UCLA Basketball 2012/13

(11/9/2012 - 12/28/2012)

*UCLA's new era in men's basketball will begin

with a shout out to the past;

the Bruins will open the 2012-13 season

in the newly-renovated Pauley Pavilion Nov. 9

against Indiana State,

the only other school at which

'UCLA legend' John Wooden coached...

UCLA Basketball

2012/13 Pre-Season Ranking:

*as of 17 Oct 2012

**as of 26 Oct 2012 

*Sports Illustrated.....#3

*the Bleacher Report.....#4

*Yahoo! Sports.....#4

*ESPN.....#7

*the Sporting News.....#11

*USA Today.....#13

**Associated Press.....#13

Roster

(As of 28 Oct 2012)

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class

*1 Tyler Lamb G 6-5 200 JR

*2 Joshua Smith C 6-10 305 JR

3 Jordan Adams G 6-5 220 FR

4 Norman Powell G 6-4 215 SO

5 Kyle Anderson G 6-9 235 FR

10 Larry Drew II G 6-2 180 SR

12 David Wear F 6-10 230 JR

13 David Brown G 6-3 185 SO

14 Nick Kazemi G 6-2 205 SO

15 Shabazz Muhammad G-F 6-6 225 FR

21 Khalid McCaskill G 6-6 195 FR

22 Josh Thomas F 6-7 215 SO

23 Tony Parker F-C 6-9 275 FR

24 Travis Wear F 6-10 230 JR

30 Aubrey Williams G 5-8 175 JR

44 Sooren Derboghosian C 6-10 240 JR

50 Adria Gasol C 6-10 220 FR

*left the program...

Schedule

(subject to change)

Date Opponent Location Time/Result/Record

11/9/12 Indiana State @Pauley, W 86-59 1-0

notes:

the atmosphere at Pauley Pavilion last night was exciting,

the Bruins were not... at first.

after a 'VERY' sluggish start,

the UCLA Basketball team finally started to play.

the Wear boys looked strong,

frosh' Adams, Anderson, and Parker made an immediate impact.

junior Josh Smith continues to disappoint; looks like a fish out of water. the team still looks as if they need to gel.

*my opinion of Shabazz Muhammad is 'my thoughts.11.3'

AP #13 USA #13 

11/13/12 UC Irvine @Pauley, W 80-79 2-0

(Legends Classic Game 1)

notes:

as I totally expected;

Pauley Pavilion was barely half filled w/all of 'us' hard-core

UCLA BRUIN Basketball fans.

*not the 'wanna-be's' who only show-up sometimes.

ok, game time: the Team started out very strong and was literally running up and down the court the first 10min and making everything. they had a commanding performance going,

until they got 'anteatered'.

because of missed free throws by UC Irvine w/3secs left,

the game extended into overtime where the Bruins won by one.

this game 'should have been a lost'; not because of a lack of offense, but because their defense was non-existent.

get you shit together Coach Howland with this Team,

and quit worrying about S.M.'s ineligibility.

AP #13 USA #14  

11/15/12 James Madison W 100-70 3-0

(Legends Classic Game 2)

notes:

the first UCLA Basketball game I've watched on tv this season.

as slow/sluggish as Team Bruin has started their 2 other games,

this one was the complete opposite.

these boys came out to play.

EVERYBODY (the entire Team) was running on all cylinders,

and they were running lean!!!

so. N. Powell/27pts & fr. J. Adams/25pts led the Bruins.

kudo's to jr. J. Smith/11pts for hustling on the court when

he was brought into the game (17min)...

this game was the first in 3yrs that UCLA scored 100pts.

still some work to do, but these boys are looking better.

AP #13 USA #14

**11/16/2012 6pm...

BREAKING NEWS:

ESPN #2 H.S. player/2012;

Shabazz Muhammad has been reinstated by the NCAA

and will be allowed to participate w/Team-Bruin immediately!

Go UCLA...

11/19/12 Georgetown L 70-78 3-1

(Legends Classic Semi-Finals, @Barclay's Center, Brooklyn)

notes:

this game wasn't as close as the final score reflects.

very, VERY disappointed with everything.

instead of focusing on Shabazz finally being able to play,

the Team should have concerned themselves with

playing the game of basketball.

this Team has the potential to be one-of-the-best,

but their team-play needs to improve.

AND wtf happened to playing 'Howland-Defense'?

terrible!!!

AP #11 USA #13  

11/20/12 Georgia 60-56 W 4-1

(Legends Classic Finals, @Barclay's Center Brooklyn)

notes:

truth be told;

I only watched the last 10min of the 2nd half.

this year's Team is going to be much different from past teams;

no longer letting their defense dictate the games outcome,

these Bruins are going to just run & gun and try to

out-score everybody.

good luck with that boys...

AP #11 USA #13

11/25/12 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo L 68-70 4-2

notes:

damn you UCLA!!!

you have a 16pt lead with 12min left and you blow the game.

TOO MANY 'wanna-be' individual superstars,

and not enough team players.

and I am so sick of hearing about this Shabazz;

the 'boy' hasn't shown me shit!

*he did take the last shot tonight w/1sec left from the 3pt for the win... boom! NADA!

I think the Team was better-off w/o this person.

and of course I see Coach Howland sitting next to this kid on

a break stroking his ego... SHIT!!!

AP NR USA #24

*NOW maybe because this 'potential' possible championship contender has un-graciously dropped-out of the 'public-eye' as a REAL college basketball Team, they will ALL get their 'heads-outa-their-asses' and play the game as it was meant to be played;

AS A TEAM!!!

Coach Howland, I love you man;

but this being 'nice-shit' has got to stop!!!

stop coddling these 'over-talented under-achieving' man-childs and shove a toilet brush up their asses to rid their egos of the shit they've been listening to their entire lives of how great they are!!!

YOU HAVE A CHAMPIONSHIP CALIBER TEAM;

THEY EITHER PLAY AS ONE, OR THEY CAN GO ELSEWHERE!!!

Everybody is replaceable...

11/28/12 Cal State Northridge W 82-56 5-2

notes:

the first game that I haven't watched this season.

I don't have any 'first-hand' observations concerning the game itself, but did read 'the box-score' and was pleased with the results.

in other news:

it appears that the Team lost another player #2 Joshua Smith.

I have not read the exact details, but sportscenter reported that he no longer wants to play basketball, anywhere.

that's a shame;

I think if his heart & soul had been more 'into the game' he

could have been a very decent player.

*his weight was/is always an issue though.

AP NR USA #24

12/1/12 San Diego State L 68-78 5-3

(Wooden Classic @Honda Center)

notes:

this UCLA Team is not going to live-up to the expectations that was once drawn-up for them to achieve.

is it their fault, or ours?

maybe both!

the Team tonight still looks to be out-of-sync in all areas of the game, that is apparent in the way they are being dominated by other teams with less talent on the floor.

my problem is; as a 'serious fan' of the program,

I take the defeats more personally than I should.

even lashing-out at the players who I should be cheering hardest for. my apologies.

Team-Bruin;

you have 23+ games left this season,

make each of them count!!!

Go UCLA, I LOVE YOU...

AP NR USA NR

12/8/12 vs. Texas W 65-63 6-3

(@Reliant Stadium, Houston, Tx)

notes:

the Team was looking very powerful for 5min into the game,

then... not.

why do these kids think they are so good that they can just cruise

to a victory every time they play?

they aren't that good!,

and I don't think they ever will be...

too many missed opportunities, and not enough defense.

on the plus; if these kids got their shit together,

they could 'outrun' ANYONE!!!

AP NR USA NR

12/15/12 Prairie View A&M W 95-63 7-3

notes:

I arrived to Pauley approximately 8min into the game

and the UCLA Bruins were 'rockin & rollin'.

I couldn't believe it.

the entire Team looked awesome;

they were passing, running, scoring, and team defense was better. yes, the team they were playing were of lesser talent,

but so were a few other teams they've played this year.

whatever they did during this week in practice worked.

Go Bruins!

AP NR USA NR

12/18/12 Long Beach State W 89-70 8-3

notes:

there was never really any doubt once the game got underway

that the victory was ours.

except for the hurried shots, lack of defense, and a few errant passes; it was a total team effort.

I haven't seen the 'run & gun' offense since the 1990's when

Jim Harrick was coach.

and the idea that a Ben Howland Team is not strong on defense is

mind blowing.

but this is UCLA Bruin's 2012/13, so be it.

as far as the Team play tonight;

fair amount of passing, more than a few missed opportunities,

and as I mentioned above, NO defense.

but... the Team is looking better.

AP NR USA NR

 12/22/12 Fresno State W 91-78 9-3

notes:

the UCLA Bruins had 7pts at the 5min mark of the game,

and then finished w/91pts.

I missed this game because of my Kissmas Party 2012,

but did watch w/30+ at my house.

first & foremost;

this Team has absolutely no defense, period.

and the worse offender,

Shabazz Muhammad.

yes he is a scoring ball-hog,

yes he is mildly talented,

and yes he is using UCLA as a platform to his NBA career.

(I despise the 'one & done' brats)

but seriously, his defensive skills are a complete joke.

almost cartoonish.

I wish he had never come to the Team.

AP NR USA NR

12/28/12 #7Missouri W 97-94 10-3

notes:

the UCLA Team that played tonight was awesome.

is this for real, or was this a mirage?

kudo's go to:

the Wear brothers, DrewII, Adams,

and Shabazz Muhammad.

yes I admit I've been hard on Muhammad in this forum,

and TONIGHT he proved me wrong.

I will not belittle this 'good victory' with negativity,

only say 'keep it going'.

pauley's crowd was loud and proud.

Tonight the UCLA Bruins played UCLA Basketball.

I have said this all season; they ARE a championship team.

they proved it with this win!!!

AP 34 USA 35

continued on 'UCLA Basketball 2012/13.1'...

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