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Originally Posted by Mutombo
Huge UCLA fan here...
Funny seeing your take on the UNC transfers to the Bruins. I think most fans view taking Drew II as a mixed bag...his attitude problems are well documented (as well as his overbearing mother), but so far the Wears are getting pretty good reviews. David looks to be playing a lot of time at the 3 this year since our frontcourt is so loaded, the major question is whether or not he can guard the position. And Howland absolutely LOVES the Wears.
The game plan is going to be simple this year...feed the bigs. Josh Smith looks about the same weight as last year, which isn't good since he's probably at least 50 lbs over where he should be. However, even at 365 lbs (or whatever he is) I don't think there are many players in the country that can stop him if he can stay out of foul trouble. He went for 26 pts (on 14 of 18 free throw shooting) in our first exhibition win over the weekend.
Regarding Arizona...I think they are going to miss Derrick Williams A LOT. I've seen both their exhibitions and the opener against Valpo..they really don't have a guy outside of the freshman Nick Johnson who seems like he wants the ball in his hands. I see them losing a lot of games early but getting better by the end of the season as the freshmen gain more experience. Keep in mind, they've already lost to Division 2 Seattle Pacific in their opening exhibition game.
I think Cal or Washington will be challenging UCLA for the Pac 12 title this year, not Arizona.
Good thread, I'll definitely be following.
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I myself would like to see the Bruins get back to, at least, relevance, though I don't desire (nor anticipate) their long-gone dominance occurring again. As for the "Carolina Lite" observation, let me say this: I had little problem with the Wear twins leaving UNC. I thought it put last year's squad in a bind, what with them being thin down low, but if they felt Chapel Hill was not right for them, they were right. We don't want players who aren't happy to be there. And even though their departure was a surprise, they at least waited until the end of the season before they sprung the news. However, when it comes to He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, to split in the middle of a campaign, in his junior year, solely because he lost his job to a better player, and felt he hadn't received the respect he hadn't earned on the court, and because he allowed his parents to tweet and chirp about how great he was . . . well, that's just wrong on many levels.
Unless both his attitude and his game changes a lot, I can't see him being more than a back-up for UCLA next year. His problems at Carolina were that he played east-west, not north-south, which killed the secondary break, and he was reluctant to make the pass to the scorers, which meant they got it too late to take advantage of position before the defense recovered. He-Who-Etc. was a game-changer . . . for the opposition.
I also think Smith will be your key post-player, and if the Wears can be "Plumlee-like" subs for 15-20 minutes a game each, you should be OK. And I also think Arizona might struggle some, and would not be shocked if they fell out of the rankings for a while.
Regular update ASAP.