Thank you UCLA. Beat 'SC!

NCAAM, NCAAF

Dear Bruin Family,

I am a Bruin. I have never met John Wooden. I have never met Ben Howland. I have never met Jim Mora.

I believe I know John Wooden, Ben Howland, and Jim Mora. I know them because they have taught me and continue to teach me. They have been exceptionally good teachers because they are an essential part of my family, the Bruin Family.

Professors Wooden, Howland, and Mora can be as inspirational and instructional as any academic professor, especially when you attend one of the best sports schools of all time.

I need to share stories of my continuing education even though I ended my formal undergraduate education at UCLA in 2010.

In early 2011, I faced a difficult time in my life.  I had personal health issues that required my immediate family to take care of me.  With their help and the support of my extended family, including the Bruin variety, I recovered to where I now feel that I am a better and stronger person than before my illness.

While I worked my way back to good health—a day at a time—I read the writings of John Wooden’s book with Steve Jamison:

WOODEN

A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court

This book was great to “drink in.”  It was not the novel ideas that stuck with me. It was the reinforcement of ideals and values that I already had acquired over the years from my family, my friends, my teachers, my community, and from my own sense of self. In what was the least confident time of my life I received a boost of confidence from John Wooden. It carries weight when John Wooden tells you that you are a good person.

Ben Howland provided the best entertainment of my college experience. From my first year, he gave me three straight Final Fours. That was fun, but I think I loved his defense even more.  Watching the way in which he produced championship caliber teams was entertainment in its purest form.  He was only denied full vindication in the record books because of two practically unbeatable Florida teams and a Memphis team with one of the best players that plays basketball.  I know that if those UCLA teams re-matched the original victors 100 times each, Ben Howland would not allow the Bruins to win less than 51.

Ben Howland was successful at his dream job. Unfortunately, he was fired this year. He was fired because he did not give what people demanded—wins and more trophies. I know he did everything in his power to achieve wins without compromising how to be successful.  He was fired the year he refocused a young team with no depth to win the conference season title. That was magical work. He lost the conference tournament final and early in the big dance because a tragic injury made overcoming depth issues too big to overcome, for any man or team.  The injury was tragic because Jordan Adams injured himself committing to play elite Ben Howland defense. Adams did not give up before the job was done. The job got done that evening thanks to Adams and the entire UCLA team, but bad breaks can happen to good people. Muhammad got the hype and the honors, Anderson got the honorable mention, and Adams earned the title of the most essential player in 2012-2013 season. (By no means am I forgetting the leadership and record performance of Drew or work ethic of the Wear twins down to the last man on the bench.  If people blindly focus too much on the freshmen, then I must adapt to speak their language.)

Ben Howland was not successful at UCLA because he went to three straight final fours. He was not successful because he trained players that “somehow” do well in the NBA. He was not successful because UCLA won conference titles or tournaments. He was successful because he was a Coach in every essential way Wooden would envision. For those of you who still demand “results,” here is one that a true Bruin should know: John Wooden died on June 4, 2010. Ben Howland was coach of UCLA Men’s Basketball on June 4, 2010. John Wooden went to rest peacefully knowing a man like Howland was coaching his family.

I have a friend that knows Ben Howland professionally and I imagine personally.  While other students, media, and fans criticized him, she never spoke ill of him to me. Far too many would salivate at the opportunity to say negative things in a similar professional relationship. Never once did I hear any malice or regret directed at Coach.  She is a Bruin. In fact, I was lucky enough for her to share with me small things about Coach Howland that made me laugh more than she knows. I never asked for her to share a story to make me smile. She did anyway.

I have another friend who was born with Bruin Blue blood. He was bred into the family. I was lucky enough to be adopted in my teen years. One time at a home game, friends and I spotted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar across Pauley. He was schmoozing with what we thought were little kids. Then we realized Kareem was actually engaged with our die-hard fan of a friend. We laughed. Kareem is really that tall. We were jealous and could not be happier for our friend.

Today, I watched what Jim Mora is cooking. The team played well in the first half while making mistakes.  The players played as a team for each other while honoring a fallen member of their family. Their mistakes were the reason UCLA trailed at halftime. It did not matter. They were already prepared and ready to end the game before it started.  UCLA went back to work in the second half. Beautiful. A Memorial win.

Watch Jim Mora’s post game interview. Ignore the questions and drink in what you feel.  There is not a wasted word, a compromising emotion, or an unearned praise. That is how a Coach should perform. It is no surprise that Mora’s team responded to the model he provides.

Bruin Family, please do not forget the importance of the education we all receive from each other. Please, do not demand a National Championship from Mora.  Expect that he can deliver one, and one day maybe he will.  That will be a nice trophy, but it will be moot to the education that UCLA gives.  We are proud of our versatile education because our educators are professors, mothers, fathers, coaches, and friends. 

It took more seasons for John Wooden to build a championship team than it took for him to set the record for “most championship winning coach.”

Love,

Bruin for Life

'D'isecting the Madness

NCAAM

It's been a few days since the dust settled and a champ was crowned. The University of Connecticut's Men's basketball team, better known as UConn, took home the 2011 title by defeating a Butler squad in what has been coined a lackluster final.  Everyone and his mother called the game “poor” by championship standards.  Despite CBS's best efforts, I refuse to  jump on the "ugly game" bandwagon.  What I saw was a defense-dominated game. While everyone focused on the lack of offensive firepower, I saw defensive execution.  It may have looked ugly to some, but a beauty to the defensive minded. Amen!

The title game's pacing and style appeared to be Butler's M.O.  Every shot was contested making the rims look tight.  A low scoring affair was to Butler's advantage, so they say.  Halftime and Butler was up three.  So far, so good for the Bulldogs.  Then came the second half.  UConn clamped down on D, using their superior size and athleticism to stymie Butler's attempt to get inside.  The Bulldogs couldn't penetrate and, as a result, all Butler could muster was to chuck three, after three, after three.  Contested threes proved to be no match for the inside presence that UConn was able to establish.  Butler played great defense too, but was unable to match the defensive dominance of UConn.  12 of 64 from the field is not bad shooting.  It's the result of excellent D.  The Huskies took off after an early second half run and never looked back because their defense was on lockdown.

The two teams only met in the NCAA final because of defense.  Darn straight it should be settled by such.  Coming into the title bout the media, like always, focused on the stars of offense: UConn was riding Kemba Walker, their top playmaker and best individual offensive player in the tourney (other than BYU's Jimmer Fredette).  Butler's "stars" were a clutch Shelvin Mack and a relentless Matt Howard.   However, as we all saw, the true reasons for a UConn v. Butler final was defense and coaching.  These are what should be the cornerstones of college basketball. 

College shouldn't be treated as a stepping-stone showcase for the NBA.  A friend of mine once said college is like a summer camp where parents send their kids to learn and grow up.  It's true, more than the academia, college is platform for maturation.  For athletes it should be no different.  Even if you "know" you're going to the pros, take advantage of what college has to offer and mature your game.  Enroll in Defense 101.  Why? 1) Because learning defense is an essential part of your arsenal if you want to make it in the pros, 2) your team will win and 3) you may win a national championship.

Albeit the UConn Huskies are immortalized for winning the title, I will always remember two professors of defense as the real stars of this year's tourney: coaches Brad Stevens of Butler and Shaka Smart of VCU.  These two led their mid-major teams to the Final Four by preaching defense.  Both teams excelled beyond expectations because of defensive execution and intensity.  For Butler, a team that lacked NBA star power returned to the championship game by playing sound team defense with a well-executed deliberate offense.  Despite their valiant effort, the Bulldogs were no match for the size and athleticism of the Huskies who did what? Play even better defense!

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!

The Madness Begins!!!!!!!

NCAAM

It's here! It's time to celebrate the wondrous season that is March Madness! Get ready! Get pumped! “The Big Dance” is on the horizon. Forget prom, it’s time for college basketball’s postseason. In the next few weeks, young men will captivate us with their mental and physical fortitude by playing a kid's game on a national stage. Teamwork will shine and stars will be born. As for the fans… well, we will go wild. I can’t wait.

For those of us who are basketball fans, we get to watch an exciting finish, after exciting finish, after exciting finish. Nothing in basketball beats a close finish. It’s where players scratch and claw their way into saving their season, and for some, their basketball careers. With the time winding down every additional possession weighs heavily. You’d expect some cracking under pressure, but the opposite takes over: gutsy, unbelievable basketball. It’s what matriculates when teams lay it all on the line. As a result, the amount of neck-and-neck games THE tournament produces is astounding.

This year expect no different. Citing the Men's Warehouse, "I guarantee it!" Anyone who's watched the dance knows that frenetic finishes take over. It's freakish to see that every time a big three is needed, the prayer is answered. It is the anti-Murphy's Law--what can go right will go right. Why? It's March Madness! The best explanation I can muster is that March Madness's reason for existence is to promote pure excitement. This edge-of-your-seat-drama is not only a requirement; it’s an addiction. Why else would people call in a sick-day to watch a bunch of kids play a sport? Why else would I wire a radio through my jacket so I could follow the games in class? Maybe, I’m crazy, but I’m not alone. Luckily for us, down-to-the-wire exciting finishes is what we all will be feasting over beginning this Thursday.

This past week, the conference tournaments blessed us with a sneak preview of the madness. Anyone catch the Ivy League playoff (a buzzer-beater) or Pac-10 championship game (overtime buzzer-beater)? They were nuts! Blood pressure is on the rise and tourney games have barely begun. Sorry NBA, but NCAA is where amazing happens.

As we follow the path into the Madness, don’t forget to stop in Upset City. Yes, the madness has this as well. No sports competition has as many upsets as the madness of March (for you sports newbies: upset = the underdog winning). Consequently, the next few weeks will bring more mood swings than a pregnant woman. Prides will get crushed and self-proclaimed geniuses will surface all because of a little thing called THE BRACKET.

For everyone who cares to participate, ladies, oldies, you name it, the bracket ignites a fun competition along with a plethora of emotions--stress, ecstasy, sadness, etc. The bracket consumes us. You can't deny it. There are two reasons for this: uniqueness and difficulty. When you complete your bracket you will be the only one that you know with that exact bracket. You may happen to share a championship team, or your Final Four will overlap with another's, but no two brackets will match up completely. You will have your very own baby of a bracket, and you'll fall in love. Because of this uniqueness, you will not be judged on how perfect you are (don't worry no one is), but rather how you match up against your family, friends, and/or workplace. Brackets are the definition of a friendly competition that crosses multiple boundaries. Everyone has a chance to win. Doesn't matter if you're a boy, girl, man, woman, or dog. If you have a bracket, you have a shot for glory.

As for difficulty, there is no perfect way to choose your bracket. The Madness is simply too unpredictable. No one is an expert, but everyone is an expert. How you choose your destiny is up to you and only you. You can "play it safe" and go with all the high seeds, or you can roll the dice by going by your favorite numbers, by favorite colleges, by mascot, by names, or even choose by who you think is the best looking (It's true, I've seen a "beauty bracket" before). Despite how hard you study or how much you think you know, you undoubtedly will be wrong somewhere. The impossible difficulty of predicting a correct bracket makes it challengingly fun. You can be completely wrong and no one will care. However, if you're right (relatively)--bragging rights for the next year along with whatever rewards come in your prize pool.

Normally I would release some sort of predictions for the playoffs. Oh no, not here. In March Madness it's sacrilege to release your picks before the tourney starts. (You must protect yourself so that no one swoops YOUR picks. The madness necessitates every man, woman, and child for his or herself.) There are also too many match-ups to discuss and too much room for me to make a fool of myself. Instead, I'll save my pompous predictions for just my friends. You’re welcome guys. Time to bring on the MADNESS!!!!

P.S. GO BRUINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bru'in our Future

NCAAM

Wednesday, February 2nd, was "national signing day" for high school football recruits, a supposed future unveils on this day.  I will not discuss my distaste for this circus.  Instead, focus shall be on the "other" reason 2/2 was circled in our Bruin calendars: USC Trojans @ Pauley Pavilion.  How un-Amerrrican of me to choose college basketball over college football during the college basketball season!  Anyways, UCLA took care of business (woohoo!) on our beloved Wooden home court and the next UCLA match-up was introduced.  St. John's @ UCLA.  Steve Lavin vs. Ben Howland.  The last UCLA coach vs. the current UCLA coach.  Call me crazy for assuming that Lavin v. Howland will be the case everyone (aka media) will judge.  Either way, I am here to play some preemptive defense for Coach Howland.

You can't talk UCLA basketball or coaching without thinking John Wooden.  Wooden himself would say not to compare yourself with the past.  Case closed.  I wish...  "They" will compare stats.  It always starts with stats.  Wins and Losses.  Why?  Because stats imply the results that everyone believes is the end-all.  Again, an anti-Wooden philosophy.  Mr. Wooden would stress the importance of how you got to winning, not just that you won.  Stat comparisons incite conclusions with only part-information.  More makeshift comparisons lead "the mob of fans" to second-guessing our Coach and question whether he is fit for the job (see last year).  
 
We cannot live in the past (Lavin ain't coming back), and must proceed as fans of our team instead of critics.  However, learning from the past so as to not make the same mistakes is key.  While I'm not studied enough to judge properly Lavin's tenure, I do believe his termination was too hasty and possibly a mistake after one sub-par season.  I know we have high standards, especially at traditionally successful programs, but we must adapt to what society has given us--the overwhelming desire to grab cold hard cash.  It's why college athletes leave early for the Pros.  Universities are supposed to be viewed as institutions for higher learning, yet we publicize how it would be "stupid" for students to stay in school, risk injury and miss out on million$.  It's the ugly truth.  (Trust me, Andrew Luck made the right decision to stay in school.  Even if he gets hurt, he will have a degree from Stanford and have a good chance of surpassing the average NFL lifespan of 50 something.)  Lavin was a casualty of the tragic trend for college athletes to jump ship.

Can you blame players like Baron Davis for deciding to leave early? No, that's his call. And you won't either after you see his UCLA highlights (and pre-injury reel): Baron Davis UCLA.  However, this has been a recent trend and we judge and criticize faster than we adapt.  The NBA saw too many high school "ballers" skip college and wash-out.  Not everyone is Lebron James or Kobe Bryant.  Too many were getting ill-advised perspectives to chase the money.  So, the NBA instituted an age-limit rule that basically forced basketball stars to try college for at least a year.  This rule has good intentions to guide young men on the right path, but it threw the college coaching system under the bus.  The John Caliparis are getting credit for scooping up NBA-ready athletes to bring temporary success and quick cash to their programs.  Such high recruiting pressures results in unethical and, consequently, illegal moves.  Of course, you could always leave your school (let them take the punishment) and you could get paid elsewhere (for example: Derrick Rose, Reggie Bush and their respective coaches).  Whatever happened to the idea of leading by example?

Before I get too carried away, time to channel my rage against greed into praise for one of my favorite coaches.  Howland is an excellent college coach.  One of the best defensive minds.  My freshman year buddy once told me "college is where you learn to play defense."  He was right.  In high school, these teens outmatch almost everyone that they don't need to focus on being coached (or maybe their high school coach isn't equipped to).  And who wants to learn when you're a teenager who "thinks" you're on top of the world?  The NBA is the best of the best, and unless you are a machine like Lebron James, you need coaching, especially on the fundamentals.  That's where Wooden painted his masterpiece and where Howland is doing his best impression.

Howland has gotten the best out of his cards.  Three consecutive final fours were built beautifully.  I'm glad Wooden got to see these teams.  They played solid team D, worked together, stayed disciplined, and exceeded expectations.  Each team got better as the year progressed, playing its best ball for the title run and each final four knock-out was reasonable.  Florida (2 times) was simply stacked: arguably one of the best college teams ever, who rocked two current top-10 NBA centers.  Memphis beat UCLA by the Derrick Rose factor and that win has since been forfeited.  Even though UCLA didn't win it all, Howland and his young men did their best.  Well done.

Howland then got punished for his success.  He brought in a "heralded" recruiting class.  This fabulous freshmen class had all the talent in the world.  Dangerous.  Their egos were through the roof and it resulted in UCLA's recent downfall.  They didn't believe in their coach and UCLA tanked.  Talent can't take you everywhere.  You need to earn it, not be born with it.  Good coaches don't stay down and neither will Howland.

UCLA's team is getting better each game and I'm excited for the future.  My college roommate (former Bruins sports writer) told me to watch out for next year.  We got all the pieces lining up: Reeves Nelson, arguably the hardest worker since Arron Afflalo; Tyler Honeycutt, an NBA-body who in a different system would be showcased and an early departure; Joshua Smith, a beastly freshman, who is only slowed by his lack of collegiate coaching and trainers; Malcolm Lee and Jerime Anderson, holdovers from "that recruiting class" who refused to quit; and our new point guard Lazeric "Zeek" Jones, a junior college transfer who has worked hard to overcome his lack of high school exposure because he backed up who? Derrick Rose.  Our General in the backcourt has got the right feeling: "I felt like I wasn't a true Bruin, until I beat USC."  LOVE it!  Don't forget the rest of our team like Tyler Lamb, Anthony Stover and the Wear Twin Towers.

Even if we don't succeed next year, I guarantee you Howland grooms his players (like Wooden) to succeed.  Howland has consistently produced excellent NBA players in Afflalo, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Darren Collison, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook.  They all succeed because they play great defense, work hard, and have excellent fundamentals.  I believe his most successful player will be one who won't ever make the NBA, Alfred Aboya.  He never had the best physical tools, but he worked hard on and off the court (attending graduate school his senior season).  I hope Aboya reaches his dream to become President of his native Cameroon.

There are still overwhelmingly successful players in the NBA who won't play defense.  This may be good enough for them and the casual fan, but I want to see the best in people.  It's tough to learn the basics unless you learn them properly and early.  Let college coaches teach higher education and stop trying to turn them into NBA puppets.  Monta Ellis would be Allen Iverson if he learned D and Amare Stoudemire could have been the best power forward in the league right now if he learned defense (both skipped college).

Judging a college coach should be more than about the wins and losses, especially at UCLA!  A college coach should be judged on one criterion: how he or she coaches the young men and women.  Sports exist because people love to play and through this love you can learn great values.  Everyone feels warmed by the stories of impoverished kids turning their life around through sports (see the Packers' Donald Driver's story this Super Bowl weekend).  Sports is the one tool society has blessed us with that pierces through all our hatred, biases, and economical disadvantages to bring joy to so many.  Unfortunately, in recent decades we have lost this belief.  We have become blinded by our greed for money.  Think about any kid who dreams of a world series homer, an NBA finals game-winner, a Super Bowl touchdown, or a World Cup goal.  That dream is beautiful and amazing.  It's not because of the endorsements that follow or the fat pay-check from your next free-agent signing.  It's because everyone dreams to do what they love.