Here’s some quick hits about our Bruins from around the net.

SI.com writes – UNC? UCLA? Florida? What’s happened to the hoops dynasties?

UCLA, after reaching three straight Final Fours from 2006-’08, has plummeted to 9-10 this season.Clearly, it’s tougher than ever for hoops programs to remain consistently dominant, and it’s easy to see why. The staggering extent of roster turnover from one year to the next requires coaches to bring in monster recruiting classes on a near-annual basis — and heaven help you if even one or two of those new additions flames out.

Ben Howland’s Bruins have also been victimized by a string of one-and-dones. While their 2006-’08 run revolved around several key veterans (Aaron Afflalo, Darren Collison, Josh Shipp, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute all played at least three seasons), two stars from that last team, center Kevin Love and guard Russell Westbrook, bolted after their only seasons as starters, as did last year’s star freshman, Jrue Holiday. This year, the bottom finally fell out.

“It has definitely been a challenge when you are starting over again,” Howland said.

Full story at SI.com

ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne writes – UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans are tough to figure out

In the span of a week, UCLA coach Ben Howland went from telling the media he was “embarrassed” and apologizing, it seemed, to all past, present and future Bruins after an atrocious loss to the Trojans at Pauley Pavilion, to optimistic and sunny after an impressive sweep of the Washington schools.

For a coach who has earned a reputation as one of the best defensive coaches in college basketball, for whom man-to-man defense was previously something of a commandment, not an option, that pill goes down about as smoothly as pine tar.

“It was actually very poor coaching on my part for not recognizing earlier,” Howland said through clenched teeth. “It’s not something we want to do, but it’s something we need to do in order to be competitive and win games.”

Full story at ESPN.com

Abdul-Hamid rolled the dice by coming to UCLA, and spent much of the last three years chasing around Darren Collison, the Bruins’ star point guard. But the connect-the-dots sketch that has UCLA heading into its game at Oregon tonight just a game out of first place in the Pacific 10 Conference leads directly back to the 6-foot-2 redshirt junior from St. Louis.

His buzzer-beating jumper gave UCLA a 62-61 victory over Washington a week ago. He then followed that up with three consecutive jumpers to kick-start the offense in a victory over Washington State two days later. That win moved the Bruins to 9-10 overall, 4-3 in conference play and into a five-way tie for second in the Pac-10 behind California.

“A lot of what he has done is self-made,” said UCLA Coach Ben Howland, who put Abdul-Hamid on scholarship before last season. “He puts in time and a lot of the extra work.”

UCLA ranks last in the Pac-10 this season in FT percentage at 61%.

Terrible.

Sooner or later this will catch up with them and cost them a game or two they should have won. I’m looking at you Malcolm Lee, Michael Roll, and Reeves Nelson. Although, Nelson gets somewhat of a pass since he’s a big man. But still.

Insidesocal.com’s Jon Gold breaks down the Bruins dismal performance from the charity stripe.

The foul struggles have left the players confused and the coaches frustrated, as even extensive work in practice – as much as 200 free throws in a day for some players – has not translated to the games.

“I tell you it’s not through lack of trying,” Howland said. “We had a couple guys who had to hit 200 yesterday. (Sophomore guard) Malcolm Lee made 45 foul shots in a row. We spent a lot of time free-throw shooting yesterday. We’ll spend a lot of time working for it.”

The problem hasn’t cost the Bruins in their last two games, both wins, over Washington and Washington State. But, Howland said, it all adds up.

“The percentage is what’s the key,” Howland said. “Those free throws you miss in the first half are just as important as the ones with five minutes to go. Front ends of one-and-ones hurt you. Some of that also is we’re not playing a lot of guys and there’s more of a fatigue factor.”

Full story at Insidesocal.com.

2010 UCLA commit Josh Smith is nearing 100 percent after a partially tearing his pateller tendon nearly two months ago. Smith hopes to resume his normal minutes in the next week or so.

“I’ve been out for about six weeks,” he said. “It’s been a long process, but things are starting to look up now. I would say right now I’m about 95 percent.”

“I had about 12 points in the first game,” said Smith, “Then I had about 15 in the second game. I’ve just been feeling it out. It’s a little frustrating.”

Smith said he’s been in constant contact with Ben Howland and his staff. The Bruins’ sports medicine staff closely monitors Smith’s MRI’s.

“The coaches just tell me to take it easy and not to rush back too soon,” said Smith. “They said that I’ve got to be a little selfish with this because I have a scholarship, and I could hurt myself long term if I rush back. Coach Howland told me that I don’t have anything more to prove. Tuesday’s game will be my first time since the injury playing most of the game.”

Full story at HighSchoolHoop.com

UCLA remained sharp knocking off Washington State at Pauley Pavilion, 74-62.

The zone defense is official now people. It looks like Coach Howland has come to grips with the fact this team is not athletic enough to stay in a man to man defense. Reeves Nelson and Tyler Honeycutt have become a formidable freshman duo on the boards, offensively and defensively. Nelson and Honeycutt combined for 27 points and 15 rebounds.

The Bruins pulled away in the second half, and never looked back. Sophomore standout Klay Thompson had an off game, going 5-17 from the field. I won’t jump to any conclusions and say this was a total result of the awesome zone defense by the Bruins, because it wasn’t. But did it contribute? Sure did.

Transfer freshman guard Reggie Moore kept the Cougars close, but simply couldn’t do it alone. Moore notched a career high24 points. (How many guys are going to put up career highs against us this year!? Sheesh!).

In the end, UCLA won a game they “should have” won. The Bruins must keep this momentum as they travel up north to face the Oregon schools on the road. We’ll know if they’ve turned a corner if they can come away 2-0.

Additional game notes:

1) Zone! 40 minutes of zone defense, looking better each game.

2) Nikola Dragovic maintained his solid offensive play, dropping 18pts, and connecting on 3-4 from beyond the arc.

3) Jerime Anderson continues to nurse his hip flexor. Mustafa Abdul-Hamid filled in admirably, chipping in 9 points, 2-3 from three point land.

4) The Bruins continue to struggle from the free throw line, going 16-28 for 58%.

5) This was UCLA’s first win on a Saturday all season long!

Official Boxscore

Additional reaction around the net:

LAtimes.com – Bruins roll at Pauley

Seattletimes.com – Zone diet helps UCLA get healthy

Seattlepi.com – Zoned out!

Bruinsnation.com – Finally a basketball “team” wearing those four letters shows up

Dailynews.com – UCLA beats Washington State for first Saturday win of the season

Slamonline.com (West Side Story – A Left Coast Perspective) – Game notes: Washington State at UCLA

**STORY UPDATE: Brandon Dunson has committed to Arizona State.**

Additional info here.

Brandon Dunson has been turning heads with his recent play at Wabash Valley College, becoming one of the hidden gems for class of 2010. Arizona State, Nevada, UCLA, Gonzaga, Oklahoma State, Western Kentucky, Santa Barbara, and Valparaiso are all said to be interested.  We recently spoke with Dunson about the sudden attention, and where he might end up.

BRUINHOOPS.NET Q & A Session with Brandon Dunson

Q: A lot of Bruin fans might not be too familiar with you just yet, I know you went to Bloomington Central Catholic high school, can you tell us a little more about yourself? Where did you grow up? How did you end up at Wabash?

A:  I was born in Gardena, California but raised in Bloomington, Illinois. I used to visit Los Angeles every summer until high school then AAU wouldn’t allow me to. I spent one semester at Chattanooga then transferred to SIU-Edwardsville. I sat a year because of NCAA transfer rules and played one semester. I wanted to play in a better program and play the point and the 2 instead of the 3 (and sometimes even the 4 defensively). I chose WVC because the coach here has coached mutiple NBA players throughout his career and over 100 Division I guys.

Q: In your opinion, what has been the biggest improvement in your game that has you on radar of the elite programs?

A: I’d say the move to the point is the biggest thing that raised my stock. I went from an undersized wing to a big pg. The confidence with my handle has improved my overall game too. It’s more of a natural position for me.

Q: What schools are showing the most interest? Do you have a favorite?

A: Arizona State, Nevada, UCLA, Gonzaga, Oklahoma State, Western Kentucky, Santa Barbara, and Valparaiso are all interested. I don’t have a favorite at this point. Arizona State was in last night, Nevada was here Monday, and Oklahoma State was in last week.

Q: What position are you most comfortable playing? Point guard or shooting guard? What do you expect to play for the school you choose?

A: Since the season started I’ve got real comfortable at the point. That’s the position I expect to play next year.

Q: Per your twitter, you’ve mentioned speaking with UCLA, and Arizona State and that the “Pac 10 is looking good”. Is it safe to say we’ll see you on the west coast next season?

A: Yeah I’d love to play at on the west coast. I love it out there but I’m going to go to the situation best for my career no matter where it is but I would prefer to play out there.

Q: Have you spoken to UCLA recently?

A: I actually just talked to UCLA today (1/22) after practice. They said they’ve been following me and are still very much interested.

Q: What factors will influence your choice in a school? When can we expect a decision?

A: I want to go to a winning program where I have the opportunity to be an impact point guard. I also want to play for a coach that’s good at developing point guards. I want to take visits before I commit so it probably won’t be until after the season.

Q: There have been whispers from recruiting sites comparing you to Russell Westbrook. Do you see the similarities? What NBA player would you compare your game to?

A: Westbrook is a fair comparison I think though I believe I’m a more consistent shooter (not that I’m comparing myself to an NBA player at this point). I don’t model my game after anyone but if there was a comparison I think Westbrook would be fair.

Q: For the record, what is your current height and weight?

A: I’m currently 6′2 1/2″ 180 lbs.

For a full bio on Brandon Dunson, click here. You’ll be greeted with a picture of Dunson posterizing someone.

You can also keep up with Dunson via his Twitter.

Video highlights after the jump.

Read The Full Story…

Don’t count them out just yet.

On a cold, rainy night in southern California, it was only fitting UCLA would make a splash. Point guard Jerime Anderson was out due to injury (hip flexor), so former walk-on Mustafa Abdul-Hamid would have to step up. And step up he did.

The Bruins led the Huskies 60-59 after a pair of free throws from Mike Roll, with 8 seconds remaining. Ben Howland makes a substitution, bringing in Abdul-Hamid to defend full court due to his speed. The Huskies inbound the ball to Venoy Overton who takes the ball coast to coast with Abdul-Hamid on his hip and converts a lay-up. A lay-up! Coast to coast! 8 seconds coast to coast, coverts a lay-up! Howland, what were you thinking when you brought in Abdul-Hamid?!

3.6 seconds remain, no timeouts left for UCLA. Roll is set to inbound the ball, Malcolm Lee struggles to separate from his defender, Abdul-Hamid is free around the half court line. The ball is heaved his way, he takes a few dribbles, bobs and weaves, stops just inside of the three point line, pump fakes, and releases with 0.02 left on the clock. SWISH. Ball game. This is why we write stories, and he’s the head coach.

The Bruins played with grit and heart. This couldn’t have been the same team that was mauled by USC less than a week ago, could it? The game plan was noticeably different. This team resembled the grind it out Howland teams of yesteryear with one huge exception. The Bruins were in a zone defense from tip off. We’ve seen them go to zone off and on throughout the season, but never from buzzer to buzzer. It may have been a different type of defense, but it was the Howland defense we’re accustomed to.

In a previous post, I listed my keys needed for a Bruin victory. Let’s see how I did.

1) Protect the ball. CHECK. The Bruins committed a few more than I’d like with 16, but it was far less than the 22 against Stanford.

2) Box out. HALF CHECK. UCLA and Washington tied in rebounding at 24 a piece, so they technically didn’t get outrebounded. However, Washington did have 12 offensive to UCLA’s 6.

3) Slow it down. CHECK CHECK CHECK. Final score 62-61. I said this game would need to be won in the 60’s and indeed it was. The Bruins lack the athleticism and offensive firepower to play in the 80’s. Slow it down, and grind out a victory.

4) Nikola Dragovic needs to show up. HALF CHECK. Dragovic converted some nice buckets on the block. More than anything, he didn’t force shots. All of his attempts were quality looks. He finished with 11pts and 5brds, going 50% from the floor and 75% from the FT line.

5) 6th man. CHECK CHECK CHECK. It may have  taken the fans longer to arrive due to the rain, but once they did, they made their presence felt. The crowd and student section were alive and loud. Per Coach Howland’s twitter - “The student section was awesome tonight! You guys have no idea how much you helped our team. We have the best student section in the Pac-10!”

Additional game notes:

1) The play of the night was clearly made by Mustafa Abdul-Hamid, but the PLAYER of the night, was freshman Tyler Honeycutt. Honeycutt filled up the stat sheet. He was perfect from the floor 4-4, and FT line 2-2, for 10 pts, grabbed 8 rebounds, 2 offensive, dished out 4 assists, to go along with 2 steals,  and 1 block. Stats can only tell half the story as Honeycutt made crisp passes, and grabbed key rebounds for the Bruins. Last night was his coming out party. He’s going to be scary good.

2) Reeves Nelson continues to be an offensive inside presence. 16 pts and 6brds.

3) Washington was held to under 30% FG in the second half.

4) Live by the three, die by the three. Washington was 7-19 from three point land. No inside game.

5) Only two players scored in double figures for Washington. Quincy Pondexter and Isaiah Thomas.

6) Free throws remain a huge concern for UCLA. The Bruins were 17-26 from the charity stripe, for 56%.

7) Jerime Anderson not playing may have been the best thing for the Bruins last night. The on ball defense by the Huskies was impressive. Anderson would have certainly upped the turnover count.

Let’s hope the momentum continues (for once!) against Washington State on Saturday.

Additional reaction around the net:

ESPN.com – UCLA’s Howland keeping the faith

ESPN.com – A star is born

ESPN.com (again!) – Mustafa Abdul-Hamid’s game winner prompts student frenzy

Foxsports.com – Bruins’ buzzer-beater leaves Washington in shock

LAtimes.com – Bruins pull out victory with buzzer-beater

SFgate.com – Unlikely hero hits a shot at buzzer for UCLA win

Seattletimes.com – UCLA post game analysis

The Bruins (7-10) find themselves in last place of the Pac-10 as they take on the Huskies (12-5) tonight. Washington comes in at 3.5 point favorites, rightfully so. UCLA received a butt-whoopin’ of epic proportions against crosstown rival USC last Saturday, and hope to right the ship against the preseason Pac-10 favorites.

Coach Howland said he was embarrassed by the effort against the Trojans, and has placed the blame squarely on his shoulders. He met with senior forward Nikola Dragovic during the week and emphasized the importance of boxing out. The Huskies lack size, but make up for it with athleticism, which has been a thorn in the side of the Bruins all season long. Let’s hope Dragovic heeds the advice from Howland and follows through.

The battle I’ve waited for all season long takes place in the back court. Husky guards Venoy Overton and Isaiah Thomas look to be match up nightmares. Overton is a pesky defender, who should cause turnover after turnover against the shaky ball handling of the Malcolm Lee . Thomas may be short, but can get to the basket at will. Especially against slow footed Mike Roll, and the El Matador Jerime Anderson (ole!). If there’s ever a game for Anderson to prove he belongs at a Division 1 school, it’s tonight. Senior standout Quincy Pondexter with his experience and overall toughnes should prove to be too much for talented freshman Tyler Honeycutt.

With all that said, there is still hope. UCLA is longer, leading the conference in blocked shots, and posseses more of an offensive inside presence in freshman Reeves Nelson. The Bruins are coming off one of the most shameful losses in recent memory, and Howland is 2-0 in the Pac-10 on Thursday games, upsetting favorites Arizona State and California.

I won’t make a prediction, but I’ll give you my keys to the game needed for a Bruin victory.

What UCLA must do to beat Washington:

1) Protect the ball. Avoiding costly mistakes and turning the ball over simply can’t happen against the Huskies.

2) Box out. Washington is first in offensive rebounds in the Pac-10.

3) Slow it down. The Huskies lead the conference in scoring, averaging 80 pts a game. The Bruins simply can’t put up that type of offense. This game will need to be won in the 60’s.

4) Nikola Dragovic needs to show up. Love him or hate him, he is averaging 15.6 points and shooting 50% in UCLA victories, but only 7.5 points on 28% shooting in losses.

5) 6th man. The Bruins are playing at Pauley Pavilion, and it should feel like it. Home court advantage needs to play a small part in securing a victory.

There you have it. A tough test for UCLA, but not an impossible one to pass. With nearly a week to prepare, let’s hope they’re up to the task.

Here’s what they’re saying around the net about tonight’s game:

LAtimes.com – UCLA’s Nikola Dragovic has answer to Bruins’ woes.

SGVtribune.com – Romar knows what he’s up against.

Bruinsnation.com – The exciting bruins take on Lorenzo Romar’s road warriors.

Bodoglife.com – Washington at UCLA (for the gamblers out there)

Oregonlive.com – Pac-10 basketball

Seattletimes.com – Bad news for UW: UCLA is angery after blowout defeat. Good news: Bruins are banged up.

UCLA remains on the hunt for hidden gems across the nation, recently surfacing is 6′3 guard Brandon Dunson of Wabash Valley junior college. He’s currently averaging 12 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals for the Warriors who are 13-0 and ranked 9th nationally at the JC level.

Dunson’s stock has risen, and so have the number of schools competing for his services: Arizona State, UCLA, Nevada, Oklahoma State, and Gonzaga to name a few.

Here’s a couple of interesting notes per his Twitter account.

@delanodr look like ima play on the west coast next season…long beach? Fullerton? Los angeles? Where u tryna b at out there? 8:02 PM Oct 15th, 2009 from web

got a call from UCLA last night, definitely counting my blessings! Glory to God! 7:28 AM Nov 20th, 2009 from web

just got off the phone with Herb Sendek (Arizona State head coach) and like what I heard, definite possibility! 9:10 AM Jan 17th from web

Dunson is a lefty with nice lift on his jumper, and possesses the athleticism the Bruins desperately need. Could this be another Russell Westbrook in the works? We’ll continue to monitor the situation and UCLA’s involvement.

UCLA target Terrence Jones continues his strong senior season for Jefferson high, recently being named to the 2010 USA Junior National Select Team.

Jones had this to say upon being selected:

“It’s always an honor playing for your country, and I’m excited to represent the USA in this game,” Jones said in a news release. “The coaches, the players, it’s just going to be a good event to play in and learn from.”

The Nike Hoop Summit pits  some of  the country’s best high-school-aged players against a World Select Team comprised of elite international players under age 20. This is the third consecutive year the Rose Garden will have staged the event.

In addition to Jones, the first nine members of the eventual 10-man USA roster are as follows:

Guards: Harrison Barnes (Ames H.S. / Ames, Iowa), Will Barton (Brewster Academy / Baltimore), Reggie Bullock (Kinston H.S. / Kinston, N.C.), Kyrie Irving (St. Patrick H.S. / Elizabeth, N.J.), Brandon Knight (Pine Crest H.S. / Lauderdale, Fla.) and Kendall Marshall (Bishop O’Connell H.S. / Arlington, Va.)

Forward: Tobias Harris (Half Hollow Hills West H.S. / Brookville, N.Y.)

Center: Jared Sullinger (Northland H.S. / Columbus, Ohio).

Coaching the U.S. team will be Bob Cimmino, the coach at Mount Vernon (N.Y.) High School since 1994.

YouTube clips not enough? Catch Jefferson high and Terrence Jones as they face UCLA-bound Josh Smith and Kentwood on national television Feb. 2 on  ESPN2.

6′8 freshman Reeves Nelson has made his mark on this season’s UCLA team with hard work, and hustle. The students have noticed, and since made him a Bruin Den favorite.

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne writes:

The UCLA student section has fallen for freshman center Reeves Nelson in a head-over-heels, face-painting, tattoo-copying, instant-cult-hero kind of way.

“Oh man, the crowd definitely loves him,” sophomore guard Malcolm Lee said. “The other night I saw people drawing that infinity [symbol] tattoo he has on his arm on themselves.

“I think it’s because he’s just real aggressive. He’s not scared of getting hit or hitting other people. That’s big for us because our shots can go in or out, but his brutality and aggression is always there, night in and night out.”

Usually it takes years to win over “The Den” so thoroughly. But in an up-and-mostly-down season when not much has gone as expected for the Bruins (7-9, 2-2), Nelson’s consistency, attitude and passion for the game have made him a real crowd-pleaser.

Well deserved, Reeves.

Full article at here.