[BasketballJunkie224Participant]

At the begining of the season i really thought ucla was a top 5 team. I know its early in the season and everybody will probably say that in this thread but is there a chance ucla dosnt make the tourney? I was just thinking about it and the pac 10 is good this year and ucla is losing to prettttty bad teams, while thier best player (shabbaz) is a great player i believe he is definitely overated and kyle anderson isnt exactly living up to the hype. Their brightest spot so far has been jordan adams who wasnt even a top 50 recruit. I just think that with all that said plus all the guys transferring UCLA is in a lot of trouble and at risk to miss the tournament. What is everyone else’s take on this? and P.S. i know everyone will say that it is WAY too early to tell but cmon now the writing may be on the wall so please dont say its way too early because i already realize this. Just want everyones opinion on whether they think ucla has a chance to make the tourney

[alex23Participant]

is overrated just yet, if u watched last nights whenever he had the ball he was scoring and looking good , but he barely got it. This team doesn’t understand their roles yet. If they figure that out they can definitely make the tourney.

[phila9012Participant]

ben howlands system hides players talents, like russell westbrook. So I think shabazz is could and should be a top 3 pick in the draft. This was supposed to be the year that howland got them back on track but he hasn’t. He could be gone if this goes too badly.

[PureshooterParticipant]

I don’t think Westbrook was hidden because of the system, he was just behind Darren Collison who was a far better true point guard in college.

[SiggyParticipant]

I don’t see their problem as that much different from Kentucky’s. They’re young and they don’t know how to play together or execute. They give up a ton of O-boards, they turn the ball over a lot, don’t shoot the 3 as a team well, take bad shots, make mental errors at key points of games, etc…all signs of a young team. Kyle Anderson was supposed to be a stabilizing force, but he’s been making mental errors on both ends and can’t shoot the ball. He’s not a good shooter to begin with, but he’s also playing with a bum wrist that might require surgery later. The Wear twins are ok (one of them is playing through an injury) but they lack defensive inside presence. Tony Parker was highly touted for some reason (I thought he was massively overrated coming out of HS) but he’s out of shape, not ready to contribute and now he’s injured. Shabazz missed a lot of practice and time so he’s far from at his peak and the rest of th team isn’t accustomed to playing with him yet.

I still think they’ll make the tourney, but more like a 7-8 seed.

[ph90702]

They only have one bad loss (Cal-Poly), but your point speaks for itself. They just aren’t that good of a team. I could only imagine where they’d be without Jordan Adams. He has clearly been their best player. I think Shabazz is regretting his decision to go to UCLA.

[Official]

EY, Jordan Adams can ball out.
Keeping eye on him.

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

Larry Drew is averaging 8 assists a game..But has there ever been a team in the pros or college,that have looked more confused on offense,With to have a player averaging that many assts?

Drew was terrible running the show at UNC and he’s terrible running things for UCLA…

[alex23Participant]

i hate to be this critical but he seems like a very selfish player, yes he is averaging assists but hes passing it off to guys that he knows wont dribble much and just shoot it (bad shot selection not necessarily open looks).

[Lebron’s HairlineParticipant]

So UCLA is this years UConn? Team is full of talent but chemistry issues will cause them to underwhelm.

[Malik-UniversalParticipant]

Shabazz can flat out score anywhere on the court but takes some shots that make you want to cringe… kyle Anderson looks like very lost out there…. howland better get his stuff together because this team is talented as hell

[M-EazyParticipant]

Where was Tony Parker tonight? Didn’t see his name in the box score, and you know how players are quitting there.

[SiggyParticipant]

He’s been injured since the season started and he tweaked an ankle last game.
He really needs to get in better shape.

[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

UCLA, with their best LA Laker impression.

[Author]

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