Bruin Fab Five
BBR :: Article Link :: 5:00 PM ::
60 comments
Bruin Basketball Report
Site dedicated to the UCLA Bruins basketball program
Friday, May 23, 2008
Site dedicated to the UCLA Bruins basketball program
60 Comments:
Not really. The Fab Five didn't live up to expectations.
If this is truly a fab five, there is one small chance for all to be great pro's. Those that develope the quickest must leave for the nba as soon as. Therefore, if their developement is staggered, then they can all become all-nba or could all meet in the nba finals one day. or both.
The great thing about this group is that they are all capable and willing to play defense type of players. Not to mention UCLA is finally getting athletic players taht was sorely needed.
These players are also most likely not one and dones so will in the long run really make the team and program much better. I believe most of these guys may be 3 year players which will really help the Bruins.
One of Kevin Love's inner circle said Kevin is thinking of returning to UCLA for one more year.
UCLA all the way baby!
Not sure who's in his "inner circle" because he's publicly saying he's withdrawing from classes and wants to "start making money".
Check this link:
http://insidesocal.com/ucla/2008/05/night-owl-bonus-again.html
Time to move on and win #12 with our current group!
And it looks like a former NC power forward could opt to attend UCLA for next season's team? Wow!
Kevin who?
Thanks BBR
Howland, let's hang a banner and keep it rolling...
First Love, now Morgan from out-of-state...that is a statement...
Awesome times ahead
BBR, can we host a Morgan party???
Westwood Brew Co....email me
I'm on board with 'Kevin who?' Kevin Love-You-To-Go-Elsewhere, thanks. His dad, a Duck we honestly never need to hear from again, is telling media outlets KL didn't get what Howland "promised" him when he recruited him, because other players shot the ball. Big team guy, our KL.
The "broken promises" must apparently include All-American, Pac-10 POY, Final 4, West Region MOP, and a SI cover, and a 90% win %. All forgotten by Stan and KL because they're miffed Howland didn't play him at his NBA 4-spot and now he has to prove himself for the NBA to get into the lottery.
Meanwhile, my enduring memory of March Madness '08 will be a beet-red, gassed, soaked, chocolate-milk-gut KL getting blown off the court by Memphis' athletes. Then we get to hear how great it is KL is "dedicating himself" to the draft. Nice. Could have used the diet and exercise in February, kid. So sayonara, and let's bring on the Fab 5.
I just don't understand how people can be bashing KLove. With support like this why would another player want to come to play for the Bruins?
Don't take Dad's comments out on the kid. He was a GREAT player for us, and it IS a shame that we only got him for a year.
GREAT CLASS!!! what is the projected lineup? or rotation?
K. Love's dad wasn't blasting UCLA or Coach Howland. He thanked him and called him a great coach and the program a great fit in that same sentence. He was just selling his son and merely saying UCLA didn't use him to his full potential, and he's a lot better than he showed.
Is that SI cover real or did somebody do a markup on Photoshop? Seriously... I'm living out of the country and they don't sell that mag here. Either way, it's SWEET! Laters
I don't think it's real. I can't find it anywhere else online, and I doubt SI is going to put college Bball on the cover in the midst of the NBA playoffs and the Stanley Cup.
Projection: Our 2ndteam will kick most teams back sides.....we r solid 1-11....add Stephenson and we will have to ship Dragovic overseas....
It is a gr8 time to be a Bruin
It the rain in Tahoe...
I agree with Rick. Let's not jump on the anti-K-Love bandwagon. He was a great Bruin, and will be fondly remembered. Maybe he could have done some things differently. So could have Howland, as well as any other Bruins, so all we can do is thank him for his time and hope he does well in the future.
klovin was fat...he shudnt of eatten all those cakes pregame
It's hard for me to view Kluv as a "bruin GREAT",,,any one year Bruin, for that matter. I'm as attached to them as they are to the school. If it's business to them, then it's all about "what have you done for UCLA" for me.
Hopefully, Kevin starts a string of elite recruiting,,,,that's all I ask.
dude what's up with the anti-love against love... he's awesome, without him, we wouldn't even get past the 2nd round this year... he pretty much single handedly will us back to the game... and it's true that our team failed to get him more touches... if only we did, we would be a lot better... if he can get the ball in the post, either make a shot, get fouled, or pass it out for a wide open spot up 3, instead of a shipp wild 3...can't believe u guys
I wish Kevin Love the best, but he will soon be forgotten in UCLA history. We got to two final fours without him, and he didn't exactly distinguish himself in the one final four he was in. He plays below the rim, and he is really slow. I think he could have used a couple of more years under Howland, but I guess we will see.
Theres no bashing Klove from me, but from day 1 that he said he was coming to UCLA I have said he was a great player in highschool, good in college and average or below in NBA.
He gave some positive image to UCLA although it was brief. I thank him for coming to this college period but in terms of impact for the school, it remains to be seen. I agree with the above that no one year player makes a huge impact on a school unless you win a championship or take the school further than it has previously like Rose did with Memphis.
Rose will be remember at Memphis much longer thank Klove will be at UCLA. Even UNC Hansborough will have a longer lasting memory. However we cant blame him for leaving early since I bet 99% of us would have done the same being in the same position. Fact is, he is not that great of a NBA talent, and he is milking his exposure right now. If he stayed longer, he probably would be afraid his stock dropped more as years go by and mroe talents come out.
I think he will be a solid coming off the bench guy but I dont think he will be a lasting powerfoward as a starter in the NBA.
In either case, his legacy is very short and will soon be forgotten faster than OJ Mayo even though Mayo didnt get out of the first round. Time will tell but I really dont see him being that big of an impact in the NBA.
I do wish him the best though as he still represents a Bruin even with only 1 college year.
Lets also not trash any Bruin players. Regardless of how little they performed in years past, the fact is they are and will always be associated with UCLA.
I dont like this talk of shipping Dragovich to europe and bring in so and so. Even if Derozan would want to come to UCLA we dont do so by shipping another BRuin out. That is just not right. This is not NBA and we shouldnt act like it.
We talk about how KLove is leaving early and we a bit upset on that yet we want to talk about getting rid of someone else to get another player? That is just not right and I bet Wooden would have a cow if UCLA did that.
I mean shoot so if we get lance and xavier should we then talk about getting rid of jerime anderson and malcolm lee? Lets have some dignity, respect, and loyalty here as students and fans. How can we ask for those things from players when we talk about trying to get rid of someone just cause we think we can get someone else better....
BRilliant FIVE... i look forward to seeing these five guys on the floor at the same time.
re: Love, i think we should give him credit for leading the Bruins to the 2008's Final Four... he was once a Bruin, and he will always be a Bruin.
go Bruins!
Love wanted to play the 4? He should have been in bettr shape.
Fab? Five: C'mon people, we're Bruins - we don't have to recycle "used" terms but should be able to come up with a new original name for the class.
I haven't come up with the perfect name yet, but some possibilities could be:
Fave Five
Frantic Five
Frenetic Five
Flave Five
or even Jivesome Fivesome
(Jive Five already used by a 50's/60's doo wop group)
Bruin Fans, get your thinking caps on and let's come up with an original, eye popping name for this stellar class.
Fab? Five: C'mon people, we're Bruins - we don't have to recycle "used" terms but should be able to come up with a new original name for the class.
I haven't come up with the perfect name yet, but some possibilities could be:
Fave Five
Frantic Five
Frenetic Five
Flave Five
or even Jivesome Fivesome
(Jive Five already used by a 50's/60's doo wop group)
Bruin Fans, get your thinking caps on and let's come up with an original, eye popping name for this stellar class.
Emphasize performance, not hype. Also, give credit to the returining starters: undefeated NCAA Champs
It's not that Love didn't help the deep run, it's that all of the mushy talk about Bruin tradition was just that ... a bunch of talk. If a player is committed to school and the team like Lo Mata-Real, he'll have the respect of alumni; if not than they'll hear the Kevin-who? chants.
How 'bout SUPER CINCO!
So, is the SI cover real? I don't see it in the stores.
No it is not a real SI cover. Just another example of Mr. Corpuz's fine art work
- BBR
BB -
You are absolutely right on. Bruinfan has bothered me for quite some time with his rants of wanting to ship players out. He wants to send Dragovich overseas and tells us "there is no room for Mustafa." It is truly a shame that this attitude is expressed by a "bruin fan." It is much more apropos to the $UC attitude - win at all costs and forget the commitment of those who sweated and worked to help rebuild the program. As I have mentioned before, thankfully it is Howland and not idiots like BruinFan who make these decisions. It is one thing to be enthusiastic about the new dynasty that BH is building. It is quite another to jump on the bandwagon of the soup of the day and forsake the commitment of those who have worked to make this day even possible.
Now that Morgan is a Bruin... what's that latest with Stepheson? Haven't heard anything lately about him. Let's get him on board too!
Is this a forthcoming SI cover?
George
Yes what you said is true but lets remember that Bruinfan is entitled to his opinion and we still have to respect it even if we disagree. Let us not call anyone idiots on this as well as we are all UCLA Bruin fans and respect coach Wooden.
It is true that Wooden's legacy will perhaps never be surpassed, this is Howland's team no doubt. While Coach Ben and all other Bruin coaches like to refer UCLA as Wooden's legacy, the truth is that it is the current coaches team. I bet Wooden would love it that way and still be honored for the thoughtfulness of those coaches.
Nevertheless Wooden has always been on character first above all else on and off the court. As fans of UCLA we need to do our best to respect and honor that as well. Students, fans, and athletes coming to UCLA are not only being asked to be at their best in what they do, but as individuals as well.
We may disagree with BruinFans comments, but we still need to respect the individual. Let us just focus on the great group of kids we got coming in and hope for the best next year as well as those who already left.
Let us remember how great or little talent or playing time a player achieves, he/she is still part of a team that helps make it so. They might not share as much glory in terms of playing time and performance, but they are important in preparing others on the team to do so.
Win or lose, everybody has a hand in it and lets respect that and be happy with the players we have. Lets stay humble and hopefully we get talented kids who are just as such.
Furious Five!
Fresh Five?
Funky Five?
Fantastic Five?
Yeah, I agree. Please, don't bash K-Love. We all know UCLA wouldn't have gone as far as it did this year without the big man and 3 or 4 "good calls."
I wish him well in the NBA and will root for him like I do ALL Bruin NBA ballers (ie. Kapono, Baron, Afflalo etc.).
DB-
I agree that bruinfan is entitled to his opinion no matter how idiotic I may feel it is. However, I disagree that I have to respect it. If one voices an opinion that is truly stupid, offensive or even reprehensible he has that RIGHT. However, I would be vacating my personal responsibility if I "respect" every idiotic or contemptible opinion that is indeed voiced. Just as Bruinfan has the RIGHT to voice ridculous opinions, I have the RIGHT to call him on them.
Thanks.
George, read what I wrote again in other articles....We can have solid players 1-8 and be great...There is nothing wrong with a solid 1-12...If we get Stephenson, unfortuantely one of our hard working practice guys, may have their scholarship revoked....
Get your panties out of a wad and move on...or show up at my Jamison Signing party and question my committment to this program to my face....move on man...
bruin"fan" -
I took your advice - here are some of your quotes:
"Stephenson and Derozan are welcome....ship Dragovic overseas....and Mustafa...sorry, there is no room...."
"Try to date Holand's daughter...." (One of my personal favorites due to the classiness of the sentiment.)
"If Morgan comes, ship Dragovic overseas to make room for Derozan...right?"
"Morgan - COME TO WESTWOOD...hot chicks, and I'll line up endorsement deals...." (Is your name Johnson?)
"add Stephenson and we will have to ship Dragovic overseas...."
"J'mison:
-Better exposure for basketball
-Hotter West Coast women
-I'll be your agent and get you endorsement deals
-Your game will drastically improve" (the pimpmeister.)
"J'Mison you are a smart man in choosing UCLA.....the hot women and endorsement deals are waiting"
Just a small sampling of your classy quotes. I could have found more but got tired of reading the drivel.
Now, let's call a truce and get on with the business at hand - supporting Howland and his team. If he feels Dragovich and Mustafa have a role on the team, who are we to suggest otherwise?
Go Bruins!!
White flag is waved
Whoops, didn't see that my nickname proposals already posted!
Okay, what about:
The Five Fists of Fury!
:p
Come on now George, I like your passion but how about a little sense of humor? I said to ship Dragovic back to Serbia too but I was just kiddin bro. BruinFan is a true hard core Bruin fan and so am I. Sometimes some of us go overboard like I did last week. I said once before, it would be frickn boring if we all agreed on everything all of the time. Also, thank you Ben Howland & staff for landing the top recruiting class in the nation! Hopefully these five studs will make us proud. In the end, maybe these guys will be remembered as the "Famous Five"!
I kinda like "Furious Five" as suggested above by grrr.
Finally Five .... who can win it all ...
1&done -
Actually, I have a great sense of humor. I especially like female comics. I think Nancy Grace is the funniest comedienne since Maggie Thatcher. She really cracks me up.
I just find comments deriding players and suggesting that they be shipped overseas more mean-spirited than I do hilarious.
Unlike me, you are without flaws George. My white flag is waving too. Can we just discuss our amazing Bruins now? I'm fired up for next season already!!! Malcolm Lee is the real deal!
Is Lee the guy with the long arm span?
I heard Lee has the potential after 2 or 3 yrs to be in the NBA as well...
Also, Anderson was the guy who lit up the post season tournaments...
Holiday - born a stud
Gordon - straight nasty (good)
Morgan - #4 best center coming in as a frosh
salivating....
Yes, Lee is 6-5 w/shoes and has a nice 6-9 wingspan! Expect many thefts! I went to one of his games w/my brother at JW North (I live 20 min from the school) and I was impressed man, he looked like a young Scottie Pippen to me!
Yes Malcom Lee has a tremendous upside especially since he probably has the potential to grow a bit still.
Basketball more so than other sports rely much on athleticism to be truely great. Fundamentals and knowledge of the game can be taught and experienced, but you just cannot teach athleticism and height. Those are god given talents that if combined with hard work will make a player tremendous.
This is why I felt KLove will be a solid but not great player in NBA. He dominated highschool with advanced technique and size, did well in college with technique, and will truely be tested in NBA. Hopefully he will do better than I thought hed do.
Any case this whole new class of Bruins all have the talent and athleticism to really give them a good chance at the next level.
I think Holiday and Lee will be good players at the next level if they improve more on shooting and nail the pop up jump shots.
I see Gordon as a more athletic version of Ben wallace if he continues to get stronger.
Morgan may be a solid double double guy like a Al Horford if he works on his game and be relentless.
Holiday is oftenly compared to Baron Davis but I think he is much more competitve consistently and has a softer touch.
Lee can be a version of leandro barbosa but with a better defensive game.
Anderson will seems more like a Tony Parker type of player.
Of course all of them will still need work to do and continuously be hungry to be better. Also it is early to tell but from what I saw its a good sign on these guys.
I think all you posters that are bashing KLove are being A-Holes!!!
Quit being whiners and appreciate the effort he DID give us! We would have never won the Pac-10 title, won the Pac-10 tourny, or made it to the Final Four WITHOUT KLove! And ANYONE who contests that... IS being... well, what I said earlier.
There were one-and-dones before him and there will be one-and-dones after him! As long as they give the effort the Wizard would be proud of while they are here, then I too, am proud of each and every one of them.
To those who this applies to, you should be ashamed of your comments...
To Grrrrr, I am in complete agreement with you! Once a player becomes a Bruin, I am a fan of theirs for life...NBA and beyond...
I don't think any of us would not take a pay raise if offered one! All the power to the Ariza, Davis, Farmar, Love, and Westbrooks that come and go thru our program and go on to represent UCLA at the next level.
Bare Gunner
If you were talking about what I stated then its totally not bashing but a solid honest evaluation of him. I have said what I said about him first month he came into UCLA.
I certainly have no problems with him coming here or leaving early. It was a shame as a fan to see him go early as we all wished he stayed longer to get a championship however in no way is having a true opinion of his ability bashing. What I have said back in November is exactly what NBA scouts have said recently so its not bashing.
I gave the best evaluation on all Bruin players the best I can and so far every single one I stated this year are pretty much nearly on the dot same as what NBA scouts said. It is certainly just being real on these kids abilities and not hating or bashing anyone.
Like I said before, I wish for all Bruins past, present, and future to do well, but it is what it is. So if your comment includes me in it then thats too bad, if it didnt, its all good.
DB, thanks for the response. No your comments are very straight forward and matter-of-factly. It's the "Kevin who" and "good riddance" type stuff. That is very tacky and self-centered.
It is like they love him while he is here and then bash him because he left to pursue a greater goal. I'm as big of a Bruin/college fan as can be, but last time I remembered, isn't it the life-long dream of almost every one of these players to make it to the big leagues?
How about we tell some of these posters, "Hold off on earning your degree or quit your current job for a few years, and come work for my construction company! It will put muscles on you! Then when my big project is done, you can go back and pick up with your life"!
Think I'd have any takers from one of these posters?
Thought not...
This is a great website (Thanks BBR) but I frequent it much less because of all the impatience, over-speculating, whining, and rehashing when there is no "new" news to come along...
Tempers flare,
Can understand where
Because of our passion,
Can lead to reaction
Success we desire,
Even if we conspire
Win at any cost,
Players welfare won or lost
But can't forget our place,
In this human race
Air our differences,
But stay in our senses,
We are Bruin brothers,
From different sides of the fences
Must focus our energy,
To form common synergy
Negativity is a curse,
Postive vibes we must disperse,
Cuz it's a Blue & Gold universe
I agree that we all need to thank these players that chose to come to ucla for however long they stay. It is my personal opinion that having Klove this year helped open the eyes of other potential recruits to come here.
Sure Ben Howland did an awesome job, but its a combination of him, UCLA, and players that made Bruin basketball elite again.
While we are disappointed somewhat as a fan to see players leave others because we wished to stock pile talent and win, we are also appreciative for their contributions no doubt.
It certainly feels good to have hometown talent in Farmar playing for the Lakers now too.
I believe that having KLove for just one year really has helped our current and future recruiting. As long as these 1 & done's practice hard, play hard, go to class, show class, help us win and stay out of trouble it's ok with me for them to leave for the NBA! Thank you for a tremendous year KLove!!!
Brui-master
is not a pastor
"be like Budhha
you really shoulda
not react
stay with the pack"
george say
in his way
"that's bullshitta
because witha
little friction
expressed in diction
comes liberation
toleration
of the mind
for bruinkind."
BBR,
It's getting a little too weird in here for me now. I'll keep an eye on your outstanding reports, I hope you understand BBR. This "look at me" bizarre poetry is not working for me. I'm just interested in Bruin Basketball. Sorry man. I know you can't control what is posted BBR. Maybe I'm out of touch with the norm or uninformed but I doubt it. I'm sure I'll get a good riddance or two! Hopefully I can leave quietly. I'm not looking for attention, it just got weird. I can't wait to see "the five" in action next season! Your the man KS!
1&done
it's all in fun
you leave
we grieve
the prodigal son
Yeah guys, time to lighten up a little. Do like yours truly here does, have a brewski before you read or make a post...that usually mellows me out.
Except if has to do with the Trojans...Then I sober up real quick and assume my warlike position!
Otherwise, keep Bruin everyone! We collectively are a voice to be heard!
And keep throwin' your compliments BBR's way... This is an assume site (it REALLY is guys) and Mr. Wong should continue to be respectfully acknowledged!!!
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