By Ben Bolch The Los Angeles Times March 30, 2011 | 11:44 am
Steve Taylor, who coached Brendan Lane at Rocklin High, said Wednesday the UCLA sophomore forward did not express any interest in transferring during a lunch meeting last week despite an influx of big men that could lead to a logjam at his position next season.
The arrival of twin forwards David and Travis Wear gives the Bruins six players who could play center or power forward, also taking into account Lane, Joshua Smith, Reeves Nelson and Anthony Stover.
"He feels that if he gets an opportunity and gets healthy, he can compete with those guys," Taylor said of Lane, who gave UCLA a boost off the bench with eight points and four rebounds during a 78-76 victory over Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Lane's postseason breakthrough was a rare triumph in a mostly frustrating season.
After averaging 19.2 minutes in nonconference games and ranking among the top shot-blockers in the Pacific 10 Conference, Lane's playing time plummeted in conference play; he averaged 11.8 minutes and 1.8 points, blocking only one shot in 17 games. Taylor said part of the problem was fatigue in the wake of off-season ankle surgery that deprived Lane of several months of conditioning.
Although Coach Ben Howland wouldn't address the possibility of Lane redshirting next season during Howland's season-ending meeting with reporters, Taylor said it might be a good idea.
"It would allow him a whole year of conditioning and development, and it might free up that logjam," Taylor said, noting that Smith and Nelson are both candidates to turn professional after next season.
Taylor said Lane didn't discuss the possibility of redshirting with him, but the coach said he sensed Lane wanted to compete for playing time if he was given an opportunity. Even though Lane's season didn't go as he had hoped, Taylor said, he was still happy at UCLA.
"He sees the whole package, not just basketball, as being part of his experience," Taylor said. "There are other things he chose UCLA for that might not mean as much to other kids, but they speak to how well-rounded and how good of a person he is."
By Ben Bolch The Los Angeles Times March 30, 2011 | 6:57 pm
The father of UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith refuted a report on a draft website that his son was sending out feelers to NBA teams to see where he might be selected if he were to declare for the June draft.
"It's not true," Joshua Smith Sr. said by telephone Wednesday evening. "He's coming back. He's not going anywhere. He's got to be a good student and a good college basketball player first" before considering the NBA.
Smith, the 6-foot-10, 324-pound standout who averaged 10.9 points and 6.3 rebounds last season, visited his parents in Kent, Wash., over the weekend. Smith Sr. said he talked to his son about improvements he needed to make during his sophomore season.
Smith Sr. said his son would stay in Westwood this summer to work on getting in better shape. UCLA Coach Ben Howland has said he wanted Smith to drop his body fat to 12%.
By Jon Gold, Staff Writer sgvtribune.com Posted: 03/29/2011 09:34:51 PM PDT
LOS ANGELES - UCLA junior guard Malcolm Lee said Tuesday during a conference call that he's declaring for the NBA draft, but he added he's not going to hire an agent.
Lee, coming off left knee surgery, said he will take until the May 8 deadline to pull out of the draft before making his decision. He is in the process of rehabilitating his knee - which required surgery to fix a small cartilage tear and small meniscus cartilage tear, suffered in the team's regular season-ending victory over Washington State - and hopes to be ready for individual workouts April 28.
"I consulted with my family and mentors like that, but the deciding factor was saying I'm a junior and I felt I made a lot of improvement from last year," Lee said. "I felt like it was just right."
Lee said his AAU coach was in the process of interviewing potential agents, but he said he wasn't going to hire one in the interim. Sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt declared for the draft Monday but will hire an agent, ending his college eligibility.
UCLA coach Ben Howland said he thought Lee made the right decision based on the fact that he has the option to return his senior year, when the Bruins are projected to be among the top teams in the country.
Lee submitted a questionnaire to NBA executives Monday that will give him feedback on his current draft prospects, Howland said, and he should have the results in 7-10 days.
"I don't think it hurts Malcolm at all," said Howland, who also added that he expects sophomore forward Reeves Nelson to return after their discussion. "He's leaving open the option to come back to school if he doesn't get the feedback he wants to hear.
"His classes are Tuesday and Thursday, and he should be good to go in terms of being back to full strength by the time they are starting to work guys out, which at the earliest is April 28th."
Most mock drafts have Lee anywhere from the early second round to undrafted, but Lee's sensational defense could find him a first-round suitor. Lee averaged 13.1 points on 43.7 percent shooting and added 3.1 rebounds as an All-Pac-10 first-team selection for the Bruins, who advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
But it was Lee's defense that drew rave reviews, as the all-defensive team pick was called the "best perimeter defender in the country" by Howland on several occasions.
"I feel like I'm a first-round draft pick, but my opinion doesn't mean anything," Lee said. "If I'm not a first-round draft pick, as of right now, I feel like I can improve my stock in the workouts."
Lee said he is unconcerned about a potential NBA lockout, and that it will not affect his decision. However, he did say that the team's potential for next season could be a factor in his return. Even with Honeycutt off to the draft, most Pac-10 observers believe UCLA should be at the top of the conference next year.
"That's definitely on my mind," Lee said. "Just knowing what our team could be with me. The potential this team has could be a deciding factor. But if I were not to come back, it could be a top team still because we do still have talent."
By Peter Yoon ESPNLosAngeles.com Updated: March 29, 2011, 3:23 PM ET
LOS ANGELES -- UCLA guard Malcolm Lee confirmed Tuesday that he has made himself eligible for the NBA draft but is reserving the right to withdraw by not hiring an agent.
Lee, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound junior, was UCLA's second-leading scorer last season with 13.1 points a game, and has until May 8 to decide if he wants to return to school and continue playing for the Bruins.
He is the second UCLA player in two days to declare for the draft. Forward Tyler Honeycutt also did so Monday but plans on hiring an agent, so he will relinquish his college eligibility.
ESPN NBA Insider Chad Ford projects that Lee will go in the second round, if he is drafted at all. Lee will work out for NBA teams from April 28 through May 8 and get feedback about his draft position.
"I feel like I'm a first-round draft pick, but my opinion really don't mean nothing," Lee said. "If I'm not a first-round draft pick as of right now. I can improve my stock in the workouts."
How quickly he recovers from recent knee surgery may be a major factor in those workouts. Lee had cartilage removed from his left knee last week, and said he hopes to be at 100 percent by the time the workouts begin.
"But you really don't know until you get out there and start doing the cuts and going against competition," Lee said. "You really don't know until you go out and start testing it."
Lee said the threat of an NBA lockout would not alter his decision.
UCLA coach Ben Howland said entering the draft without hiring an agent is a win-win proposition for Lee because he retains the option of returning to school if he doesn't like what he hears from NBA teams.
"Malcolm is smart," Howland said. "He knows that from that feedback, if someone doesn't tell him we're going to take you in the first round, then it doesn't make sense."
UCLA has been projected to be as high as a top-10 team next season, but with the departure of Honeycutt and now possibly Lee, the Bruins' stock is dropping.
Howland said that Lee, who is the team's best defensive player, would be "a huge focal point for our team next year both offensively and defensively" should he withdraw from the draft. Lee acknowledged that would factor into his decision.
"The potential of what the team could be next year, that could be a deciding factor," he said. "If I were not to come back we can still be a top team because we do still have talent."
Malcolm Lee declares for 2011 draft with first-round aspirations, maintains option of returning next season
By RYAN ESHOFF Published March 30, 2011, 2:20 am The Daily Bruin in Men's Basketball, Sport
Apparently the NBA bug is contagious.
Following the lead of one of his teammates, UCLA guard Malcolm Lee announced Tuesday that he will declare for this year’s NBA draft.
Unlike sophomore Tyler Honeycutt, who announced Monday that he was making the jump to the professional ranks, Lee will not hire an agent, a decision that leaves open the possibility of the junior returning to UCLA for the 2011-2012 season.
“I just felt that I made a lot of improvement from last year,” Lee said. “I felt like it was just right.”
Not hiring an agent right away gives Lee more flexibility. If still not represented, the deadline for him to withdraw from the June draft is May 8th – if he does so, he is free to return for his senior season.
Right now, the most pressing issue for the guard is getting healthy; Lee is currently recovering after having surgery last week to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. The injury, suffered in UCLA’s March 5 game against Washington State, typically requires four to eight weeks of recovery time, which should get Lee healthy just in time to work out for NBA teams during the designated 11-day stretch that begins on April 28.
“The main thing, I’m just trying to get healthy right now so I can even work out,” Lee said. “You really don’t know until you go out and start testing it.”
Interest should be fairly high in Lee, a tough player who averaged just more than 13 points per game while playing 33 minutes a night.
His primary calling card, though, will most certainly be his defense – the long and athletic 6-foot-5-inch guard nearly always guarded the opposing team’s best perimeter player. This last season, that group included Jimmer Fredette of BYU, Dwight Hardy of St. John’s, and Isaiah Thomas of Washington. At one point during the year, coach Ben Howland contended that Lee was one of the best wing-defenders in the country.
Lee’s body of work could be enough to land him in the first round in what is widely considered a weak draft class. The most recent projections by NBADraft.net, however, had him going in the first few picks of the second round.
By not hiring an agent, Lee will be able to get feedback from a number of teams on where he is expected to go. If he isn’t satisfied with what he hears, he can return to Westwood for another year of refinement.
Lee said he believes that he should be selected in the first round.
But he acknowledged that if he gets told he won’t be a first-round pick, he’ll likely return to improve his stock, logic that his coach concurs with.
“If someone doesn’t tell him, ‘We’re going to pick you in the first round,’ then it doesn’t make sense,” Howland said. “Especially with the lockout, and the fact that he’ll be a huge focal point of our team next year, both offensively and defensively.”
Although Howland made sure to mention the potential NBA lockout, Lee said that the possibility of not playing didn’t affect his decision to test the draft waters. More difficult, though, was the decision to leave a UCLA team that has a chance to be very good next season.
“That’s definitely on my mind, just knowing what the team could be with me,” Lee said. “The potential that this team could be next year, that could be a deciding factor.”
By Jon Gold on March 29, 2011 11:00 AM Inside UCLA with Jon Gold The Los Angeles Daily News
UCLA junior guard Malcolm Lee said he was declaring for the NBA Draft during a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, but added that he was not going to hire an agent.
Lee, who is coming off left knee surgery, said he will take until the May 8 deadline to pull out of the draft before making his decision. He is in the process of rehabilitating his knee - which required surgery to fix a small cartilage tear and small miniscus cartilage tear, suffered in the team's regular-season ending win over Washington State - and hopes to be ready for individual workouts that start on April 28.
"I consulted with my family and mentors like that, but the deciding factor was saying I'm a junior and I felt I made a lot of improvement from last year," Lee said. "I felt like it was just right."
Lee said his AAU coach was in the process of interviewing potential agents, but he said he wasn't going to hire one in the interim. Sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt declared for the draft on Monday but will hire an agent, ending his college eligibility.
UCLA head coach Ben Howland said he thought it was Lee made the right decision based on the fact that he has the option to return his senior year, when the Bruins are projected to be among the top teams in the country.
Lee submitted a questionnaire to NBA executives yesterday that will give him feedback on his current draft prospects, Howland said, and he should have the results in 7-10 days.
"I don't think it hurts Malcolm at all," said Howland, who also added that he expects sophomore forward Reeves Nelson to return after their discussion. "He's leaving open the option to come back to school if he doesn't get the feedback he wants to hear. His classes are Tuesday and Thursday, and he should be good to go in terms of being back to full strength by the time they are starting to work guys out, which at the earliest is April 28th."
Most mock drafts have Lee anywhere from the early second round to undrafted, but Lee's sensational defense could find him a first-round suitor. Lee averaged 13.1 points on 43.7 percent shooting and added 3.1 rebounds as an All-Pac-10 first-team selection for the Bruins, who advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
But it was Lee's defense that drew rave reviews, as the all-defensive team pick was called the "best perimeter defender in the country" by Howland on several occasions.
"I feel like I'm a first-round draft pick, but my opinion doesn't mean anything," Lee said. "If I'm not a first-round draft pick, as of right now, I feel like I can improve my stock in the workouts."
Lee said he is unconcerned about a potential NBA lockout, and that it will not affect his decision. However, he did say that the team's potential for next season - even with Honeycutt off to the draft, most Pac-10 observers believe UCLA should be at the top of the conference next year - could be a factor in his return.
"That's definitely on my mind," Lee said. "Just knowing what our team could be with me.
The potential this team has could be could be a deciding factor. But if I were not to come back it could be a top team still because we do still have talent."
Howland added some more talent on Monday, only it will be delayed a year.
Former Taft High and North Carolina point guard Larry Drew II enrolled at UCLA on Monday and will redshirt next season before becoming eligible as a senior in 2012-13.
Drew abruptly left North Carolina in early February after his playing time diminished and he lost the starting role to freshman Kendall Marshall.
Drew averaged 4.4 points and 3.9 assists in 22.8 minutes per game as a junior, down from 8.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 28.8 minutes per game in 2009-10.
"We're excited to have Larry Drew in the program," Howland said. "I think he'll be a good addition. Gives us a point guard in a class we need it as we move past next year. I'm excited about our team next year. We won't know Malcolm's decision until sometime around May 8. Then I'll have a better feel."
Larry Drew II, the point guard who abruptly left North Carolina mid-season, has enrolled at UCLA for the spring quarter, a school spokesman confirmed Monday.
Drew, a former standout at Taft High in Woodland Hills, Calif., left the Tar Heels on Feb. 4, issuing a statement that said only "it's in my best interest to continue my education and basketball career elsewhere."
Drew began taking classes at UCLA on Monday and has to pay his own tuition this quarter because UCLA does not have any open scholarships, but he is expected to participate in all off-season workouts and join the Bruins as a scholarship player next season.
Tyler Honeycutt's decision to leave school and enter the NBA draft opens up a scholarship for coach Ben Howland. Drew, a junior, will have to sit out the 2011-12 season because of NCAA transfer rules and will have one year of eligibility remaining. He will re-join former North Carolina teammates David and Travis Wear, who transferred to UCLA last year.
Drew was averaging 4.4 points and 3.9 assists in 22.8 minutes at the time he left North Carolina, but had recently been replaced by freshman Kendall Marshall as North Carolina's starting point guard.
Drew averaged 8.5 points and 5.9 assists in 28.8 minutes as a sophomore and led North Carolina to the NIT championship game.
Phone and e-mail messages left for Drew and his family were not immediately returned.
By Peter Yoon ESPNLosAngeles.com Updated: March 28, 2011, 8:51 PM ET
UCLA forward Tyler Honeycutt is leaving school and will enter the NBA draft, he said Monday in a conference call with reporters.
Honeycutt, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, averaged 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Bruins last season and is projected to be drafted late in the first round or early in the second round of the June 23 NBA draft, according to ESPN.com's Chad Ford.
Honeycutt, 20, was wavering about leaving school after the Bruins were eliminated from the NCAA tournament by Florida on March 19 and said he would discuss the decision with people close to him.
"I think it's in my best interest to enter the draft," Honeycutt said.
Honeycutt said he would hire an agent, but he didn't yet have one picked out. Once he does, he will lose his college eligibility. Players who enter the NBA draft have until May 8 to withdraw and maintain their college eligibility, so long as they do not hire an agent.
UCLA coach Ben Howland said he was confident Honeycutt would be drafted in the first round.
"I just wish Tyler the very best," Howland said. "He did a great job for us these past few years. He made a big jump from the end of his freshman year until now.
"He feels it's best for him. This is what he wants to do, so I'm 100 percent supportive."
Among those who advised Honeycutt was Bort Escoto, his former coach at Sylmar High.
"I advised him that he needed to be absolutely ready and that if he had any doubts whatsoever he needed to go back to school," Escoto said.
Honeycutt is a long, athletic wing player who projects as a small forward. He has the ability to dribble and pass and can score from just about anywhere on the floor. He led the team with 55 three-point baskets.
He struggled at times with on-ball defense, but made up for it with an uncanny ability to recover and block shots from behind. He led the Pac-10 with 68 blocked shots. His overall stats were not all that eye-popping this year, but he had a 33-point, nine-rebound game at Kansas and had showed his all-around game with 16 points, five assists and six rebounds against Michigan State in an NCAA tournament game.
"It won't surprise me if he goes top 10 in the draft, not at all, because of his talent," Escoto said. "I know what he can do so if he goes seven or eight, it won't surprise me at all. As a matter of fact, it would probably surprise me if he went 20-30. That would surprise me. Because once people really see how talented he is, then they will understand my crazy comment."
Honeycutt could have continued attending classes while mulling over where he might land in the June draft, but he wants to focus on basketball in his bid to be a lottery pick.
"I'm going all out for it," he said. "I'm pretty high right now and this year considered being a weak draft is a good reason to leave."
The prospect of an NBA lockout doesn't bother him, either.
"I'm sure there's going to be one," he said. "No one is exactly sure how long."
LOS ANGELES -- UCLA forward Tyler Honeycutt is leaving school to enter the NBA draft, giving up his final two years of eligibility.
Honeycutt made the announcement in a conference call on Monday. He plans to sign with an agent, which would preclude him from returning to school.
Across town, Southern California junior Nikola Vucevic said last week he's leaving early, too.
Honeycutt, a six-foot-eight, 188-pounder from Los Angeles, averaged 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Bruins (23-11), who lost to Florida in the third round of the NCAA tournament. Named to the All-Pac-10 team, he started and played in all but one of the Bruins' 34 games, and shot 41 per cent from the floor and 74 per cent from the free throw line.
UCLA didn't make the tournament in Honeycutt's freshman year, when he missed the first six games because of a stress fracture in his right tibia.
Honeycutt could have continued attending classes while mulling over where he might land in the June draft, but he wants to focus on basketball in his bid to be a lottery pick.
"I'm going all out for it," he said. "I'm pretty high right now and this year considered being a weak draft is a good reason to leave."
The prospect of an NBA lockout doesn't bother him, either.
"I'm sure there's going to be one," he said. "No one is exactly sure how long."
Honeycutt said the biggest criticism he's heard about himself is his slender frame, so he plans to improve his physical strength through daily workouts leading up to the draft.
"I'm pretty confident he'll go in the first round and hopefully go real high," coach Ben Howland said. "He's very, very athletic. He can block shots. He shoots the ball extremely well."
Howland can barely recruit fast enough to replace the talent lured by the draft, but he wished Honeycutt the best.
"He did a great job for us these past two years. He's worked very hard and improved a lot," Howland said. "The real thing for Tyler is he feels it's best for him. Would we be a better team next year if he elected to come back? Absolutely."
Honeycutt follows in the footsteps of such recent one-and-done Bruin stars as Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Jrue Holiday.
"The biggest X factor that would keep me from going to the draft was the team next year and how good we could be," he said, adding, "It was best for me to leave this year."
Howland demurred when asked about the future plans of sophomore forward Reeves Nelson and junior guard Malcolm Lee, the Bruins' top two scorers, respectively.
Honeycutt said the only teammate he had spoken to was Lee.
"He just asked me what I've been thinking and trying to see if he's on the same path," he said.
Howland said the Bruins would play three guards next season, with junior-to-be David Wear getting minutes at Honeycutt's old position. Wear and his twin brother, Travis, sat out this season after transferring from North Carolina.
Howland says he expects to meet with junior Malcolm Lee and sophomores Tyler Honeycutt and Reeves Nelson as soon as Monday to discuss their futures.
By Ben Bolch The Los Angeles Times 6:59 PM PDT, March 22, 2011
UCLA Coach Ben Howland said the potential of an NBA lockout would influence his advice to Bruins players deciding whether to declare for the draft, intimating that it might lead him to encourage them to return to college.
"I can tell you in the NBA, in my opinion, this is going to be a serious lockout," Howland said Tuesday. "They will not be playing, in my opinion, next December and maybe even January. … You're not even going to get paid next year for half the year."
Howland said he expected to meet with junior Malcolm Lee and sophomores Tyler Honeycutt and Reeves Nelson as soon as Monday to discuss their futures. College underclassmen have until April 24 to declare for the draft and can withdraw by May 8 to retain amateur eligibility, as long as they do not hire an agent.
Lee's ability to work out for NBA teams during the two-week window may be compromised after he underwent surgery Tuesday to repair damage to his left knee sustained this month.
During an hour-long procedure at the UCLA Medical Plaza, orthopedic surgeon David McAllister removed a two-millimeter piece of cartilage that was floating in Lee's knee and repaired a tear that accounted for about 2% of the meniscal cartilage in his knee.
Howland said Lee's recovery time was from one to two months, meaning the shooting guard might not be at full strength if he decided to showcase his skills for NBA teams next month.
Howland said any player projected to be among the top 15 picks in the draft has his blessing to declare; currently none of the Bruins fall into that category.
"I've done all the research," Howland said. "I mean, you look at the guys who get picked between 22 and 31 and where they are five years later versus guys who are one to 15, it's vastly different when you look at the career paths."
Etc.
It appears the Bruins will play most of their home games next season at the Sports Arena and the Honda Center while the interior of Pauley Pavilion is renovated. UCLA will play host to Texas in the first game of a home-and-home series and will travel to play St. John's in February at Madison Square Garden. … Howland said he wanted 324-pound freshman center Joshua Smith to lower his body fat to 12% during off-season workouts. The coach would not divulge Smith's current percentage of body fat.
By Jon Gold on March 22, 2011 1:10 PM Inside UCLA with Jon Gold The Los Angeles Daily News
Here's some stuff from the UCLA press conference today:
* Junior guard Malcolm Lee had surgery on his left knee on Tuesday - to repair the cartilage tear, remove loose cartilage and also fix a small meniscus cartilage tear - and Howland said he expects Lee to miss 4-to-8 weeks.
* I asked Howland about the log jam at power forward next season, and he said David Wear might play some at the three, and that Travis Wear has experience at multiple positions.
* Asked whether Brendan Lane might redshirt next year, and he said he hasn't discussed that with Lane.
* Howland said he'll begin his discussions with Tyler Honeycutt, Malcolm Lee and Reeves Nelson in the next 10 days about their future plans. He would not really speculate on any of the decisions, but he is quite certain there will be an NBA lockout, and that will play a factor in his discussions with the players. "This is going to be a serious lockout. I have a lot of friends in the NBA, and they're all preparing for it. They will not be playing in next December or January. Nothing in the summer time; July 1 it starts. There's a real commitment by owner and ownership to get things right."
* Howland said he does not have a target weight for Joshua Smith, but he wants his body-fat percentage to be somewhere around 12 percent. He also said Smith will be on a regular regimen with the rest of the players, rather than a conditioning-only plan like last year.
By Ben Bolch The Los Angeles Times March 22, 2011 | 2:20 pm
UCLA junior guard Malcolm Lee underwent successful surgery Tuesday morning to remove cartilage and repair a tear in the meniscus of his left knee, Coach Ben Howland said.
During an hourlong procedure at the UCLA Medical Plaza, orthopaedic surgeon David McAllister removed a two-millimeter piece of cartilage that was floating in Lee's knee, Howland said, and repaired a tear that accounted for about 2% of the meniscal cartilage in his knee.
"His prognosis should be very good," Howland said of Lee, who injured the knee during the Bruins' regular-season finale against Washington State on March 5.
Howland said Lee's recovery should take between one and two months. The coach said he expected to sit down with Lee in the next 10 days to discuss whether the Bruins' second-leading scorer should declare for the NBA draft or return for his senior season.
By Peter Yoon ESPNLosAngeles.com Updated: March 22, 2011, 7:06 PM ET
UCLA Bruins guard Malcolm Lee had surgery Tuesday to repair torn cartilage and a small meniscus tear in his left knee, coach Ben Howland said.
Lee, an all-conference junior, is expected to make a full recovery in four to eight weeks, Howland said. The surgery, performed by Dr. David McAllister at the UCLA Medical Plaza, revealed that Lee had a two-millimeter piece of cartilage floating in his knee and a two percent tear in his meniscus.
Lee originally injured his knee March 5 during UCLA's regular-season finale at Washington State, but played through it after doctors assured him he wasn't risking further injury by doing so. He averaged 15 points on 10-of-21 shooting in UCLA's two NCAA tournament games.
Howland said the surgery would not have an impact on Lee's draft prospects, should Lee decide to enter the NBA draft.
"It'll just take some time for him to get back to being full strength again," Howland said. "He's going to be fine. He's going to be 100 percent fine."
By MATT STEVENS Published March 21, 2011, 2:33 am in Men's Basketball Sports The Daily Bruin
TAMPA, Fla. — Tyler Honeycutt thinks UCLA will be a top-five team next year.
Malcolm Lee loves the team’s potential.
And when coach Ben Howland was asked about next year’s prospects, he took a sip of his water before answering with a smirk.
“I think we could be pretty good,” he said.
The key word of course is “could.” The other key word might be “if.”
The Bruins could be a top-five team as Honeycutt suggested if the sophomore forward decides to forgo the NBA and return for a third year. The same goes for, the junior guard, Lee.
Asked if the Bruins, with their nucleus of returning talent, are a team he wants to be a part of, Honeycutt responded in the affirmative.
“It is,” he said. “I love all these guys.”
But Honeycutt also said he would make his decision after returning to school to take finals and consulting with his mom.
Lee was equally undecided about his impending decision.
“I haven’t really thought about that,” he said.
If both Honeycutt and Lee were to return next year, the Bruins would be in the unique situation of not losing a single player. That means that the very thing that may have hindered the Bruins’ tournament run this year could help them return next year and help them go farther.
UCLA didn’t have a single senior on this year’s squad, but they’ll have two next year if Lee returns. The entire roster had 32 minutes of tournament experience heading into this year’s edition of March Madness. Next year they would have 432.
In the locker room after Saturday’s loss to Florida, many players saw 2012 as the silver lining to the loss. Sophomore forward Reeves Nelson was one such cautious optimist.
“I know I’m going to work harder than I ever have before,” he said. “If we get most of the guys back, I think we can be great.”
Asked if he’ll return, Nelson was rather forthcoming.
“Yeah, I think I will,” the Bruins’ leading scorer said. “I haven’t really thought about it because I wanted to take this as far as I can go, but I’ll sit down, talk to coach, talk to my parents and see what happens. … Everybody knows we have a chance to be a great team next year. And with my little brother coming down (to play football), it would be great to go to college with my little brother.”
Freshman center Joshua Smith was extremely popular with the local media in Tampa, largely because of his size and ability to dominate the paint. Smith didn’t disappoint on Saturday, leading the Bruins with 16 points causing some to seriously speculate about his future with UCLA.
Smith quelled the rumors, telling the Los Angeles Times that he knows he needs to lose more weight, and confirming to the Los Angeles Daily News that he would return.
Howland also said that he was “pretty sure” the big center would come back after a serious off-season workout.
“His potential is so exciting,” Howland said of Smith. “So it’s going to be the off-season, what he does, his conditioning. There’s not many like him in the country. He could be one of the best bigs.”
If both Smith and Nelson return for the Bruins as expected, UCLA could encounter a serious logjam in the front court.
Along with Smith and Nelson, twin forwards Travis and David Wear will become eligible to play next season a year after transferring from North Carolina. Howland has alluded all season to how much both players have helped improve practice.
Redshirt freshman center Anthony Stover and sophomore forward Brendan Lane both also play in the front court and got considerable minutes and even starts this season.
How Howland will spread limited playing time among six front court players remains to be seen.
But for the time being, Howland said that the coaches will give the players a full three weeks off to mend their bodies before beginning the quest for another tournament run.
They plan on going further next time around.
“We’re not satisfied,” junior guard Jerime Anderson said. “We’re not.”
UCLA could be a top-10 team, depending on whether starters Tyler Honeycutt, Reeves Nelson and Malcolm Lee decide to return or enter NBA draft. Coach Ben Howland also has high hopes for several newcomers, including transfers David and Travis Wear.
By Ben Bolch The Los Angeles Times 8:00 PM PDT, March 20, 2011
Ben Howland likes to tout UCLA's history of producing 106 NBA draft picks, more than any other school.
The Bruins coach probably would not mind if that figure didn't grow this summer.
If junior guard Malcolm Lee and sophomore forwards Tyler Honeycutt and Reeves Nelson decide to return for one more year of college basketball, UCLA would likely be considered a top-10 team nationally going into next season.
The trio of first-team All-Pacific 10 Conference selections would comprise the kind of deep and dynamic core the Bruins have lacked since their run of three consecutive Final Fours ended in 2008.
"Everyone knows we have a chance to be a great team next year," Nelson said Saturday after Florida ended UCLA's season with a 73-65 victory in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
Nelson appears to be the most likely of the three players to return. The Bruins' leading scorer intimated he was leaning toward coming back, in part because his younger brother Raymond will be a freshman tight end for the UCLA football team this fall.
Lee's decision could be complicated by torn cartilage in his left knee that will require surgery. He said the procedure would sideline him for a month, potentially limiting his ability to showcase his skills for NBA teams this summer.
Several mock draft boards list Lee as a potential second-round pick and others do not include his name.
Howland has said Honeycutt would have his blessing to declare for the draft if he is projected as a top-15 pick, which appears unlikely. One NBA executive, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss college players, said Honeycutt would be taken in the latter portion of a first round that includes 30 picks.
Honeycutt's decision will hinge not only on where he might go in the draft but also how far UCLA might go with him back in the fold.
"It's going to be a key factor, coming back to a top-five team in the country, especially with the Wear [twins] coming . . . ," Honeycutt said. "It's going to be a good nucleus."
The Bruins' playing rotation could conceivably go 13 deep, with newcomers Norman Powell, De'End Parker and David and Travis Wear solidifying a reserve corps that was spotty for much of this season. UCLA's bench players scored only two points against the Gators.
Howland said Powell, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard from San Diego Lincoln High, was "as athletic as anybody we have." Parker, a 6-5 point guard from City College of San Francisco who has committed to the Bruins, can play either guard position and small forward.
Those spots figure to be well stocked. The 6-10 Wear twins, who sat out this season after transferring from North Carolina, will complete a frontcourt potentially unrivaled in the Pac-10.
"The twins are very good players," Howland said. "They bring a lot of skill, a lot of size."
Howland hopes Joshua Smith packs a little less brawn. The freshman center who recently disclosed his weight for the first time (drum roll . . . 324 pounds) probably needs to replicate the conditioning routine that helped him shed 50 pounds last summer to reach his ideal weight.
"He can be one of the best big kids in the country, period," Howland said.
Junior point guard Lazeric Jones should benefit from rest and rehabilitation of his injured right middle finger and left wrist, which hampered his shooting. Jones made eight of 39 shots (20.5%) in the Bruins' last six games.
Misses by Honeycutt, Lee and Nelson in the final minute against Florida were probably tough for Howland to watch as he scanned game footage on a laptop Saturday night during UCLA's charter flight home from Tampa, Fla.
But the Bruins could have it made next season, particularly if their top three players return.
"I'm very optimistic about the future," Howland said. "We have a chance to be pretty darn good next year."
UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith sits in the locker room after the Bruins' 73-65 loss to Florida in an NCAA tournament third-round game on Saturday afternoon at St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / March 19, 2011)
Unlike in Final Four losses to Gators in 2006 and '07, the Bruins had a great chance to beat Florida in Saturday's third-round NCAA tournament game. And once the tears dry after the 73-65 defeat, Ben Howland's players should be able to see a bright future.
Bill Plaschke The Los Angeles Times March 20, 2011
From Tampa, Fla.
A kid's face again is buried in a blue jersey. That jersey again is pulled down to reveal eyes soaked red.
A tiny locker room again is buried in quiet grief. Its stuffy heat again is pierced by the words of kids struggling to their feet to take the blame.
Stop me if you've heard this before. You know what? Stop me even if you haven't.
For the third time in six years, the UCLA Bruins were knocked out of the NCAA tournament by the Florida Gators on Saturday, and I swear, if I have to face one more crying child in a room surrounded by chomping arms. . . .
Yes, the Bruins were closer this time, finally whittling the margin beneath double figures, losing, 73-65. And, yes, at least it didn't cost them the national championship or a chance to play in the national championship game.
But no, in some ways, this time was worse, as awful as that huge red scrape under Reeves Nelson's eye looked, as painful as that long red scratch on his left shoulder felt.
In some ways, this time was worse because, this time, the Bruins had a chance. In those Final Four games against Florida in 2006 and 2007, they were outclassed from the opening tip, but Saturday they spent most of the afternoon slugging steadily toward what would have been their best victory in years.
Until the third-round tussle became a 15th-round knockout.
"We were right there, we had it in our hands," guard Lazeric Jones said.
Like the ball that popped out of Jones' mitts in one of several key blunders down the stretch, the Bruins watched it all squirt into oblivion under a stampede of jersey-popping, finger-waving, dancing Gators.
Yeah, sigh, I guess we've seen that before too.
"We gave it away," Tyler Honeycutt said, and that's something no former Bruin has ever said after a Gators game before, but he's right.
In bumping shoulders and trading scrapes with a Florida team playing in front of a raucous Gators crowd at the St. Pete Times Forum, UCLA played its best game of the season until the final half-dozen minutes. Then the Bruins gave it away because they weren't mature enough, or savvy enough, or fit enough to keep it.
"We had a chance to win, and that's all you can ask for," Coach Ben Howland said. "But, you know, we're still learning."
They gave it away, first, with giant Joshua Smith's fatigue.
With 6:33 remaining and the score tied at 55-55, Howland diagrammed an alley-oop play during a timeout. The alley was perfect, but Smith was too weary for the oop.
He leaped, caught the ball, returned to earth, uneasily leaped again, and his dunk attempt was blocked away by Florida's Chandler Parsons. Two quick three-pointers later, and the Gators led by six.
If the 6-foot-10 Smith were stronger, he easily finishes that slam. He lost 50 pounds last summer, but he still weighs about 330, and agrees that he needs to lose more.
"I'm not going to lie, I was fatigued out there," said Smith, who was the player weeping in the UCLA locker room. "I let my team down today."
He wasn't the only one, the Bruins also giving it away with Jones' tentativeness.
With UCLA trailing by four and 3:07 left, Jones lost the ball out of bounds while being tied up by two defenders. Moments later the Gators led by six.
"I should have called time out," Jones said later. "We were right there; that play really hurt us."
Finally, UCLA gave it away with Malcolm Lee's bravado.
With UCLA trailing by one with 1:14 remaining, Lee attempted to wrestle away an inbounds pass to Gators guard Erving Walker. Lee lost the fight, fell behind Walker, and the Florida kid instantly nailed an open three-pointer to essentially clinch the victory.
Said Howland: "You can go for it, but you can't take yourself out of the play."
Said Lee: "Oh, I would go for it again, I would just go harder."
You can cringe at their frailties, but you have to love their faith, these kids who Howland is slowly carving into what could be another great team. In one year, this group with no seniors improved from 14 to 23 wins, including an NCAA tournament victory. Only the inconsistent Tyler Honeycutt is expected to leave for the NBA, while joining the team next season will be the towering, transferring Wear twins from North Carolina and touted high school guard Norman Powell from San Diego.
This team is missing a floor leader, but the stage has been set for someone like Lee to emerge. This team has also been missing a crunch-time scorer, and maybe a stronger Smith can fill that role.
Unlike his last several tournament teams, which were quickly depleted by graduation or the NBA, Howland can actually use this loss to teach and grow. For the first time in a couple of years, the coach walked away from March with some excitement in his voice for October.
"Next year we have a chance to be pretty good," said the coach who rarely makes those kind of proclamations.
With Florida not on the schedule, they are already off to a great start.
UCLA teammates Lazeric Jones, Reeves Nelson and Tyler Honeycutt, none of whom are seniors, walk off the St. Pete Times Forum court after their 73-65 loss to second-seeded Florida on Saturday afternoon in Tampa, Fla. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / March 19, 2011)
Attempted steal by Malcolm Lee backfires and turns into the key play in the Gators' third-round NCAA victory.
By Ben Bolch The Los Angeles Times 7:55 PM PDT, March 19, 2011
Reporting from Tampa, Fla.
The ball, and the game, was his for the taking.
Malcolm Lee watched the inbounds pass from Florida's Scottie Wilbekin sail into the air with UCLA trailing its postseason nemesis by one point and 1 minute 17 seconds left.
Lee judged the flight of the ball, the Bruins guard figuring it might fall short of intended target Erving Walker but wanting to avoid a collision with his Gators counterpart.
"I didn't want to foul him going for it just to put him on the line," Lee said, "so I kind of played it soft, which I think kind of ended up biting me in the butt because I hesitated a little bit to go for it. It was just a bad decision."
Lee went for the steal but missed, his momentum carrying him near midcourt. Walker collected the ball, dribbled ahead and, after checking to make sure Lee was still behind him, pulled up for the three-pointer that helped secure Florida's 73-65 victory in a NCAA tournament third-round game Saturday at the St. Pete Times Forum.
With one flick of Walker's wrist, the second-seeded Gators (28-7) had knocked the seventh-seeded Bruins (23-11) out of the postseason for the third time in six years, a dark final chapter in a bounce-back season.
Lee lingered in dismay near the free-throw line after the final buzzer, his hands planted on his hips. His late gamble was hardly the only culprit for UCLA in a taut, back-and-forth affair in which neither team led by more than four points until the final six minutes.
"We missed too many easy layups, too many open shots, too many free throws, [had] turnovers and bad decisions at the wrong time," said Bruins sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt, who had 13 points but made only four of 14 shots. "You know, in a way we kind of gave them that game, even though they earned it."
UCLA missed four free throws in the final 9:16, including two by Lee on the front end of one-and-one opportunities. Junior guard Lazeric Jones was trapped along the sideline and lost the ball out of bounds with 3:07 left.
And, in another disconcerting development, the biggest man on the court had his shot swatted by a player 100 pounds lighter. With the score tied at 55-55, UCLA Coach Ben Howland designed a play for 305-pound freshman center Joshua Smith to dunk an alley-oop pass.
But Smith collected the lob and planted his feet on the floor before elevating toward the basket. That allowed Florida forward Chandler Parsons, who had been late rotating over, the extra time he needed to recover and block Smith's shot.
"That was a huge play," Howland said.
Kenny Boynton made a three-pointer on the Gators' ensuing possession, giving them the lead for good on the way to securing a spot in a regional semifinal against third-seeded Brigham Young.
Walker also stepped up by scoring 10 of his 21 points in the final 3:58, including a shot he somehow propelled into the basket while falling backward after bouncing off Smith.
UCLA kept the pace to its liking for most of the game, refusing to let the quick Gators speed a turnover-prone team into excessive unforced errors. The Bruins also continually worked the ball inside to Smith (16 points) and sophomore forward Reeves Nelson, who had 16 points, 11 rebounds and one bloody scratch on the left side of his face.
But Florida was the aggressor in the second half, securing eight offensive rebounds after being shut out in that category in the first 20 minutes. The Gators had a 35-33 lead at the half.
"They were getting loose balls, they were getting putbacks," said Smith, his voice slow, his eyes red. "I mean, it takes five of us to box out."
Without a senior on its roster, UCLA's starting five is expected to look roughly the same next season. The only player likely to depart is Honeycutt, who said he would decide whether to declare for the NBA draft in the coming weeks.
Smith committed to returning and Nelson intimated he was leaning toward coming back, with his little brother Raymond joining the UCLA football team. Asked about his future, Lee said he wasn't thinking about anything except the loss.
"It was just a few plays here and there," Lee said. "That dumb play on me trying to go for a steal out of bounds, I came up short and Walker hit a three. That was pretty much the play that separated us."
Would he go for the steal again?
"Yeah," he said. "I would just go for it, my first initial instinct, just go after it instead of hesitating."
Bruins' season comes to an end at hands of NCAA Tournament nemesis Florida
By Jon Gold Staff Writer The Los Angeles Daily News Posted: 03/19/2011 10:35:55 PM PDT Updated: 03/19/2011 10:46:03 PM PDT
TAMPA, Fla. - Malcolm Lee jumped, his left knee ailing, his chest pounding, sweat dripping, and the UCLA guard thought he had the ball.
It was there, maybe an inch away, maybe a mile, but it was there.
And then it wasn't.
And neither was Erving Walker as Lee fell and Walker scurried past.
The 5-foot-8 Florida point guard caught a desperation inbound pass over a leaping Lee, dribbled to the 3-point line and delivered the latest Gators dagger into the hearts of Bruins fans.
Walker's 3-pointer with 1:14 left dropped into the basket to give Florida an insurmountable four-point lead, and the Gators advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 73-65 win over UCLA on Saturday at Tampa's St. Pete Times Forum.
It was Florida's third tournament win over the Bruins in six years. It did not come in the championship game like in 2006 or a Final Four semifinal like in 2007, but it was just as painful.
Lee sat at his locker after the game quietly dejected, not outwardly emotional - freshman teammate Joshua Smith sat close by, head in hands and eyes bloodshot - and replayed the moment over and over.
"I kind of played it soft, which ended up biting me in the butt," Lee said. "I hesitated a little bit. It was a bad decision.
"But I would go for it (again), go for my initial instinct instead of hesitating."
For 38 minutes, there was no hesitation for UCLA.
Two days after nearly losing a 23-point lead in a 78-76 win over Michigan State in the second round, there was no up and down like the Bruins have shown all season, no roller coaster, no big lead nor subsequent meltdown.
They were gritty and tough against a fiercely pro-Florida crowd, with Gainesville just a 2-hour drive away.
It looked like they had become men.
For 38 minutes.
Walker then cut directly into their souls by hitting the decisive 3-pointer and four more free throws as UCLA's Tyler Honeycutt and Reeves Nelson both missed 3-pointers and Lee missed the front end of a one-and-one.
Thirty-eight minutes of grit and hustle and determination.
Two minutes of misery.
Months of bad memories.
"I felt this was a game we should've won," Lee said. "It's just really hard when the whole team goes out there and gives it our all. We could've played a lot better, but there was no question our intensity was there. It just hurts when you go 150 percent and still come up short."
No, it was Florida (28-7) that came up short, all 68 inches worth of Walker pushing the Gators past UCLA after backcourt mate Kenny Boynton went down with an ankle sprain with 4:24 left.
Walker had 21 points, including three 3-pointers and 8 of 10 free throws, while Bruins junior point guards Lazeric Jones and Jerime Anderson totaled just four points in 40 minutes, all four by Jones.
UCLA was forced to look inside, and for much of the game it worked.
Smith and Nelson each had 16 points and Honeycutt added 13 for the Bruins, who took their last lead with 14:58 remaining and never could build any real momentum.
"We missed too many easy lay-ups, too many open shots, too many free throws, turnovers and bad decisions at the wrong time," Honeycutt said.
"I think in a way, we kind of gave them that game. Even though they earned it and they deserve it.
"But I think we gave it away."
UCLA (23-11) ultimately was doomed by the things that seemed to pop up at exactly the wrong times throughout the year: A lack of an outside threat to counter Walker, poor free-throw shooting and untimely turnovers.
Exhibit A: Honeycutt did make 3 of 6 3-pointers, but UCLA shot just 3 of 13 from behind the arc. Jones and Lee finished a combined 0 for 5.
Exhibit B: The Bruins shot just 64 percent from the free-throw line, including 6 of 10 in the second half, and were just 2 of 6 in the last 10 minutes.
Exhibit C: With 3:07 left and Florida leading by four, the Gators trapped Jones just past the half-court line and he lost the ball for the Bruins' eighth turnover. That was down from their dreadful season average of nearly 15, but it was particularly damaging.
"We were just trying to push it, force the tempo the whole game, and they were doing a good job of handling our pressure," Walker said. "But me and Scottie (Wilbekin) got him into a speed dribble, and I came from behind and we got a huge turnover.
"I think that changed the momentum for us."
It was a momentum swing UCLA could not reverse and a game the Bruins could not pull out.
There will be plenty of second-guessing, even though the future looks bright.
Plenty of soul-searching, too.
It's already started.
"Indecisiveness," Lee posted on his Twitter account soon after the game, "is like committing your suicide."
By Jon Gold Staff Writer The Los Angeles Daily News Posted: 03/19/2011 08:53:47 PM PDT Updated: 03/19/2011 10:50:37 PM PDT
TAMPA, Fla. - March Madness is a time for heroes and a time for goats, a time of luck and of skill, a time of joy and of sorrow.
But mostly, it's a time for mish-mashed styles, for coaching preferences, for big versus little, both in conference size and literal size.
Nowhere was that more evident than Tampa's St. Pete Times Forum in UCLA's 73-65 loss to Florida.
The Bruins entered the game knowing they'd win it by going inside. The Gators knew they'd win it by staying outside.
Ultimately, it was the Florida backcourt that snatched victory from the Bruins - guards Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton combining for 33 points - but UCLA can rest assured it played its game against Florida.
The Bruins went to the post early and often, utilizing freshman center Joshua Smith and sophomore forward Reeves Nelson with max efficiency.
The two combined for 14 points and 10 rebounds in the first half as UCLA trailed 35-33, despite owning a 20-10 rebounding advantage, including a 9-0 edge on offensive rebounding.
"It's our same gameplan every game; just control tempo and play inside-out," Smith said. "For the most part we kind of controlled the inside game, but they were getting putbacks, getting wide-open shots, and they made more plays than we did."
In the second half, though, despite foul trouble for three post players - Vernon Macklin, Patric Young and Erik Murphy each finished with four fouls - Florida flipped the script.
The Gators grabbed 22 rebounds - including eight offensive - to the Bruins' 15, and with Smith facing foul trouble of his own, UCLA lost some of its decided post advantage.
"You have to try to impose your will on the game," Nelson said. "But good teams make adjustments, and that's what they did. At the same time, I thought Josh and I did a good job inside today."
Steal nerves
UCLA coach Ben Howland would not second-guess Lee's decision to go for the steal on the game's decisive play, an inbound pass to Walker that left Lee on the ground after slipping, and Walker nailing a 3-pointer that put the Gators up four with 1:14 left.
"You can go for it, but you can't put yourself out of the play," Howland said. "It's hard; he's playing the game, playing as hard as he can as he always does. You miss out on the steal, and it is one thing. Unfortunately, he took himself out of the play."
The next step?
The Bruins are anxiously awaiting the offseason decisions of several players who have been rumored to be toying with the idea of entering the NBA draft.
Sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt is rumored to be the most likely to leap, though he said after the game that he has not made a decision and would consult his family and coaches first. Honeycutt is rated anywhere from a mid-first- to a late second-round pick in most mock drafts.
Howland said he would meet with Honeycutt, a Sylmar High graduate, shortly to discuss his future.
"That's really early," Howland said. "I haven't even discussed it with him. That's something we'll do here over the course of the next few weeks."
The Bruins are also wondering about the fate of junior guard Malcolm Lee and Nelson, who also said he had not made any decisions.
"I haven't thought about it at all," Nelson said. "I was going to try to take this as far as we could go. Now I'm going to just sit down with coach and my parents and then see what happens."
Smith, meanwhile, emphatically said he was returning for his sophomore year in the team's locker room.
Keeping up with the Joneses
UCLA junior point guard Lazeric Jones said he did not need off-season surgery for either his ailing left wrist or right middle finger, despite struggling greatly toward the end of the season.
Before suffering the sprained left wrist, which required a bulky cast, Jones had made 80-of-194 shots (41.2 percent).
After the injury, he made just 22-of-70 shots, for 31 percent, including just 2 of 10 in two NCAA Tournament games.
"No surgery; I just have to do rehab and get it back right," Jones said. "I need to get it back to normal. I've been playing a little awkward lately. Now it's time to get in the gym and get myself together. I have to come back better next year."
Junior guard Lazeric Jones shows frustration as Florida took a six-point lead in the last minutes of the game – the largest lead by the Gators until the final minute. Photo Maya Sugarman The Daily Bruin
By MATT STEVENS Published March 19, 2011, 8:24 pm in Men's Basketball Sports The Daily Bruin
TAMPA, Fla. — Sitting in his cramped locker, reporters long having left him alone, a sulking Malcolm Lee took his frustration out on his sock.
In an instantaneous move, he peeled the long garment off his foot, and thrust the cotton heap to the floor.
“I hesitated, man,” he muttered under his breath, to freshman center Joshua Smith, or perhaps more to himself.
Then, with irritation creeping into his voice:
“I hesitated!”
In that moment, the junior guard and co-captain felt responsible for UCLA’s 73-65 loss to Florida in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. He felt responsible for ending the team’s season. And he felt responsible for making his coach 0-3 against the Gators.
He thought he could have gotten that steal, and he was sure it could have changed the game.
The Bruins were down just one point with 1:17 remaining when the Gators inbounded the ball from beneath their own basket. The pass was a lob over the top to Erving Walker, who waited to receive the ball just in front of the half-court line. As the pass went airborne, Lee made a break for it from the perimeter.
But even as UCLA’s best defender jumped with his arms vertically outstretched, the ball sailed over his finger tips and into the hands of Walker.
He pulled the ball down, and with Lee out of position and out of the play, the Florida guard took three dribbles and pulled up for an NBA-range 3-pointer.
When the ball swished through the net, the Gators found themselves up four and would cruise to a victory behind free throws after that.
“Choices,” Lee said. “That’s what this game is all about. Choices.”
UCLA’s season came to an end in the closest of close games. Until the final moments, no team led by more than six. There were 11 ties and 10 lead changes. Every Bruin player and their coach talked about how well the team played, and subsequently, how the “little things” that went wrong down the stretch killed them.
Minutes prior to Lee’s failed steal attempt, UCLA was down four when junior guard Lazeric Jones got trapped along the sideline and turned the ball over. Florida would capitalize with a bucket inside from center Vernon Macklin to extend its lead to six for only the second time in the game.
Florida’s ability to capitalize on each mistake, combined with two missed front-end free-throws by Lee, and one-for-five 3-point shooting in the final minutes did the Bruins in.
That, and a few big shots from Florida.
Of particular note was a circus shot by Walker, the guard who hit the 3-pointer that sealed the game. In the final minutes, the 5-foot-8-inch junior drove into the paint only to come face to face with UCLA’s 6-foot-10-inch center, Smith. Walker had no choice but to shoot a fall-away jumper, and he did indeed fall to the ground as he let the ball go. But that shot too found its way to the bottom of the net, giving the Gators a five-point lead.
“They made some really big shots, and we really couldn’t do anything about that,” Jones said. “We tried to defend as good as possible, and that’s all we can do, make shots tough.”
But perhaps what was most upsetting to players was the realization that they played one of their most complete games of the season and still got beaten.
Thursday evening against Michigan State, this same UCLA team nearly squandered a 23-point lead that Michigan State cut to one. They played 32 minutes of outstanding basketball, then eight minutes that were less than stellar.
But Saturday, UCLA out-rebounded Florida 20 to 10 in the first half, and played better defense in the second half. They again had four players in double figures, and sophomore Reeves Nelson recorded his second double-double in as many Tournament games.
“I think we just gave away the game,” sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt said. “Too many mistakes. … It just adds up. It definitely shouldn’t have been that close.”
For a team that has had its effort questioned all year, no one questioned the Bruins on this night.
Smith’s eyes were red after the game. Sophomore forward Reeves Nelson’s shoulder was red from getting scratched, as was his forehead long after the in-game bleeding stopped. Junior guard Jerime Anderson politely asked a photographer whether he had taken enough photos.
The much-maligned Bruins took this final loss to heart, and their coach knew it.
“I’m really proud of these kids,” coach Ben Howland said. “When they got knocked down, they got back up and fought back; not only tonight in this game, but all year long.”
But those kind words from a tough coach didn’t do much to console Lee.
As the clock wound under five seconds, Lee, the outstanding defender, wasn’t on defense. He was standing under his own basket, squarely at the free-throw line, gazing at Florida’s basket, watching the Gators celebrate.
He stood there statue-like for four seconds, hands pasted to his hips. The buzzer sounded and Lee dropped his head, ripping his jersey out of his shorts. Then he headed to the tunnel, on his way to the locker room, on his way back home.
“It was disbelief,” Lee said. “It felt like I was in a dream because we really thought we were going to win this game. And just to see that the other team, their whole crowd just cheering, it just snaps you back into reality real fast. It’s like, ‘Damn, is this really happening right now?’
By Tracy Pierson BruinReportOnline, Scout.com Posted Mar 20, 2011
Coach Ben Howland, Tyler Honeycutt and Reeves Nelson answered questions from the media after the Bruins lost to Florida in the third round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday...
COACH HOWLAND: Well, I was really proud of the way we played today. We gave ourselves a great chance there, down one with 40-some seconds to go, and went for a long steal, we missed, and the little guy played great down the stretch for them, Walker, burned us with it. He really did a great job down the stretch for their team. You know, we were right there, and the thing was going back and forth a lot there late in the game. I thought our defense was a little better in the second half compared to the first. We did a good job on the boards, but they ended up hurting us in the second half early in the half on offensive rebounds because we were out-boarding them by ten at halftime and it ended up being only three, so they out-boarded us by seven. I thought we did a good job of taking care of the basketball. It's a tough way to end your season. Only one team ends up really happy. But I'm really proud of our team, the way that we grew as a team this year and developed and continued to get better. You have to give Florida credit. I mean, they ended up beating us by eight, but it was a one-point game there, and we needed to get one more stop.
Q. For Reeves, how physical and how nasty was it down low today? Reeves Nelson: They have good bigs. Like you said, they're physical, especially No. 4 was pretty physical, and he had his way a few times there with some of my teammates. And when I was on him, I just tried to just make him take a tough shot. And then the rest did a good job of rebounding and getting easy buckets off passes from the guards.
Q. Tyler, can you talk about Walker? We always talk about bad match-ups. Was he a tough match-up because he's so quick and so unafraid to take those kind of shots? Tyler Honeycutt: Yeah, you don't see too many point guards who are 5'8" these days. Point guards are usually bigger. He can shoot from almost 30 feet. It's hard to get out there on him because he's so quick and so able to get to the basket.
Q. Tyler, could you just talk about the quality of this game, how tight it was throughout, and what you think ultimately swung it in their favor? TYLER HONEYCUTT: I think, you know, in this game we missed too many easy lay-ups, too many open shots, too many free throws, turnovers and bad decisions at the wrong time. You know, I think in a way we kind of gave them that game, even though they earned it, they deserve it. But I think we gave it away.
Q. For Tyler, your down one with about a 1:13 to go and Walker hits the three. Can you talk about psychologically the impact a shot like that has? TYLER HONEYCUTT: It hurts, but the game wasn't over still, a minute and something left, and it's only a two-basket game. But it got them pumped up, got the crowd into it, then we were kind of on our heels at that point.
Q. I know you guys dealt with different environments, but coming across the country and playing in a crowd that is very pro-Florida, is it even a little bit of a factor at all? What was it like out there? REEVES NELSON: Yeah, we knew coming in that it was going to basically be a road game for us, so they earned it by doing well in the regular season, they got the 2 seed close to home. So that was to their advantage, and their crowd definitely helped them at the end of the game.
Q. Reeves, how far do you think this Florida team can go after playing them? REEVES NELSON: I can definitely see them in the Elite Eight and possibly the Final Four, whoever comes from the top of the bracket. So they're a good team, they can beat you a lot of different ways, and they definitely earned our respect today.
Q. Tyler, as the team that comes in here without much experience, a young team, will it help being here as you look -- as this program looks forward? TYLER HONEYCUTT: I don't get the question.
Q. Just looking to the future, does this experience having been here help you guys as this thing moves forward? TYLER HONEYCUTT: Yeah, it will, because we've got everybody coming back next year. There's no seniors. I don't really believe -- me personally don't feel that it's a factor because it's a game of basketball at the end of the day. A lot of it comes down to your coaches and what situations they've been in, if they've been here before, and you know, ours has plenty of times.
Q. Coach, can you talk about, is it that much more deflating to lose a game like that where you battled and battled and battled? I think four points was the biggest lead until the very end. COACH HOWLAND: It's never fun to lose, and I'm really proud of how we battled today. We played very well, considering we only had eight turnovers. The foul shooting, we ended up shooting 64 percent. We missed some one-on-ones. I didn't realize that Malcolm Lee's last free throw was a one-on-one. I thought he was shooting until after he missed it and the play was going the other way. You know, it's obviously a tough loss. There's a finality to this. Our season is over. And our guys played with a lot of character, a lot of heart today, a lot of toughness, and we played a very good team. I think Florida has got an outstanding team. They have some seniors, they have some guys that have been through this process of building back up to where they are now, and you have to give them credit.
Q. They took the lead for good on a sequence where Smith was going up for a dunk, Parsons got a block that led to a three on the other end. Can you talk about that sequence? COACH HOWLAND: Yeah, it was a big play because he was wide open, and he went up and probably should have shot faked it. I'm not sure it was a clean block or not. My assistants questioned that when we talked about it after the game. It was actually designed, though, so that when he caught it he was dunking it in the air as opposed to bringing it down. But that was a huge play because they get the block. We were right there, point blank, having a chance to go up two if we score that basket, and it was right there. I mean, you can't get a better attempt than what we had there.
Q. From your perspective, what makes Walker so effective out there? COACH HOWLAND: Well, he's so quick, he's very fast, he's athletic, and he's very skilled. He can really shoot it. He shoots a very high percentage from three. He's a fearless little guy. I mean, he got a big and-one there at the end of the game where he was driving to the basket. He's just a very good player.
Q. Can you also talk about the player where Walker drove into Josh and kind of ran into a wall and stood right up and it went in? COACH HOWLAND: It was a big play, and Josh was right there. He just kind of bounced off him and hung in the air, and that was a very big play. The little guy, I don't know how many points he scored down the stretch, including his foul shooting. I mean, Boynton ended up with -- Walker ended up with 21. I bet he had 11 of them in the last three minutes, something like that. He's a very good player.
Q. What did you think the difference was in the second half in terms of Florida being able to reestablish a little bit of control of the boards after you dominated so much in the first half? COACH HOWLAND: I thought they did a good job attacking the offensive glass, and they got three or four key baskets in the first seven, eight minutes of the half. You could see they had a real emphasis to do that, and we didn't block out well. Bottom line is our block-outs, we missed some block-outs and allowed them to get some second shots. We had to block out better.
By ELI SMUKLER By MATT STEVENS Published March 20, 2011 in Sports: Bruin Sights Updated: March 20, 2011, 6:31 PM The Daily Bruin, DailyBruinSports on You Tube
TAMPA, Fla. — UCLA starters Joshua Smith, Lazeric Jones and Malcolm Lee speak to reporters in the locker room of St. Pete Times Forum after the No. 7-seeded Bruins’ 73-65 loss to No. 2-seed Florida in the third round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
Smith had one of the finest games of his career with 16 points on seven-of-11 shooting, but it came in UCLA’s final game of the year, a fact that couldn’t prevent the freshman center – who Florida coach Billy Donovan called a “freight train” – from letting his eyes get red afterward in an emotional UCLA locker room.
Jones struggled with foul trouble throughout the game before fouling out with less than a minute to play. The junior guard finished with four points and five assists in 17 minutes on the floor, but committed a costly turnover with 3:07 to play and the Bruins down four points.
Lee had 14 points and six rebounds and once again led the way defensively by keeping Florida guards Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker in check early. But even the UCLA junior guard couldn’t stop Walker from going on a late barrage – the 5-foot-8-inch Walker scored 10 out of the Gators’ last 12 points to close out the game, including a deep 3-pointer he scored immediately after fighting for an airborne loose ball with Lee.
By SCOTT M. REID THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Published: March 19, 2011 Updated: March 20, 2011 12:12 a.m.
TAMPA, FLA. — Malcolm Lee closed his eyes in hopes that it would disappear. It didn’t.
Florida’s 73-65 victory against UCLA in the NCAA Tournament Southeast Regional on Saturday was nearly an hour old yet there was Lee, the Bruins' junior guard, stuck in a corner of a St. Pete Forum locker room chained to single moment, one fatal play.
“That dumb play,” he said shaking his head.
With Florida (28-7) up, 66-65, heading into the final minute of a bruising and at times bloody contest between two programs desperate to regain the national spotlight, Gators guard Scottie Wilbekin struggled to inbound the ball beneath his own basket.
Eventually he lobbed the ball toward teammate Erving Walker, guarded by Lee, near midcourt.
Nearly an hour later Lee could still see the ball sailing toward center court, sailing toward the brink of the Sweet Sixteen, the game, the season, one soft pass floating toward him.
Lee, 6-feet-5 and considered by many the nation’s premier perimeter defender, hesitated then leapt for a ball that skimmed just above his fingertips into the hands of the 5-8 Walker. Lee’s momentum carried him away from the play, clearing a lane for Walker, who stepped up and nailed the game’s deciding 3-point jumper.
“That was pretty much the play that separated us,” Lee said.
For 39 minutes a Bruins team that started a freshman, two sophomores and a junior college transfer had stood toe-to-toe with the No. 2 seed and SEC regular-season champion Gators in a game that saw 10 lead changes.
“We could have easily won this game,” UCLA sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt said.
“They certainly were in a position to do that,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said of the Bruins (23-11).
Bruins forward Reeves Nelson, the left side of his face gouged and bloodied, finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season.
Freshman center Joshua Smith also had 16 points despite playing much of the game in foul trouble. Lee added 14 points with Honeycutt chipping in 13 points, four assists, four blocked shots and two steals in what was likely his last game as a Bruin.
Honeycutt is expected to enter the 2011 NBA Draft as early as next week.
Honeycutt launched UCLA’s final attack, sinking a 3-point jumper cut a Florida lead to 66-63 with 2:34 left. Smith made it a one-point game with a lay-in with 1:34 remaining.
A few seconds later Lee and Walker were leaping for Wilbekin’s pass.
“What bit me in my (rear) is when I was thinking too much,” Lee recalled. “My first instinct was go for it and I kind of hesitated and held back because I didn’t want to run into him and foul him, and so I hesitated a little bit.”
That hesitation allowed Walker to come down with the ball. Walker, the smallest player on the floor, then stepped wide open toward the right of the top of the 3-point arc and drained the biggest shot of the game.
“We was having a little trouble getting the ball inbounds Scottie through to me,” said Walker, who scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, 10 in the final 3:58.
“Malcolm Lee went for the steal and I checked just to make sure I had time to get the shot off, and it was a good look.”
In the final 39 seconds Honeycutt and Nelson both missed open 3-point jumpers. Lee botched the front end of a one-and-one with 26 seconds left. In another poor day at the foul line, UCLA only made two of its final six free throws.
But in both locker rooms there was agreement as to what was the game’s turning point.
“We gave ourselves a great chance there,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said, “down one and went for a long steal, we missed and the little guy, Walker, burned us with it. "You know we were right there.”
Nearly an hour later Lee was still there, still reaching for Wilbekin’s pass, still chained to that fatal moment.
“I can’t stop thinking about,” Lee said leaning back in a thinning locker room, still wearing his game shorts. “That’s all I’ve been thinking about, all I’ve been thinking about is that play and if I would have got it and gotten the steal, what would have happened?
“I’m probably going to have a dream about it tonight. It’s going to be playing in my head for a long time.”
He shook his head.
“That choice I made was pretty much a life-and-death choice,” he said. “You live and die and learn, I guess.”
March, 19, 2011 Mar 192:26PM PT By Peter Yoon ESPNLA.com, UCLA Report
TAMPA, Fla.—No. 2-seeded Florida held off a feisty UCLA, 73-65, Saturday at the St. Pete Times Forum and will advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since winning consecutive national championships in 2006 and '07.
In a see-saw battle most of the game, Florida finally pulled away late in the second half, outscoring UCLA, 18-10 in the final 6:24. Erving Walker sealed the game with a three-pointer and four of four free throws in the final 1:12.
Turning point:With 6:43 remaining and the score tied at 55-55, UCLA called a timeout to get center Joshua Smith back in the game and ran an alley-oop play for him. Chandler Parsons blocked the shot, then Florida's Kenny Boynton hit a three-pointer. Smith then took an ill-advised shot, missed and Florida's Erik Murphy hit another three-pointer with 5:49 to play, giving the Gators a 61-55 lead--the largest lead either team had until the final minute.
Player of the game: Erving Walker, Florida. Walker led the Gators with 21 points and scored 10 points in the final 3:52. His three-pointer with 1:12 to play gave Florida a 69-65 lead and he then made two free throws to give the Gators a 71-65 lead with 32 seconds to go. He made five of eight shots, including three of five three-pointers
Key stat:UCLA made only three of 13 three-point attempts and the Bruins were one for seven until they started hoisting desperation heaves in the final minutes. Without an outside presence, Florida was able to use its zone defense to limit UCLA's inside game, which produced 32 points.
Miscellaneous: UCLA held a 20-10 rebounding edge in the first half, but Florida crashed the boards hard in the second. The Gators out-rebounded UCLA, 22-15, in the second half. Parsons, Florida's leading rebounder, had zero rebounds in the first half, but had five in the second. Florida, which had no offensive rebounds in the first half, had eight in the second.
What’s next: Florida (28-7) moves on to New Orleans to face the winner of Saturday night’s game between No. 3-seeded Brigham Young and No. 11 Gonzaga. BYU defeated Florida, 99-92, in a first-round NCAA tournament game last season.
March, 19, 2011 Mar 196:37PM PT By Peter Yoon ESPNLA.com, UCLA Report
TAMPA, Fla.--In the solemn silence of the UCLA locker room, about the only thing you could hear were the sounds of tears hitting the floor and players scratching their heads.
The Bruins' season ended with a 73-65 loss to Florida on Saturday in the third round of the NCAA tournament at The St. Pete Times Forum, leaving the Bruins wondering how a game they played so well went so wrong.
This game was much closer than the final score would indicate. It was a see-saw battle most of the way, in fact, with 11 ties and 10 lead changes and UCLA was within a point at 66-65 with 1:17 to play.
But the Bruins made a series of seemingly innocuous mistakes that turned into glaring errors when put under the microscope of a close, well-played game in a pressure-packed environment and sent the Bruins home with no more games to play this season.
The most glaring misfortune came when No. 2-seeded Florida threw an inbound pass toward half court with 1:17 to play and UCLA guard Malcolm Lee took a chance on trying to make a steal. He missed, Florida's Erving Walker caught it, dribbled to the top of the key and swished a three-point, back-breaking basket that put Florida up 69-65 with 1:14 to play.
"Dumb decisions, just little mistakes on my behalf," Lee said. "They took advantage of me gambling at the end. It’s a 50-50 situation and I felt that happened the whole game. Every tiny little mistake we did, they capitalized on it. That’s the kind of game we were dealing with."
The Bruins never recovered from Walker's shot, failing to score the rest of the game. Lee was so shaken up that he missed the front end of one-and-one attempts twice in the final 26 seconds. Lee shoots nearly 80 percent on free throws.
But there were plenty of other plays that will haunt the Bruins until they take the court again in November. Joshua Smith, for instance, had an open alley-oop play out of a timeout, but landed and went up instead of catching and dunking in one motion.
The delay allowed Chandler Parsons enough time to recover and block the shot. Florida picked up the loose ball and Kenny Boynton made a three-point basket that broke a 55-55 tie with 6:26 to play. On the next play, Smith rushed an ill-advised when he was well defended, Florida got the rebound and Erik Murphy hit a three-pointer.
So, had Smith made the alley-oop, UCLA would have led by two. Instead, Florida turned it into a 6-0 run and led 61-55 with 5:49 to play and never trailed again. Before that, neither team had led by more than four points.
"It was a huge play because they got the block," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "We were right here, point blank, having a chance to go up two if we score that basket and it was right there. I mean you can't get a better attempt than what we had there."
Smith, who took the loss about as hard as anyone, simply said "I came down and Parsons made a play. He just blocked me. He just made a good play."
There were others. Tyler Honeycutt, for instance, had a fast break layup attempt with 4:28 to play and UCLA trailing, 61-58. He missed, got the ball back and missed a three-pointer.
Florida got the ball, and the 5-8 Walker tried to drive past the 6-10 Smith, bumped into him and threw up a circus shot as he fell to the ground. The ball went in, adding a stroke of misfortune to UCLA's string of mistakes, and Florida had a 63-58 lead with 3:58 to play instead of a 61-60 lead had Honeycutt made that layup.
"I thought he fouled me," Walker said. "I felt a lot of contact so I just tried to get the ball to the rim and I was expecting a call, but I didn't get it and it luckily went in."
A few minutes later, Florida trapped UCLA point guard Lazeric Jones at midcourt and ended up forcing a turnover. The Bruins had handled Florida's trap well the entire game and had only eight turnovers for the game -- seven below their season average.
Florida scored again and took a 66-60 lead with 2:49 to play.
"We kept it close, they kept it close and nobody could get a run," UCLA forward Reeves Nelson said. "Just little things starting going their way at the right time and in a game like this, that made the whole difference."
Missed opportunities in transition played a key role in UCLA's loss. According to ESPN Stats and Information, UCLA failed to convert three transition opportunities in the final five minutes and scored on only two of 10 transition opportunities during the game.
"In this game we missed too many easy layups, too many open shots, too many turnovers and bad decisions at the wrong time," Honeycutt said. "I think in a way we gave them that game, even though they earned it, they deserve it, but I think we gave it away."
March, 19, 2011 Mar 196:50PM PT By Peter Yoon ESPNLA.com, UCLA Report
TAMPA, Fla.--Credit the crowd.
If UCLA needed any evidence to show why the regular season matters, it came Saturday when the Bruins lost, 73-65, to Florida in front of a decidedly pro-Gators crowd at the St. Pete Times Forum.
In a tight game, loud, cheering fans can make a big difference and UCLA found that out the hard way playing only about 120 miles from Florida's campus in Gainesville.
"We basically lost a tight game to a good team at home," center Joshua Smith said. "It definitely made a difference down the stretch."
The thing is, UCLA didn't have to be in this position. Had the Bruins played the regular season with as much vigor and intensity as they had played the last two games, they might have been seeded higher than No. 7 and probably wouldn't have had to travel into enemy territory to face a No. 2 in the third round.
Had they not mailed in their Pac-10 tournament game against Oregon, or sleepwalked through a 3-3 finish to the regular season, UCLA very likely would have played closer to home and most definitely would have played farther away from somebody else's home.
"They earned it by doing well in the regular season," UCLA forward Reeves Nelson said. "They got the two seed close to home so that was their advantage and their crowd definitely helped them at the end of the game."
Lesson learned for next year?
"It all adds up," Tyler Honeycutt said. "Where we’re seeded who we’re playing where we’re playing. We have to start off from the beginning."
March, 19, 2011 Mar 197:21PM PT By Peter Yoon ESPNLA.com, UCLA Report
TAMPA, Fla.--This is a loss that will haunt the Bruins for a long time.
UCLA faltered down the stretch of its 73-65 loss to Florida on Saturday in the third round of the NCAA tournament at the St. Pete Times Forum, and nobody in UCLA's locker room said it would be easy to get over.
"It hurts," freshman center Joshua Smith said, his eyes red from tears. "I didn't think it would hurt this bad to lose in the NCAA tournament."
It can be viewed as a victory of sorts that UCLA rebounded from a 14-18 season last year, made the NCAA tournament and won a game, but the Bruins don't see it that way.
"We weren’t satisfied coming out here with just one win," guard Malcolm Lee said. "We’re UCLA, we’re expected to be in the finals or in the last little bit. Although we did bounce back, this one win is just not good enough. We felt like we could have gone farther."
Coach Ben Howland praised his team for improving throughout the course of the season and turning its untapped potential into a winning team.
"I think the improvement we made from last year to this year was enormous," Howland said. "Reeves, Tyler, Malcolm -- they are so much better right now than they were at this time next year."
That's still little consolation for a team that has no more games to play this season.
"Any time you end the season without winning a national championship, you have something better to strive for," forward Reeves Nelson said.
March, 20, 2011 Mar 209:06AM PT By Peter Yoon ESPNLA.com, UCLA Report
TAMPA, Fla. -- UCLA played hard, maybe as hard as they had all season.
The scratches across Reeves Nelson's face and shoulder showed that.
The Bruins left everything they had on the court in their 73-65 loss to Florida in the third round of the NCAA tournament. Joshua Smith's eyes, red from the emotional letdown, showed that.
The Bruins played one of their best games of the season Saturday at the St. Pete Times Forum. They equaled a season low with only eight turnovers and that includes three on their first three possessions when nerves and adrenaline were running high.
They won the battle of the boards, 35-32, got balanced scoring with Smith (16), Nelson (16), Malcolm Lee (14) and Tyler Honeycutt (13) reaching double figures and they were within a point with 1:15 left to play.
The young Bruins were eventually done in by a string of mistakes down the stretch, most certainly a product of their inexperience, and that is a lot easier to swallow than it would be had they lost because of a lack of effort and for that, they deserve to hold their heads high.
"Our guys played with a lot of character, a lot of heart today," UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
The No. 7-seeded Bruins left the No. 2 Gators impressed. UCLA outrebounded the Gators 20-10 in the first half, and put a legitimate scare into the SEC regular-season champions.
"UCLA was as good as any team we played all year long," Florida Coach Billy Donovansaid. "I don't think we really had been outrebounded like that at any point and ... we played a very difficult schedule. We were as tested by them as any team we've played all year."
Still, in the end, the Bruins walked out of the St. Pete Times Forum with no more season left in front them and unable to reach the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season.
Here, Howland and some UCLA players discuss the difficult emotions of losing when they played so well, the disappointment of the season ending and the prospects for the future:
UCLA basketball: Brendan Lane's high school coach says forward is not looking to transfer
