don’t have much to gain, and arrive instead for interviews. The reigning Pac-12 Co-Freshman of the Year said he chose to participate because he always wants to complete. “I’m not running from anybody,” he told ESPN’s Andy Katz.

He hasn’t wowed anyone by doing so. Muhammad said he prefers to play shooting guard rather than small forward, but struggled to create in one on ones. On Friday, he also measured just 6’4.75″ in socks, although with a 6’11″ wingspan.

Though Muhammad has settled in the bottom of the lottery for months now, some team executives said they might not be surprised if he falls even farther.

The UCLA basketball coach will pay a $300,000 buyout, according to a statement from the Bruins. UNM officials announced Friday afternoon that Alford’s buyout will produce a “net benefit” of $625,000, but UCLA stated that the rest of that sum will come from bonuses the coach had previously given up when he terminated his contract with the Lobos. A buyout agreement has not yet been signed.

Alford took the UCLA job on March 30, just ten days after agreeing to a 10-year extension with New Mexico. After the 48-year-old signed a seven-year, $18.2-million deal with the Bruins, New Mexico said that Alford owed the $1 million buyout stipulated in their new agreement.

The coach instead offered $200,000, the buyout indicated on his prior contract. He had never signed a finalized contract — only a term sheet contingent on one — but the Lobos argued that since Alford had not given proper 30-day notice, the new one still took effect on April 1.

Barr ranked second nationally with 13.5 sacks in 2012, and is projected as a top-10 NFL draft pick entering his second season on defense. Kendricks led the Pac-12 with 150 tackles, the most by a Bruin since Jerry Robinson’s school-record 161 in 1978.

The complete watch list is below the jump, with Pac-12 players bolded.

Lott IMPACT Trophy 2013 Watch List

Henry Anderson, DL, Stanford
Geoffrey Bacon, LB, Army
Calvin Barnett, DL, Oklahoma State
Anthony Barr, LB, UCLA
Nat Behre, DB, San Diego State
Chris Borland, LB, Wisconsin
Max Bullough, LB, Michigan State
Ibraheim Campbell, DB, Northwestern
Ross Cockrell, CB, Duke
Aaron Colvin, CB, Oklahoma
Scott Crichton, DL, Oregon State
Alden Darby, DB, Arizona State
Aaron Donald, DL, Pitt
Steele DiVitto, LB, Boston College
Ahmad Dixon, S, Baylor
Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon
Antone Exum, CB, Virginia Tech
Jake Fischer, LB, Arizona
Chase Garnham, LB, Vanderbilt
Bryce Hager, LB, Baylor
Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, Texas
A.J. Johnson, LB, Tennessee
Lamarcus Joyner, S/CB, Florida State
Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA
Devon Kennard, DL, USC
James Morris, LB, Iowa
C.J. Moseley, LB, Alabama
Damien Proby, LB, Northwestern
Ed Reynolds, S, Stanford
Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State
D.T. Shackleford, LB, Ole Miss
Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State
Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
Spencer Shuey, LB, Clemson
Derron Smith, DB, Fresno State
John Timu, LB, Washington
Stephon Tuitt, DE, Notre Dame
Jack Tyler, LB, Virginia Tech
Kyle Van Noy, LB, BYU
Jason Verrett, CB, TCU
Avery Williamson, LB, Kentucky
Ty Zimmerman, S, Kansas State

The Los Angeles Times first reported the news Tuesday that Odighizuwa had the operation for a frayed rotator cuff in his right hip. Once the five-star gem of the Bruins’ 2010 recruiting class, he had sat out all of spring practice while recovering from surgery on his left hip.

Coach Jim Mora said last Monday that Odighizuwa was healing well, but needed to get his right hip checked. The 6-foot-3, 265-pound end was a likely successor for Datone Jones, who recently became UCLA’s first first-round draft pick since 2006. Odighizuwa finished with 44 tackles, 3.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries last season, and will have one year of eligibility left after if he redshirts this fall. He totaled 32 tackles through his freshman and sophomore years.

Nose tackle Brandon Tuliaupupu tore his ACL in late April and will also miss the upcoming season. Rising sophomore Ellis McCarthy, who moved from end to tackle, missed spring practices as he recovered from knee surgery but is expected to be ready for fall.

“It’s been good for our younger guys,” defensive line coach Angus McClure said during spring practice when asked about lack of depth. “It’s helped them grow as players. It’s helped some of our veterans also get additional reps.”

Besides returning starter Cassius Marsh, remaining options at defensive end include junior Brandon Willis and senior Keenan Graham. Early enrollee Kylie Fitts also looks to play an increased role, as could incoming freshman Kenneth Clark.

Not sure if medical retirement is in Lacy Westbrook’s future, but he doesn’t seem likely to return for the start of fall. I’ll try and catch up with the other guys in the next weeks.

Q: What are your impressions of Steve Alford?

During my relatively brief sit-down with him, he came off as a generic college coach. Friendly enough, but tended to speak in cliches. His assistants were more interesting, but I also had much more time with them.

Q: Was UCLA in play for Mike Moser and is there any rule preventing him from going back to UCLA?

UCLA reached out, but wasn’t a finalist. There is no rule that barred him from transferring back.

The Bruins (27-6) have met the Cardinal three times this season, losing by three, seven and four points. UCLA leads the country with seven women’s water polo championships, but hasn’t reached a title game since 2009. Stanford is aiming for its third straight trophy.

UPDATE: Stanford ended UCLA’s season with a 5-3 win. The Cardinal will face USC on Sunday for the title.

Over a month after UCLA made its coaching change, that’s no longer the case. Filling in the void left by Larry Drew II is still paramount, but the Bruins may help themselves more by utilizing the multi-talented Anderson all over the court.

“We’ve got to figure out what’s going to be best for the Kyle,” head coach Steve Alford said. “We’ve got to keep all that open as far as how many different ways we can play him.”

Since the team is restricted mostly to individual workouts, the rotation won’t be settled for months. Incoming freshmen Zach LaVine and Bryce Alford will get a shot at the job as well, but both are combo-type guards who don’t share Anderson’s natural passing vision. The 6-foot-9 point forward, whom ESPN picked as UCLA’s key returnee, was the only Pac-12 player ranked top 10 in both rebounds (8.6) and assists (3.5). As a sophomore, he may be the conference’s most potent triple-double threat.

The most glaring flaw last season was his scoring. Anderson had a release that often matched his nickname “Slow-Mo,” and was inconsistent at best creating for himself. He improved as the season went on, but still finished with an unreliable outside stroke (21 percent from 3-point range). Assistant coach Ed Schilling said the focus this summer is to tighten up Anderson’s handle, as well as to improve his shot.

“He needs to be prepared to shoot, which will then get his shot off quicker,” Schilling said. “The reason why I think his shot appears to be slow is because he’s not ready to shoot it a lot. He’s upright, and when it’s time to shoot, he’s got to get ready. He’s got to prepare to shoot, which then takes time. …

“It’s not speed. It’s a preparation issue. Whether it’s off the dribble or off the pass, being prepared to shoot at all times.”

Schilling still remembers working with Anderson at the Adidas Nations program over the past few summers. His most lasting memory of the teenager was his ball-handling skill; despite being pressed repeatedly by future All-Big-Ten selection Yogi Ferrell, Anderson rarely coughed up a turnover.

“It looks like you should be able to speed him up, but you just can’t because he’s so big,” he said. “He’s got that 7-4 wingspan. He’s just a unique player.”

Other notes

» There’s still a chance UCLA adds to its three-man recruiting class, but the program is more focused on the future.

“2014 and ’15 would be the most important classes,” Alford said. “We’re going to graduate the Wears, so size, we obviously have to spend a lot of time there. The ’14 class is going to be a big class. We could sign up to five guys.”

» In case anyone was still worried, Alford said center Tony Parker won’t be transferring out: “He’s rock solid. He’s been terrific.”

» Star guard Jordan Adams, who broke his foot in the Pac-12 tournament title game, could remove his cast by the end of the month.

» Plenty of overlap exists between the assistant coaches’ duties, but Duane Broussard said he will take more of the administrative duties. Schilling is the skills and workout guru, while David Grace is sort of in between.