UCLA concentrating on next season

Season finale. UCLA guards Michael Roll (20) and Malcolm Lee leave the court after an 85-72 loss to California in the Pac-10 tournament semifinals on March 12, ending the Bruins' season with a dismal 14-18 record (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times / March 12, 2009).

UCLA concentrating on next season
By AL BALDERAS
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Published: March 16, 2010 2:34 p.m.

The Bruins' basketball team is bound to be better, mostly because things can't get much worse.

It wasn't long after UCLA's season-ending loss to Cal last Friday that the topic of conversation among the Bruins turned toward next season.

Can you blame them?

UCLA coach Ben Howland yells at his team in the first half against Cal during the semifinals of the Pac-10 Basketball Tournament at Staples Center Friday.

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WHO'S LEAVING

Michael Roll (G)

James Keefe (F)

Nikola Dragovic (F)

Mustafa Abdul-Hamid (G)

KEY RETURNEES

Malcolm Lee (G)

Tyler Honeycutt (F)

Reeves Nelson (F)

Jerime Anderson (G)

Brendan Lane (F)

NEWCOMERS

Josh Smith (C) signed

Tyler Lamb (G) signed

Lazeric Jones (G) verbal

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The loss to the Golden Bears put the finishing touches on a 14-18 record, giving UCLA its fourth losing season since World War II.

"Everybody probably learned a lot from all the adversity that we went through and I think we'll be better for it next year," freshman forward Reeves Nelson said.

"This season was very disappointing but we definitely learned from it," fellow freshman Tyler Honeycutt said from two lockers away.

The problems that engulfed the UCLA basketball program this season were evident well before the Bruins lost their season opener to Cal State Fullerton.

•Honeycutt, expected to come in and log veteran-type minutes, was forced to sit out most of the summer with a back injury.

•Point guard Jerime Anderson missed the last couple of weeks of the preseason with a groin injury.

•Friction between UCLA coach Ben Howland and sophomore big man Drew Gordon was just heating up.

When the Bruins managed to score just 47 points in an embarrassing Thanksgiving Day loss to Portland in a preseason tournament, everyone in and around the UCLA program knew it was going to be a long season.

"We need to get better at a lot of things," Howland said two days after another embarrassing setback in the same tournament, this one to Long Beach State.

Moments before stating the obvious, Howland said that Nelson would replace Gordon in the starting lineup.

November's final week presented the Bruins with an ultimatum. They could try to get better and be competitive against upcoming opponents like Notre Dame and Kansas, or they could just pack it in.

They opted for the first choice. It just didn't happen to be good enough.

Honeycutt's back was healthy but once a stress reaction in his leg cleared up, he became the Bruins' leading rebounder and shot blocker.

"I need to work on my defense," said Honeycutt, who was not satisfied with his own numbers. "That's one of the main things that I need to work on if I want to get to the next level."

Nelson, who was expected to back Gordon up, took the lead role as the Bruins' inside man. He trailed only Honeycutt and rebounds and blocked shots.

Nelson and Honeycutt ended their season by being added to the Pac-10 All-Freshman team.

Malcolm Lee's on-the-job training at point guard progressed but Anderson ended up missing more time because of a hip injury.

Anderson's health issues robbed the Bruins of depth, forcing Lee and senior Michael Roll to play more than 1,100 minutes each. The same issues also prevented him from playing consistently.

"He's got to get himself in great physical condition so he can stay healthy," Howland said of Anderson. "When you're constantly going in and out of practice and the ability to play because of injuries, it makes it difficult to have consistency."

Anderson seems to have gotten the message. His plans for the offseason are to improve his health and work on his skills.

"I felt that I had a real disappointing season," Anderson said. "I just tried to bounce back, tried to keep my head set, and tried to help my team the best I could.

"I have a lot of work to do. I want to get bigger over the summer and spring, and try to become a better player with more poise out there."

The Bruins are bound to be better next season but part of the reason for that is because things can't get much worse.

Another reason is the experience gained by the first- and second-year players on the squad.

Just how much better the Bruins become will be based on how much time is put in during the offseason workouts. Without any tournaments on their schedule, there is nothing like getting an early start.

And if any of them need that mid-offseason push, all they have to do is think back to the disaster that was their 2009-10 season.

"If the season like this doesn't motivate us for next season, we're just not basketball players," Lee said. "All basketball players should use adversity as a motivation process for next year because you really don't want to repeat it."