Bruins Nation

UCLA Basketball Recruiting Class Ranked Number 1

2012-05-17T17:37:23Z

UCLA Basketball Recruiting Class Ranked Number 1

ESPN has more new stuff on their Insider page

UCLA Athletic Department Financials Disappoint Under Chianti Dan

2012-05-17T14:00:12Z

USA Today is out with a report on college athletics financials, and once again, Chianti Dan's performance does not justify his outsized salary, with the school reporting sharply rising expenditures, even as the total revenues are down from 2008 and 2009 along with contributions, while-on-the-field performance in revenue sports is also down.

Out the window of Mack Brown's office sits the sixth-largest stadium in college football, empty and quiet on a warm spring morning but the center of the Texas universe, packing in 100,000-plus, on game days in the fall.

Big is good in this state. Bigger is better still. A short walk away is a 20,000-square-foot weight room and an equally recruiting-friendly, state-of-the-art locker room complete with gaming stations and a nutrition bar. Brown, himself, is one of the highest-paid coaches in his sport — at better than $5 million a year, pulling down more than four NCAA Division I schools spend on their entire athletics program.

"The thing you know at the University of Texas," he says, "is that you're going to be able to have the best of the best and you're going to have it on a yearly basis. … I wouldn't swap with anybody."

And as we've pointed out before (in case the clueless Morgan Center types don't get it) football success means lots of money for everything else -- including a $6 million dollar payment to the school's academic programs:

Football merely fronts the largesse. In the past three years, USA TODAY Sports' annual analysis of college athletics finances shows, no college athletics program has out-earned or outspent the colossus that is Texas.

The Longhorns took in a little more than $150 million in 2010-11, the most recent year for which public schools' filings with the NCAA are available. That outdistanced second-place Ohio State by $18.5 million. The 'Horns' outlay for football and 19 other varsity sports was $133.7 million, almost $11.5 million more than Ohio State put into its 36 teams.

Texas' program is one of only 22 across Division I that operate in the black — it generated enough revenue to cover athletics expenses — an increasingly touchy issue in times of shrinking state allocations and economic stress in higher education. Moreover, the Longhorns kicked $6 million back to the school's academic side a year ago.

At UCLA, total revenue for 2011 was $66,003,893, up from 2010, but down from 2008 and 2009. Expenses are up sharply from 2010. Interestingly, the school is reporting that it spend exactly the same as it brought in for for every year from 2007-2011, suggesting that there is some creative bookkeeping occurring.

The total subsidy for 2011 is $2,587,439, of which $60,000 is from school funds, the remaining amount is student fees. Contributions were $7,808,406 in 2011, down sharply from 2009 and 2010. On the expenses side, coaching staff expenses were $24,699,821, while "other expenses" were $24,429,080.

For contrast, Texas had $0 in student fees and $0 in school funds. Total revenue at Texas increased every year from 2006-2011, with 2011 revenue at $150,295,926. Interestingly, Texas's contributions have also gone up nearly every year.

Ohio State also has had no student fees or school funds and continued increases in revenue although the Buckeyes have had to deal with a decrease in contributions.

UCLA has now dropped to 34th in revenue. As we previously noted in our facilities series, UCLA was 25th in revenue for 2007-2008:

In 2007-2008, UCLA's athletic department was 25th in revenue, with $66 million, putting the Bruins' revenue ahead of Cal (28), Minnesota (29), Washington (33), Oregon (36), Louisville (44), North Carolina State (55), and TCU (57) all schools that are upgrading or have significantly upgraded their facilities. Additionally, with significant Pac-12 revenues arriving in the near future, and a huge and successful alumni base, money is absolutely not a legitimate excuse.

Now, Louisville (15) Oregon (17), Minnesota (23) Washington (30), have passed UCLA in revenue, and all have improved their rankings in revenue, while UCLA's revenue ranking has decreased. Another Chianti Dan failure, and just one more reason among many why Chianti Dan needs to go.

Dwyane Wade is a punk. Should have been a flagrant 2, ejection, and suspension. So of course David...

2012-05-17T02:49:21Z

Dwyane Wade is a punk. Should have been a flagrant 2, ejection, and suspension. So of course David Stern, the most incompetent administrator this side of Chianti Dan, decides that blindside cheapshots are okay if you're a superstar.

UCLA Football Graduation Rate Still Lags Under Chianti Dan

2012-05-16T22:00:02Z

Back in the fall, I covered the topic of UCLA's graduation rates for student athletes. At the time, the overall graduation rate was quite good, but the Football program lagged the rest of the sports rather dramatically with a 59% graduation rate.

Well nothing has changed in that respect. The latest set of data released by the NCAA (HT The Bootleg) shows that UCLA is still 9th in the PAC-12 in graduation rates for football, at 59%, besting only Cal and Arizona. The top dogs in the conference are Stanford and Washington, at 87% and 76% respectively. This is based on the Graduation Success Rates, which are "four class" graduation rates, i.e. the combined graduation rates for the four most recent classes for which information has been reported. This analysis covers graduation rates for the classes that reached the end of their six-year graduation windows in the years 2007 through 2010.

Football Graduation Rates: Pac-12
Stanford	87%
Washington	76%
Arizona St.	64%
Oregon	63%
Washington St.	62%
Utah	62%
USC	61%
Oregon St.	60%
Colorado	59%
UCLA	59%
Cal	54%
Arizona	48%

You have to admit, given Stanford's recent success on the gridiron, it is still impressive to have that kind of graduation rate.

It seems a bit odd that the other two academic powerhouses in the PAC-12 have such terrible graduation rates in football (Cal's is 54%, one of the worst 10 in the country). What gives?

Follow me after the jump.

You may find it bizarre that UCLA's football graduation rates are so far behind the rest of their sports. UCLA's basketball graduation rate is 75%, and 70% for baseball. Weirdly, Cal's basketball grad rate is horribly bad, at 33%.

Overall, UCLA's student athlete graduation rate is a respectable 83%, second in the PAC-12 behind Stanford and tied with Washington. (side note: Arizona has the worst overall graduation rate...in the country!)

Grad Rates for All Athletes: Pac-12
Stanford	94%
Washington	83%
*UCLA*	*83%*
Oregon	80%
Utah	79%
Arizona St.	79%
Cal	79%
USC	78%
Oregon St.	77%
Washington St.	75%
Colorado	74%
Arizona	67%

Look, we all know that classes at UCLA are not for the lazy or unmotivated. But why are the graduation rates for football so far behind the other sports? Here are some possible reasons:

A. UCLA Football players can't keep up in the classroom and flunk out

B. UCLA is recruiting the wrong type of student athletes who are not prepared for the rigors of a college curriculum

C. The Athletic Department does not provide enough resources to help football players succeed in the classroom

D. UCLA does not offer enough majors that are less stringent and "athlete-friendly"

E. A lot of UCLA football players get drafted to the NFL and don't come back to graduate

F. Spaulding Field emanates noxious gases that cause impairments in brain activity

If you pick E, clearly you're not paying attention (UCLA had 0 players drafted this year). And I am kidding about F...sort of.

In all seriousness, I think it is a combination of things, but at the very top of the list and way ahead of other reasons, I pick C. With our admissions already being one of the most stringent in the conference, I am pretty sure that most of the football players are prepared enough. But given the historical lack of support for the football program, I am inclined to blame it on the lack of support, i.e. tutors, study areas, etc. Rick Neuheisel pointed to the need for less stringent majors, but I think in the end, improved support would do the trick.

Headlines in the Bruin Twitterverse

2012-05-16T19:00:16Z

Welcome to our newest feature here on BN, where I justify following hundreds of people on Twitter to give you the most interesting, relevant, and fun Bruin related tweets. They're not just about the athletics programs, but about UCLA in general, Westwood, and other fun tidbits from the lives of our favorite current, past and future Bruins.

First, congratulations are in order to Brandon and Jalynne Crawford, he of UCLA Baseball (and current SF Giant) and she of UCLA Gymnastics, as they announced they are expecting their first child together.

First of many pictures this baby is going to be taking with @JalynneC35 as its mommy... yfrog.com/kk7hitjj
— Brandon Crawford (@bcraw35) May 9, 2012

That is going to be a VERY beautiful baby.

Checking in on the men's basketball team, LMR is working out with the team.

Another great workout with the ucla kids. They look great. Norman Powell, Josh Smith looks great and Lamb is improving. #BRUINS
— Lorenzo Mata(@RealMataLo) May 10, 2012

Gavin Smith is still missing. For updates, please visit the website linked up by his son.

SOMEBODY has to know something. Seen him. Anything. I need my Dad. Help me bring him home. #USC #Trojans findgavinsmith.com
— Evan Christian Smith (@EvanSmith22) May 8, 2012

Look who else has been on campus!

Producer Rick Rubin & Record Executive Mo Ostin on campus hanging with the Bruins! twitter.com/Ben_Howland/st…
— Ben Howland (@Ben_Howland) May 11, 2012

RIP Adam Yauch/MCA.

Bruin Alums always root on their fellow alums, especially those in the playoffs:

OK @TheRyanHollins I SEEEEE YOU!!!! Get you Alley Oop on. #bruinalum #ucla
— Lorenzo Mata(@RealMataLo) May 14, 2012

and

My boy Ryan Hollins catching lobs from rondo. #UCLAMensBaskeball alumni.
— Chris Horton (@ThePredator48) May 14, 2012

Bruins for life.

If you are watching the NBA Playoffs,

Three of the 8 teams in the NBA Conference Semifinals are led by UCLA point guards (Westbrook, Collison, Holiday) #PointGuardU
— UCLA Basketball (@UCLAMBB) May 14, 2012

Possible future Bruin Point Guard Kyle Anderson, who recently had surgery on his thumb, is still working hard.

Omw to workout. Lol yes im gonna try to workout with one hand. This is going to be frustrating !!! Lets see how it goes
— Vinny Chase (@KyleAnderson5) May 14, 2012

He didn't follow up with any comments about pain, so it looks like he survived.

Wisdom from our possibly starting QB this fall:

It's not what you are willing to do that will make you successful. It's what you are willing to do without in order to get there
— Richard Brehaut (@Brehaut1216) May 15, 2012

I know some of you may be interested in this game that came out on Tuesday. Is it... Diablo?

Well there's definitely one Bruin that is all over it - Chris Kluwe. Of course, not at midnight when it was Error 37'ing everywhere.

Judging from my timeline, I chose... wisely when I decided to go to bed last night instead of waiting for Diablo 3 to start up.
— Chris Kluwe (@ChrisWarcraft) May 15, 2012

Feel free to repost some of your favorite UCLA Tweets this week, or any interesting UCLA related Twitter accounts you have been following.

The Glass is Half Empty: UCLA Basketball Upperclassman

2012-05-16T12:00:20Z

Last week I wrote about the positive side of UCLA Basketball, the incoming freshman class and recruiting generally (More good news, UCLA is officially leading on Zach Lavine.) Let me add, I also feel good about Norman Powell. I think he is poised to make a sophomore leap, the year when many players improve the most. But now let me turn to my concerns, the upperclassman.

Let me emphasize I am not against the players (although I have qualms about two of them), but rather how Howland will handle them. For when I think of Howland’s problems the last few years, only one is of right now looking to be fixed (recruiting). The other three are: looking only to "win the next game", playing favorites, and dealing with problem attitudes. All three can be seen by playing upperclassman instead of more talented youth.

Let me say I have no doubt that Shabazz Muhammad will start and play. Howland is not stupid. But how will he use a 6’8" Point Guard (on offense at least) Kyle Anderson ? How will he handle the talented but raw underclassman is where the concerns abound. As some might say, how stubborn is Howland?

How the Smith Problem May Have Been Avoided

The start of the season last year was arguable the worst in UCLA history. To be a ranked team picked by the media to win the conference to losing to a flurry of teams that did not have one player that should make a good UCLA squad. It was so bad, later when the Bruins were playing better and beating USC it was the battle for second best team in LA (since LMU had already beaten UCLA.)

The team was supposed to be built around Josh Smith but as Marques Johnson infamously quipped at the start of the season: "Whoever listed Josh Smith weight at 305 is dyslexic." Josh was not capable of being the All-Star he was supposed to be. Now let me be clear: I do not think Howland could have controlled Josh going home and eating himself out of basketball shape. Yes, he could have inspired or motivated him some but it still was up to Josh.

No, what I blame Howland for is for what happen when Josh showed up allegedly weighing over 400 pounds. The answer was there for Howland and he did it to Josh his freshman. Josh came to UCLA as freshman over weight and what did Howland do:

Coach Ben Howland didn't want him picking up a ball from the time he arrived on campus in mid-June until the first of September. Not exactly what the 2010 4A state player of the year was expecting.

"It was difficult, considering I came down here on a basketball scholarship and didn't touch a basketball," said the 6-foot-10 Smith, who led Kentwood to the state title last March. "But I saw the bigger picture."

And now he sees a smaller, more svelte version of himself. Smith, who also worked with a nutritionist, has lost close to 50 pounds and dropped his percentage of body fat from around 26 percent to 19.

As soon as Smith showed up for practice or school in 2011-12 school year, Smith should have been working out full time, not playing basketball. Does anyone think that would have hurt UCLA's miserable start of 2011-12? Let's say Josh sits out the first 10 weeks would the start be any worse than 2-5?

But yes, even a fat Josh was able to make a few plays and help at times. But that just it, why did Howland play to gain that small advantage instead of getting Josh ready for the PAC 12? But that has been a problem with Howland, playing to win the next game and not thinking about the future.

Cutting Reeves May Cure the Cancer, But Not All the Sickness

If you're an optimist on UCLA basketball, it is tempting to say that getting rid of Reeves ended the attitude problems of UCLA basketball but I think two potential, if not cancers, malingers remaining on the team.

The first chemistry test will be how Howland handles Larry Drew II and Kyle Anderson. Kyle is a unique talent. He will present Howland many problems, mostly happy problems. But the one that could easily turn to unhappy is the how will "the other PG" Larry Drew II deal with Anderson? This is not an idle question as this Feb 4 2011 article discusses Drew quitting North Carolina in mid-season after being benched:

This season, Drew's parents were not happy with their son's current role and diminished playing time, according to sources close to the situation. But the vocal dissatisfaction and involvement goes back much further.

Sources confirmed to Inside Carolina that Sharon Drew, Larry's mother, called the basketball office irate back in 2009 upon hearing news that Williams had a conversation with then high school senior John Wall right before the Final Four. . . .

Multiple sources indicate that the knock on Drew from those close to the team is not that he was a bad teammate or that he maliciously undermined team chemistry, but rather that he wasn't fully invested. He was more of an absentee teammate than a bad teammate.

Sources also claim that the coaching staff expressed disappointment behind the scenes about Drew's commitment level - the lack of a gym rat's mentality to go the extra mile on his own time.

His teammates were not exactly fans:

Observations that Drew was a reserved, distant teammate don't mean much, though. He and Justin Watts (EDIT: and Tyler Zeller, duh) are the only two players remaining from the championship team, and he's had a lot of contemporaries leave the team in the last year. I might be reserved, too. Still the fact that his teammates found out about his departure on Facebook, and seem to be less than broken-up doesn't speak particularly well about him.

Howland will have to keep Drew II engaged and his parents under control.

The other bad attitude is Anthony Stover who while arguably the team joker, also is a person who has "never went the extra mile." I realize that many at Bruins Nation are fans of Stover. Stover really gives his all on the Defensive end. But that is just one part of the picture. In three years Stover has made zero progress on his offensive game. And the fault lies with Stover.

Stover was part of the partying crew of Jerime Anderson and others. While, by contrast Tyler Lamb was working hard on his offense in "The Say No League" and at the gym, Stover was organizing an athlete's party with Jerime. Stover is the last person left of the party crew exposed in the infamous Sports Illustrated Article. Stover was a buddy of Reeves Nelson and that article told the story of Stover (a career 31% free throw shooter) goofing off with Reeves during practice shooting free throws one-handed underhand. Stover undoubtedly stirred the pot with a tweet from a scouting service praising his play in a game and asking why he did not play more, in a seeming slap at the coaches. Stover also lost his cool in the WSU game.

If I could take a player aside and give him the "old man" speech to wake up and get to work before it is too late, it would be to Stover. Stover has so much talent and now must overcome an injury but seems content to cruise. I know next year Stover will block a couple shots and have a big effect on defense during a brief stretch of some games and many will say why doesn't he play more? But what I really want to hear is an announcer say something like "Stover makes Arizona pay again for doubling off him" or to read Peter Yoon write: "Stover was in the gym late practicing his free throws again yesterday."

Stover and Drew are not the cancers of Reeves Nelson or Drew Gordon but their attitudes can lead to other problems for the health of the team. Howland must be prepared to deal with team.

The Coach's Pets

Jokes abound about Nikola Dragovic and Ben Howland on Bruins Nation. Why did Howland play Dragovic so much? Even ridiculous theories involving sheep are worth joking about. The truth it seems is Howland likes upperclassman and is trying to win the next game, so much so that he has hurt himself. This was not an issue at the start of the final four run because in 2005-6, the upperclassman were not really his. It was easy to go to the young guys of JF, AA, and LRMAM.

But these days when a guy you recruit stays four years, you want to reward him. Or to put it less kindly, it seems, Howland would rather have a player who understands his system and practices well than a younger player who, while more talented, is going to make more mental errors short term.

This is a potential problem with the Wears. The Wears are very coachable kids who do everything that is asked of them. But there are some issues. First, the Wears are not just identical twins, they play a nearly identical style of game. It is tough to have two players with the same skill set on the floor at the same time. They are also not strong rebounders or defenders.

Second, the Wears, while very "coachable", are just not the most athletically gifted players. A good example of both the Wears effort and talent is their role in UCLA defense as shown by the following stat:

UCLA can hide behind the fact opponents averaged only 62.5 points and shot 41.7 percent last season, which isn't bad. But the truth about the Bruins' defense is more apparent in their numbers against their six NCAA Tournament opponents, who averaged 73 points and shot 55.1 percent.

The Wears and the talent challenged 2011-12 Bruins played well on D against lesser teams by the end of the year. But they could not handle moderately talented NCAA tourney teams (e.g. Cal) because the talent was not there. The Wears are great practice players and solid NCAA players. They are not stars and probably should not be starters on a team making a tourney run. This is not their fault as they just don't have the athletic ability to play big minutes with the best college players. Does Howland realize that?

Last of course is Tyler Lamb. Lamb like the Wears practices hard and pays his dues. He really improved on offense from his freshman to sophomore years but was still inconsistent. Lamb also seemed to have trouble defending more athletic people. He was supposed to be the defensive stopper on the team but was not up to the task much of the time.

The problem is not only that Lamb is not Shabazz Muhammad, it is also with Muhammad and Kyle Anderson likely playing big minutes, one of the wings or point guard must be able to cover a quick player. That is not Lamb. Can Howland bench Lamb for the good of the team? Or will he continue to play this hard working kid who is paying his dues but is another reason NCAA tourney teams shot so well against us? As the same article on defense writes:

The question of how the Bruins can defend with a point guard who is not a jet is a real one, but they'd be looking at defensive issues regardless of who they lined up at point guard. Although Shabazz Muhammad adds a necessary dose of athleticism on one wing, the presence of the Wear twins and Josh Smith and even recruit Tony Parker means the Bruins still will lack quickness in many alignments.

Howland has done step one to taking UCLA back where it belongs. No one doubts he can prepare talented and willing kids for the NBA. But how he manages the lesser talents and/or issues of the upperclassman next year will decide if he is successful. Not just for next year but the future.

UCLA Strikes In The Ninth To Edge Out Fullerton, 6-3

2012-05-16T07:59:49Z

Every time UCLA went in front, Cal St. Fullerton had an answer. The Bruins go up two, the Titans had two in response. The Bruins went up one, the Titans had one in response. The battle of Southern California's two best programs in recent years looked like just that as they played each other tight for eight innings, but when UCLA put three across in the ninth, Fullerton finally didn't have an answer. The dramatic nine innings finally tilted in the Bruins' favor as they quieted the Goodwin Field crowd with a 6-3 win over the Titans to sweep the series and lay temporary claim as the area's best.

Cody Keefer's three hits led the way for the Bruins and Trevor Brown had the game-winning RBI in the ninth inning as a pair of UCLA's usual suspects came through, but it was two freshmen who really stood out. Kevin Kramer had a hit, two RBI and a run scored in the game and Shane Zeile came off the bench to pick up two RBI as the youngsters made their presence felt.

The Titans did their part to help the Bruins out too, running into four outs on the base paths. Grant Watson managed just 4.2 innings, surrendering two runs, one earned, while waling three in the no decision. Eric Jaffe allowed three hits in 1.1 innings, but no runs and David Berg worked his usual scoreless inning. An unearned run came across against Ryan Deeter, who retired just one and Scott Griggs earned his first win of the season with three strikeouts in 1.2 smooth innings.

UCLA struck first with a pair of runs in the second inning. The frame started with Brown getting hit by a pitch and Pat Valaika followed that up with a base hit. After a sacrifice bunt moved each up 90 feet they were able to trot home on Kramer's double into the right center field gap to put the Bruins on top early.

Just because they struck first does not mean that the Bruins were comfortable. Watson was living dangerously from the get-go, allowing a man to reach third in the first inning. A man got to second in the second inning and the first two Titans in the third reached in the third inning so while the Bruins were still in front, 2-0, after three frames, it wasn't as if Watson was dominating.

Fullerton finally got to Watson in the fourth when they cashed in a lead off single, but even then, they left the bases loaded. Watson's high wire act came to an end when two Titans reached with two out in the fifth as he made way for Jaffe, but Jaffe allowed a run scoring single that tied the game up at 2-2 and the game started anew.

With the game back in the balance, the UCLA offense got to work again in the sixth. A single by Keefer, hit by pitch by Jeff Gelalich and walk by Valaika loaded the bags, but pinch-hitter Zeile grounded out to strand all three.

An inning later, UCLA regained the lead and it began with Kramer. The freshman wore a pitch to start things off then with two outs, Tyler Heineman singled him to second. That brought up Keefer, who came through with a clutch double that bounced over the first base bag and into the right field corner to score Kramer and put the Bruins back in front.

After a two-out double was wasted in the bottom half of the seventh, the Titans gave it another run in the eighth and this time they came through. A pair of walks put a pair on with just one out before Kramer booted a grounder, allowing the tying tun to score. It also put the go-ahead run on third and after Griggs entered, Fullerton tried to score that runner with a squeeze bunt, but the junior hopped off the mound quickly, fielded and threw home in time for Brown to apply the tag. Brown then came up with a fine defensive play of his own, quickly getting out of his crouch to grab a chopper in front of the plate and throw to first for the inning's final out.

With the game all tied up, the Bruins had to try and find the lead again in the ninth. Heineman started things by singling before being replace by pinch-runner Brian Carroll, who took second on a wild pitch. After Gelalich singled to move him to third, Brown hit the first pitch he saw into left field to give UCLA the lead. Zeile then added some insurance with two outs, singling himself to score both Gelalich and Brown for a 6-3 lead that Griggs would hold easily in the ninth.

UCLA vs. Cal St. Fullerton Tuesday Baseball Open Thread: Trying For The Titans Sweep

2012-05-16T00:30:11Z

All college baseball games are not the same. Midweek games will never carry as much weight as weekend games. Resumes are built on weekend series wins, but that doesn't mean midweek games carry no weight. If say, a team beats Cal St. Fullerton twice in two games and claim victory over a RPI top 15 team, conference winner and likely Regional host, that is impressive. Well, that's what UCLA can do tonight.

Grant Watson will be on the mound for the Bruins and Koby Gauna will take the ball for the Titans in a battle of freshmen. The two squared off in UCLA's win over Fullerton earlier this year with Watson allowed two runs on four hits in six innings and Gauna surrendering four runs, two earned, in just 3.1 innings.

John Ramey is back on the road so he will have the call online and GameTracker will be going. Of course, make sure to check my UCLA baseball twitter for game updates, notes, observations and everything else on the program. This is your open thread as the Bruins try to top the Titans so keep it going with updates and anything else you have.