Beyond the Arc : Pac-10

What's behind UCLA's rough start?

Mike Miller — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:42:00 GMT

The last time UCLA began a season like this, Steve Lavin ended up out of a job. That’s not going to happen to Ben Howland – those three straight trips to the Final Four just happened – but a 2-4 start isn’t sitting well in Westwood.

Not one bit.

It comes with the territory when you have 11 national championship banners hanging from the roof.

Jae C. Hong/AP

UCLA's Reeves Nelson goes up for a shot against Long Beach State's Eugene Phelps.

This long post at Bruins Nation details the Bruins’ biggest problems, from Jerime Anderson’s issues running the point, Adam Keefe’s lack of ability and Howland’s stubbornness when it comes to making adjustments. The blogger is still optimistic about a successful season, but admits it’s gonna take some time.

And a lot of work. Howland admits just about everything must improve.

"We've got to defend better, shoot better and make good decisions," he told the Orange County Register.

UCLA is OK at its twos (53.1 percent), but terrible beyond the arc (26 percent). It's turning the ball over every five possessions and opponents have an eFG% of 50.3, by far the worst of Howland's tenure.

The strange thing is, defense has rarely been the Bruins’ problem. They thrived on offense last season and regressed a bit on ‘D,’ but were still respectable according to kenpom.com’s ratings.

But now, Howland’s so desperate he may play … zone. (What’s next? Dick Vitale going with a “less is more” approach?)

"We may have to play some zone," said the coach who built his program on scrappy, man-to-man defense. "We're definitely going to have to play softer and pack it in because we're getting beat."

The reasons are laid out here, but it comes down to UCLA’s players aren’t able to stay in front of defenders. It ruins their entire defensive scheme. And with the defense struggling – and the offense unable to shoot – it adds up to a 2-4 start.

Don’t expect anything to get better right away, though. No. 1 Kansas comes to Pauley on Sunday.

Mike Miller also spends way too much time on Twitter. Follow him at @BeyndArcMMiller.

Cal's big 3 down to 2 -- that's an issue

Mike Miller — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:08:00 GMT

It’s panic time at Cal. One of the big three could be out a while.

Last year, the Bears relied on Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson for 60 percent of their scoring. After two games this season, they’ve accounted for 62 percent. They’re always the floor (all three played at least 82 percent of Cal’s minutes last season) and are their three best shooters.

Suffice to say, Cal needs all three to play, and play well to have a chance at winning the Pac-10 or making a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

Robertson missed Thursday’s loss to Syracuse with ~~an undisclosed injury~~ stress reaction to his right foot. And that’s an injury that could linger throughout the season.

Robertson will reportedly play through the injury on a “tolerance basis,”which means when it gets worse, he’s coming out. Stress reactions aren’t season ending – Tyler Hansbrough’s was a pain last season, but he did play through it – but it can turn into a stress fracture or even a broken bone.

If that happens, Cal’s a two-man show. And that’s one show that won’t have a very long run in March.

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

UCLA's brick-fest surely helped insomniacs

Mike Miller — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:34:00 GMT

ESPN’s 24-hour college hoops marathon opened with an upset, but I’m not sure how many people stuck around. Poor shooting will do that.

UCLA clanked its way to a 68-65 double overtime loss to Cal State Fullerton, the first time the Bruins lost an opener in Ben Howland’s tenure. They hoisted 84 shots, hit just 31 percent of those and were a brutal 5 of 28 from beyond the arc. (Tempo free stats: .746 PPP and .339 eFG%. They pushed the pace, logging 87 possessions, but couldn’t buy a bucket.)

If East Coast hoopheads were looking for reasons to stay up late, this wasn't it.

It wasn’t Saint Louis losing to George Washington, but it was stunning to see UCLA struggle that much on offense. Just last season the Bruins were third on kenpom.com’s adjusted offensive efficiency rankings and boasted a ridiculous 57.9 eFG% during conference play (thanks BP!). Losing four starters and having a M*A*S*H* unit for a roster apparently deals death blows to an offense.

Does this mean the Bruins are toast? Ken Davis weighed in on that last week, but it’s hard to see UCLA as anything other than a middle-of-the road Pac-10 team that could miss the NCAA tournament.

The Bruins have solid players, but few stars. Guys like Micahel Lee and Drew Gordon have to drastically improve, while seniors like James Keefe, Nikola Dragovic and Michael Roll have to be smart, efficient and play lots of minutes.

Their saving grace may be the pitiful Pac-10. Boosting that league record always helps with the committee.

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

Injuries add to Howland's UCLA issues

Mike Miller — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:06:00 GMT

Ben Howland isn’t coaching a basketball team right now. It’s more like a M*A*S*H* unit.

Paul Sakuma/AP

Ben Howland

Five scholarship players are nursing injuries, most of which are the nagging kind that could linger. Malcolm Lee’s suffered a mild concussion Sunday. Freshmen Brendan Lane (sprained ankle) and Mike Moser lower back sprain) both hurt themselves at Monday’s practice.

Throw in already ailing forward James Keefe (shoulder) and guard Jerime Anderson (groin) – neither of whom will be available until Nov. – and it’s a thin roster out in Westwood.

As if Howland wasn’t dealing with enough already.

For the first time since 2004 (Howland’s first season), the Bruins could finish below third in the Pac-10 standings. They lost four starters from a 26-9 squad, including stalwarts like Darren Collison and Josh Shipp.

UCLA still features plenty of talent – notably Malcolm Lee, Michael Roll and Nikola Dragovic – but it’s as Seth Davis wrote Monday: It would be foolish to expect a lot from this team.

Another NCAA tournament berth and a top 5 finish in the Pac-10? Sure. But mostly, it’s wait ‘til next year.

UPDATE: Make it six. Center J'Mison Morgan had an MRI on his swollen left knee Tuesday. Results won't be known until Wednesday.

Follow me on Twitter and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

Robinson stressed by Oregon St. expectations

Mike Miller — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:02:00 GMT

A down year for Pac-10 hoops means a couple of things.

1. The conference may have to endure the catcalls the SEC dealt with in 2008-09. Cal and Washington are going to get most of the hype, but the jury’s out on everyone else.

2. If usual conference powers like UCLA and Arizona are struggling, that opens the door for another team to sneak toward the top.

Perhaps someone like Oregon State? The Beavers return four starters and every other key player from last year’s surprise squad. (CBI championship, anyone?) And with nice recruits coming in, Oregon State’s snagged some plaudits. Doug Gottleib from ESPN is predicting a third-place finish in the Pac-10.

This is now Craig Robinson’s nightmare.

From a lengthy Q&A with the Oregonian, Robinson, the Beavers’ second-year coach, doesn’t sound ungrateful about the attention, just … worried. And can you blame him? Few things are tougher in sports than living up to unreasonable expectations.

Q: A year ago everyone said you guys were horrible. The pre-season stories this year are night and day different, aren't they?

Robinson: "That's what I've been hearing ... and yes, it does make me nervous .. you know me, I've been trying not to read any of that stuff yet. I've been trying to focus on what we have to do, get our workouts down, all that kind of stuff. ... what I hear is hearsay because I'm not online trying to find out, I'm not reading magazines. Michael (Collins, sports information assistant in charge of hoops) knows better than to send me anything about that kind of stuff. ... but my friends are calling me ... and the guys here (talk about it).''

Q: How does this change things, being picked so high?

Robinson: "We won't be sneaking up on anyone this year, I mean, I heard that ESPN picked us as high as third! ... anywhere from third through sixth ... so that makes me nervous.''

There’s a video of the interview, which covers other topics unrelated to basketball (always gotta work in a reference to Robinson’s brother-in-law), but it’s interesting to see how Robinson deflects expectations, but doesn’t back down from them either.

A little hope for Oregon State, a team that finished 0-18 in the Pac-10 in 2007-08? Man, perhaps anything is possible.

Washington's going up-up-up tempo

Mike Miller — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:24:00 GMT

Pundits (thus far) aren’t giving the Pac-10 much attention. Conventional wisdom is that the league doesn’t have a true national title contender, so it’s been slotted 6^th in most conferences rankings I’ve seen. That’s from ESPN, Fox, Lindy’s and yours truly.

But it’d be foolish to sleep on the Pac-10.

California is going to be a Final Four contender and UCLA’s always tough. But the most entertaining team could be Washington.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

This may be the only way to stop Isaiah Thomas and Washington in 2009-10.

A Seattle Times Q&A with Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar had some nice tidbits on his expectations for the season. He’s pumped about the freshmen, notably five-star prospect Abdul Gaddy and shooting star C.J. Wilcox. Romar won’t cave to pressure surrounding Quincy Pondexter (who won a bronze with the U.S. at the University Games this summer) and play him at power forward. And he won’t shy away from using a four-guard, perimeter-oriented line-up.

Which sets up the key to the Huskies for 2009-10: Opponents will be chasing them all over the court.

“We're quick. We're very quick. We got a lot of quickness and our guys get along really well. I think we got pretty good chemistry."

For those who hated math, that's three quicks and two chemistries. Romar must have a huge grin on his face at practice.

I have visions of the Huskies whipping the ball around the court, shooting 3s, driving the lane and running around taller, slower teams. At least, that’s what I’m hoping to see. Not enough teams put on that kind of show.

And remember, Romar’s done this before. His 2004-05 team that finished 29-6 and nabbed a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance didn’t start anyone taller than 6-8 AND brought Brandon Roy off the bench.

If this group is anywhere near that good, the Pac-10 is going to surprise.

Bill Murray may now be an Arizona fan

Mike Miller — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:34:00 GMT

Arizona coach Sean Miller made a couple of notable signings this summer in Lamont Jones and Derrick Williams, but my favorite move hiring graduate assistant Luke Murray.

Anything that raises the odds of Bill Murray attending a game is a bonus.

Yep, that Bill Murray.

Luke Murray is one of two kids Murray had with his first wife, Mickey Kelley. He’s been making the young coach rounds for the last few years, working at Quinnipiac and Division-II Post University of Connecticut. He’ll handle non-coaching duties for Arizona.

"He'll be doing a little bit of everything," UA coach Sean Miller said. He's a "young coach who's always worked really, really hard."

Unlike his actor-comedian pops, Luke’s been focused on basketball for some time. "I've always been a basketball addict," Murray told the Waterbury (Conn.) Republican-American. "It's been long determined that my career would be something in this realm. My father never pushed me in any kind of direction. He's been a supporter. He's excited about the prospect of my career."

I don’t think he’ll bring up his dad’s role in “Space Jam,” though. Avoid that one at all costs.

Floyd fallout: Just who would want USC job?

Mike Miller — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:00:00 GMT

The predictable consensus on Tim Floyd’s resignation? He fell on the basketball sword to save USC’s football program.

That’s what happens when a one-paragraph letter lands on the athletic director’s desk and is accepted without a second thought. All that was missing was a return letter. “Thanks Tim, and enjoy the time off, Pete.”

The school – reeling from allegations of payments to O.J. Mayo from Floyd and the ongoing investigation of more alleged payments to Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush – certainly hopes the resignation carries some weight with the NCAA.

An NCAA expert told the L.A. Times that Floyd’s move will serve as a “mitigating factor” when the organization considers penalties. “But how much it will help, I don’t know.”

Jim Mcisaac/Getty

Tim Floyd

Fair enough. Maybe the NCAA will be unimpressed. But the public perception is just as valuable. Michael Rosenberg of FOXSports.com writes that somebody had to pay for USC’s transgressions. And that somebody better not have been Pete Carroll. (To that extent, Rosenberg takes some of the blame off of Floyd, which doesn’t make much sense to me. Forget Reggie Bush for a second; Floyd had plenty of worries of his own, namely taking a chance with a one-and-done player.)

Just who is to blame for it all? Truzenzuzex at A Sea of Blue posted a thoughtful series of links and analysis that covers the coaches, players, draft rules and more. It’s far more complicated than just one-and-done players or coaches who bend the rules. One resignation is just a symptom of the larger problem and doesn’t do much to solve anything.

Still, the resignation does raise several questions, most of which Andy Katz covers:

Does Floyd get a settlement? How much did USC push Floyd along? And if Floyd was innocent of paying Mayo, why not wait to see if any of the allegations turned into NCAA charges?

Maybe Floyd just didn’t have the heart to fight it out. With recruits bailing on him right and left, I can’t really blame him. Why not take the millions earned from NBA stints with the Bulls and Hornets and head back to Mississippi and try to forget this whole thing?

Because now, the other consensus is that USC’s hoops program will be in shambles. For a long, long time.

A long time.

And if it’s going to be a wreck, just who will take that gig? Who wants to clean up this mess when recruits are bailing and the NCAA hasn’t even leveled any penalties (if any are coming). Tom Crean took over an Indiana program last year that was rife with issues, but the Hoosiers are one of the nation’s traditional powers and are committed to rebuilding. USC basketball couldn’t be further from that.

So who’s crazy enough to take the reins?

If Jeff Van Gundy is to be believed, it ain’t him.

He didn’t deny that the school had contacted him, but he’s not talking.

“I'm not going to say that,” he told the L.A. Daily News. “Tim Floyd is a helluva guy and a helluva friend. That's my quote.”

Other candidates include Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon (whom the school has already contacted, but seems like a longshot), ex-New Mexico State coach Reggie Theus and Southern Mississippi’s Larry Eustachy, who’s friends with Floyd.

More considerations? Long Beach State’s Dan Monson (who already cleaned up one mess at Minnesota), Oregon State’s Craig Robinson, Virginia Tech’s Seth Greenberg or ex-coaches Billy Gillispie and Bob Knight (no way, no how, but his name’s out there).

And, via USA Today, maybe even Rick Pitino.

But would he be a glutton for punishment twice? Sure, he did his magic at Kentucky, but that was Kentucky. USC football is the equivalent to Kentucky basketball, not USC hoops.

And at this rate, it never will be.

Turns out Arizona won't be horrid next year

Mike Miller — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 01:45:00 GMT

Even if Arizona doesn’t land prize prep recruit Lance Stephenson, new coach Sean Miller got perhaps the best news of the springs: point guard Nic Wise is headed back to Tucson.

Wise isn’t the biggest name to return to school – that’d be either Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson or Miss State’s Jarvis Varnardo – but I’m not sure any player will be more crucial to his team’s fate in 2009-10.

Hans Deryk/Reuters

Nic Wise

“Now that I’ve made the decision, I’m really looking forward to my senior year,” he said. I bet. Instead of dragging the depths of the Pac-10, Arizona could be a darkhorse for next season.

When the season ended, the Wildcats lost their top three players (Wise, Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger all declared for the NBA draft) and got their fourth coach in the last four years.

Some figured Arizona would challenge Oregon and USC for the bottom rung of the Pac-10. Check that.

Budinger and Hill are still gone, but Wise’s return may have been the most important. He’s capable of running the offense and carrying the scoring load when needed. If anyone can make the transition easier for Miller’s new recruits, it’s Wise.

"We are all very excited with Nic's return," Miller told the Arizona Republic. "His talent, leadership and ability will make him one of the premier players in the Pac-10 this coming season.

Miller isn’t kidding, either.

Wise ranked among the league leaders in scoring, assists, steals, free-throw percentage, 3-pointers made, 3-point percentage, assist-to-turnover ratio and minutes played. Expect the scoring and minutes played to increase.

And expect Arizona’s streak of 25 consecutive NCAA tournaments to continue as well.

Tim Floyd sounds like a man on the brink

Mike Miller — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:39:00 GMT

Tim Floyd sounds like a man on the brink. Let’s recap why.

Just days after Floyd reportedly turned down the vacant Arizona job in early May, USC’s players started leaving en masse for the NBA. Losing DeMar DeRozan, Daniel Hackett and Taj Gibson doesn’t help a program. (In Floyd’s four seasons, he’s had eight players jump early; you’d think he’d be used to it.)

Jim Mcisaac/AP

Tim Floyd

And losing those three wasn’t so bad once more bad news emerged about O.J. Mayo’s 1 year at USC. Floyd reportedly paid one of Mayo’s associates at least $1,000 in 2007. The NCAA’s ears perked right up, and opened an investigation. The school’s trying to stay mum on the whole thing.

Recruits started bailing, too. Noel Johnson and Solomon Hill backed out of commitments. Another, prize L.A. recruit Renardo Sidney signed with Mississippi State after he and USC – after questions arose about Sidney’s eligibility – decided by “mutual agreement” that he probably shouldn’t be a Trojan.

Not enough? Less than a week after forward Marcus Johnson was granted another year of eligibility, he bolted for the NBA. Nothing like losing four underclassmen to the pros.

So if you’re Tim Floyd, you’ve had better springs. And the cracks are starting to show. The boosters at Monday’s Coaches Tour 2009 got the unfiltered version.

"Kansas has two players who would have been NBA lottery picks, Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins, and they are returning to school. Good for them. Our guys get an offer from Islamabad and they’re gone.”

(Whistles)

The roster flux means there are nine players no longer with the program who were scheduled to be on the team as of early April.

Now the Los Angeles media is speculating that USC hoops is essentially toast – forget the basketball powerhouse when it’s hard to enough to field a team – and that Floyd is a coach in over his head who can’t control his program.

Right about now, Tucson never looked so good.