FanNation - The Republic of Sport

This should be in EVERY big man's arsenal....the kids just don't think the hook is cool anymore

If you do not have a hook shot as a big man, then what good are you?

unbockable shot

unblockable

I'm dying to make some smarmy comment about his uncle but I've got no game

"I wish they all could be California girls"

I said SMARMY Juice Boy....not imputent!!!!!!!!!

why didnt that headline get censored by the moderator? unload....shot....cmon....

No kiddin' I made a comment about Todd Collins being junk and they removed it!

love avgs. 16pts and ten rebounds in 29mins a game , is this suppose to bea dominant player at the center position? what ever happened to the good ole days when a center was held in awe, our expectations have become mediocre. This is a nba bench player,ie (Mark madsen, briancardinal,ect) with the ucla hype machine behind him.

Funny you mention the UCLA Hype Machine...that takes me back to the glorious 80's when Gloria Estefan was their lead singer.....those were the days!!

I Love this kid, too bad he's likely to be a one-and-out. I'm still pissed at Affalo for quitting the team to languish in the pro's to a whopping 3.5 pts a game ... grrr. Imagine if he'd stuck around, yes his 18 pts per game would have dropped 5 or 6 pts but he could have helped ensure a title. Personally I still believe it was a mistake for Howland to have not activated Josh Ship for the final four two years ago (legal under the NCAA rules since he was never removed from the roster) - one year of eligibility for a title? yes - I'd accept that.

Love's got skills and he is rapidly improving with every game. He's not intended to be a dominant Greg Oden-type, he's there to be the missing piece for the Bruins who can deliver solid D, draw fouls on other teams' big men and get the ball out to our speedy back court. He's been doing all that and more. Come tourny time, he will be a dominant player.

Love would be scoring 25 a game if he got more touches, but the fact is that this is the first scoring big man Ben Howland has had at UCLA and it is taking time for the players to adjust their flow of offense to include him. A lot of the offense is still focused on double screens for outside shooters (first Afflalo, now Shipp) or drives to the bucket by the PG (Farmar, then Collison) in addition to back cuts by big men. Not only that, but UCLA is a slow down, defense oriented team who likes to keep games in the high 60 to mid 70 point range. What Love brings is a legitimate distraction down low, freeing up the wing players. When Love is doubled he is able to make great passes to open guys, not to mention his fantastic outlet passing ability.

UCLA hype machine my big toe. The most overrated player in college basketball is Tyler Hansborough. This is a kid who can't face up, shoot outside of 8 feet and plays in the size bereft ACC. That guy is the future Mark Madsen- no ability to create shots for himself, undersized for his position by NBA standards and not a very remarkable athlete. Furthermore, the fact that he plays alongside Lawson and Ellington means that defenders can't load up in the paint the way they do against UCLA. I don't know what kind of a pro Love will turn out to be, but if he is smart he'd stay for another year or two to improve his conditioning, outside shooting (spot up 16-20 ft) and baseline moves in the block. Just being on a Howland team will improve his defense.

The 3 point line has changed the game for the center and forward position. You're not going to get teams banging their big men back and forth for 40 minutes anymore. There is such a larger amount of athletic, wing type players and spot up shooters who can go into a high scoring, up and down system with success that the tenor of college basketball has changed over the last 25 years. For example, Illinois shot 40 3's in the 2005 Championship- how's a big man going to get a touch except off of offensive rebounds in that sort of system?

And Mr. Pete, I don't think Shipp wouldn't have saved us against Florida in 2006. They were just too big inside. Also, I think Afflalo did what what was right for both the team and himself. I think Westbrook in one rotation, Shipp in another, is a better fit at 2 guard for this assemblage of players. With the amount UCLA will be in transition off of steals I'd rather have Westbrook or Shipp finishing than Afflalo. Also, the increased playing time has really paid dividends for Westbrook in both his offensive and defensive game.

I think people who assume Love will be one and out may be a little premature. For one thing, in the NBA he would not be able to play center, he'd be a power forward and he doesn't have the power forward skills. I look for Love to play at least two seasons at UCLA, and maybe even a third if he doesn't develop his game facing the basket.

He's too short to play center in the NBA, folks. Of course, it UCLA wins a couple of championships that might change, but I wouldn't count on it. Look at Tyler Hansbrough, he's got more game than Love at this point and he didn't go one and out.

What makes Love great is that, in addition to the double-double points-rebounds stats, he is a phenomenal passer and a solid defensive player. How many points does UCLA score off of ridiculously long and accurate Love outlet passes? How many open hoops does UCLA collect off of Love passes out of double teams? Love may not dominate the game a la Greg Oden, but with so many other weapons on UCLA (see Shipp, Westbrook, etc), Love does what's necessary to win. College's new 'Big Fundamental' may not provide razzle dazzle highlights, but he's a vital cog in UCLA's machine.

BigHasBeen,

Nice, I agree with many of your points. I to think Tyler Hansborough is overrated. He will play bigger PF in the league and not be effective at all.

Love is a nice post player but remember, the college game is won with guard play. Any team with good guard play has a chance to win it all. BTW: I think Collision runs the team okay but he can't shoot. I don't think his knee is totally health either. Ronald Steele at Bama last year came in as a preseason All-American. He hurt his knee and should have redshirted last year because he had no explosion, couldn't beat nobody of the driblle, and could guard a chair. Hopefully he come back strong next season.

You are seeing the revolution of the college game. It's not about the low post paly. Kids want to play were they can get up and down the court and show their skills.

Mr. Pete
You are being selfish, Affalo did the right thing. 3.5 points a game on a title contending team isn't bad. There are freshmen all over the country that were stud last year in high school but can't get into game now in college.

NBA 1st rounder next season