Wait 'til next year!

Ah, the eternal cry of the loser! I guess I've gotten over the Bruins being dismantled -- I had some hope at halftime, but it was Memphis rather than UCLA that dug in a little harder in the second half -- in the semifinal game. The only conceivable consolation is that it might lead Kevin Love to spend another year at UCLA to give the quest for a national title one more shot before going pro. (I'm afraid that without him UCLA won't get this far next year, though it will be a solid team.) Given that he doesn't seem to face imminent financial difficulties (his father was an NBA player), he might even figure that one more season in college would actually make him a sounder player, more ready to contribute fairly quickly. I think another season in college might actually be in his best long-term interest. Of course, he has to balance that against the possibility of a serious injury before he can even get to the pros.

Anyway, congratulations to Memphis, which on Saturday was definitely the better, more motivated team. Their excellent guards were able to neutralize Collison and their big bodies inside were more effective against Kevin than almost any team has been this year. I didn't watch much of the Kansas-UNC game, but Kansas looks pretty impressive too. Should be a good game tonight.

88-78. That was not easy!

Well, I have to hand it to Western (!) Kentucky. They came out fired up in the second half. Collison fouled out for the first time this year -- he was really bothered by the WKU defense, especially Ty Brazelton, who is a remarkable player I expect will have and NBA career -- and WKU got within 4 -- until Josh Shipp (my man!) drained a three. Western Kentucky didn't go away, but the Bruins hung tough. Kevin Love was a big difference-maker, but the real revelation was James Keefe, getting his first collegiate double-double (18-12) off the bench. He's had some good games recently when Mbah a Moute was injured, but this was some performance.

On the the Elite Eight. Against Xavier. Saturday. Pardon my enthusiasm.

Kevin Love is lovin' it

Here's a really nice NYT feature on UCLA freshman center Kevin Love that makes me like him even better. Being in Southern California rather than Oregon, where he spent most of his life, he says he's finally comfortable enough to say he loves the music of the Beach Boys, in which his uncle Mike Love played and sang. Mike Love may not have been the (tortured) genius Brian Wilson was, but at concerts it always seemed to me he was the Beach Boy having the most authentic Beach Boys fun.

The Bruins play No. 16 seed Mississippi Valley State on Thursday. Hope they don't overlook them.

32-32 at Halftime

Well, it's not quite what I had in mind, but considering the circumstances it's encouraging, even remarkable. Luc-Richard M'bah a'Moute is out of this game (he says he'll be OK next week) due to a sprained ankle suffered in the USC game. Takes away a lot of rebounds. Then, less than 5 minutes in, Kevin Love, our best player, injured his back, and they say he's suffering from back spasms. He's been in a few minutes, then out, and didn't score his first field goal until 3:51 remaining. Probably played only half of the first half. He's obviously not himself, obviously in pain, though he's still gotten some rebounds and thrown a few of those amazing outlet passes that may be the best in college basketball this year. Stanford went up quickly -- I think by as many as 7 or 8, but the Bruins battled back and even led for a brief period. Then Stanford went into a zone, which UCLA has not handled all that well this year. Usually the Bruins turn it up in the second half, but Stanford is awfully good (gee, Brook Lopez is remarkable). We'll see what happens.

26-3

That's the UCLA basketball team's record after beating Arizona State 70-49 tonight. I attribute it to me getting a UCLA cap on my head and a beer in my hand. Until about the 4:00 mark in the first half, it looked as if ASU just might make a game of it -- low-scoring and tied. But then Collison hit a couple of threes and they never looked back. Up by 11 at the half and then they turned it loose.

I think after watching a few more games that I'm even more impressed with Kevin Love (17-12 tonight, 17 double-doubles in 29 games). Of course he has to be in great shape just to play at this leve, but he doesn't have all that classically athletic a body. He's not fat but he has a big butt (which is probably not a bad thing for a center). But he really knows how to use his big body, and he's such a pretty passer!

A gutcheck game

That kind of game is why I still like watching college sports. Having lost (and fallen apart at the end) to USC Saturday, the Bruins had to travel to Oregon to play a very good team. For a while there late in the second half I didn't think they were going to get it done (down by 7). MacArthur Court is a tough place for a road team and the Ducks were playing well. And M'Bah a' Moute and Mata-Real were out with concussions. Kevin Love, traveling home (he grew up in Oregon) to shouts of "traitor" from the crowd took over the game (26 points, 18 boards) and Darren Collison had a career-high 22, 6 assists, 1 turnover. Keefe, Aboya and Dragovic didn't score much but they played good D. A classic statement game.

Gotta Love that Kevin

College basketball season is upon us, and I'm going all atavistic as usual, focused on my UCLA Bruins. They're ranked number 2 in the country now, and it could be their year (I know that's perhaps a bit boring to non-Bruins, but you can skip this one if you like.)

They hit the Final Four last year and the Final Two the year before, but didn't take it all. But this year they have Kevin Love from Oregon. The 6'10", 270-lb. Freshman was either the first or second-rated high school prospect in the country last year, and everybody figures he'll give the Bruins a dominant inside presence this year that they didn't really have previously (although Lorenzo Mata-Real came through big in a few games). Most of the sportswriters think he'll spend only a single year at UCLA and move right into the NBA.

Anyway, I watched them on TV tonight, and if anything this Kevin Love is better than advertised. He had averaged 21 points in his first two games, and tonight against Cal State San Bernardino (Division II but deep into the playoffs last year) he got 19, and I think 9 rebounds. What's impressive is that he seems like a complete, mature player, and in his first few games as a Freshman he looks as if he's emerged as the clear team leader. He does just about everything well. And he's strong, which not all players that big are.

The Bruins got at least six points off pinpoint outlet passes to a streaking player downcourt after Love got the defensive rebound. He plays hard and hustles, plays good defense and blocks shots. He's a team player, looking to feed other players and taking his own shot only if it's really the best one on the floor. I think he'll turn out to be one of those players, like Magic Johnson, who makes everybody on the team better just by being there, setting an example, and being aware of the entire court.

Whether you care a whit about UCLA or not, if you like basketball even a llittle bit, you would do well to watch this kid -- kid? he seemed like the oldest, most experienced player on the floor -- play the game.