Too Much Love in Westwood!
I am saying this right now, Kevin Love will kill UCLA's chance to compete for a national title.
As we know by now, UCLA is the favorite to win the Pac-10 title. Outside of WSU (yes, I say WSU...it kills me to say this, but how good were the Cougar-Bruin games last year...), there is no team that can compete with UCLA in the Pac-10. UCLA, who might have the best player in the Pac-10 in Darren Collison, might lose a game in Pac-10 play because of the strength of the Pac-10 and how hard it is to play on the road in this league. WSU, playing at Oregon, and WASHINGTON, they may not make it out (ok, sorry, I am writing this while watching UW vs. UO in football, how bad is Jason Gesser as a commentator? Just about as bad as he was in the CFL....This might be the last time he gets asked to be an announcer...and how about him having to be the commentator for a UW game...suck it Gesser!) of the Pac-10 without a loss.
Ok, back to my original statement. UCLA was so good last year attacking up the court quickly and having guys like Lorenzo Mato-Real and Luc Richard Mbah Abdul-Hamid filling the lanes and having Collison and co. feeding them. Kevin Love, who will be taking a lot of these two players' playing time, is an outlet passer. Which, in a fast break offense, seems like a good fit. But, Kevin Love will not get down the court as well as Mato or Luc Hamid and this will significantly affect the offensive chemistry that UCLA has last year.
THEY WILL BE SAVED IF: Josh Shipp steps up and becomes the player that was recruited out of Fairfax High School in Los Angeles. Shipp had "successful" left hip surgery two years ago and again this off-season on his opposite hip, but I have to ask, how excited can a 20-21 year old be with having a "successful" surgery on a part of the body we usually see deteriorated in a 60 year old man? Shipp is very talented. He was UCLA's second leading scorer last season at 13.8 ppg. He is going to have to elevate that to 16-17 points per game this year for UCLA to return to the Final Four for the 3rd consecutive year.
THEY WILL BE DOOMED IF: Kevin Love ends up being a slow as Spencer Hawes and makes their coach Ben Howland, have to change game style to try to utilize a star recruit's talent. What fouled Lorenzo Romar, might catch up with Howland. Beware of the tall-good passing white center! This is the worst-case scenario of course. Kevin Love might be as good as adversed. Like Hawes, Love is praised for his passing skills, and everyone is high on Love as they were on Hawes. Bill Simmons LOVED Hawes, and he LOVES Love. That makes me want to compare Love to Hawes even more. Spencer Hawes made Romar change his style of play, which is pressure, defense and up-and-down tempo, Kevin Love will make Howland change his game plan from being that same up-and-down team that they were the last two years...
Oh yeah, Aaron Affolo is gone...whatever that guy sucked when it mattered.
HOW WILL THEY FINISH: They win the Pac-10, they get scared and possibly beat by WSU once in Pullman, but they will not make it back to the Final Four as they get upset as the #1 seed in the West Section in the Elite Eight.
As we know by now, UCLA is the favorite to win the Pac-10 title. Outside of WSU (yes, I say WSU...it kills me to say this, but how good were the Cougar-Bruin games last year...), there is no team that can compete with UCLA in the Pac-10. UCLA, who might have the best player in the Pac-10 in Darren Collison, might lose a game in Pac-10 play because of the strength of the Pac-10 and how hard it is to play on the road in this league. WSU, playing at Oregon, and WASHINGTON, they may not make it out (ok, sorry, I am writing this while watching UW vs. UO in football, how bad is Jason Gesser as a commentator? Just about as bad as he was in the CFL....This might be the last time he gets asked to be an announcer...and how about him having to be the commentator for a UW game...suck it Gesser!) of the Pac-10 without a loss.
Ok, back to my original statement. UCLA was so good last year attacking up the court quickly and having guys like Lorenzo Mato-Real and Luc Richard Mbah Abdul-Hamid filling the lanes and having Collison and co. feeding them. Kevin Love, who will be taking a lot of these two players' playing time, is an outlet passer. Which, in a fast break offense, seems like a good fit. But, Kevin Love will not get down the court as well as Mato or Luc Hamid and this will significantly affect the offensive chemistry that UCLA has last year.
THEY WILL BE SAVED IF: Josh Shipp steps up and becomes the player that was recruited out of Fairfax High School in Los Angeles. Shipp had "successful" left hip surgery two years ago and again this off-season on his opposite hip, but I have to ask, how excited can a 20-21 year old be with having a "successful" surgery on a part of the body we usually see deteriorated in a 60 year old man? Shipp is very talented. He was UCLA's second leading scorer last season at 13.8 ppg. He is going to have to elevate that to 16-17 points per game this year for UCLA to return to the Final Four for the 3rd consecutive year.
THEY WILL BE DOOMED IF: Kevin Love ends up being a slow as Spencer Hawes and makes their coach Ben Howland, have to change game style to try to utilize a star recruit's talent. What fouled Lorenzo Romar, might catch up with Howland. Beware of the tall-good passing white center! This is the worst-case scenario of course. Kevin Love might be as good as adversed. Like Hawes, Love is praised for his passing skills, and everyone is high on Love as they were on Hawes. Bill Simmons LOVED Hawes, and he LOVES Love. That makes me want to compare Love to Hawes even more. Spencer Hawes made Romar change his style of play, which is pressure, defense and up-and-down tempo, Kevin Love will make Howland change his game plan from being that same up-and-down team that they were the last two years...
Oh yeah, Aaron Affolo is gone...whatever that guy sucked when it mattered.
HOW WILL THEY FINISH: They win the Pac-10, they get scared and possibly beat by WSU once in Pullman, but they will not make it back to the Final Four as they get upset as the #1 seed in the West Section in the Elite Eight.
posted by Brockman's Faceguard at 6:03 PM
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