Ben Howland needs to do more than just cut ties with Reeves Nelson

Reeves Nelson is suspended again.

Or kicked off the team, depending on who you listen to.

"This continues a trend of very disappointing behavior by Reeves," Howland said in a statement announcing an indefinite suspension that was handed down to Nelson Tuesday afternoon for conduct unbecoming of a Bruin. "I personally have worked hard with him to illustrate the importance of the code of conduct for our student-athletes, as well as the ramifications for violating it. I am disappointed that he has continued to fall short of my expectations."

But if you listen to Tracy Pierson of Bruins Report Online, Nelson has already been kicked off the team. His report prompted the statement from Howland. Pierson, for what its worth, is as plugged in to the UCLA program as anyone.

If Nelson only is suspended, than Howland needs to do the right thing and kick Nelson off of the team. At this point, any talent that he has and any production that he provides is completely out weighed by the distraction that he is creating.

Its like when you've reached the point in a relationship with a significant other where, no matter what you two do, the day ends up in a fight. The constant bitterness never allows you to have any fun. At that point, its time to break it off.

And for Howland, its time to break off the relationship between UCLA and Nelson. Nelson was suspended twice already this season and then benched for the second half of UCLA's loss to Texas.

While he's at it, he should probably put Josh Smith on notice. That young man's weight is a problem. It keeps him off the floor and keeps him from being the player that he is capable of being. Nelson may be a distraction, but Smith is doing just as much damage to the team by ignoring the fact that he needs to lose weight.

Ben Howland has a lot to do if he wants to rebuild UCLA. The biggest need is probably patching up his relationship with AAU programs like the Cali Supreme and the Oakland Soldiers. Why do you think he had to hire an AAU coach from Atlanta to his staff? All his Southern California players come from Double Pump Elite -- and most of his kids are from the Pump-n-Run programs across the country, all run by the Pump Brothers -- and it should be obvious that talent isn't cutting it right now.

But for now, the least Howland can do is to try and get control of the players in his program. Until then, UCLA doesn't even look like a team that deserves a trip to the NIT.
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Jerime Anderson's arrest puts the finishing touches on the disastrous 2008 UCLA recruiting class

Jerime Anderson was arrested on Tuesday night and suspended indefinitely after being charged with grand theft in connection with a laptop being stolen.

"This is a disappointing and unfortunate situation for Jerime," said head coach Ben Howland in a statement on Wednesday. "We have a high standard and code of conduct that our student-athletes are expected to follow. He knows that he has made a huge mistake and that he has not represented himself, our program or UCLA in a manner that is required."

Anderson will miss, at the least, the team's opener against Loyola Marymount on November 11th, but just how long his suspension lasts in still up in the air. Anderson faces a felony charge and is currently out on $20,000 bail, which is a sure sign that this case is being taken seriously by all involved. But if you remember, Nikola Dragovic was arrested for felony assault in November of 2009 (the second time in the span of a year he was involved in an assault that required police involvement) but only missed one game.


So, like I said, how long Anderson is out and just how much more important Lazeric Jones is going to be this year is still unclear.

What we do know, however, is that the 2008 UCLA recruiting class can officially be termed a disaster.

Ben Howland left Pittsburgh for the West Coast in the spring of 2003, and in less than three years he had turned a UCLA program that needed an upset of then-No. 1 Arizona in the Pac-10 Tournament to crack double-digit wins into the powerhouse you expect in Westwood.

They won three straight regular season titles from 2006-2008, two Pac-10 Tournament titles in that span, and reached the Final Four each of those three seasons. The problem with that kind of success in this day and age of college hoops is that it requires having talented players, and when those talented players experience a lot of success at the collegiate level, they don't stick around too long. Seven players now play in the NBA off of those three UCLA teams. Five of them were drafted with collegiate eligibility remaining.

When you have that kind of talent leaving your program every year, bringing in recruits that will be able to contribute right away is a necessity for sustained success.

In 2008, everyone believed that was exactly what Ben Howland did by landing the No. 1 recruiting class in the country according to both Scout and Rivals. The class consisted of five-star recruits Jrue Holiday and J'Mison Morgan and four star recruits Drew Gordon, Jerime Anderson, and Malcolm Lee.

That group never came close to living up to their expectations. Holiday was the only member of the group to have a significant impact, starting as a freshman on a team that was in and out of the top 25 and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Holiday, who entered the draft after one year in college, has become a much better NBA player than he was in college.

The following season was tremendously disappointing for Bruin fans. UCLA struggled throughout the season as Lee and Anderson were unable to fill the void left by Darren Collison at the point guard. Gordon transferred to New Mexico in December of 2009 while Morgan transferred to Baylor after the season ended. The Bruins missed the NCAA Tournament.

This past season, UCLA did experience a resurgence of sorts, winning 23 games, finishing second in the Pac-10, and making the second round of the NCAA Tournament. But that resurgence wasn't the result of a breakout performance by the leftover members of that 2008 recruiting class. Lee had a successful season, averaging 13.1 ppg, but he continued to struggle to figure out just what position he played -- he shot 29.5% from three and averaged 2.0 apg and 1.7 t/o's. Anderson was worst, as he averaged just over 20 mpg and lost the starting point guard spot to Lazeric Jones.

This summer, Lee left school for the NBA (43rd pick) and Anderson was arrested for the theft of a laptop.

The 2008 class has now been on campus for three full seasons. They produced two NCAA Tournament trips (neither of which lasted to the second weekend), no Pac-10 championships and twice as many transfers as first round picks.

I think you know who to blame for UCLA's recent struggles.
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George Dohrmann has been on fire

George Dohrmann is single-handedly cleaning up college athletics.

Well, that might be an exaggeration, but if that's his goal he is well on his way.

Yesterday, Dohrmann's article on agents in college football hit the intrawebs and immediately made waves, clogging my twitter feed for a solid two hours. The article (which is required reading, by the way) essentially exposes what the interaction between players and agents is actually like, and how deeply rooted the issue is.

That article came out one week after his book, Play Their Hearts Out, was released. (Ed. Note: We will have more on the book once we finish it. We're currently half way through.) Play Their Hearts Out is the story of Joe Keller, an AAU coach from Southern California, and how he uses his players, specifically Demetrius Walker who was considered the best 12 year old in the country, for profit. Its a sickening and in-depth look into the world of grassroots basketball, but its not what we are here to discuss right now.

Dohrmann got deep into the youth basketball scene in LA, and Walker's story wasn't the only disturbing one he turned up. For starters, he highlighted a potential recruiting violation by Ohio State and CBS's lead color commentator Clark Kellogg:

Ohio State violated an NCAA rule pursuing Roberto [Nelson, now of Oregon State]: Former Ohio State player and CBS college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg called Bruce and lobbied on behalf of his alma mater. (As a former Ohio State player he was forbidden under NCAA guidelines from contacting recruits or their families.) "I heard that the missing piece to the puzzle was a kid in California," Kellogg told Bruce [Roberto's father].

That wasn't the only violation that Dohrmann exposed. He also caught UCLA head coach Ben Howland:

In certain months, coaches are allowed to call a recruit or his family only once. In one of these months, and after a UCLA coach had already spoken to Roberto, Howland called Bruce. "I didn't know it was him until I answered the phone because the number had a Santa Barbara area code," Bruce said. "Ben said he was up in Santa Barbara visiting people, and we talked about maybe getting together while he was in town." Howland had never called Bruce from a Santa Barbara number before. "I guess he knew that if used his UCLA phone, then people could find out he called me."

Neither of those allegations are going to get the NCAA's attention. Even if the NCAA was able to prove them -- which would be quite difficult to do -- they are minor, and potentially innocent, enough that neither would be worth the NCAA's time.

Perhaps the most damning exposure came at the very end of the book. Walker originally committed to USC and Tim Floyd before he wound up at Arizona State. It got so far that Walker was scheduled to sign a Letter of Intent to USC after his junior year. Quoted from the book:

"So what is that I am hearing about ou needing time to make a decison?" [Floyd] said to Demetrius.

"Well, I couldn't sleep last night, Coach, I was tossing and turning, and my gut feeling was that it just wouldn't be right to sign right now. I need some time to think."

"You've been committed to us for months," Floyd said. "Why are you having these feelings now?"

"I don't know, Coach. I don't know why I am having these funny feelings, but it's how I feel."

"I don't really have time for this," Floyd said. "There are other guys out there we can recruit. I don't have time to be waiting around for you."

"Well, that's your choice. I don't want you to sign anyone else right now. I'd like you to wait like two days, just give me some time to think."

Floyd accused Demetrius of wanting to look at other schools. Demetrius denied it, and then the conversation deteriorated.

"I see what kind of person you are," Floyd said. "You are a liar and you are not a man of your word. … I thought you were a player like OJ Mayo and DeMar DeRozan, not afraid of coming in and competing for a spot, but you'd rather be given a position instead of earning one."

"Coach, I'm not afraid of anybody."

"I'll tell you this: If any NBA teams interested in you come talk to me first, I am going to tell them who the real Demetrius Walker is."

Remember, that is Tim Floyd talking to a 17 year old kid. Kinda got a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach? Yeah, me too.

Maybe that's why things like this and this and this have been written about Tim Floyd over the years.

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UPDATE: Drew Gordon to transfer

UPDATE: The LA Times is reporting that the decision by Gordon to transfer was precipitated by Ben Howland's decision to suspend Gordon from practice for two days.


The hits keep on coming for UCLA.

First, they lost on national TV in the opener of the College Hoops Tip-Off marathon. Then they went 0-3 in the 76 Classic out in Anaheim, once again on national TV.

Today, the worst news of all.

Starting center Drew Gordon has left the team after six games. He will be transferring.

Drew Gordon never seemed to fit in well with Ben Howland's methodical style.
(photo credit: LIFE)

It was announced at Ben Howland's weekly news conference. The Fabulous Forum quoted him as saying "[t]his was not a spur-of-the-moment thing."

Howland and Gordon never really got on the same page. After losing to Villanova in the NCAA Tournament, Gordon had this to say:

In all honesty, I think he's going to have to change a couple of things. I think the mentality of the team next year is we don't work well in the half-court set. We're used to the run-and-gun. We're not programmed into slow-grinding it out there.

Is Ben Howland's conservative style of play wearing on his players?

The loss of Gordon, who was averaging 11.2 ppg and 5.3 rpg, is a crushing blow to UCLA. He was their best interior player and the only post presence with an elite level of strength and athleticism. The Bruins will be left with Nikola Dragovic, James Keefe, Anthony Stover, Reeves Nelson, and J'Mison Morgan inside.

Not exactly full of all-americans, now is it.

The worst news for UCLA fans is that the front line may not be the Bruins biggest problem.

They can't stop anyone. Their perimeter defenders cannot be the ball out of the paint. It has gotten so bad, that UCLA may end up playing zone.

Think about that. A Ben Howland team playing zone.

There will not be a lot good college basketball played in LA this year.
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Ben Howland fine after an appendectomy

UCLA head coach Ben Howland underwent an appendectomy yesterday, and according to reports he is resting comfortably at the UCLA medical center.

He expects to be recruiting again by the end of the weekend.

While getting cut open and having an organ, no matter how useless, removed is never an ideal situation, in the grand scheme of things appendectomies are pretty standard procedures. So if you are a UCLA fan, don't be worried as much as you are impressed.

Because despite the fact he was laid up in a hospital bed, Howland, who is one of the best recruiters in the game, still managed to find a way to get a word in edgewise regarding his school:

One of the very best things about being a coach or student-athlete at UCLA is if you need medical attention, you won't find any better place in the country than at the incomparable UCLA Medical Center. The medical staff and community at UCLA are simply the best and I'm so grateful to all of them for their professionalism and commitment to excellence.

And you wonder why he is consistently landing top 50 recruits and top 5 recruiting classes.

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UCLA withdraws offer to Kendall Williams

Over the past week, there has been a lot of negative talk about Josh Selby's decision to de-commit from Tennessee. Dana O'Neil even wrote a piece that came damn near criticizing recruits who change their minds.

Sometimes, it goes the other way as well.

Kendall Williams, a rising senior from Rancho Cucomunga Los Osos High School, committed to UCLA after a stellar freshman season. But he never quite developed into the player that Ben Howland thought he would turn into, and this past week Williams ended his commitment.

Kendall Williams committed to UCLA after his freshman season.
(photo credit: PE.com)

Now, the article does not specify exactly how the commitment ended. Ben Howland could have told Williams that he did not want the 6'3" PG anymore, or Williams could have figured out on his own that he was not talented enough to be the Bruin's PG of the future. Williams went on record saying that there are no hard feelings between him and Coach Howland. Howland was on the road during July recruiting some of the top PG's in the class of '10 (namely Ray McCallum of Detroit Country Day).

And its not like Williams will end up without a scholarship. Fellow Pac-10 schools Stanford and Cal (among others) are still recruiting Williams.

For the record, this isn't the first time Howland has parted ways with a committed recruit. Taylor King committed to UCLA after his freshman season at Mater Dei, but ended up going ot Duke under similar circumstances (maybe Kevin Love?).

But the belies the point. This is precisely why it is not a good idea to recruit kids that are that young. Boys grow and mature physically so much between the ages of 14-18. If a kid is a star when he is 14, you really don't know how he is going to develop.

Is he really that much more talented than his peers? Did he just happen to hit puberty and a growth spurt early? Will he still be as dominant when everyone else catches up with him in size and athleticism?

The other issue that arises is work ethic. If you are a recruit and you have yet to commit to a school, there is always going to be that motivation to improve. If you are getting letters from the SoCon, you want teams like East Carolina and Charlotte to take notice. Once those schools start sending coaches to games, you want ACC schools to notice. If NC State offers a scholarship, you want UNC and Duke to offer.

Once you commit to a school, it is only natural to feel a bit of relief, and the danger is that a kid can become a bit complacent, feeling that he has "made it". When you are 17 or 18 you should be mature enough to understand that in order to succeed at that level, it is going to take hard work.

But a 15 year old committed to UCLA?

When I was 15 I thought I was the man when I made varsity. The risk is that the recruit becomes too complacent, too cocky, and believes that he does not need to improve anymore.

I'm not saying that this is what happened to Williams, but you never know.

The best advice I could give any elite prospect is this: take your time. If the offers are there at 14, they will be there at 16 and 17.

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