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BREAKING NEWS
EXCLUSIVE: Coach Wooden To Co-Author Book
By the MaverickBruin.com Staff

The MaverickBruin.com staff has learned that, in a remarkable turn of events, legendary UCLA coach John Wooden is in talks to co-author a book to be released just in time for the holiday buying season.

Even more astounding, insiders report that the book will not focus solely on Coach Wooden's basketball career, but will provide never-before-divulged principles and homilies designed to help readers in all aspects of their life. Pals of the elderly but legendary coach suggest that the book may even reprint some of Coach Wooden's favorite poems and could even organize Coach Wooden's philosophy of life into some kind of geometric structure, such as an octagon or parallelogram, though the precise format is as yet undecided.

Though the book's co-author has not been identified, MaverickBruin.com has learned that it is likely to be either a former player on one of Coach Wooden's teams who no one has heard of in many years, or a sports journalist no longer working regularly for any publication.

MAVERICK'S CORNER
Quick Thoughts at the Midpoint of Pac-10 Play
By MaverickBruin
Publisher

With half of the Pac-10 schedule complete, the Bruins are in far better shape than anyone could have expected five weeks ago. Yet this is due to a lot of serendipity and one of the most unusual seasons in conference history. This is about the only season I can recall that the oft-repeated and rarely accurate cliche is actually true -- any team in the conference can beat any other on any given night. At the same time, the conference is so poor, top to bottom, that any team that really finds itself -- as the Bruins just might be doing as we speak -- could easily start to dominate the field.

Consider that UCLA is currently one game out of first place, tied for third in the conference with Arizona State. Had they managed to outlast Oregon on Thursday, they'd be tied for the Pac-10 lead. But if Mike Roll or Mustafa Abdul-Hamid miss their game-winning shots against California and Washington, the Bruins would be tied for Oregon State for last place.

Consider something else, too: in games where the Bruins played zone defense for a majority of the game, they are 4-1 in conference. And one would think the Bruins' new and surprisingly effective zone defense would be tailor-made to frustrate two of the teams that blew the Bruins out during the first half of conference play, Arizona and USC.

The Bruins must go 6-3 in the second half of the conference season to post a winning record and become NIT-eligible. (Or, they could go 5-4 and get to the Pac-10 tourney finals.) Three of those games seem like likely wins -- the Oregon schools and Stanford at Pauley. The rest (Cal at Pauley, Arizona trip, Washington trip, USC) all seem tough and all could be losses -- but all are winnable. This is truly a situation where the Bruins could finish Pac-10 play 13-5 (which would probably be good enough to win the conference) or 8-10. Either is possible and, at this point, either is equally likely. (By the way, if the Bruins win the Pac-10 regular season, they will make the NCAA tournament, regardless of what their RPI is. I guarantee it.)

The prediction here is that the Bruins do not win the Pac-10, but finish strong and with a winning record, enough to get into the NIT, where they will win a few more games and come close to (but fall painfully short of) a 20-win season. I expect them to finish 11-7 in the Pac-10, win a game in the Pac-10 tournament, and win two games in the NIT for a 19-17 finish -- disappoiniting, but at least not a losing season.

SWEEP OF THE WASHINGTON SCHOOLS
Are the Bruins Back? Let's Not Get Carried Away
By MaverickBruin
Publisher

The Bruins swept the Washington schools at Pauley Pavilion this past weekend -- beating Washington only on a last-second shot by former "preferred walk-on" Mustafa Abdul-Hamid -- and you'd think that the Bruins just got to the Final Four, with the way Bruin fans are carrying on.

The Bruins are back! This proves that the Bruins' struggles were never about lack of talent, only effort or coaching! The Bruins can now run the table in the Pac-10 and get to the NCAA tournament! Heck, if the Bruins win the rest of their games, the Pac-10 tournament, and the NCAA tournament, and SC has to forfeit its win over UCLA because, well, they're SC and that's what they do, the Bruins could win 30 games this season! And next season will be even better!

Whoa. Slow down, people.

Yes, the Bruins played better this past weekend than they have over any two-game stretch this season. Heck, over any single game this season. The Bruins played poorly at Cal and still won; they had one scintillating half against Arizona State and one poor one but survived; and didn't beat a decent nonconference team even one time. So the bar was set very low, and, yes, the Bruins exceeded it. It's difficult not to get excited and think about what could be.

But let's get real for a minute. Given how poorly the Pac-10 performed prior to the conference season, top to bottom , it was fairly predictable that the Bruins would have an easier time of it in conference play than out of it. But I am not sure that, given the opportunity to play the nonconference schedule over again starting today, the Bruins would do much better than the 5-7 record they accomplished. Maybe 7-5. But the Pac-10 does not have one top 25 team, and has only two teams (Arizona State and Cal) that have any real hope of making the NCAA tournament -- and both will probably lose in the first round.

And in that context, the Bruins' last-second victory over second-division Washington and reasonably easy win over second-division Washington State -- at home -- isn't all that impressive. Not only that, assuming that these two games foreshadow a quantum leap for the Bruins over the rest of the season ignores the maxim that fans so often forget -- bad and, even moreso, mediocre teams quite often win games that on paper that they shouldn't. It's their inability to do that consistently, due to lack of talent or other issues, that makes them mediocre or bad teams. Frankly, Washington is a team in free-fall and beating them only by 1 point at Pauley in any other season would be considered a bad sign, not a good one.

Nevertheless, the Washington weekend did reveal some things about this team and provide some hope for the future. A few things are becoming clearer now:

-- Chemistry. Put aside the results -- for the first time all season, the Bruins seem to be developing an identity and a certain chemistry. Drew Gordon quitting or getting booted (whichever version you prefer) was essential in this regard. Gordon was a cancer to the team's chemistry and his presence also prevented Reeves Nelson, who might as well be crowned a team captain at this point given that he has all but taken over the leadership role since none of the seniors seemed capable of doing so, from seeing enough time on the court. As a starter (or this past weekend, a "starter" after good-luck charm James Keefe sits down), Nelson's production has matched Gordon's -- actually exceeded it by some metrics -- but his contribution as a team leader can't be measured in the box score.

-- Injuries. It has become clear that the massive number of preseason injuries the Bruins suffered -- particularly Tyler Honeycutt's -- affected the development of the team. While I doubt the team could have ever developed any chemistry with Gordon in the mix (supposedly Gordon and Honeycutt hated one another), it is also true that the squad never had the opportunity to cohere given how few players were available for practice.

-- Reeves Nelson. We mentioned Nelson above, but he has been so important, he deserves his own bullet point. Nelson is on his way to being one of the most productive freshmen in UCLA history, including in games against top teams like Kansas, even as Tracy Pierson and Greg Hicks continue to denigrate him (even arguing that he should be benched in favor of Brendan Lane, who not coincidentally is one of the players they recommended to the UCLA staff and so have a vested interest in pimping), to protect their already-destroyed reputations as "scouts." Give it up, guys -- that ship has sailed. (Hilariously, the sad Pierson/Hicks team pathetically denigrate Nelson while continuing to claim that Jerime Anderson is having a good season statistically, defending his matador defense by citing how many steals he has. This could not be more disingenuous, considering that Josh Shipp had 43 steals last season and is tied for 6th all-time at UCLA in steals, but Pierson and Hicks literally did not go one week the last two seasons without attacking Shipp for his poor defense, neve rciting his steal numbers in his defense. Similarly, this season, Pierson and Hicks have lashed out at Nikola Dragovic at every opportunity this season -- clearly in an effort to protect Hicks' famous insistence that Dragovic lacked the ability to contribute in the Pac-10, which I Guess he now feels the need to defend at every opportunity -- but they have been strangely but tellingly silent as Dragovic has averaged 13.8 points, including nearly 50% from the field, 41.4% from three-point range, and 87.8% on free throws.

-- Adaptation. Contrary to the accusations that Ben Howland is stubborn, he proved this past weekend that he is not really stubborn -- just maybe a little slow to adapt. He finally committed to a zone defense, as most seasoned observers knew would be more effective than the disastrous man defense the Bruins employed for most of the season, and the results were apparent (and to his credit, he admitted he waited too long to accept that fact). The Washington schools had serious problems with the Bruins' zone defense, and you could almost see the light bulb go off on Howland's head this weekend -- I can be a good defensive coach not only by coaching the defense I know, but by coaching other defenses too.

Here is a wild prediction: Tyus Edney's ill-advised pass to Ed O'Bannon in the 2003 NCAA tournament game, which was intercepted, is what led Jim Harrick to tell Edney in the huddle in the 2005 NCAA tournament game against Missouri to take the ball the length of the cour and shoot -- don't pass. My prediction is that Howland's experience this season will lead to him playing a zone defense at a critical point about three seasons from now -- maybe when Josh Smith is a junior and Reeves Nelson is a senior? -- and thereby bringing UCLA its 12th national championship.

But for now, here's the reality. The current team is thin, lacking in upperclassmen talent, and still unable to seriously compete outside the historically weak Pac-10. Indeed, most likely, the Bruins will do no better than a split this weekend in Oregon, renewing the hand-wringing and criticism. The good news is that there literally is no good team in the Pac-10 this season, and any team that develops some chemistry and confidence could run the table. That team might as well be the Bruins.

USC 67, UCLA 46
"Hello, Thank You For Calling The Hotseat. Yes, Mr. Howland Is Here, Who May I Say Is Calling?"
By Captain Haggerty

It gets worse, and worse, and worse.

First, the near-loss to an NAIA team at Pauley.

Then, losing at Pauley to Cal State Fullerton, a team that has gone on to lose to Central Arkansas by 20 and Utah State by 23 and currently sports a record of 8-7 against typical mid-major or low-major opposition.

Then, finishing dead last in a Southern California tournament basically handpicked for the Bruins to run the table, including a ridiculously embarrassing 27-point loss to low-major Portland (a team that has turned out to be mediocre, by the way, and certainly no competition for Gonzaga), and a double-digit loss to Long Beach State, another mediocre mid-major that couldn't even beat the aforementioned Cal State Fullerton and is currently 8-10.

Next, blowout losses to Kansas at Pauley and Mississippi State at the Wooden Classic, gams that were not even competitive and could easily have been 50-point blowouts but the for the mercy of professional courtesy.

And then in conference, where professional courtesy largely goes out the window, a 14-point home loss to an Arizona team destined for the bottom half of the Pac-10 (a margin that could have been much worse), and now, a 21-point beating from a USC team that just a few months ago, Bruin fans were ridiculing for their lack of talent, and only a week ago were told they could not participate in post-season play, and, therefore, came to play with the limited fire and passion that one would imagine such news would engender, but luckily came across a Bruin team with such historically remarkable fire and passion that, by comparison, the USC team seemed determined, aggressive, and spirited, and thereby dominated the horrific game.

I dare any Bruin or Trojan fan to watch today's game back-to-back with any of the UCLA-USC games from, say, the last 20 years -- or probably ever -- to find a worse rivalry game. The USC players were barely trying, yet their level of effort was sufficient to humiliate their archrival on said archrival's home court and would be described as "awesome" by comparison to their opponents, whose level of commitment I can only describe as anti-effort.

Until this season, the worst Bruin team in anyone's memory was the 2002-03 team that went 10-19. This team might end up with a better record (or not), but only because the Pac-10 is as awful as it has ever been (at least since it has been called the Pac-10). Steve Lavin's 2002-03 performance -- that everyone agreed was reason enough to fire him despite five Sweet Sixteens in six seasons (and it was) -- included horrifying 35- and 36-point losses to then-power Arizona, and a 31-point loss to Oregon, but otherwise, no loss worse than 17 points (to Kansas). Lavin's team also improved at the end of the season, even beating #1 Arizona in the Pac-10 tournament. By contrast, it is fair to say that this year's Bruin team has a higher probability of quitting the program en passe in protest than of finishing this season on a high note. Each week, it seems, brings more and more embarrassment and diminishment of effort.

And in retrospect, Lavin left successor Ben Howland with a foundation of future NBA players players such as Cedric Bozeman, Dijon Thompson, Ryan Hollins, and recruit Trevor Ariza that played significant roles in Howland's early success. Howland would leave his successor no such foundaton, were he to resign after this season -- and there is no indication that he will do so, and of course Dan Guerrero, who kept Karl Dorrell for years beyond it becoming apparent that a change was needed, won't either.

What has gone wrong?

Pretty much everything.

West Coast basketball is in a shambles. A team stocked with the best West Coast talent available would not be a signifcant player on the national scene. Yet even in that context, UCLA's recruiting evaluations have been horrible, and the Bruins' roster balance is a nightmare, leaving the Bruins with a roster that is in the bottom half of the Pac-10 in terms of the team being put on the floor. And the combine that with the obvious conclusion that Howland has lost this team, as evidenced by their negative attitudes and almost intentional listlessness, and what do you get? Maybe the worst program in the Pac-10, going forward.

Of course, Howland is not going to be fired for awhile, as it takes some time for current performance to trump reputation. And perhaps Howland casn turn this fisaco around, though it is difficult to see how unless Josh Smith is Kevin Love, Tyler Lamb is Arron Afflalo, and Lazeric Jones is Jordan Farmar. But realistically, the only turnaround artist who could fix this world-class mess is ... well, the old Ben Howland who turned around Northern Arizona, and Pitt, and UCLA, many years ago -- younger then, hungrier then, perhaps less exposed. But replacing a coach with a former version of himself is not only impossible, it might even violate NCAA rules. So for the foreseeable future, we're stuck with the current version of Ben Howland, who for reasons perhaps we will only learn many years from now, is not the coach he once was. Today's version of Ben Howland may not even be the coach Steve Lavin was.

UCLA 72, ARIZONA STATE 70
Bruins Shoots Lights Out, Get Outcoached, Still Win
By Captain Haggerty
Staff Writer

Herb Sendek cemented his status as the Pac-10's best game coach today when he almost single-handedly stole his Arizona State team a road victory over a UCLA team uncharacteristically shooting the lights out. Sendek's evil plot might have worked, too, but for an equally uncharacteristic stellar defensive play by meddling Bruin point guard Jerime Anderson.

It was yet another instance of Ben Howland getting outcoached by Sendek. On the plus side, though, Howland notched a Pac-10 win, was somewhat vindicated by Nikola Dragovic's stellar shooting, and proved that he may not want to, but he can, teach a zone defense.

On the post-game show, Don MacLean noted that it was a great college basketball game. That is exactly what it was. And in the first half, there was reason for optimism about the Bruins' "second season," their Pac-10 schedule. Maybe.

The Bruins exhibited hustle, and showed some skill and versatility in their half-court offense, often finding cutters and holding onto the ball. After stumbling to a 10-4 deficit early, during which ASU scored at will againast the Bruins' typically porous man defense, the Bruins switched to the Howland Zone, which as debuted today apparently involves at least as much effort as the Howland Man and is much more effective, dominated the rest of the first half. Much of that was due to Nikola Dragovic being on fire, hitting five threes (including one on which he was fouled and hit the free throw). Dragovic single-handedly kept the Bruins in the game with his shooting, and for the second straight year, made fools of the always off-target pundits who apparently gain subscriptions by dogging Dragovic and last year Josh Shipp while extolling the virtues of huge recruiting mistakes such as Jerime Anderson and James Keefe. Is it any surprise that they touted Anderson and Keefe to their flock of devotees while dismissing Shipp and Dragovic? For those still spendign their money to subscribe, look for some sort of bizarre explanation of how Dragovic was actually not helpful today, despite his 23 points including 6-8 from three point range. Maybe they wil focus on his three rebounds, or claim that he was frequently out of position on defense or something. Regardless, ignore such self-serving spin. Without Dragovic, UCLA loses this game by double digits.

In fact, arguably (and unfortunately), much of this game might well have been somewhat of an aberration. Because truth be told, if Dragovic misses the five threes in the first half that he made -- as he has done much of the season -- the Bruins go into halftime down 4, not up 11. And obviously, Dragovic is not going to go 5-5 from three in too many games this season. So his shooting was a gift that may not duplicate itself in too many more games this season.

Which leads us to the Herb Sendek issue. Last season, I felt that Sendek clearly outcoached Ben Howland in willing ASU to two wins over the Bruins. This year the playing field is different, as both teams lost a lot of talent, but Sendek almost did the same in this game. The Bruins led by 11 at halftime and at the start of the second half, the Bruins dominated play, especially defensively, and extended their lead to 16. But then Sendek did something remarkable. He benched his senior starting point guard Derek Glasser -- who had not been especially effective but hadn't done anything to deserve a benching -- for over ten minutes. At first, I asusmed Sendek was just giving Glasser a quick breather, but it became apparent that Sendek recognized the lack of athleticism of UCLA's perimeter players and knew he could exploit it. He stacked his backcourt with quicker players and told them to penetrate and create. The results were catastrophic for the Bruins, as ASU easily cut into the Bruin lead while Glasser, his family still cheering from the sidelines, rusted on the bench. It was a brilliant move by Sendek, which almost changed the outcome of the game, which was on its way to becoming a blowout.

The win was saved by Nikola Dragovic's shooting and by Reeves Nelson's enormous hustle. Conventional reporting will focus on Jerime Anderson blocking ASU's final desperation shot, but really, the game was won, and the future of this Bruin team was epitomized by, Nelson's play midway through the second half. While James Keefe was, as usual, protecting his injured shoulder, Nelson was a wildman underneath, poking, pushing, muscling, scheming, prodding, and just finally willing himself toward an offensive rebound to the point that he drew a foul from ASU. Nelson finished with 10 points and 6 boards in 32 minutes but he is clearly becoming a leader on this team and its inconceivable he will be out of the starting lineup for the next four years. He may not go onto the NBA but he will almost certainly go onto some kind of absolute badass career in whatever field he chooses in which lots of people will need to get out of his way, and they might be advised to start doing so now.

ALICE'S CORNER
Perspective On Delaware State Game From A Four-Year-Old

By "Alice" (a pseudonym)
Staff Writer

[The following article was dictated by our new staff writer, four-year-old Alice, after attending the game with her dad. Alice would like to hear feedback from her article on the MaverickBruin.com message board.]

ALICE’S DAY AT THE BASKETBALL GAME WITH DADDY

We went to the basketball game with Daddy and we saw Grandpa Mike there and Uncle Roy. We had lots of fun and I kind of got a teeny tiny bit bored and I went potty lots of times and lots of them get hurt sometimes. I loved the basketball game because it’s kind of boring and I don’t like them getting hurt but I like them getting hurt because I get hurt sometimes.

I went to Apple Pan before the game and I stood near the wall and then we sat down and then we ordered our food and I got 7-Up and I had an egg salad sandwich and we had French fries and it was really yummy. And I came home from the game and I went on the freeway to get home because there is no way to go home without getting on the freeway. When we got home Daddy took the dog for a walk and I’m almost five. And I had lots of time with Daddy and I had lots of fun at the game. After Mommy got home from a party with my sister -- who is two and almost two-and-a-half and we have lots of fun together playing – we sorted beads. Then I asked Daddy if he wanted to sort beads after I went potty, the end.

UCLA 66, DELAWARE STATE 49
A Good Day For Bruin Hoops - JC Guard Lazeric Jones Commits
By MaverickBruin
Publisher

Maybe a win over Delaware State is not particularly meaningful, but given the bleak situation in which the UCLA basketball program finds itself, and in which it probabvly will remain for some time to come, we've reached the point where we need to just take it day by day. And today was a good day for the program.

Not just because the Bruins cruised to their fifth win to move to 5-7 to close out their preseason schedule, giving them an outside chance at a winning record and NIT berth, which would be a pretty encouraging outcome of the season considering the way things looked a few weeks ago.

And not just because freshmen Reeves Nelson and Tyler Honeycutt played excellent games, and Brendan Lane added some punch off the bench, suggesting that the Bruins' freshman class may turn out to be Ben Howland's best recruiting class since the 2005 class that brought in Darren Collison, Mike Roll, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, and Alfred Aboya. (Roll, by the way, picked the right time to have his worst game of the season, scoring 2 points and seeming out of rhythm all game.)

But also because the Bruins got an oral commitment from junior college point guard Lazeric Jones -- a story broken (to give credit where it is due) by the BruinBlitz website run by Bruin insider Rick Kimbrel -- shoring up for next season what remains the Bruins' weakest position, as Jerime Anderson (despite a few promising moments) had yet another subpar game and Malcolm Lee didn't perform much better in about 10 minutes playing the point.

Coupling Jones' commitment with what is likely to be another oral commitment shortly from Compton's Deonte Burton, and the prior commitment from Mater Dei's Tyler Lamb, the Bruins' backcourt will look completely different next season. Expect Lee to turn pro, Jones to man the point, Lamb the two guard position, with Burton and Anderson (if he's still around) coming off the bench. The Bruins may even add yet another guard, if Ray McCallum or Trey Ziegler are still interested (and the Bruins absolutely need more guards). Honeycutt, Lane, Nelson, incoming freshman Josh Smith, and either Mike Moser (who looked awful and psychologically defeated in two minutes of play against Delaware State), Anthony Stover (who may or may not ever suit up for UCLA) or possibly another frontcourt recruit (because it is likely that overmatched Bobo Morgan will also transfer, either by his choice or Howland's) will man a much-improved frontcourt. And that roster will hopefully be good enough to get the Bruins back to the NCAA tournament in 2010-11 and, with more attrition and new blood, to a legitimate place in the national college basketball conversation in 2011-12, and certainly by 2012-13, whern the new Pauley Pavilion opens.

So for all those reasons, it was a good day for Bruin basketball. It doesn't change much for this season's outlook, and I doubt the Bruins will be able to win the 11 Pac-10 games now necessary to qualify for a Pac-10 berth. But it is starting to look like the time to buy UCLA stock was about three weeks ago.

BREAKING NEWS
Spat Between Internet Scouts Threatens Bruin Unity; Bruin Fans Urged To Wear Blue Until Further Notice
By MaverickBruin
Publisher

A long-simmering controversy between basketball scouts Clark "On The Mark" Francis, on the one hand, and Tracy Pierson and Greg Hicks of Bruin Report Online on the other, has veered out of control, with Francis the latest to state his position, which is available on his website, hoopscooponline.com and has been reprinted in a number of other Bruin internet outlets, but Mr. Francis has been kind enough to let him reprint his position here (which of course is not the position of MaverickBruin.com and we take no responsibility for its content -- we are publishing it for its newsworthiness to Bruin internet fans and Mr. Pierson ad Mr. Hicks are welcome to respond and we will publish their views with equal prominence):

It really is like the blind leading the blind. We're talking about Greg Hicks and Tracy Pierson, who publish the BruinReportOnline.com, which is a web site that covers UCLA sports.

If you recall, these are the geniuses who ranked Lee Cummard over Aaron Afflalo and Quentin Thomas over Jordan Farmar, thought Jerime Anderson was a better prospect than Brandon Jennings, had Anderson ranked higher than Malcolm Lee, thought Anthony Stover was a high Division I prospect, have never given 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA and 6'8 Jr DeAndre Daniels from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA their just due, and think UCLA should offer a scholarship to 6'1 Jr Gary Bell from Kent (Kentridge) WA.

We bring this up, because earlier this week Greg Hicks wrote the following on his web site: "One thing people need to keep in mind is that Anderson was a very good prospect. There's a reason that every scout with a clue (not to mention numerous coaches across the country) liked him so much out of high school. That he hasn't developed into the player that everyone thought he would be is on him and the UCLA staff. You don't see many top prospects that are worse in their sophomore year of college than they were as high school seniors. Whether Anderson can recover and fulfill the promise that he once showed remains to be seen."

First of all, I would like to point out that I have always maintained that Anderson was overrated and that he was never good enough to be more than a good role player for the Bruins. Second, I have stood the test of time in the business (I've been publishing the HOOP SCOOP for almost 27 years). I also have been the recruiting analyst for Basketball Times, which is the top monthly basketball publication in the nation, for over 20 years, am a member of the McDonald's All-American Selection Committee, and have been recognized by numerous publications, including Sports Illustrated, as one of the foremost authorities on high school basketball in the United States.

So obviously when Hicks implies that I didn't have a clue about how good Anderson was in high school, he's doesn't know what he's talking about. As a matter of fact, after watching Anderson score nine points in the semi-finals and 16 points in the Silver Division Championship Game at the Double Pump Best of the Summer High School Boy's Basketball Tournament at Cal State Dominquez Hills in Carson, CA on July 31, 2007, I told Hicks that I thought he was right about having to watch Anderson play in his high school setting to appreciate him. And this is important, because Anderson was a soft Orange County player who at the time would have been a good fit for a school in the Western Athletic/Mountain West Conference or the mid-major level.

In other words, the proof of the budding in the eating, as Hicks is clearly as out to lunch with his evaluations as he is with regards to the way he perceives his peers. Even more offensive is the fact that he tends to blame everybody but himself for the fact that Anderson has turned out to be a total bust. We're talking about a player who is currently averaging 5.8 ppg, 3.8 apg, and 2.5 spg on a 3-7 team that has already lost games to schools like Cal State-Fullerton, Portland, and Long Beach State.

On the other hand, UCLA head coach Ben Howland has guided the Bruins to three NCAA Final Four appearances in the last four years, is recognized as one of the top 10 head coaches in the game today by the HOOP SCOOP, and is second to none in terms of X's and O's, game preparation, getting the most out of his players, and successfully putting freshmen and sophomores into the NBA.

And Hicks' peers in the business aren't the only ones that he appears to have contempt for, as he accuses his readers of being clueless idiots. And, if you don't believe me, just check out some of this quotes about Anderson after he had three points, two rebounds, three assists, three turnovers, two steals, 1-11 field goals, 0-3 3-pointers, and 1-3 free throws in UCLA's opening season loss to Cal State-Fullerton. "Jerime Anderson having a bad game in his first college start didn't change the fact that there are a bunch of lawyers, doctors and accountants on this board that need to be reminded they're not experts in the field of basketball. As I said originally, know your role. Buy your ticket, eat your nachos, and do the eight-clap."

As unbelievable as it might seem, this is what Hicks repeatedly is saying to the people who subscribe to his web site. In sharp contrast to Hicks, I don't think this is rocket science or brain surgery. I also never cease to be amazed at the knowledge and perspective of the avid college basketball fan. I also believe in the importance of debate and seeking of insight of people who have different opinions.

However, Hicks and Pierson run the BruinReportOnline.com like two-bit dictators in some small South American country, whereby, they talk down to their audience and immediately erase any posting from their site that they don't like or don't agree with. Not only do I think this is egregious, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for the knowledge and passion that the fans in our reading audience have and am often amazed at the insight and prospective that they provide to the HOOP SCOOP.

We will continue to cover this breaking story as events unfold. We also invite Mr. Pierson and Mr. Hicks to email us at maverickbruin.com with their side of the story and we will print it here. We also ask Mr. Pierson and Mr. Hicks to sit down with us for a full-length interview so we can explore all of the aspects of this developing and multi-faceted story.

Meanwhile, below is the first of a new series of Blindo cartoons entitled "Blindo the Website Operator" which hopefully can help us all chuckle at this increasingly silly situation.

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
For the holiday season, MaverickBruin.com is reprinting an article it first published in the spring of 2005. In light of recent events, the article contains fascinating warnings about trhe fleeting nature of college basketball success and reinforces MaverickBruin.com's status as the most insightful UCLA basketball website in history. Enjoy!

MAVERICK'S CORNER
Rebuilding 101: Now The Hard Part

Copyright ©2005 MaverickBruin

Ben Howland has done a tremendous job taking the first big steps toward rebuilding the UCLA basketball program from the wreckage left by that subhuman monster Steve Lavin. (Just kidding, Steve.) (Or am I?)

Now the hard part begins. To paraphrase Bill Walton, now all we want is more. Much, much more.

The First Step

Rebuilding a college athletic program that the previous coach has run into the ground is like starting a jiu jitsu match “in the guard.” You start with a tremendous disadvantage – with your “opponent” broadly defined as all of the programs in the country that have been performing than you, who want nothing more than to keep you in the guard and helpless. And they have all the leverage.

The whispering campaign begins immediately. Recruits are told that your program is yesterday’s news. It’s been bad for years and is only getting worse. Nothing can save it, not even you and your glittering reputation. You’re walking into a hopeless situation. It will take years to rebuild, if it ever happens at all, which it probably won’t. Remember Bill Frieder? No? Eddie Payne? Yeah, few do – precisely the point. Why would a talented kid want to be stuck in a rebuilding project for years when he can go to the Final Four as a freshman – he’s the missing piece of their puzzle, see – then straight to the League?

Seriously, why would he? It’s a compelling argument. So how does one overcome it? Well, you have a few arguments at your disposal to try to win these kids over. For one thing, you’re fresh and different. You are the new kid on the block, and everyone’s fascinated by you. You had plenty of success at your prior job and you’re upwardly mobile in a cutthroat profession, so you’re the flavor of the month and everyone wants at least a taste. You can get into a few kids’ homes where your predecessor couldn’t for just this reason.

And in your first couple of seasons, you have a honeymoon. You have an opportunity to coach up the existing roster of players your predecessor left for you, improve on his record, and thereby help cement the reputation that got you this job in the first place, and start to attract a higher caliber of player by generating the image of a program on the rise.

It also helps to have a track record, combined with a program that has a tradition of success. If you’re Rick Pitino at Louisville, or you’re Roy Williams at North Carolina, you’re going to have a much better opportunity to quickly generate the momentum you need to dig out of the hole your predecessor dug for you than if you’re, say, Rob Evans at Arizona State. Or Mike Montgomery at Stanford. Or Ben Howland at Northern Arizona. Or Ben Howland at Pitt.

So you have a shot, a glimmer of hope. But if you don’t get yourself out of the guard quickly, you’ll soon be exhausted by the effort. And it only takes a couple of years of subpar results on the court and in recruiting for your competitors’ whispers to become conventional wisdom. You’re in over your head. Maybe you could coach midmajor talent, but you can’t relate to the type of player needed to compete at this new job. Your previous success was a fluke. You’re style doesn’t work in this conference. You’re stubborn, resistant to change. You’re yesterday’s news.

Heck, Ben Howland came very close to this very result. Imagine if Ben Howland had struck out on Albert Aboya and Ryan Wright this recruiting season. Imagine further that the Bruins lost four of the games this season in which, as it happened, they eked out close wins. Their record might have been 14-14, they wouldn’t even have qualified for the NIT, and next season’s roster wouldn’t look very much improved or any deeper. Is there any doubt that, in that context, Howland’s job performance thus far would be viewed, at least by a large proportion of Bruin fans and the media in general, as much more questionable? That next season’s expectations would be closer to “let’s at least get to the NIT” than the Sweet 16? And that continued defenses of Howland would start to sound increasingly like excuses?

It’s not that farfetched a scenario, and it illustrates how difficult it is just to get yourself out of that damned proverbial guard. Howland has done that, and it’s an accomplishment that deserves praise.

The Next Step

But the next step isn’t any easier. Ask Bob Bender, who couldn’t get it done. Ask Henry Bibby, who couldn’t get it done. Ask Rob Evans and Ben Braun, who aren’t getting it done. Ask Jay John and Lorenzo Romar, who are doing outstanding jobs so far but will soon be facing the same pressure as Howland in less prestigious settings.

The next step, having dug out of your hole, is getting your key opponents into one. It’s not enough to just be competitive. You need to start administering beatdowns, and beatdowns a’plenty. The way Lute Olson did at Arizona, or Mike Montgomery did at Stanford.

The road to becoming that kind of big dog is fraught with perils. All sorts of things can happen that will derail your progress and jumpstart new themes from the media and your competitors:

Maybe some of the players who were recruited by your predecessor rebel a little (“he can’t communicate with the kids”).

Maybe you have to exercise some discipline and remove some players from practice (“he’s lost control of the program”) or the team (“he’s running players off the team”).

Maybe you lose a recruiting battle for some local hotshot (“he can’t even keep the kids in his own backyard”) or for the highly-regarded son of a famous alumnus (“even Famous Alumnus is sending his kid somewhere else – what does that tell you?”).

Even if you manage to make the NCAA Tournament, you had better not lose to a lower-seeded team, or in the first round, or in a blowout to anyone, or suddenly you’re “overrated” and a “choker” who’s been “outcoached” and “exposed.” And God forbid you lose your composure on the sidelines, or in an interview – now you’re “out of control” and maybe even “losing it” or going “the Leonard Tose route.” Heck, even if you don’t lose your composure, simply explaining why you lost the game (“our big men really didn’t get the job done on the boards”) may infuriate your fan base, who will displace their anger over the loss by accusing you of “blaming the players,” “refusing to take responsibility,” and “refusing to admit your own mistakes.” If you decide to avoid this problem by not talking to the media after a loss, these same fans will demand to know why you “didn’t do the post-game show.”

And suddenly, all that momentum you thought you had built up is gone, in an instant. You’re exhausted. People who used to support you are now against you. And you keep trying to recreate that magic moment where everything was fresh and new and all things seemed possible, but it’s like trying to fall back asleep into that dream you were enjoying until the baby woke you up. It ain’t happening.

This is where Ben Howland is now. He’s done a masterful job getting out of the guard. He’s on his feet and the crowd is behind him. His opponents are starting to get rattled. He’s keeping his momentum in recruiting and on the court, and the real insiders, the people who know and the fans who live and die with every game, are starting to get really, really excited.

But ask Bob Bender what that will get you.

Howland still has a long, long way to go, there are plenty of competitors wishing him only ill, and there is a minefield of potential momentum-busters everywhere he looks.

One example – before this season started, after Howland had missed on a few high-profile recruits and it looked like he might really strike out in his second season, some strange rumors began to circulate. I won’t repeat them here, and I have no idea if they were true or false (though I suspect they were false), but they came one right after the other and they seemed designed to maliciously smear Howland as a crass, boorish, profane, offensive, out-of-touch sexist. The sketchy and anonymous rumors disappeared as soon as Howland landed a solid (and probably highly underrated) 2005 recruiting class. But for a brief moment, these whispers caused some died-in-the-wool UCLA fans to question whether perhaps one of Howland’s departed assistant coaches really orchestrated the basketball renaissances at Pitt and Northern Arizona, and whether Howland ought not be kept as far away from recruits as possible, lest his lack of etiquette and social skills destroy the program.

Regardless of truth or falsity, the anti-Howland whispering campaign would have assumed a whole different momentum, if the 2005 recruiting class had turned out just a little differently. Some percentage of Bruin fans would turn on Howland. Competitors would use the anonymous rumors against Howland (maybe they still will). Maybe a few young minds would be swayed and recruiting would suffer some.

And that’s just one example of the minefield that lies ahead. What if the Bruins have a great regular season next year, but lose in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament and the NCAA tournament again? While Rick Pitino goes to a second consecutive Final Four? You can imagine endless, quite realistic scenarios where a confluence of hysterical and fair-weather UCLA fans, a clueless media looking for an angle, and competitors looking to prevent a Bruin renaissance results in yet another caricature of yet another beleaguered and sputtering UCLA coach.

So Howland has his work cut out for him. Fortunately, from what we have seen thus far, and as his track record at Northern Arizona and Pitt attest, he is in every way up to the task.

Just don’t expect that it’s going to be easy.

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