| U-uh-uh-uh-C-uh-uh-uh-L-uh-uh-uh-A-uh-uh-uh-UCLA-fight-fight-fight!
As you could here the Eight Clap from anywhere in Los Angeles
last Saturday when the Bruins overcame USC at the Rose Bowl,
fans everywhere knew their Bruins were on top: both their
men's and women's Soccer teams were vying for the schools
100th national title, their football team was the best in
the city, and their men?s basketball team was best in the
nation.
As UCLA fans everywhere watched their star point guard travel
across town to staples center and the Los Angeles Lakers,
it looked as if last years Pac-10 championship and trip to
the tile game has been the peak, surely the loss of Jordan
Farmar would result in early season woes as the team adjusted.
The opposite was true, as the Bruins have took of to the sky,
jumping up to number one in all major polls with early season
wins against Kentucky and Georgia Tech on route to the Maui
Invitational Tournament championship, and #against 6 Texas
A&M last night in the John Wooden Classic at the newly
renamed Honda Center in Anaheim.
The Bruins are now 8-0, and the biggest difference from last
year seems to be the play of sophomore Darren Collison, Farmar?s
backup and sixth man last year, and the return of junior Josh
Shipp, injured last year. Both have played superb as starters,
as Shipp's 13.9 and Collison?s 12.4 points per game are second
and third on the team. Collison also leads the team in assists
with 6.3 per game, however his greatest impact has been on
defense. With long arms and blazing quick speed, he has been
outstanding with his back to the basket, finishing close games
against Kentucky and Texas A&M with late steals and defensive
stops. The young player, frustrated by lack of playing time
last year, seems to be a great fit, maybe even better than
Farmar, in coach Ben Howland?s East Coast defensive game plan,
one that rejuvenated the Pittsburg program, now #2 in the
rankings.
The team is led by Preseason All-American Arron Afflalo,
leading scorer and defensive stopper. Averaging over 17 points
per game, he leads the team as the only returning starter
outside of sophomore Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, a Prince of
Cameroon.
As a longtime Bruin fan, it's great to see the tides change.
Long were we stuck watching loss after to loss to the Trojans
on the football field only to flip over to our marquee sport
and watch our talent coached away by a rabid monkey by the
name of Steve Lavin. We were stuck watching our star player
be a slow, soft, un-athletic three-jacker by the name Jason
Kapono, a guy who couldn?t even say defense let alone play
it. However, with Howland's hiring three and a half years
ago, he has brought the mind, and the players, that are attempting
to bring the school back to its glory days of John Wooden:
Arron Afflalo was his first recruit, Jordan Farmar his second;
both have prominent NBA careers in their futures.
As the Rose Bowl gets shut down for business the rest of
the season (when UCLA doesn?t play, nobody does), the claps
and yells of rabid bears shifts from Pasadena to Westwood
for the winter, as fans everywhere shout with pride:
GOOOOOOOOO BRUUUUUUUIIIIIIIIIIINNS!!!
- Kevin Gilbert (ReddMannButt)
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