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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B.I.A.H Not Top Ten

Every week, a plethora of writers, publications, media outlets and bloggers issue their Top-25 rankings for the past seven days worth of action. A majority of the time, everybody has virtually same opinion of all the teams, save a few upsets here or there.

If you want to find this week's top-25 rankings, you've come to the wrong place.

Here you will find our rankings for the 10 worst team performances of the week. This list isn't just home to the winless mid-major bottom-feeders. No, here you will find the biggest underachievers, slumpers and teams in a funk. We'll provide detail on the worst weekly performers, and the teams that just plain suck. Now, there will be teams on this list that are better than teams not on this list. But come on people, we are trying to be creative, just work with us here.

After the jump, you will find our list of the ten most screwed-up teams in the country. It's going to get ugly.

1. Boston College (2-3)

The Eagles Are woefully bad. Sure they have nine freshman on the roster, and they didn't return any real production from last year's squad.. But their two wins have come against New Hampshire (by 3) and UC-Riverside (In overtime by 4). Their three losses have come to Holy Cross, UMass and Saint Louis, by a combine 69 points. Even the worst BCS-conference team should be able avoid getting smacked by Holy Cross by 22-points. According to KenPom, the Eagles are the worst BCS-conference team in the country. the Eagles look like a team that may not win a single ACC game this season. In fact, they look like a team that might lose to North Carolina by triple-digits.


2. UCLA (1-4)

Where, oh where to begin. Well, first, they have yet to log a win against a D-I opponent. They sport ugly, double-digit losses to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee. The team's best player, Reeves Nelson, was suspended for three days because of attitude problems. A day after his suspension was lifted, he missed the team flight to Hawaii. To follow this up, Ben Howland benched Nelson for just one half.

Then there is Josh Smith, the team's massive center. The 310lb-behemoth refuses to lose weight and work on his endurance, and has only logged 20+ minutes in two games. Plus the Bruins are the worst team in the country in defending the 3-pointer, with their opponents making 61% of their shots from behind the arc. If things weren't already bizarre-enough, Travis Wear injured his foot while on a snorkeling trip over the weekend. Yup, that's right, he injured his foot while snorkeling. This team is toast.


3. Utah (1-4)

I often struggle to understand why exactly the Pac-12 decided to bring in Utah. They stink at football and they are absolutely dreadful at basketball. The Utes have lost five straight since their first and only win of the season, against non-DI San Diego Christian who they only beat by 3-points. Sure, you could argue that all the teams they lost to (Boise State by 21, Montana State by 6, 28 to Harvard, UMass by 14, and UNC-Ashville by 22) are better than people expected. But still, all five of those losses came to mid and low major schools. This team probably won't win a single conference game, which says a lot since the Pac-12 is in such a state of disarray already.


4. Notre Dame (4-2)

Nobody expected Notre Dame to be great this season. Sure, Tim Abromaitis would be an All-Conference player, and they have some quality players, but nobody thought they would be world-beaters. But I don't think anybody thought they would go out and get run off the floor by Missouri. A loss to Missouri isn't bad, but a 29-point loss isn't exactly good either. Then they followed that up with a ugly four point loss to a not-so-good Georgia team.

But the biggest blow came during practice last week, when Abromaitis tore his ACL, and will miss the rest of the season. This team looks to be on it's last legs.


5. Cincinnati (3-2)

The Bearcats were predicted to be one of the best teams in the Big East. Their non-conference schedule is riddled with cupcakes and this was supposed to set them up to enter the Big East conference season with very few blemishes on their record. But that's before they lost in the upset of the year to Presbyterian, a school that has been in Divison-I for less than five years. The Bearcats blew a 21-point led en route to a humiliation loss to the Blue Hose. But then they followed that up with an overtime loss to Marshall, the only opponent that could have provided the program with a good non-conference win. (Ed. Note: Other than Xavier, obviously. Whoops.)


6. Hawaii (2-2)

Maybe this was my fault. I was pretty sure Hawaii had the talent, skill, and experience to become the best team in the WAC. But through the first four games, they have looked more like a middling mid-major than the conference powerhouse I expected them to be. Not many teams in the country allow their opponents to shoot more foul shots than the Warriors. Their opponents are currently shooting 79% against them. The 19-point loss to Gonzaga on a "neutral court" in Canada is one thing, but losing to Eastern Washington by 15 at home isn't.


7. South Carolina (2-4)

There is only one BCS-conference team with worse 3-point defense than South Carolina, and that team is ranked #2 on this very list. The bottom of the SEC is pretty bad, but I'm positive that LSU and Auburn are going to be better than the 'Cocks. How on earth Darrin Horne still has a job is beyond me, but he probably has to write quarterly checks to Devan Downey.

Two of SC's losses have been to Elon and Tennessee State. Woof. SC's wins have come against Mississippi Valley State and Western Carolina. Double-woof. The 'Cocks leading scorer averages just 11.8-ppg and is the only player on the team to average double-digits. Triple-woof.


8. Grambling State (0-5)

The SWAC is not a good place to be in mid-November and early-December. All ten teams are below .500 and Grambling State is yet to taste victory. Sure, the university is making money from these "guarantee games" but the Tigers have played at home just once, and they won't play another home game until 2012. The Tigers have lost all five games by a combined 178-points, or roughly 36-ppg. But on the plus side, they did lose three consecutive games by 30-points. That's pretty cool, right? But seriously, their leading scorer is averaging 7.8-ppg. That's brutal.


9. UAB (1-4)

The Blazers were picked to finish in the top half of the C-USA this season. But after five games, I see a team that looks like they won't win a single conference game. Sure, Cameron Moore
is averaging a double-double per contest, and Ovie Soko is just shy of averaging a double-double as well.

But, I mean, the Blazers are averaging just eight rebounds per game. Just eight. That's deplorable. Did it ever occur to Mike Davis that he might want to find a successor to all-conference point guard Aaron Johnson? Plus, the Blazers lost to UT-Martin, whose only win was against a non-DI school.


10. Towson (0-5)

The Tigers are losing by roughly 28-ppg. In fact, they've lost two games by exactly 46-points each. On top of that, the Tigers are averaging just seven assists a game. Only four players are averaging more than five points per game. Pat Skerry, the new Towson head coach has a lot of work ahead of him.







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LMU kicks off the season with an upset of UCLA

UCLA once again entered the season with a fair amount of hype and expectations, but as we have become accustomed to since UCLA's last Final Four in 2008, the Bruins disappointed.

Ben Howland's club collapsed against a hot-shooting Loyola Marymount team, losing 69-58 to a team that was missing their most talented player. Drew Viney, a forward that averaged 17.2 ppg last season, is out until December with a foot injury.

But before I get into the game, we need to address the Josh Smith situation.

UCLA's big-boned big man managed just five points on 2-4 shooting and four rebound in 16 minutes. After the game, he tweeted out "Just lost to some straight bums lol...". He's since deleted the tweet, but I captured it in all its glory for you right here.


This isn't the first time that we've discussed Smith's maturity issues, but it is becoming abundantly clear that he didn't grow up during the offseason. He looks even bigger than he was last year, making a UCLA jersey that's baggy on the rest of his teammates look like Under Armour. He's also in poorer shape. The ironic part about Smith calling an opponent a "bum" is that, until he decides to shed the 30 or 40 extra pounds he's carrying, the rest of the country will be referring to him as a "bum".

Well, maybe "bum" is the wrong word. How about a colossal waste of god-given ability? Even as arguably the fattest player in college basketball, Smith is nimble, he's quick, he's powerful and he showcases good footwork. Now imagine if he was able to jump over a phone book and last more than three trips up and down the court. His affinity for fatty foods is the reason he's not an all-american and a lottery pick.

Back to the game, there are a couple notes that need to be taken into consideration. UCLA was playing without Jerime Anderson, meaning that they didn't have another option at the point to spell a struggling Laz Jones (he finished 1-11 from the floor with three turnovers). LMU was also unconscious from beyond the arc, hitting 10 of their 15 threes. The game also wasn't played at Pauley Pavilion, which is under renovations. It was played at something called the Sports Arena.

But that's no excuse. The Bruins were atrocious offensively, scoring just 58 points on 67 possessions. 37 of those points (and 21 rebounds) came from Reeves Nelson and the Wear twins. Beyond that, the Bruins had no offensive attack whatsoever. They shot a dismal 2-15 from beyond the arc and just looked out of sorts on that end of the floor. As bad as the numbers are, they don't do just how ugly UCLA's offense was justice.

We also need to give credit where credit is due: Loyola played a heck of a game last night, and they did it without their most talented front court player. I'm very high on the Lions this season. I was high on them last year, too. They struggled to just 11 wins and a 2-12 finish in the WCC, but chemistry and injury issues plagued them throughout the season. The only player they lost from that team was Vernon Teel, which may have actually been addition by subtraction.

Once they get Viney back and get to full strength, this is a team to be reckoned with. Sophomore point guard Anthony Ireland (my WCC breakout star!) picked up where he left off last season, finishing with 21 points, five assists and five boards, while swingman Ashley Hamilton led the way with 23 points, hitting a number of big threes late in the game to help the Lions pull away.

Gonzaga is probably the WCC's favorite this year, with St. Mary's, BYU and San Francisco in the mix.

Don't count out this group, however. If anything, LMU proved tonight just how much fun the WCC race is going to be this season.
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2011-2012 Top 50 Countdown: Nos. 30-26

Over the coming weeks, we will be counting down our Top 50 teams in the country. Teams 26-50 will be posted in groups of five, while we will count backwards from No. 25 to the No. 1 team in the country. You can find a complete schedule of our 2011-2012 Season Preview coverage here. To browse through the rest of the Top 50, click here.


30. Creighton Bluejays:

Last Season: 23-16, 10-8 (Missouri Valley)

Head Coach: Greg McDermott

Key Losses: Kenny Lawson Jr, Kaleb Korver, Darryl Ashford, Wayne Runnels,

New Additions: Grant Gibbs, Geoffery Groselle, Avery Dingman, Nevin Johnson, Austin Chatman, Mogboluwaga Oginni, Alex Olson

Projected Lineup:

- G: Antoine Young, Sr.
- G: Jahenns Maginat, So.
- F: Grant Gibbs, Jr.
- F: Doug McDermott, So.
- C: Gregory Echinique, Jr.
- Bench: Ethan Wragge, So.; Josh Jones, Jr.; Will Artino, Fr.


Outlook: The Bluejays are, without question, the most talented team in the Missouri Valley. There's an argument to be made that they have the best player in the conference at three positions. Antoine Young is a playmaking point guard that also happens to be a lock down defender; Greg Echinique, a transfer from Rutgers, is a massive presence in the middle; and Doug McDermott is a potential all-american and will likely be the pick for MVC Player of the Year by many, if not all, publications. That core alone makes this team one to keep an eye on, but what makes them scarier is that they are deep. Junior Josh Jones and sophomore Jahenns Manigat both showed flashes of being quality scorers in the MVC as well. Throw in redshirt freshman center Will Artino, Gonzaga transfer Grant Gibbs in the back court and a quartet of incoming freshmen, and McDermott has as deep of a roster as anyone in the conference. He'll be looking to increase Creighton's aggressiveness on both ends of the floor, so don't be surprised to see the Bluejays in and around the top 25 all year.


29. UCLA Bruins:

Last Season: 23-11, 11-5 (Pac-10)

Head Coach: Ben Howland

Key Losses: Tyler Honeycutt, Malcolm Lee

New Additions: David Wear, Travis Wear, Larry Drew II, Norman Powell, De'End Parker, Khalid McCaskill, David Brown, Nick Kazemi

Projected Lineup:

- G: Laz Jones, Sr.
- G: Larry Drew II, Sr.
- G: Tyler Lamb, So.
- F: Reeves Nelson, Jr.
- C: Josh Smith, So.
- Bench: Travis Wear, So.; David Wear, So.; Jerime Anderson, Sr.; De'End Parker, Jr.; Brendan Lane, Jr.; Anthony Stover, So.; Norman Powell, Fr.


Outlook: Ben Howland has an interesting team this season. Their strength is going to be in the front court, where they will be as deep as anyone in the country. Reeves Nelson is an aggressive and athletic four that sets a tone for this club. He's aggressive around the rim and a monster on the glass. If he can add a consistent perimeter jumper, he's got a chance to be a first-team all-league player. And he's not even their best big man. Josh Smith is. But Smith's issue is that he can't stay in shape. He ended the year weighing over 300 lbs and reportedly put on weight this summer, which isn't a good thing. Even with the weight, he's a best on the block. The question is whether or not he'll be able to stay on the court for an extended period of time. Throw in the Wear twins -- sophomore transfers from UNC -- and returners Brendan Lane and Anthony Stover, and minutes in UCLA's front court will be quite valuable and hard to come by. The perimeter is the question mark for this team. There are three point guards on the roster, and none of them blow you away. Laz Jones will most likely be the primary option, but he can be inconsistent at times. Larry Drew and Jerime Anderson were hyped recruits that fizzled in their three years in college. Will Tyler Lamb develop as a sophomore? Can De'End Parker and Norman Powell -- who got a concussion late in September and is reportedly unhappy already -- fill the void left by the departures of Malcolm Lee and Tyler Honeycutt? Finding consistency on the perimeter will be the difference between UCLA being a tournament team and a legitimate threat in the Pac-10.


28. New Mexico Lobos:

Last Season: 22-13, 8-8 (MWC)

Head Coach: Steve Alford

Key Losses: Dairese Gary

New Additions: Demetrius Walker, Dominique Dunning, Hugh Greenwood, Kory Alford

Projected Lineup:

- G: Jamal Fenton, Jr.
- G: Kendall Williams, So.
- F: Philip McDonald, Sr.
- F: AJ Hardeman, Sr.
- C: Drew Gordon, Sr.
- Bench: Cameron Bairstow, So.; Demetrius Walker, So.; Tony Snell, So.; Hugh Greenwood, Fr.; Dominique Dunning, Fr.; Alex Kirk, So.



Outlook: New Mexico has a chance to be very good this season. They return all but one player from last year, although that one player is a big one -- Dairese Gary, their star point guard. That will hurt, but there are pieces in place to help weather the blow. Sophomore Kendall Williams has a chance to be a big time player for Steve Alford's club. He averaged 11.5 ppg and 4.0 apg and won the MWC Freshman of the Year award while playing as the third and fourth option offensively. Gary missed the final two games after hurting his knee, and Williams stepped up and scored 18 points in both games. Throw in junior Jamal Fenton, who had 12 assists and just four turnovers in those two games, and the Lobos should be fine in terms of playmaking. They should also have one of the best big men in the conference in Drew Gordon, a double-double machine that should become a monster playing a full season. New Mexico will also be quite deep this year. Seniors AJ Hardeman (at the four) and Philip McDonald (at the three) should fill out the starting lineup. Cameron Bairstow and Alex Kirk -- if he comes back from back surgery in August -- are talented sophomores in the front court, while classmates Demetrius Walker -- a transfer from Arizona State -- and Tony Snell will provide depth on the perimeter. Don't be surprised in a couple of freshmen see minutes as well. The Lobos will compete for the MWC title and should be in and out of the top 25 all year.


27. Temple Owls:

Last Season: 26-8, 14-2 (A-10)

Head Coach: Fran Dunphy

Key Losses: Lavoy Allen, Craig Williams

New Additions: Will Cummings

Projected Lineup:

- G: Juan Fernandez, Sr.
- G: Scootie Randall, Sr.
- F: Ramone Moore, Sr.
- F: Rahlir Jefferson, Jr.
- C: Michael Eric, Sr.
- Bench: TJ DiLeo, Jr.; Khalif Wyatt, Jr.; Aaron Brown, So.; Will Cummings, Fr.


Outlook: Once again, Fran Dunphy has his Temple team in a position to make a lot of noise in the Atlantic 10. On the perimeter, the 2011-2012 version of the Owls is loaded. Point guard Juan Fernandez, who feels like he has been in college for a decade, returns for his senior season. His numbers dipped a bit as a junior, but don't be surprised when he has a big senior year as this team's leader. Ramone Moore turned into the Owl's go-to scorer as a junior, and should once again fill that role as a senior. Throw in a healthy Scootie Randall, talented junior Khalif Wyatt and a couple of hungry and capable youngsters in sophomore Aaron Brown (who performed well when moved into the starting lineup to replace the injured Randall late in the season) and freshman Will Cummings, and Dunphy will have plenty of options at his disposal. I would go as far as to say Temple has one of the best perimeter rotations in the country. Up front is a bigger issue, as Temple will have to replace Lavoy Allen, who was so important to this team's defensive attack. Michael Eric should be healthy and will be counted on for a big season defending the rim and cleaning the glass. Rahlir Jefferson should also see a bump in production as a junior and will be a factor rebounding the ball. Depth is the biggest issue on the front line. Behind Jefferson and Eric, Dunphy only has two big men in Anthony Lee and Jimmy McDonnell, both redshirt freshmen that still need to add weight and strength. Even with the front court question marks, Temple should give Xavier a run for their money at the conference title.


26. Michigan Wolverines:

Last Season: 21-14, 9-9 (Big Ten)

Head Coach: John Beilein

Key Losses: Darius Morris

New Additions: Carlton Brundidge, Trey Burke, Max Bielfeldt

Projected Lineup:

- G: Zak Novak, Sr.
- G: Stu Douglass, Sr.
- F: Tim Hardaway, So.
- F: Evan Smotrycz, So.
- C: Jordan Morgan, So.
- Bench: Matt Vogrich, Jr.; Jon Horford, So.; Carlton Brundidge, Fr.; Trey Burke, Fr.


Outlook: Had Darius Morris decided to return to school instead of enter the NBA Draft, the Wolverines would have been a borderline top 10 team instead of a borderline top 25 team. Morris was that perfect point guard for the system that John Beilein runs. But the great thing about a John Beilein offense is that the sum is greater than the parts, and while having a playmaking point guard like Morris -- a kid that can pass and score -- makes the offense that much more dangerous, its not essential. Zack Novak and Stu Douglass will be the elder statesmen, the seniors tasked with leading a team made up of mostly freshmen and sophomores. Both are quality players that do a lot of things well, but they are going to have to up their production next season to help make up for the loss of Morris. Junior Matt Vogrich will provide some shooting off the bench, while Carlton Brundidge and Trey Burke -- who may end up taking over the point guard spot -- should have an impact playing a role. The x-factor of this team will be Tim Hardaway Jr, a 6'6" sophomore wing that became a dangerous scorer at the end of his freshman season. He reminds me a bit of Mike Gansey, who played for Beilein at West Virginia. The front court could end up being an issue. Jordan Morgan had a couple big games as a freshman, but he got overwhelmed at times against bigger front lines. Fellow sophomore Evan Smotrycz should see more minutes as a stretch four-man, but he will be counted on for more contributions on the glass. Keep an eye on Jon Horford. He's put on some strength this off-season as he's now listed at 250 lb. And breakout sophomore years run in his blood -- his brother, Al, went from a seldom used freshman to a potential lottery pick as a sophomore.
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Does Kyle Anderson make UCLA relevant on the recruiting trail again?

Kyle Anderson, a 6'8" point forward out of Jersey City and the No. 3 recruit in the Class of 2012 according to our Consensus Rankings, ended his recruitment on late Monday night by opting to head west to join UCLA rather than stay at home and play for Seton Hall.

Landing Anderson is an impressive feat by Ben Howland, as he stretched his tentacles across the country to pull the youngster out of Seton Hall's backyard. Anderson joins Dominic Artis, a point guard and Cali-native that attends Findlay Prep in Las Vegas but grew up in the same town that the movie Coach Carter was based on, and Jordan Adams, a 6'5" wing that Howland was able to reel in from Georgia. Both are top 75 recruits.

"I chose UCLA cause I feel they can help me improve my defense and we will have a good chance of winning a National Championship," Anderson said.


With Anderson joining Artis and Adams in UCLA's 2012 recruiting class, the Bruins now have one of the best in the country, and they aren't done yet. The next target for Howland and his staff is Shabazz Muhammad, the consensus No. 1 player in the country who many believe favors UCLA at this point in his recruitment. Throw in the possibility of landing a big man like Tony Parker or Shaq Goodwin, two Atlanta-area kids that UCLA is in the mix with, and the Bruins could end up with a scary-good team in 2012.

Seriously. Look at this potential line-up:

PG - Larry Drew or Dominic Artis
SG - Shabazz Muhammad
SF - Kyle Anderson
PF - Reeves Nelson
C - Joshua Smith
Bench - Travis and David Wear, Jordan Adams, Shaq Goodwin/Tony Parker?

Let me ask you this: is UCLA's roster better than what Sean Miller has put together for the 2012 season at Arizona? Actually, it doesn't matter, because both of those teams are going to be ranked in everyone's top five, if not their top two. Apparently all it took to get the Pac-12 back on the map was the threat of expansion.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Howland still have quite a bit of work left to do chasing down Muhammad, Parker and Goodwin for that situation to be feasible. but part of what makes Anderson's commitment so important is that it will no doubt help Howland attract interest from the other three recruits. Its not secret that elite players have had their issues playing in Howland's grind-it-out, defense-oriented system.

While he did make three consecutive Final Fours -- and, in the process, send numerous players to the NBA, where they are flourishing -- his "loaded" 2008 recruiting class, a class that was supposed to keep UCLA atop college basketball after losing Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love to the 2008 Draft, was a massive bust. Drew Gordon and J'Mison Morgan transferred out. Jrue Holiday left school after one season. Malcolm Lee left this past summer. The only guy remaining is Jerime Anderson, who never lived up to his hype and spent this summer dealing with the legal ramifications of stealing a lap top.

With three straight 'meh' classes coming in the past three seasons, there is now reason to once again be excited about the prospect of Howland bringing in prospects that can compete for a national title in Westwood.


Kyle Anderson mixtape, because we all like moving pictures:


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UCLA's Anderson to host "college athlete party" just weeks after arrest

(UPDATE: Anderson has decided against hosting or even attending the event on August 5th. According to this ESPN LA article, his name has been removed from the promotional materials and weill no longer be involved in the event whatsoever.)

UCLA guard Jerime Anderson was poised to have a breakout season in 2011-2012, but a recent lack of decision-making skills may have put that quest on hold.

Last Tuesday, Anderson was stopped by University police after a report of a stolen laptop, and arrested the rising-senior on suspicion of grand theft. A tracking device within the computer led police to Anderson, who was released from jail on $20,000 bail. According to the press release, Anderson was suspended indefinitely, will not participate in team activities, and his future with the program will be evaluated as the legal process continues.

Anderson's attorney, Jon Artz, has asked for a fair trial and proper use of the justice system:

"It should be equal justice under the law. I would hope my client receives fair-handed justice from the [district attorney's] office, and I'm sure he will."

Now, Anderson has no priors, and seems like he just made an error in judgement, which all college students make during matriculation. But now that Anderson finds himself in not only Ben Howland's doghouse, but the school's and the DA's office's as well, you would think he would want to keep a low profile until, say, the beginning of the season?

Well, laying low does not seem to be listed on Anderson's schedule of events, especially not on August 5th.

According to a blog post from the LA Weekly, Anderson is supposed to host a "I LOVE COLLEGE!!! ATHLETES PARTY" on August, 5th at The Proud Bird, a bar/restaurant near Los Angeles International Airport. The party is being co-hosted by a bunch of Los Angeles' top "student-athletes", such as Edgar Garibay, a forward for Loyola-Marymount, who the Bruins will face in the season-opener, a game in which Anderson has already been suspended for. But Garibay is sure that Anderson still plans on hosting:

"Jerime will still be there. I talked to him yesterday, and there's some bullshit going on, but he'll be all right."

Now, there is nothing that says he cannot go to this party. It's not against the law for him to host a social event, but is this really what he should be doing now?



Anderson has admitted in the past that he had a problem with partying too much, especially after his freshman season. So now, at what might be the darkest time in his young life, he is going to revert back to old habits?

John Wooden is famous for saying "Adversity does not necessarily build character but reveals it".

After August 5th, it should be revealed what type of character Anderson has.

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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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Josh Smith still battling weight problems

Coming into this off-season, there were three talented-but-oversized big men whose weight was being closely monitored.

The first is Jared Sullinger, who not only told people that he was shedding the pounds, he took a picture to prove it. There was some discussion that losing the weight would be bad for Sullinger and the Buckeyes, which was silly. He's not losing any strength or size. He's getting rid of the baby fat, which will only help his endurance, explosiveness, and quickness. Be afraid, Big Ten. Be very afraid.

The second big man whose weight has made headlines this offseason is Renardo Sidney. The oft-troubled Mississippi State Bulldog spent a large part of May and June working out with John Lucas in Houston. He shed 23 pounds, although he had also ballooned up to 320 lbs prior to changing venue. But Sidney also made the decision to continue working out with Lucas instead of joining Mississippi State on a trip to Europe, which leads one to believe that this weight loss is happening with the goal of succeeding in the NBA, not winning the SEC West.

The third player on that list?


UCLA's Josh Smith.

And let's just say the summer isn't going quite as well for Smith as head coach Ben Howland would like. Smith -- who was listed at 6'10" and 305 lbs, which may have been generous considering how snug his jersey was as a freshman -- has apparently put on 10 pounds since the end of the season, which is more-than-likely the exact opposite of what Howland was hoping for.

Now to be fair, those added lbs are probably weight that he will lose once the season begins; with the amount of work that a basketball team puts in during the first weeks of practice, just about everyone loses some weight, including the guys that are already in great shape. But the fact that Smith hasn't been able to get his act together to lose weight on his own is quite disconcerting.

You see, for a guy his size, Smith is incredibly talented. He's a load to handle on the block, getting to the offensive backboards at will and being almost impossible to prevent from getting position in the post. He also had great hands, a soft touch, and a solid-yet-developing back-to-the-basket game. He's got almost everything you look for from an NBA center.

Except for his belly.

What does it say about his work ethic that he has been unable to get into shape? What does it say about his desire to become a better basketball player? Making light of a kid that is battling weight issues is not ok. But Smith is an athlete, and has the potential and the physical gifts to be a very profitable one. He stands to make a great deal of money in the NBA if he puts in the effort to eat better, work out more, and lose that extra weight.

If he can't be bothered to get into the gym, just how promising is his career?

(This isn't the first time we've questioned Smith's maturity in this space. He had issues during the season as well.)
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NBA Draft Profiles: Tyler Honeycutt, UCLA

Bjorn Zetterberg of SwishScout.com will be helping us out with all of our NBA Draft Profiles this year. You can follow him on twitter @swishscout.

To browse through the latest prospect profiles, click here. To see a complete list of the players we have profiled, click here.

Stats: 12.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.0 bpg, 2.8 apg, 3.0 t/o's, 36.2% 3PT

Age: 20, sophomore

Size:

• Listed: 6'8", 190 lb
• Official: 6'6.75" (no shoes), 6'8.25" (with shoes), 6'9" (wingspan), 8'9" (reach), 187 lb

Strengths: Honeycutt's best attribute is his overall physical profile. Standing over 6'8" in shoes with long arms -- his slender shoulders hurt him in the wingspan department, but he has "long sleeves" -- Honeycutt has the build to be an excellent defender at the small forward spot. His quickness and athleticism as well as his defensive background coming from UCLA only further prove this point. He's also proven to be a defensive playmaker, as evidenced by his Pac-10 leading 2.0 bpg last season and 7.2 rpg. Offensively, Honeycutt right now projects as a capable spot-up shooter. He's got excellent form on his jumper, and while he shot only 36.2% from beyond the arc as a sophomore, that number may be a bit skewed due to right shoulder and elbow injuries he played through. While his handle still needs to develop, Honeycutt has proven to be a capable playmaker averaging 2.8 apg.

Weaknesses: There are a number of concerns in regards to Honeycutt. For starters, his durability is a major question mark, as he has dealt with injuries throughout his time in Westwood. That issue may be helped if he can add some muscle to his 187 lb frame, which would also help him in finishing through contact. His physical toughness isn't the only issue; there are question marks about his mental toughness. He was a bit streaky as a sophomore, having a couple of monster games while throwing up far too many stinkers. He lacked the aggressiveness that would make him a more consistent producer on his off-nights. Skill-wise, Honeycutt needs to improve on his handle first and foremost. He has the tools to be an effective slasher, but right now he struggles going to his off-hand, he lacks secondary moves off the dribble, and he is really only effective getting to the rim in close-out situations. His decision-making could stand to improve as well. He averaged 3.0 turnovers as a junior, often times getting himself into a situation where he needed to force a tough pass to try and find an assist.

Comparisons:

• Best Case Scenario: Nicolas Batum. Very similar game and build as Batum, who plays the shooter/defender role that Honeycutt is likely to embrace. Neither are great at creating their own shots, but the value is in their length and athleticism on the defensive end to lock down the perimeter.


• Worst Case Scenario: Bigger Aaron Afflalo. Another UCLA product and former Pac-10 player of the year who has adjusted to the league nicely as a guy who plays hard on the defensive end and can make plays on offense. Even if he doesn’t reach his full potential, Honeycutt could be a fixture in a rotation to make plays on D and hit open shots like Afflalo.

Outlook: The skill set is there. Honeycutt has the length and the athleticism to be a defensive stalwart and playmaker at the next level. The key is going to be whether or not he can develop his game on the offensive end of the floor enough to avoid being a liability. Will he develop his jumper enough to be a consistent three point threat? Will his handle and ability to penetrate make him more than just a standstill jump shooter? As with every UCLA prospect, there is also the Ben Howland factor that must be considered. Seemingly every real NBA prospect that has left UCLA over the course of the past five years has become a consistent contributor at the NBA level. They learn how to defend and they learn how to play a role in a system. Howland's station-to-station style of play has always put a damper on the production of the players he sends to the professional level, but it is especially rough on off-the-ball jump shooters like Honeycutt.

Draft Range: Late 1st Round

And the experts say...

• Chad Ford: "Honeycutt was ranked in the high 20s at the start of the year, but sank on our big board after he struggled to really break out. He had a few big games for UCLA, but a lot of underwhelming ones as well. But NBA GMs and scouts have had a harder time scouting players in Ben Howland's system. Considering that virtually every prospect he's produced has gone on to have success in the NBA and when you factor in Honeycutt's significant skills, there's a very good chance Honeycutt ends up going somewhere in the first round."


• Draft Express: "Taking a deeper look, the efficiency drop off was largely due to a change in shot distribution. Honeycutt attempted 1.6 three pointers per 40 minutes pace adjusted last year, and that shot all the way up to 5.2 attempts this year. That, along with his improved free throw percentage (73.6%, from 60%), caused his overall drop in efficiency to not actually be as drastic as it appeared on first glance. His true shooting percentage only fell from 55% to 52%, and that was primarily due to a drop in effectiveness in transition. According to Synergy Sports Technology, his half court effectiveness increased from 0.756 points per possession to 0.840."


• Swish Scout: "Talented all-around forward who’s a stat stuffer, possesses a great feel for the game and is an excellent defender. Too timid in terms of taking shots and attacking the defense, but may have inhibited his potential development on offense by foregoing his NCAA eligibility for a shot at the first round in the 2011 NBA Draft."

Highlights:


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NBA Draft Profiles: Malcolm Lee, UCLA

Bjorn Zetterberg of SwishScout.com will be helping us out with all of our NBA Draft Profiles this year. You can follow him on twitter @swishscout.

To browse through the latest prospect profiles, click here. To see a complete list of the players we have profiled, click here.

Stats: 13.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, 29.5% 3PT

Age: 21, junior

Size:

• Listed: 6'5", 200 lb
• Official: 6'4" (no shoes), 6'5.5" (with shoes), 6'9.75" (wingspan), 8'5.5" (reach), 198 lb

Strengths: Lee's best attribute as an NBA prospect is his potential to be a defender at the next level. He's almost 6'6" in shoes with a wingspan of nearly 6'10". He's also a terrific athlete that has spent three years playing in a system that is renowned for producing quality defenders on the perimeter. What sets Lee apart from other prospects at this position is his ability to defend at the point and at the two. Offensively, Lee was stifled a bit in Howland's grind-it-out, slowed down system. He's at his best when he can get out and run the floor. He makes plays in transition and has the size and athleticism to finish in the lane. His three point shooting numbers are low, but much of that is weighed down due to his struggles shooting off the dribble. He actually rates as a fairly decent catch-and-shoot player, which is what his role will be in the NBA. It also should be noted that guys like Russell Westbrook, Arron Afflalo, and Jrue Holiday have proven to be successful NBA players despite having major question marks when they left UCLA.

Weaknesses: At first glance, Lee appears to be a player without a position. While he has been better in workouts leading up to the draft, nothing about the time he spent at UCLA makes him appear to be a point guard prospect at the next level. He's not a great distributor and he doesn't have the instincts that you look for in a point guard. The other issue with Lee is his shot selection and his ability to shoot. He really struggles when he is forced to shoot off the dribble, and while he has improved in catch-and-shoot situations, he probably is never going to be considered a knock-down jump shooter.

Comparisons:

• Best Case Scenario: Gary Neal meets George Hill. Tough to really peg a good example, but like hybrid of San Antonio Spurs George Hill and Gary Neal. Hill has speed and pure scoring ability as a back up PG, but isn’t a great creator for his teammates at this point. Neal is a shot maker who thrives on his own within the team game, and while he doesn’t blow anyone away, he’s solid. If you merged the talents, Lee could be a product that gets buckets and makes plays, but he’s not going to offer a whole lot as a player who can run the show.


• Worst Case Scenario: Mustafa Shakur. The former Arizona PG has great size and similar type game as Lee, but has struggled to stick in the league as a pure PG for a team. Has been largely a second unit guy struggling to make a roster, and Lee might end up if a similar situation if he can’t make the adjustment or pick his ability to distribute or struggles to score at the 2.

Outlook: History is on Lee's side. One of the major criticisms of Ben Howland at UCLA is that he brings in top level talent that under performs collegiately. And while that may be true, its also true that the numbers get skewed due to the pace that Howland wants his team to play. The Bruins are a defensive oriented team, which is why players like Russell Westbrook, Darren Collison, Jrue Holiday, and Arron Afflalo all had the same question marks when they left Westwood for the league. But if you look at what those four players have accomplished in the NBA, its clear that Howland is doing something right. His players may not be putting up gaudy numbers in college, but they are successful in the NBA, as all four were starters on teams that made the playoffs this year. Lee is going to have to accept a role in the NBA. He will likely never be a big time scorer, as he is limited as a jump shooter and creator with the dribble. But he's got terrific size, length, and athleticism for his position, which combined with the defensive background he has coming out of UCLA makes him an ideal prospect as a lockdown defender. He has already had some impressive workouts with NBA teams, and if he continues he may crack the first round. As it stands, it appears as if Lee will end up getting taken in the second round, but if he can improve his ability on the offensive end of the floor, he may be able to carve out a career at the next level.

Draft Range: Late 1st to Early 2nd Round

And the experts say...

• Chad Ford: "What do Russell Westbrook, Jrue Holiday, Darren Collison and Arron Afflalo have in common? They were UCLA guards who didn't appear to be great NBA prospects at first glance (Westbrook may have been the exception, but not for everyone) who have gone on to have excellent careers in the NBA. All four were starters on playoff teams this season despite their youth. Here's a prediction: Lee will continue that hot streak for UCLA. Lee was a top-rated prospect coming out of high school but struggled to dominate in college. While he's earned a rep as an elite perimeter defender, his offensive game has been a work in progress."


• Draft Express: "it's clear that Lee is a talented player with some potential to build on, as he's still only 20 years old and possesses all of the physical attributes that scouts covet. His undefined position and role, and lack production in his third season at UCLA are definitely concerns that scouts will have to consider though. His experiment at the point didn't lead to much success last year, and he doesn't seem to have the instincts or decision making skills to ever be a pure point guard. And while he's become more efficient on catch-and-shoot opportunities, he still doesn't project to be a big-time shooter or scorer on the wing."


• Swish Scout: "Matchup nightmare on defense for a PG with his combination of size, length, and lateral quickness that could make him a tough perimeter defender in the NBA. Lee has some fine scoring prowess and an aggressive attack mode with a game full of potential, but Malcolm is a ‘shoot first’ PG that hasn’t proven himself as a true point man or distributor during his time at UCLA."

Highlights:


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Expect to see more players like Travis Leslie and Malcolm Lee stay in the draft

Georgia's Travis Leslie and UCLA's Malcolm Lee are the latest underclassmen to make a decision on their basketball playing future.

But unlike lottery locks Perry Jones and Jared Sullinger, Leslie and Lee, both juniors, signed with agents on Tuesday. They are, for better or for worse, no longer college basketball players.

"After talking it over with my family, I have decided that I will forgo my senior year and enter into the NBA Draft," Leslie said in a statement. "I would like to thank UGA for giving me the opportunity, as well as Coach Fox and the staff in helping me to improve my game. Last but not least, I'd like to thank the Georgia fans for their support over the past three years."

The 6'4" wing forward, who averaged 14.4 ppg and 7.2 rpg as a junior, is currently considered a borderline first round pick. He's one of the best athletes in the draft, but he's a bit undersized for his natural position as a small forward and he lacks the perimeter skills to be a two-guard.

Lee's statement was much of the same: "After speaking to my family, I have carefully weighed all of my options, and at this time, I have decided to hire an agent and withdraw from my classes. My three years at UCLA were the best time of my life. I will miss my teammates, coaches, faculty, friends and all of the great fans at UCLA. I have had a lot of fun being a Bruin and I appreciate everything Coach [Ben] Howland has done for me. I am very proud to be a Bruin and I will always call this place home. My dream has always been to play in the NBA and I think that this is the best time for me to try and make that a reality."

The difference, however, lies in Lee's potential as a professional.

He's an excellent defensive player and has the size (6'5") and the frame (210 lb) to matchup with NBA two-guards and the quickness to defend point guards. The questions lie is his skill set and understanding of the game. He can score, but he's not an NBA level penetrator or spot-up shooter. Lee lacks a position on the offensive end of the floor, and his lack of production doesn't bode well. (To be fair, those were the same knocks that Jrue Holiday and Russell Westbrook had coming out of UCLA.)

Leslie's decision to hire an agent was much less of a surprise than Lee's, and as such, Lee's decision was questioned by folks on twitter.

And while we can all question the intelligence in squandering a final year of collegiate eligibility to chase an NBA dream, we should get used to it. Because over the coming two weeks, there will likely be a number of other "questionable" draft decisions.

The 2011 draft is one of the weakest in recent memory, especially when looking at the players coming from the college ranks. Five of the top ten in the Draft Express mock draft never played any college basketball. With the number of lottery picks and first rounders that are returning to school, it only strengthens what already appeared to be a loaded 2012 draft class.

For prospects that have borderline first round pick kind of talent, leaving this year ends up being the better option. While they may get a chunk of their 2011 guaranteed salary eaten up by the NBA's lockout, at least they will have that guaranteed contract. That may not be the case next season.

A strong draft means more talent will be available late in the first round and into the second round. But it also means that kids that would have had a chance to make some guaranteed money if they left this season will be stuck trying to play their way onto a team.

You can question the decisions that Leslie and Lee made if you like.

But be prepared to see more "questionable" decisions made before the May 8th deadline to withdraw from the draft.
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Reeves Nelson game-winning tip-in bails out UCLA

UCLA protected their home court against Cal with a much-needed 86-84 win to move to 4-2 in the Pac-10 and remain just one game behind Washington in the loss column.

Reeves Nelson scored 24 points in the win, but none of those points were more important that the tip-in he had with 2.2 seconds left to win the game after an Allen Crabbe three tied it up eight seconds earlier.



Lazeric Jones, who has played very well during the Bruin's three game winning streak, also added 24 points while Tyler Honeycutt had 15.

"For him to get that tip," UCLA head coach Ben Howland said after the game, "to not give up and not quit, to run the floor and get that last play, that was exciting."

It was a nice win for UCLA, and certainly exciting, but it masks the bigger issue -- UCLA gave up 84 points in regulation to Cal.

"They just scored on us too easy," Howland said. "It was like we weren't even on defense."

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Time for Joshua Smith to grow up

UCLA's freshman center Joshua Smith has all the tools for a terrific future in the sport of basketball.

Anyone that watched him manhandle a good Kansas front line back in November will agree. Smith is big enough and strong enough to establish and hold position against just about anyone at this level. He has good hands, a nice touch around the rim, and solid footwork for a 6'11" 18 year old.

Smith's issue isn't his god-given tools, its maturity.

For starters, he still needs to cut a lot of weight. In this day and age its saying something when you make a basketball uniform look like spandex. He's reasonably quick and athletic as it is, so dropping 40-50 pounds -- which is very possible to do -- should make him just that much more explosive.


More concerning, however, were his actions after a tough loss to USC.

The first thing that we heard about was Smith complaining about USC's premature celebration:

"When the other team starts to celebrate with 40 seconds left, that's just kind of a slap in the face," UCLA center Joshua Smith said. "Don't get me wrong. They won fair and square. Nothing against them. But with 40 seconds left, you just let the clock run out, shake our hands and go celebrate in the locker room."

Fair enough.

So USC showed you up. You have a right to be pissed. I'd probably be pissed. Keep to yourself and within the team and use it as motivation. Keep it in mind when USC comes back to Pauley Pavilion later in the season. Don't go spouting off to reporters about it, because now that quote is probably hanging up in the USC locker room.

That wasn't the only complaint Smith had after the game. He complained about the refs as well, saying:

"the refs were terrible. The one where I fell and [USC's Nikola] Vucevic fell on me, the refs said, 'Well, I had to call it because you fell.' They're giving me [ridiculous] answers. They're telling me this, this and this. I mean, I'm a guy who will own up to it when I foul."

As you can probably imagine, Ben Howland was none to pleased to open the paper and see those quotes, saying Smith used "totally poor judgement":

"He has to be a big boy," Howland said Tuesday. "You cannot say something like that and not expect it to come back."
...
"He was like, 'I don't think I fouled him,' " Howland said. "Yeah, your arm is coming right down and you're hitting him. So he was still in denial after seeing it and seeing that he's fouling.

"So he's got to grow up and learn that that's uncalled for and inappropriate."

I wish I could say that was it, but there is still more. After the game, a fan said something to Smith was "personal" and about his family, and Smith reacted. By flipping the fan the bird. He said on Tuesday that he regrets it and that he is a "bigger person than that."

Well, Joshua, its time to show it.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that has noticed poor body language out of the big man. There are times where it looks like he is sulking on the bench -- be it a result of fouls, playing time, or touches -- and it doesn't seem like he is always playing hard. Its frustrating to watch.

And I understand that he's only 18. College is a time when you grow up, when you go from being a kid that lives with his/her parents to the young adult that is getting ready to enter the real world. Maturation doesn't magically occur because you've finished a semester of college. Its a process, and for some it takes longer than others.

But for Smith, it needs to start happening soon.

He's a talented kid. He has a chance to make a lot of money playing this game. But he has to get to a point where he understands that it is unacceptable to flip off fans and displace blame on the refs by spouting off to the media.
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Wednesday's Pregame Beat: Georgetown-Notre Dame highlight the early games, while Wazzu/U-Dub visit UCLA/USC

7:00 pm: No. 9 Georgetown @ No. 15 Notre Dame: I said it in our Big East conference play primer -- I think that the Hoyas are the best team in the conference. They have a terrific back court, an underrated front court, and are as well-coached -- and as receptive to good coaching -- as any team in the country.

If Georgetown is the best team in the league, Notre Dame may as well be dubbed the Great Unknown. Of the Big East teams that actually have a chance at getting to the NCAA Tournament, the Irish are the team that I am having the most trouble pegging. I love their versatility offensively. They can play big with Tyrone Nash and Jack Cooley up front and Abromaitis at the two. Or they can use Scott Martin and Carleton Scott up front with Ben Hansbrough and Eric Atkins in the back court, allowing them to play more of a five out offense. They still play at more of a deliberate pace than we are used to seeing out of a Mike Brey team; call it the Luke Harangody hangover.

But what is this team's identity. Are they a defensive team? Are they a three point shooting team? Are they really as good as they looked in winning the Old Spice Classic, or is the second half against Kentucky (when they scored 18 points) more indicative of this team's potential. Hopefully, I'll be able to figure that out tonight.

9:00 pm: Marquette @ Vanderbilt: This is an interesting matchup between two teams in the middle of the pack of their respective conferences power structure. I don't generally like using the term scrappy to define a team, but its tough to find another adjective that correctly defines Marquette. (Feisty? Pesky?) They are exactly the same as every Marquette team the past five years. Versatile forwards, talented guards, play hard. Vanderbilt is flying a bit under the radar right now. They have size, they have shooting, and they have athleticism, but its never a good sign when your point guard is Brad Tinsley.

9:00 pm: No. 25 Illinois @ Iowa: The Illini kick off their Big Ten season with a trip to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes. Illinois should handle this one easily, but they also should have beaten Illinois-Chicago easily.

10:30 pm: Washington @ USC: USC has been much improved over the past three weeks or so, especially now that they have Jio Fontan on the roster. We get a chance to see them play against Pac-10 favorite Washington tonight. We should get a feel for whether or not this team will actually make any noise in league play.

11:00 pm: Washington State @ UCLA: This is one of the most important games of the Pac-10 season. UCLA has the talent to compete for the league title, but if they are going to, winning home games against the other teams near the top of the league -- the Washington schools -- is vital. UCLA got a boost yesterday when it was announced that the Bruins would have Tyler Honeycutt in uniform.

7:00 pm: St. John's @ West Virginia: The Mountaineers looked awesome early in the season, but as Bobby Huggins tries to get this team to play the way he demands, WVU has slipped a bit. They aren't losing game, but they also are not playing as well as many expected. St. John's is a question mark heading into the Big East season. They lost to Fordham and St. Bonaventure, but they looked awesome in the second half against Northwestern, hitting 16-20 from the floor.

Other Notable Games:

• 7:00 pm: UNC-Greensboro @ No. 1 Duke
• 9:00 pm: Tx-Arlington @ No. 3 Kansas
• 7:00 pm: Furman @ No. 21 UCF
• 7:00 pm: Boston College @ URI
• 7:00 pm: East Carolina @ Clemson
• 7:00 pm: Wake Forest @ Richmond
• 7:00 pm: George Mason @ Dayton
• 7:00 pm: UT-Martin @ Tennessee
• 7:30 pm: Wofford @ VCU
• 8:00 pm: North Carolina A&M @ Arkansas
• 8:00 pm: North Florida @ Maryland
• 8:00 pm: MVSU @ Southern Miss
• 8:00 pm: New Mexico @ Texas Tech
• 8:05 pm: Missouri State @ Northern Iowa
• 8:30 pm: Lafayette @ Gonzaga
• 9:00 pm: Hawaii @ Utah State
• 11:00 pm: Mississippi State @ St. Mary's
  

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Conference Play Primer: The Pac-10

Favorite: Washington Huskies

Washington has dropped out of the national top 25. Part of the reason for that is U-Dub once again has started the season slowly, going 8-3 in non-conference play without a marquee win, unless you consider beating Texas Tech or Virginia a marquee win. That said, Washington doesn't have a bad loss year, either. They lost close games to Kentucky and Michigan State in the Maui Invitational before losing by one to Texas A&M, who has climbed all the way into the top 25, on the road. Its enough that Kenpom has the Huskies sitting pretty at fifth in the country. It generally isn't a good idea to argue with Kenpom, either. Washington is deep -- ten guys average at least 13.0 mpg and no one plays more than 27.0 mpg -- and they are balanced -- all ten of those players average at least 5.4 ppg. They have athletes, they have shooters, they have playmakers, and they have defenders. You know about Isaiah Thomas and Matthew Bryan-Amaning, so I'm going to mention Justin Holiday, Jrue's brother, who has been great thus far in his senior season. He's averaging 12.5 ppg and 6.2 rpg and has been just as good as Venoy Overton on the defensive end of the floor.


Player of the Year: Derrick Williams, Arizona

With all due respect going to Klay Thompson of Washington State, Williams is my early season pick for Pac-10 player of the year. It isn't just because of the numbers he puts up. Williams averages 19.7 ppg and 7.0 rpg while scoring at an insanely high efficiency -- he averages more than two points per shot attempt, as he is knocking down 63.2% from the floor and 68.4% from three. Its the fact that he is putting up these numbers without a true point guard on the floor with him. Williams is much improved at getting his own shot. At 6'8", he has enough athleticism and quickness that he will likely be a combo-forward in the NBA, but his perimeter skills are still dragging a bit behind his tools. He's improved -- his three point shooting percentage proves that, and he was also become adept at driving left from the perimeter -- but he's still a guy that would benefit from a point guard that could get him the ball in better spots to score. Thompson's numbers are better, but so is his supporting cast.

All-Conference Team

• G: Isaiah Thomas, Washington: 15.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.8 apg
  
• G: Faisal Aden, Washington State: 16.1 ppg, 41.9% 3PT
  
• F: Klay Thompson, Washington State: 22.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.2 apg, 2.3 spg, 42% 3PT
  
• F: Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Washington: 13.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.4 spg, 1.4 bpg
  
• C: Nikola Vucevic, USC: 15.2 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.6 bpg
  

Biggest Surprise: Washington State

The Cougars finished in last place in the Pac-10 in 2010. Dead last in a conference that many considered to be one of the worst of the decade. With their core basically intact this season, most expected an improvement out of Wazzu, but I doubt many people expected them to become a legitimate contender for the conference crown, a potential tournament team, and a group that is on the edge of cracking the top 25. There are still some concerns that I have -- DeAngelo Casto still isn't much more than a dunker and is a bit of a hot head, Klay Thompson and Faisal Aden are both a bit soft, they don't have much quality depth. Having said that, Thompson's performance in the Diamond Head Classic should help rid him of the "soft" label, and Reggie Moore's return from injury has given this group a big boost. There are not many teams in the country with a perimeter as good as Wazzu's.


Biggest Disappointment: UCLA Bruins

Simply put, there is too much talent on this team for Ben Howland's club to be struggling like this. Their front line, on paper, looks as good as anyone in the country. Joshua Smith is a force on the block when he decides to be, Reeves Nelson is a blue-collar forward that has improved this season, and Tyler Honeycutt has the tools to be a first round pick. Malcolm Lee and Jerime Anderson are blue-chip recruits. Zeke Jones, Tyler Lamb, and Brendan Lane are all capable players. So why the struggles? This team doesn't defend the way Ben Howland teams should defend. Jones and Anderson -- and the entire back court, for that matter -- have a habit of making the wrong decision in critical junctures. They don't get up for games against lesser competition -- UCLA nearly beat Kansas on the road, then lost to Montana at home, beat BYU, then nearly lost to Montana State and UC Irvine. Can we pin all of that on leadership? Who knows, but with the talent UCLA has, they should be a Pac-10 favorite. Few outside of Westwood currently believe that.

Teams to keep an eye on:

• USC: The Trojans have been a different team the last month, and that was true before they added Jio Fontan, who is averaging 16.7 ppg and 3.3 apg, to the mix. They knocked off Texas at home by 17 (without Fontan) and they beat Tennessee on the road after coming up a couple of Josh Selby jumpers short of beating Kansas in the Phog. Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stephenson are big enough to compete with anyone up front, and the tandem of Maurice Jones and Fontan has been tough to handle through three games.
• Cal: There are some decent pieces on the Bears. Jorge Gutierrez is good, as is Harper Kamp. A 25 point win over New Mexico is nice, but I think their five point first half against Notre Dame is probably a better indication of how good this team is.
  
• Arizona State: This is charity, because I think Arizona State has some talent. On the perimeter, they are loaded, with guys like Ty Abbott, Rihard Kuksiks, Jamelle McMillan, and Trent Lockett. But up front, they are relying on the undersized Kyle Cain. And that's about it.
  

Teams to forget about:

• Stanford, Oregon, and Oregon State: These are just not good basketball teams.
  

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12/20 - College Hoops Week in Review: Upsets Galore

Game of the Week: Texas 78, UNC 76

We'll get to Josh Selby and the exciting finish to the Kansas-USC game in a bit. And as terrific as that game was, the Longhorn's win over UNC had an even better finish. Texas used an 18-8 surge in the first half to open up a 28-18 lead over the Heels, punishing them inside despite the fact that Tristan Thompson was out with two fouls. But the Heels didn't fold, attacking the Longhorns off the bounce and using a 15-4 run over the final 7:30 of the half to take a 33-32 lead at the break.


In the second half, both teams came out on fire, but UNC, led by a career-high 18 points from Dexter Strickland, finally found their transition game. On three different occasions, Strickland was able go coast to coast for a layup -- two of which came off of made baskets -- and UNC was able to hold a two possession lead for much of the second half, pushing it to seven three times.

But, as UNC's offense is wont to do, the Heels offense got bogged down for a string of three or four possessions late in the second half, and three straight Texas baskets gave the Horns a 70-69 lead with less than three minutes left. The teams would trade baskets before Thompson -- who was an animal inside over the last four minutes of the game -- got his second dunk in heavy traffic with 45 seconds left for a 74-73 lead. After two free throws from J'Covan Brown, UNC had the ball with 24 second left and down three points. Roy Williams called a time out, drew up a play for Harrison Barnes, and the freshman came off of a screen and drilled a three with 11.7 seconds left to tie the game. It set up this:



With the loss, UNC drops to 7-4 on the season, although the team that took the floor Saturday afternoon looked much improved over the UNC we have seen earlier this season. The win for Texas was important for two reasons. First of all, the Longhorns are entering the most difficult part of their schedule. Their next two games are at Michigan State and at home against UConn before they start Big XII play. But, more importantly, it was a breakout game for freshman point guard Cory Joseph. Joseph had 21 points, and in contrast to the potential game-winner he threw over the back board against Pitt in MSG a month ago, the freshman buried UNC with a tough, turnaround against very good defense. When Joseph, Jordan Hamilton, Tristan Thompson, and J'Covan Brown are all clicking, Texas has a team with a lot of offensive weapons.


This needs mentioning: St. Bonaventure 112, Ohio 107 4OT

Ohio fought back from 10 down with 9:42 left in regulation to force the first overtime on a three from DJ Cooper with 22 seconds left. In the first overtime, the lead changed hands four times before Cooper once again tied the game on a driving layup with 17 seconds on the clock before the Bonnies missed two free throws. The second overtime saw Ohio grab a three point lead, but Michael Davenport once again tied the game with a three pointer. Only four points were scored in the third overtime before St. Bonaventure opened up a five point lead in the fourth OT, making 7-8 free throws (after going 6-18 from the charity stripe in the first three overtimes) to hold on to the win.

The box score read something like a game of NBA 2K11. Cooper had 43 points, 13 assists, 8 steals, and 8 rebounds while shooting 17-41 from the floor. Andrew Nicholson of St. Bonaventure had 44 points, 12 boards, and 5 assists. Five other players reached double figures. Ohio took 101 shots, 40 from three. St. Bonaventure shot 56.7% from the floor. Five players fouled out. Six played more than 50 minutes. Four of them were on St. Bonaventure, with Nicholson logging all 60 minutes of game time. But, perhaps the most incredible stat, the Bonnies only got six points from their bench in 60 minutes of basketball.


Player of the Week: Josh Selby, Kansas

I'm not giving this to him just because he had an impressive performance against USC. Sure, he had 21 points and hit two clutch threes -- including the game-winner with 24 seconds left on the clock -- as the Jayhawks knocked off a scrappy USC team. But if we were rating a player based on their performance alone, Selby probably did not live up to his potential on this night. He was hot from three, there is no question, but Selby's not going to be going 5-8 from three every night. In fact, for a kid known for his slashing ability, Selby did strikingly little inside the arc. Fifteen of this 21 points came on threes, and he hit all three free throws when he was fouled shooting a three. He scored three points and took only three shots doing something other than spotting up while turning the ball over four times. Granted, that was a result of Selby being a good teammate and playing within the Kansas offense, but my point is that the Selby that is playing in the NCAA Tournament will be a different player than the one we saw on Saturday.


No, I'm giving Selby the player of the week in large part because its so damn hard not to feel great for this kid after the performance he had. Kansas was undefeated, but they weren't undefeated in impressive fashion, struggling to beat mediocre teams like Arizona and Memphis. The Jayhawk faithful, after seeing guys like Brandon Knight and Kyrie Irving play great basketball, had sky-high, almost unfair, expectations for the freshman. And, after sitting out nine games, Selby was debuting in a noon tip on a Saturday two hours before the college football bowl games were to start. There were a lot of eyes on this kid.

And not everyone was rooting for him to win. According to the NCAA, Selby is a cheater. He accepted $6,000 worth of illegal benefits and had a personnel relationship with Carmelo Anthony's business manager that the NCAA determined bordered too closely on professional.

Me? I wanted to see this happen. I wanted Selby to succeed. Here's a kid who grew up without the luxuries that many of us grow up with. He spent some time homeless as a kid when his single-mother lost her job. He lived in an area of Baltimore where violence was common. He saw his best-friend get pistol-whipped and had a cousin murdered when he was 15. I fail to see the sense in rooting against a kid that accepted what every recruit accepts and received advisement from a family friend that was illegal because of the job that friend holds.

I may in the minority here, but I want to see Selby succeed. And Hollywood couldn't have scripted a better debut.

The All-they-were-good-too team

• G: Marcus Jordan, Central Florida: Jordan scored 23 points on Saturday in a win over Miami. The win may have been costly, however, as Jordan looked like he injured his ankle at the end of the game.
  
• G: Jon Diebler, Ohio State: Diebler put on one of the most impressive shooting performances of the season, knocking down nine straight threes en route to 29 points in a win over Florida Gulf Coast.
  
• F: Khris Middleton, Texas A&M: Middleton scored a career high 31 points as the Aggies came from behind to knock off Arkansas on Saturday.
• F: Kris Joseph, Syracuse: Joseph had 21 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists to lead the Orange as they held off a scrappy Iona team.
  
• C: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State: The Buckeyes big man has to be considered the favorite to win the Big Ten player of the year award. He had 30 points and 19 rebounds on Saturday as OSU knocked off South Carolina 79-57.
  

Co-Teams of the Week: Florida Gators, UCLA Bruins, Gonzaga Bulldogs

We'll get into it more in a bit, but this week was the week of the upset as seven ranked teams were knocked off by unranked opponents. Florida, UCLA, and Gonzaga were three of the unranked teams to do the knocking off, and while it is still too early in the season to say that anyone needs to "desperately" win a game, it is safe to say that the Gators, the Bruins, and the Zags all really, really, really needed their wins.

• Florida put together one of the most impressive defensive performances of the season in their 57-44 win over Kansas State. The Gators didn't score for the first seven minutes of the game and, with nine minutes left in the half, they found themselves down 20-8. From that point on, K-State managed to score just 24 points, and that included a stretch when the Wildcats missed 23 of 24 field goals, 17 of those misses coming in a row. Perhaps more important, however, was that Kenny Boynton hit three straight threes at the end of the game to put it out of reach. Boynton had been ice cold for about four straight games. The top four in the SEC East are clearly defined, but their order will change on a daily basis.
  

• Talking about a tournament resume for UCLA at this point is a bit silly. Barring a miraculous turnaround, this team is not making the NCAA Tournament. That said, if they are going to make that turnaround, the Bruins, more than anything, seemed like they needed a boost of confidence. After beating BYU 86-79 in Southern California, the Bruins got it. I've said all along, there is talent on this UCLA roster, the issue is figuring out how to use that talent and being able to defend. Their defense was still relatively subpar on Saturday, but Reeves Nelson and Josh Smith dominated the Cougars in the paint offensively, and with Tyler Honeycutt and Zeke Jones hitting jumpers, UCLA was clicking. Can this win be a jumping off point for the Bruins?


• Gonzaga does not have a bad loss of their resume, but regardless of the stretch of your schedule, there's a point where you need to win something. Otherwise, teams like Oakland and Arkansas-Pine Bluff would be getting at-large bids every year. Gonzaga did just that on Saturday, knocking off Baylor 68-64. More impressive, however, was that the Zags did it with Steven Gray missing the entire second half with back spasms and Elias Harris in foul trouble throughout. He fouled out with more than six minutes left and the game tied. On Saturday, it was Robert Sacre (17 points), Marquise Carter (13 points and two big threes), Kelly Olynyk (the go-ahed three with a minute left), and Sam Dower that made the difference. Gonzaga still has Xavier, Oklahoma State, and Memphis in the non-conference. This team can still earn an at-large bid.
  

The Week of the Upset: As I mentioned before, seven ranked teams lost to unranked opponents last week. Considering the limited number of games that took place this week, the percentage of ranked teams that lost to their unranked opponents was incredibly high:

• Tennessee: The Volunteers, coming off of a huge win over Pitt in Pitt, proceeded to blow a 13 point lead and lose to Oakland 89-82 before struggling to find any semblence of an offense in a 49-48 loss at Charlotte. With Bruce Pearl's looming suspension, now is not a good time for Tennessee to be lacking leadership and an identity.


• Louisville: The Cardinals dropped a 52-46 decision to a Drexel team that absolutely dominated them inside. If you can force Louisville to play a half court game, they simply don't have the talent or size on the interior to score or rebound.


• UNLV: The Rebels lost 68-62 to UC Santa Barbara in a game that the Gauchos ran a zone the majority of the time. UNLV shot 29% on the game and just 6-29 from three. That will do it.


• BYU: The Bruins lost to UCLA 86-79 in LA. Am I the only one that think Jimmer Fredette is a bit overrated? I know the kid can blow up for 40 on any given night, but he plays no defense and turns the ball over too much. I'm not saying he isn't an all-american, but putting him in the conversation with guys like Kemba Walker, Jared Sullinger, or (healthy) Kyrie Irving is a stretch to me.


• Kansas State: So when is it time to panic for Kansas State fans? Scoring is a serious issue for this team, as is point guard play and low post play. In fact, about the only thing that this team is going well right now is rebounding and defending.
  


• Baylor: After losing to Gonzaga, the Bears still haven't won a game outside of Waco. This is also the first game that Baylor has played outside of Waco, and it was still in the state of Texas. I like this team, but there are still questions to be answered.


• Illinois: The Illini dropped a 57-54 decision to Illinois-Chicago -- a 4-7 team in the Horizon League -- on Saturday afternoon. Apparently, Illinois is just as inconsistent as they were last season. The Illini better be careful, as this kind of performance against Missouri on Tuesday will result in an embarrassing loss. Isn't it ironic, however, that the kid that was the hero for UIC on Saturday was named Darrin Williams?

Matchups of the Week:

• 12/21 - 7:00 pm: USC @ Tennessee
• 12/21 - 9:00 pm: UNLV vs. Kansas State
• 12/22 - 3:00 pm: Washington State vs. Mississippi State
• 12/22 - 7:00 pm: Dayton @ Seton Hall
  
• 12/22 - 7:00 pm: Texas @ Michigan State
  
• 12/22 - 9:00 pm: Missouri vs. Illinois
  
• 12/22 - 11:00 pm: Kansas @ Cal
• 12/22 - 11:00 pm: Xavier @ Gonzaga
• 12/23 - 8:00 pm: Georgetown @ Memphis
  

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