Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (1/24)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday. 

Commits

The Hornets punctuated the Eastern League win with dunks from Norman Powell and Tyree Robinson in the final seconds. “They hit tough shots and they came to play today. Luckily we gutted it out at the end,” Bryant said. Powell led Lincoln with 18 points as one of three starters in double figures.  San Diego Reader 1/18

Recruits

Bishop O'Dowd-Oakland (12-3), The Chronicle's top-ranked team, blew a 44-31 halftime lead, losing 86-85 in double-overtime to Sacramento (12-4). The game was a rematch of last year's Division III Northern California final, won by O'Dowd. Anders Haas led O'Dowd (12-3) with 21 points, but Brandon Ashley, one of the nation's top-ranked juniors, fouled out at the 3:05 mark in regulation with 10 points and six rebounds.  SF Gate 1/17

The adjustment was too much for the visiting Cougars to handle.  Sophomore wing, Michael Loomis harassed the Gervais guards into turning the ball over and dished the ball ahead to Junior Jordan Tebbutt who finished uncontested at the other end on successive trips down the floor to put the Hawks up 6-2.  That ignited a 16-0 run for Horizon Christian the rest of the opening quarter, with the Hawks up 18-2....Tebbutt paced a balanced Hawks scoring effort with 14 points.  Portland Examiner 1/18

I know you remember him...DeAndre Daniels?? The kid that was undecided the last time we left him...worse than Brett Favre undecided... He was down to Texas, Kentucky, Kansas, and Oregon. He was first committed to Texas..he then decommitted. Then he went to IMG Academy and played a half a year of Prep School. Next he said he was taking visits. He came to Kentucky, went to eat at Malone's and caught a game at Rupp Arena. He was then rumored to visit North Carolina State, but decided not to go.. He instead revisited Texas.. He has been in limbo ever since.  Nation of Blue 1/20

Junior point guard Jordan Tebbutt and Sophomore Calvin Anderson added 13 and 11 points respectively.  Tebbutt nearly recorded a triple double in the game collecting nine rebounds and dishing out nine assists to go along with his 13 points, in just over 16 minutes of playing time. Portland Examiner 1/21

In the Trinity League, Santa Ana Mater Dei defeated Santa Margarita, 66-46. Freshman Stanley Johnson had 17 points and junior Xavier Johnson had 14 points. LA Times 1/21

Comments

[Larry]

Are there any new updates from anyone? Shabazz was at Kentucky's midnight madness and heard he was REALLY impressed (I'm sure they threw EVERYTHING at him). Also heard Calipari is pushing HARD for his "services". What up?

Also, any word on our PG situation and the recent decommitment?

Need some inside info!

[Brew In]

Hope your are right about Shabazz BB fan. I hope the hardest part of CBH's job these next 4 or 5 years is just shuffling the 5 star players in and out since a lot of them will be one-and-dones. Part of the business now!

GET THE SPORTS ARENA NACHOS READY!

[Larry]

SWEET Beans! Hope this all pans out.

[BB fan]

excerpts from scout.com:
"With the commitment of Kyle Anderson, the #4-ranked player in the nation, this week, UCLA’s recruiting changes again, and it’s been narrowed to mostly post players."
"His commitment, too, is seen by most as a strong indication that Shabazz Muhammad, the 6-5 wing from Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman, is indeed strongly leaning toward UCLA. Muhammad and Anderson are close and, even though Muhammad will wait until spring to announce his decision, Anderson’s commitment to UCLA has many putting two-and-two together."
"The next big thing coming up on UCLA’s 2012 recruiting calendar is the official visit of Tony Parker, the 6-8 center from Lithonia (Georgia) Miller Grove and the #19-ranked player in the nation. It reportedly is between UCLA, Ohio State and Memphis, with Duke running fourth."
"Just like with how the friendship between Muhammad and Anderson played a big part in Anderson’s commitment, Parker also has forged a bond with Muhammad and Anderson, and that could be an influence."

[Parkman]

Alright!! However what is up with this site?? Is the moderator not doing this anymore? Really bummed. Alot of bruin fans loved it. Pumped about andersen.

[Bare Gunner]

Finally we land a top five prospect in Anderson! #1 Shabazz is next! GOOOOOOOOOOOOO BRUINS (Basketball anyway...)

[DB]

Anderson and Muhammad will be a tremendous help to UCLA. If we can get muhammad, I can see him as a SG and Anderson also play SG to a point forward.

We are hurting badly with PG and recruiting of late and picking up these two players will give us badly needed recruits as well as visibility that weve been lacking lately.

We already lost Grant Jerrett and Ashely who are californian kids. Lets wrap these two up coah H.

[BB fan]

from scout.com:
"UCLA was the first to have an in-home visit with Muhammad last Friday. He has since hosted coaches from UNLV, Duke, Kentucky and Kansas. He talked about his in-home visits in this story. Muhammad has plans to take an official visit to Kentucky for Midnight Madness the weekend of October 14th, and has said he intends to officially visit Duke but no date is scheduled. The word is that Muhammad still plans to wait until spring to decide.

From there, Howland headed to the east coast and had a visit with Kyle Anderson, the 6-8 point forward from Jersey City (New Jersey) St. Anthony’s, the #4 prospect in the nation. As is well documented, Anderson is also considering St. John’s, Seton Hall and Florida. Anderson had in-homes with St. John’s and Seton Hall, and now will take an official visit to Florida this weekend. He will announce his choice Tuesday, September 20th.

We’ve heard that it’s between UCLA and hometown Seton Hall, with St. John’s running third. But recently, in the last couple of days, we’ve heard enough that leads us to believe that, at this time, Anderson is leaning to UCLA. Now, of course, things can change, especially after an official visit to Florida, but this is how it currently stands. "

[insider]

Geezzz, your not the guy from MLB are you. Oh well, either way.....you STFU.

[DB]

It is a shame that we arent able to recruit the talents in our own backyard. First I was hoping we get Grant Jerret even though we are stacked up front but I felt we can use an athletic pf, but we lost both him and ashly to arizona....

Arizona these last two years have gotten much talent and we need to keep pace.

[DB]

site is not dead, im returning again.

[Parkman96]

Why is this site dead? I really enjoyed it.

[punt]

No more updates?

[BruinFan]

Hey everybody...this site looks dead...sad to see it go...

Would have liked Jerime to contribute off the bench this year...right when he finds his spot, he makes a terrible teenage mistake...If I were coach, he gets kicked off the team...this is not USC aka Thug central...

I'm in the OC now...will be hosting viewing parties...go to meetup.com and type UCLA

[Chase Utley]

I hope our bruins are....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViMfaA_ryB8&feature=related

this summer!

[BB fan]

Ucla receives verbal commitment Jordon Adams:
http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2011/06/20/jordan-adams-will-follow-aau-basketball-coach-to-ucla-runner-up-was-uga/?cxntfid=blogs_recruiting

[Matt Stairs]

If you want to talk about women's basketball go to the women's basketball site. Otherwise, STFU. UCLA seriously needs to get a few athletic wing players to complete the puzzle.

[Bob Wegener]

Bishop OD recruit Brandon Ashley is the real deal. Good luck in getting him.
http://www.courtbasketball.com

[BB fan]

Here's another link on De'End Parker. The more I here of him the more I like him as a person and player.
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/sports/college/basketball/mens&id=8089691

[Insider]

If your going to lead these incoming Freshman to UCLA believing she will be your coach that is totally wrong. Did she tell those girl's beforehand that she "might" not be here next year? I don't think so. Or did you Nikki?

[Jammer]

Don't we all want to improve our lot on life? Does that make us classless?
She is a good coach and she has a choice as to what she wants to do in her career.
Sure she used UCLA as a stepping stone. LSU has historically been a stronger women's program than the Bruins. Why should che be chastised for wanting to strive for something better?

[Matt Stairs]

Could there be anymore Lambs in this year's tourney?!

[BB fan]

Nice article on De'end Parker that was posted on Scout.com:http://www.sanfranpreps.com/2011/03/24/beyond-preps-parker-parlays-city-success-into-scholarship-at-ucla/

[Insider]

Nikki said all the right words and had some convincing interviews. Truth is she used UCLA as a stepping stone. A real Bruin does not like to get stepped on.

[Jammer]

Niki earned the right to better herself by going back to the SEC where she will compete with and against the best.
She did a great job here, and should be honored for that.
Classless?
She put UCLA on the map for women's basketball which should be rewarded.
If you do the research, UCLA is not known for paying its coaches well and they lost a great coach an recruiter as a result of AD DG unwillingness to pony up.
It will be interesting to see who they choose to replace NC. Whover they get, it will not compare to NC

All the best NC. You did a great job in 3 short years.

[DB]

She is not classless. While i hated that she is leaving, she has done a great 3 year job at ucla. Staying closer to home and getting paid three times the money. that is something no one in this forum would deny themselves so be quiet about her.

She put UCLA women basketball on the map so dont even go there with the Kiffin comparison. Caldwell inherited a weak team and turned it around. She brought in great recruits.

[Insider]

Nikki was given everything at UCLA. I was wrong about her. She is CLASSLESS. AKA Kiffen.

[Sandip O'malley]

ESPN reports that Josh Smith will be declaring for the NBA draft. There goes next year!

[BB fan]

According to Scouts.com, Larry Drew Jr. will be enrolling at Ucla and be available in the 2012-13 season.
Guess I'll have to trust CH since I was not impressed when LD played at NC. Hope he turns out to be the elite point guard we badly need even if it is for only one season.

[SonnyClusters]

Watching VCU outplaying Kansas something sticks in my mind. "UCLA's Key Losses" graphic on several UCLA telecasts. It would always show "Montana,VCU". Validation of the Bruins continues...

[Pablo Jones]

fyi if you write more than one paragraph, no one will read your rant so STFU. As long as Smith returns, I think we are good as gold next year. BTW...do you notice that only west coast players get all tatted up...that's the one thing I hate about west coast ballers...bunch of posers but whatever Go UCLA!

[Insider]

Did not realize Caldwell's team had to play on the Zag's homecourt. A win here will make a huge difference if they (should) get pass Xavier and meet Stanford for the 4th time this year.

[Insider]

Front Court will be solid. There is a kid from Florida considering UCLA. He has good size and bred in the the tough SEC style of BB. I think Lee has earned his way to the NBA. Honeycutt should only stay if he stops thinking to much of the NBA.

[bruin4life]

I'm proud of how the guys played against Florida this time. It is ridiculous that both Florida and North Carolina got better treatment than some of the #1 seeds.

And I hope Honeycutt leaves. We don't need his turnovers or his lousy hair styling techniques.

Even if Lee leaves, I look forward to a starting lineup consisting of: Jones, Lamb, Nelson, Stover, and Smith. Not to mention mixing in the twins and powell. And imagine Laz Jones with two good hands!

I think next years team will be much better.

[Wayne]

I didn't mean to insult Aboya, but he was no great player.If he had been just a little BETTER, beating Fla. and Memphis would have been a breeze. He is probably a great person with an awesome personality, but he was like a deer staring into the headlights for four seasons. Stover could be a better player if used mostly for defense and not counted on for points much like Aboya. His points should come from put backs off of missed shots ala Dennis Rodman.

[Jammer]

Wayne:
Aboya was a great player. To put Stover in the same category as him is an insult to Alfred's character, intelligence and hard work.

[Wayne]

None of these guys can play in the NBA. Honeycutt might have a career but it will be as a model not as a NBA player. He should have slammed that ball instead of trying to finesse it. That cost us the momentum and the game.Big Josh needs to lose weight and join RN as a beast. The back-court needs help too. There is no excuse for missing foul shots. None. RN is a beast but he's not very atheletic yet all he needs is help from some of his soft teammates. I think Stover could be a major contributor.He can't be any worse then Aboya. Lee is not a real point, but he will have to learn the job. He no Westbrooke though.
If everyone returns, next year could be interesting.

[insider]

Kind of ironic how all 3 Pac-10 teams had/has to practically play on the home court of their opponant. That's the respect the Pac 10 is getting from the committee. Speak up Pac-10 Commish. Pac 10 and MWV Conferences are just as talented as ACC, Big East and SEC.

[Jammer]

Nelson and Smith have said they will be coming back. Lee was the team's best player all year with his consistency. The kid is tough as nails and he has some great skill. If he comes back, they have the nucleus to be a contender in the Pac 10.
I though Laz was out of his element, picking up his dribble far too early on several occassions. He is a gamer, though and he was hurt much of the second half.
Reading what I did in the media, this loss will do them a lot of good and make them work hard.
Smith -- lose another 25 pounds and build some muscle; RN will be a beast; Lee, Powell and the Wears will be solid next year.
Honeycutt ... the kid is talented. Made some long threes, but missed some crucial layups.
The kids were gassed. Lamb, who has proven he can be a good defender disnt get any minutes and the FL guards ate them up in the second half. You could tell they were exhausted when they stepped up to the line and didn't make the shots (Lee usually is automatic as is Jones).
I have been down on these guys and Howland but I tthink they played quite well with a 7-8 man rotation.
Anderson was a no show and he did nothing to contribute.
Hope they remember the loss and come back stronger than ever.
Howland needs to take a good hard look at how he recruits and how he manages minutes next year. They will hopefully be deeper in all positions except small forward if TH leaves (he will probably go). The best thing is if there is a NBA walkout and then they will all stay and have a chance to be ligitimate.
I'm proud of Lee, Nelson, Smith, Jones. They played their hearts out.
They had some bad luck and they ran out of gas. The pace was too frantic for a 7 man rotation. That's Howland's fault. Lamb and Lane could have helped out a lot.
Stover needs some work catching the ball. He sure can swat them out. He will only get better.
Go Bruins.

[BB fan]

the Ucla and Florida game was well played by both teams. The game basically was decided by which team took advantage of the breaks given to them, and the more experienced team came through. Especially for Florida's point guard with his clutch 3 pointer and miraculous layup over JSmith.

I believe Lee and Honeycutt are headed to the Nba (IF there is an Nba season) since both are projected to be first round draft choices. CH probably anticipated this and recruited a JC player, Parker, who can play at the wing, 2nd guard and point guard position next year.

And Stover is my surprise player of the year. He is already a defensive force and has 3 years remaining at Ucla to develop an offensive game. I hope he does not transfer.

[insider]

Ditto, UCLA should have won. SEC toughness is overrated. Howland needs to recruit the kids not thinking about the kids willing to do 3-4 years at UCLA.

[inside]

Well, the year turned out better than most expected. UCLA is a definite top 20 right now. Lee will return, ala Collison. Honeycutt I believe played for the scouts and not UCLA. Reminds me alot of J.R. Henderson, he is NOT ready for the NBA. Honeycutt needs to come back and play hard every single game and needs to learn how to be a leader. Nelson is our best player as of now and will be a beast as he grows. Mental and Physical toughness should be the area where Howland needs to work on this team for next year, if he can do that I see a top 10 team.

[DB]

I mean come on, how many fastbreak open layups we missed? how many layup period we missed. Freethrows? Come on make them and you would have won if the team shot 70%.

Why was the offense so dang slow with 55 sec left down 4 points we are dribbling and dribbling, and dribbling.

I do not mind losing the game if we play hard, but to lose on these types of play is just hard to swallow. Can we not speed up on the offense when Josh is not on the floor? Years of slow and uncreative offense is tough to watch and tough to get the guards to come.

Ok I am venting here and another tough year. Hate to go out like the way we played. Get beat is one thing, but beating yourself is another...

[DB]

Gosh the loss against Florida is just hard to watch.

[Jammer]

It's beena good run. Hope these kids don't leave and give UCLA one more year of their lives.
Lee, Nelson, Honeycutt and Smith are not ready for the next level.
Florida is playing some great basketball and they will advance unless UCLA plays their best game in 2 years.
Lee has to do the same thing he did to Lucas. Shut down the Gator guards. That won't be easy.
Donovan seems to have the Bruins number. Let's hope Reeves has a monster game and doesn't back down from the Gator front line.
Smith needs to stay on the court and not get into early foul trouble.
If Gators jump out early;its game over.

[bruin4life]

Interesting facts I read about Mich. St.: this team went to the final four the past two years AND they were ranked #2 at the beginning of this season.

I'm just grateful we scraped by because Mich. St. played their hearts out and we couldn't make a damn free throw towards the end.

As for tomorrow, Florida was red hot last night and I am concerned about playing them in Florida. However, this time we have the beef to stack up.

Those years when Noah and Horford beasted on the Bruins are over. I look forward to seeing Josh Smith and Reeves Nelson lock down the key this time. I just hope that backwoods white kid on Florida doesn't go off like he did last night.

[Jammer]

Bfore you get a jump on me, I thought I would post my comments on last night's game.
A win is a win is a win. But to blow a 23 point lead with under 9 minutes to go is quite distressing.
Give the UCLA guards a great deal of credit for keeping Lucas off the scoresheet for most of the game. They did a great job fighting through ball screens. That was the difference in the game.

They did not defend the 3 point shot well and it almost cost them.

Game wouldnt have been that close if they hit their free throws in the second half.

Smith played a very good game as did Honeycutt.

Now a date with their Nemesis. Gators have owned them since Howland has been there. Let's hope for a change on Saturday, but I think Florida will win if they are on their game and the Bruins don't step it up.

[Jammer]

Finally, an objective fan.

The Bruins have come a long way from last year, but unless there is a change in the "culture" at Westwood (something Nikki Caldwell is obviously doing with the women's team); we will be in the top 50-100 schools when we should be in the top 10 every year.

Accountability!!!

It starts there and has to be the building foundation if UCLA basketball is going to be relevant again.

Watched Drew Gordon play last night. Nothing spectacular, but he played with passion and determination. This is a kid who left the program under Howland.

Last year with Drags -- no accountability for his on court or off court attitude and performance. He got the most minutes and never played D.

Smith: Please name a center who is so out of shape. Kid has great hands and could be a beast but teams bring him out on a pick and roll and guards run into him and he gets called for fouls 19 feet away. Watch MSU exploit this with Lucas and Green all night.

Jones was a great recruit. Nothing spectacular, but he will be better next year.

Lee: Only kid I respect on this team. Plays hard, plays through pain and is in shape to give 35 plus minutes every night.

Nelsen: He could, and should be the leader. Needs a shrink as much as he needs a coach. Harness that anger and he should be able to play like he did against Williams in the last Zona game.

Honeycutt: Blessed with length and agility, but he needs to be in control. Usually, that is not the case. He's a combo 2/3 type of player (like Tayshaun Prince, but nowhere as talented on either end).

Andersen: He's had flashes, and he plays some good D at times, but his bb IQ is simply low. He is not a D 1 player.

Lamb: This guy was heralded out of HS. He has been nothing short of awful. They have a better intramural player playing at the Wooden Center than this kid. A huge recruiting blunder. I dont see him developing like R Westbrook did. RW worked his butt off between his Frosh and Soph year and today the kid is an Olympian and one of the top 5 PT in the NBA.

Lane: Just never knows his role and seems like a good kid, but out of his element at this level.

Stover: Yeah he blocks shots. Can't the coaching staff work on his low post moves and make him an asset on the offensive end?

Next year: If Powell is as good as he can be and Jones and Lee stick around, they will be okay in the backcourt. No idea about the other JUCO verbal commit. He's apparently the 4th best on his team (that's a problem).

Wear Twins, Nelsen, Honeycutt, Smith (if he sheds 50 pounds) will be a dominant force.

If Lee, Honeycutt and Nelsen leave; they will be playing overseas or in the D league. None are ready for the next level.

Howland needs to change: play zone, play against zone, tech them back door cuts, and work on their shooting and make them ACCOUNTABLE!

It all starts with him.

Tomorrow night, you will see one team set on winning the weekend and the other simply happy to be there and head back to sunny CA.

[bruin4life]

I thought I was too harsh on Howland at the beginning of the season. But after watching the Bruins play Oregon in the Pac 10 tournament I once again think Howland needs to go.

I mean, forget the fact that Izzo is coaching and that he is always well prepared. The cookie cutter formula to beat a Howland UCLA team is to run zone.

Howland can't do ANYTHING against a zone. Almost every team runs it against us and we get owned most of the time.

The loss to Oregon was pathetic and humiliating. I was at the game and the whole team looked stoned and out of it. Minutes after the game I saw Matt DeMarcus walking outside of staples in civilian clothes. I don't remember if he suited up and sitting on the bench during the game but even if he wasn't able to play wouldn't there have been a post game grilling by Howland that all the players would have been around for?

If we got whipped by Oregon in Los Angeles...how are we possibly going to survive MSU out of state?

That said, I still picked UCLA to play against Washington in the final in my bracket =)

[Jammer]

Please. Get your head out of the sand. Everything I wrote was not based on opinion, but fact.

Here are some more facts!

In 8 years, he does not have an answer for a zone defense. He refuses to play zone because he feels these guys have to learn man to man for the next level.
Can you tell me what this team's identity is? Do their rest their laurels on defense (not against Oregon)? Do they blow any team out? Do they have an inside presence (other than the overweight Smith who gives them nothing after he gets into foul trouble)? Nelson is a terrific player, but part of being a good player means knowing when to go "crazy" and when to have self control; Honeycutt can go off for 15 or simply disappear. Jones has been terrific considering where he has come from, but his shooting has been under 30%. Malcolm Lee has been the only gritty kid on this team and I have a ton of respect for him. But he is a relatively shy kid and has not been able to be a leaders (I'm sure he has tried).
Lane, Lamb, Stover, Anderson -- not even mentioning. They do nothing but give the starters a couple of minutes to catch their breath. Let's hope they all sit on another team's bench next year.
Take the records out of the equation -- there are few coaches better than Izzo when it comes to preparing his team for a deep March run. His track record speaks for itself (the "many" who get paid to analyze the game have stated so). They play in a much tougher conference and he has superior talent in every position when compared to the inconsistent Bruins.
I would love to see the Bruins win but this is a great draw for MSU who will be much better prepared, by a much better coach.
UCLA should be in the talk for a National Championship each and every year. They have had some good years reaching two Final Fours, but be honest; they were outclassed in each of those games. They simply don't have the cache they once did, and now, they are merely pretenders. They don't get any of the top recruits anymore. If Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, NC, Texas, Florida, Ohio State, even Arizona and Washington are going after the same kid ... where do you think the kid will go? Smith should have gone to the Huskies. I would take any one of their front line athletic guys over him.
I wish the few loyal bloggers would not take things personally and look at the facts. They should be angry as heck that this progam can no longer compete with the elite schools in the country.

They average just over 70 points a game. They shoot 45% from the field, they shoot 33% from 3 point line, they shoot 68% from the free throw line; they average 15 turnovers a game. This is not championship material.
Let's hope Lee and Honeycutt stay. Let's hope the bench guys transfer out and Powell and the Wear Twins bring something positive -- starting with pride and passion back to UCLA basketball.

This team has made an "acceptable" step from last year's disaster, but is this how we evaluate the most storied program in Men's basketball? Seems like that's all we've been doing. Living in the past; blaming early entry into the NBA draft. Massive defections, poor recruiting and no accountablility ... it has to fall on someone. That's why he was chosen to be coach (not be caretaker as he proclaims himself to be).

Thursday at Midnight -- one of us will be right and one will be wrong.

How about some love for the Women's squad. What an outstanding job Nikki Caldwell has done in 3 short years. That's the "real" basketball coach in Westwood.