UCLA Fans Shouldn't Easily Forget What They Had

Watching the Hornets light up the Clippers in the 4th quarter of Monday’s 108-100 loss reminded me of something.  UCLA’s run of back-to-back to back Final Four appearances from 2006-2008 was probably more impressive than most people realize, including Bruins fans.

Seeing Darren Collison guide the Hornets to their 13th straight win over the Clippers by scoring 18 points and dishing out 14 assists in 48 minutes of action took me back to the years when he ran the point for Ben Howland.  Talk about his skills all you want, but Collison is a winner.  Plain and simple.  And you can say that about the other players who came through Westwood during that remarkable run.  From Jordan Farmar and Arron Afflalo to Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Alfred Aboya to Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love, they were all about putting up W’s, even in games in which they probably shouldn’t have.

foxsportswest.com: Bruin Faithful Should Continue To Hold Their Heads High

Expect The Unexpected At The PAC-10 Tournament

I had the opportunity Monday to host the annual PAC-10 Tournament Tip-off Luncheon put on by the LA Sports and Entertainment Commission.  For the past three years, the LASEC has invited various clients and business partners of the PAC-10 to take part in a Q & A with the head coaches from UCLA and USC as a way of setting up the annual conference tournament held at Staples Center.

This year was slightly different because USC will not be participating in the tourney.  So instead of Kevin O'Neill joining Ben Howland at the luncheon, FSN college basketball analyst Marques Johnson shared his thoughts about both this year's regular season and the upcoming tournament.

Marques once again shared his mantra for the season and applied it to this year's tournament:  Expect the unexpected!

Don't Hate UK's Coach, Hate The NCAA's Game

From all the e-mails I have been getting lately, I guess some of the readers here at Eaves On Sports are a little upset that I haven't written anything about Kentucky lately--something I hadn't even realized. Maybe it's because this is not a UK blog, but rather a blog where I share my insight and opinions on any and all topics that interest me.

Naturally having grown up in Kentucky, UK Basketball would be one subject I would often address here--just not all the time. However, right now is one of those times.

Since President Lee Todd and Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart finally came to their senses and fired Billy Gillispie and then replaced him with John Calipari, I constantly field questions from both non-UK fans as well as UK-haters. They ask me how long will it be before Kentucky ends up on probation. Some in jest. Others sincere.

I understand why some people might ask such questions considering that the NCAA struck Calipari's run with U Mass to the 1996 Final Four from the official records after it was discovered that Marcus Camby received improper benefits while playing for the Minutemen. However, it's very important to note that the NCAA declared that Calipari was never involved or responsible for the infractions.

That statement of fact, however, does not stop some from labeling Calipari a "dirty coach," a topic foxsports.com columnist Jason Whitlock addressed in a March 31st column. Here's an excerpt.

Coach Cal's rep is that he plays loosey-goosey with the NCAA rulebook. He recruits prep-school kids, late-academic qualifiers and he's not above giving a dad (Milt Wagner) a job or an AAU coach a speaking engagement in order to land a program-maker.

Some sports writers I respect consider Coach Cal a "dirty coach."

I consider him a damn good one. And given the NCAA's insistence on holding onto an outdated rulebook and an immoral/hypocritical concept of amateurism, I believe Calipari's ethics are beyond question.

I agree. I know for a fact that Calipari has the best of intentions when dealing with kids. He obviously has a vested interest in getting the best of the best to play for his teams, but he is also sincerely concerned about their ultimate well-being, whether they play professionally or not.

Does he utilize the boundaries of NCAA rules to his advantage? Of course! And he better, if he wants to keep up with the other top coaches in the country--Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Jim Calhoun, Ben Howland, etc--who use the same practice.

So rest assured UK fans, Calipari is going to work as hard, if not harder, than any coach in America to make sure Kentucky is always challenging for national championships, but he won't do it at the expense of the program and/or his career.

Is Jrue Holiday Leaning Towards Leaving UCLA?

By the time he left high school, Jrue Holiday was well-scouted by just about every NBA team. The 2008 prep player of the year was primed to be a one-and-doner at UCLA. The lottery was waiting on him.

However, life has a funny way of writing out its own script for our lives, and Holiday's one season in Westwood gave life an opportunity for a re-write.

There are several people who viewed Holiday's freshman season as a disappointment. His first year play and stats didn't match his pre-enrollment hype. After scorching the high school ranks for more than 30 points a game at the point guard spot, Holiday only averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists this past season while playing shooting guard in Ben Howland's defense-oriented system.

Despite those underwhelming numbers, Holiday still entered his name into this year's NBA Draft. He has not hired an agent, however, thus giving him the option to come back to UCLA for his sophomore season.

He has has spent the better part of two weeks at a Florida training center, prepping for the individual workouts, and he recently decided to extend his stay.

I have always been of the belief that Holiday would jump straight to the league after only one season at UCLA. I came to that conclusion after talking to various NBA personnel, as well as Holiday himself. He never told me directly that he planned to play only one college season, but when I read between the lines, his intentions were always obvious to me.

Such an example comes in the following quote from David Wharton's article in Saturday's LA Times.

"In college, it's all about defense," Holiday said. The NBA "seems like it's more fun. You can be you."

More fun? You can be you? I'm sorry UCLA Fans, but that sounds like a man who hasn't been very happy lately and is looking for a new start.