Official UCLA Bruins thread

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11/22/03 update: USC thumped/stomped/trounced/kicked ™™™

you name it

Game wasn't close....and the first 2 USC possession of the ballgame, in which they cruised to TDs showed that it was going to be a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong day for us Bruins fans

but .... losses like this doesn't hurt as much.

It hurts....but when you know that your team is not as talented, has played subpar, has terrible offense, special teams, and slight above average defense, and you go up against #2 ranked team,

it's a no-brainer who's gonna win.

Oh well, there's always next year.

Now I know how Cubs fans feel --- 5 straight losses!

during my time at UCLA in the early 1990s, we won 4 straight!

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11/29/03: UCLA Bruins 87- Vermont 86

a great start (naturally) to the Ben Howland era in UCLA's opening game of the regular season vs Vermont (who made the NCAA tourney last year for the first time in their school history)

great defensive intensity by the Bruins, much more so than in recent years; but the offense is lacking.

UCLA fell behind by 11 in the first half, as they couldn't score outside of Bozeman and Thompson. Meanwhile, Coppenrath played like an NBA caliber player, hitting a ton of outside shots en route to career high 38 points.

but the bruin rallied from 10+ points in the second half, led by center Michael Fey, who had a tremendous game, with 20 points and 8 rebounds, both career highs.

it was a close game in the last 5 minutes, with both teams taking turns scoring baskets. Ryan Hollins of UCLA was fouled with 4 seconds left, made 1 of 2 shots

but, shockingly, Vermont grabbed the rebound, didn't call timeout, dribbled it down to 3-point line, and shot a trey, was fouled by Bozeman, but the ref didn't call the foul.

UCLA now 1-0

wooohoooo! lolol

next up = Riverside next week.

Kentucky lurks in the coming weeks - and this game will tell us how far we need to go to make the NCAA tourney!

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12/3/03 NCAA BB update: UCLA 84-70 over UC Riverside Highlanders

a GREAT game by Brian Morrison, the junior transfer from, of all places, N. Carolina! He scored 28 points, made six 3-pointers.

I didn't get a chance to see the game (it wasn't televised; and besides, I was at work)...

but, so far, we're 2-0 over teams we should beat Vermont and UCR

now comes the BIG BIG test: vs Kentucky in the John Wooden Classic this Saturday -- this game will tell us how far we are in our hopes of getting to NCAA Tourney

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12/4/03: well, the QB controversy is solved, as Matt Moore decided to transfer (possibly to Tennesssee)

so, that leaves Olson as the starter for next season.

how sad, Moore couldn't take the heat, and so he leaves

here's the link to the story

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...adlines-sports

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12/6/03: Kentucky 52, UCLA 50

While a loss is a loss, and there are no moral victories -- this was acceptable for me.

we started out the game HORRENDOUS!!

down 26-6 at one point in the first half, as we just couldn't handle the full-court pressure of the Wildcats, and we couldn't score when we were able to get a shot off.

But, we rebounded in the 2nd half to make it competitive against a #3 ranked team

Ben Howland is doing a GREAT job teaching gutty defensive play.

Now we need some offense

2-1 so far this season....and let's hope we keep improving

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Ben Howland played high school ball at Cerritos High School (Thats where i went), and my civics teacher, a friend of Howland, said that Ben always wanted to be associated with UCLA somehow. Its great to see him get his chance, and i think he'll do a mighty good job.

Edit: Spelling

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oh, definitely, Ben always wanted the job, and that's why he left Pitt, even though he told his Pitt recruits he would stay

once he found the UCLA job open, he sprung for it like a hungry tiger on red meat

wow, I didn't know Ben went to Cerritos High

I went to Bellflower high

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12/14/03 update: UCLA defeats Loyola-Marymount 69-66 in OT at Pauley.

I didn't get a chance to see it, since it wasn't televised,

so here's a report on the game from the LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...adlines-sports

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12/17/03 update: Gauchos of Santa Barbara beat my Bruins, 61-60

we couldn't rebound; and they were ferocious on the boards, resulting in 2-3 possessions every time down the court when they missed a shot

that was the gist of the game....and the reason they won

I am excited that TJ Cummings is now academically (hahahaha) eligible to play for the remainder of the season after getting good enough grades.

UCLA now 3-2

we shoulda won this game...

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12/22/03 update: UCLA beats #24-ranked Michigan St. 64-58

On a day of pomp and circumstance, as the basketball court in Pauley Pavilion was re-named "Nell and John Wooden Court", and 70+ former players of John Wooden attended the ceremony...

the current roster of Bruins made all proud by playing a tough hard game, and winning over a quality opponent.

Good defense, good set offense....it's looking like this Ben Howland is worth $1M a year!

The biggest problem for the Bruins is our free-throw shooting, as we shot 50% from the charity stripe; otherwise the score would be more lopsided.

Michigan St. has lost to Duke, Kentucky and UCLA - that's 32 championship titles combined! So, even though they are 4-5, they play quality opponents


UCLA now 4-2

Brian Morrison is expected to be out 2-3 weeks due to pulled hamstring; hopefully, MRI will not show a tear, otherwise, we are talking a few months.

TJ Cummings had a great game! I like his athleticism and scoring ability; hopefully, he keeps up his grades

The twin towers, 7-footers Hollins and Fey, are coming along slowly but gradually...the beauty is these 2 will be back for 1-2 more years.

things are looking good in Bruins-land!