Mike Moser to Oregon; Allerik Freeman to Baylor

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Jack Wang

A pair of former Bruins found new homes today.

Most notable in the Pac-12 landscape is Mike Moser, who reportedly committed to Oregon as a graduate transfer out of UNLV. The 6-foot-8 forward played less than five minutes per game at UCLA in 2009-10 before heading to Las Vegas. With the Runnin’ Rebels, he averaged 14 points and 10.5 rebounds as a sophomore before a disappointing junior year — one that saw his minutes reduced due to both injury and the role of star freshman Anthony Bennett.

Moser will graduate from UNLV and play immediately for the Ducks, who lost three seniors from their Pac-12 tournament-winning squad. He also considered Gonzaga and Washington.

Freshman guard Allerik Freeman, who signed a national letter of intent with UCLA in November, is heading to Baylor after being released from his commitment two weeks ago. Freeman was the highest-ranked uncommitted recruit after No. 1 prospect Andrew Wiggins.

Short-handed UCLA falls short of Pac-12 tourney title

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Jack Wang

Without shooting guard Jordan Adams, UCLA couldn’t do enough to beat Oregon for the Pac-12 tournament championship. As Adams sat at the end of the bench with a broken right foot, the Bruins lost 78-69 and failed to put together one strong, late rally.

UCLA cut the Ducks’ to two points with 12 minutes left to go on a 3-pointer by Larry Drew II, but proceeded to give up a 6-0 run over the next 90 seconds. It went the rest of the way down between six and 12 points — save for a 19-second stretch that saw the deficit shrink to four.

Oregon won its first tournament title since 2007. No team has won both the regular-season and tournament championships since the Bruins did so in 2008.

– UCLA’s seed for the NCAA tournament will likely drop due to Adams’ absence. The NCAA selection committee often account for injuries in their decision, and the Bruins being without their second-leading scorer could weigh heavily. In 2000, top-ranked Cincinnati missed out on a No. 1 seed when Kenyon Martin broke his leg. In 2009, St. Mary’s missed the tournament despite 26 wins because point guard Patty Mills hadn’t shaken off rust after breaking his hand. Continue reading →

Halftime update: Oregon 41, UCLA 32

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Jack Wang

UCLA got burned from outside as Jonathan Loyd, Damyean Dotson and Carlos Emory combined for a ridiculous 78 shooting percentage from 3-point range. The trio has 35 of Oregon’s 41 points, and the Ducks have found a groove after coughing the ball up eight times in the first eight minutes. The Bruins are shooting 32 percent from the field as star Shabazz Muhammad opens the game with another slow start. The freshman has just three points on 1-of-3 shooting, and was hit with a questionable charge call that had Ben Howland tossing his suit jacket off in anger.

Travis Wear leads the team with eight points and five rebounds. Point guard Larry Drew II also looks much better on offense after going scoreless against Arizona’s Nick Johnson. He has seven points on 3-of-5 shooting and four assists.

Muhammad leads Bruins in Pac-12 awards

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Jack Wang

Two days after UCLA won an outright Pac-12 title, Shabazz Muhammad became the eighth player in program history to win Pac-12 Freshman of the Year — sharing the honor with Arizona point guard Jahii Carson.

The star swingman, who ranked third in the Pac-12 with 18.3 points per game, is the first Bruin to win since Kevin Love in 2008. Muhammad also made the 10-man all-conference first team with senior point guard Larry Drew II, while freshman point forward Kyle Anderson was a second-team selection.

Muhammad and Drew both generated some talk for the conference’s Player of the Year Award, but that went to Cal guard Allen Crabbe. Oregon’s Dana Altman won Coach of the Year, and had his Ducks positioned for a conference title before losing the last two games of the season.

Muhammad and Anderson also made the All-Pac-12 Freshman team, but guard Jordan Adams missed the cut for the five-man list. He averaged 15.2 points per game, eighth best in the conference, and was an honorable mention for receiving at least three votes.

Here’s the full list of conference awards: Continue reading →

Who will be the top seed in the Pac-12?

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Jack Wang

A little convoluted, but here are the best and worst case Pac-12 tourney seeding scenarios for the top four teams. Each has one game left on Saturday except Cal, which can only sit and wait. Scroll all the way down for the tiebreaker rules.

Oregon (23-7, 12-5)
Best case: No. 1 seed and an outright Pac-12 title. The Ducks beat Utah while UCLA loses to Washington, dropping the Bruins to a three-seed. Cal would be a No. 2 seed because it has a season sweep of Oregon (see second tiebreaker).
Worst case: No. 3 seed. Oregon loses at Utah, while UCLA clinches an outright Pac-12 title with a win at Washington. Cal would get the No. 2 seed. Continue reading →

Guerrero highest-paid public school AD in Pac-12

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Jack Wang

School	Name	School Pay	Other Pay	Total Pay	Max Bonus
UCLA	Dan Guerrero	$715,211	$0	$715,211	$75,000
Cal	Sandy Barbour	$576,931	$25,000	$601,931	$271,004
Arizona	Greg Byrne	$600,000	$0	$600,000	$338,462
Oregon State	Bob De Carolis	$562,376	$0	$562,376	$50,000
Washington	Scott Woodward	$553,000	$0	$553,000	$0
Oregon	Rob Mullens	$500,000	$0	$500,000	$150,000
WSU	Bill Moos	$455,000	$2,000	$457,000	$107,501
Utah	Chris Hill	$450,000	$0	$450,000	$0
ASU	Steve Patterson	$365,000	$0	$365,000	$182,500
Colorado	Mike Bohn	$306,640	$3,500	$310,140	$154,000

No salaries available for Stanford’s Bernard Muir or USC’s Pat Haden since private schools aren’t bound by the same disclosure laws. All figures from USA Today.

The numbers skew after bonuses, as both Cal’s Sandy Barbour and Arizona’s Greg Byrne can max out above Guerrero at $872,935 and $938,462, respectively. Guerrero ranks 18th in the FBS in total pay.

Pac-12 Power Rankings — 3/7/13

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Jack Wang

1. Oregon (23-6, 12-4) — The Ducks are the best team in the Pac-12 as long as Dominic Artis is healthy, but he only saw 12 minutes in a win at Oregon State. Oregon should get its first conference title since 2002 if its point guard’s foot injury is no longer a problem. Damyean Dotson also has a hip injury, but is expected to play.

2. Cal (20-10, 12-6) — Cal’s defense had held locked down opponents to 33.7 percent shooting through a seven-win streak, but couldn’t stop Stanford in their season finale. Allen Crabbe and the Cardinal’s Dwight Powell also started a scuffle that ended with the ejection of two players and three assistant coaches — including Mark Madsen.

3. UCLA (22-8, 12-5) — The Bruins lost to Washington State for the first time in 20 years. Washington State was missing its second- and third-leading scorers. Oh, and UCLA forward Travis Wear re-aggravated his sprained right ankle. A share of the Pac-12 title is within reach if Oregon loses, but what an awful night for this team. Continue reading →

Bruins return to AP poll

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Jack Wang

UCLA is back in the AP poll for the first time since January, making its appearance at No. 23 after its first season sweep of Arizona since 2008. The Wildcats are still the Pac-12′s highest-ranked team at No. 18 despite losing to both the Bruins and USC this past week, dropping seven places. Oregon, tied with UCLA for the conference lead, sits at No. 19.

Pac-12 Power Rankings — 2/27/13

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Jack Wang

1. Arizona (23-4, 11-4) — Visits from the Washington schools didn’t provide the stiffest challenges, but Arizona took care of both the Huskies and the Cougars with ease last week. Defense is an issue at times, with coach Sean Miller describing it as “terrible” after beating WSU 73-56. The Wildcats allowed Washington State to shoot 52.2 percent in the second half, and would have been in more trouble had the Cougs shot better than 14 of 28 at the line.

2. Cal (18-9, 10-5) — Conference-leading scorer Allen Crabbe has gone a bit cold lately, but Justin Cobbs ensured that a Bear would be named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the third straight time. In his past six games, Cobbs is averaging 16.6 points on 53.4-percent shooting, his best stretch since November. Cal plays its last three games at home and is at least slightly favored in each.

3. UCLA (20-7, 10-4) — The Bruins’ offense is syncing again three bumpy weeks, helped in part by better ball movement and shot selection. They’ve made 6 of 12 from beyond the arc in each of their past two games. UCLA is likely without forward Travis Wear (sprained foot) for at least another game, which is a troubling prospect as it prepares to host ASU and Arizona. Continue reading →

Chip Kelly to Eagles

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Jack Wang

Oregon head coach Chip Kelly left for the Philadephia Eagles today, a little over a week after spurning the Cleveland Browns. Offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich is expected to fill the vacancy, but the Ducks’ offense is tied so closely to Kelly that the transition may not go as well as Stanford’s did with David Shaw. UCLA’s trip to Eugene on Oct. 26 just became easier.

From a recruiting standpoint, Oregon already had the conference’s second-smallest class with 13 recruits. Other teams are already circling, with four-star athletes Tyrell and Tyree Robinson being the big prizes. Of note, both intend to play both football and basketball. (The Ducks’ class is currently ranked No. 44 on Rivals. Kelly’s past hauls — including his time as offensive coordinator — were ranked 13, 9, 13, 32, 19.)

Dang coaches are blowing me up Ohio state just offerd me and my twin

— Tyree Robinson (@HumbleDuck_2) January 16, 2013

Doesn’t matter whats happening as of now I’m a Duck an plan staying 1

— Tyree Robinson (@HumbleDuck_2) January 16, 2013

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