[OhCanada-Participant]

Great game. UCLA was down big in the 2nd half and Ball helped bring them back with a strong push. Alford then rested him and brought him back in with about 6-minutes. Despite playing great and having a career high in points and about 8 or 9 assists in the last 6 minutes (or so) Ball took just one shot an uncontested layup with 20 seconds left before Arizona dribbled out the clock. As we move closer to the draft day and competition stiffens up I think the fact that Ball has abdolutely no in between game will hurt him a bit. Still a great prospect but that shot form is going to limit his scoring capabilities.

Alonzo Trier returned and he looked good in limited minutes. I find it hard to believe thier will be 46 draft eligible prospects on draft day that are better than him yet draft.net has him ranked #47. Arizona is a different team with him inthier lineup.

With all the talkabout Jonathan Isaac as of late we need to give some love to Lauri Markkannen. He outplayed TJ Leaf today including tough defense on Leaf and Welsch and on the help side. He also showed the whole offensive arsenal doen the stretch with a 3pt shot, mid rangebucket, offensive rebound/dunk while setting screens and picks hard all game for his teammates. NBA teams must be drooling.

Jonathan Simmons had his best game in Triers return which has to make Sean Millet happy. Watch out for Zona they maybe mu favourite this year.

[llperez]

 zona is a really good team. Trier was projected by this site to be a first round pick had he entered last years draft so im not sure why he fell so hard due to a PED suspension, its not like it was an injury that might hurt his development. A team that is 16-2 then adds a nba caliber talent who put up 15ppg as a freshman and can create his own shot and should be much better now as a sophomore makes them scary good now. 

As for ucla, i thought ball played as well as he has all year for the first 30 minutes before kinda dissapearing late. Bruins were right there on the cusp the entire second half but just could never put together a solid 2-3 minute stretch and get stops. Welsh was like 0-5 on wide open mid range jumpers wich is his go to move. Reality is ucla will probably fall pretty hard in the rankings, there is only 2 good opportunities to pick up wins the pac 12 and thats oregon and zona and ucla has now lost to both of them. 

 

[OhCanada-Participant]

 Meant Kobi Simmons…not Jonathan.

I think the Pac-12 is a tough conference at the top. Oregon and Arizona are legit contenders for the National Title and everyone had UCLA winning it all after they beat Kentucky. The landscape of the NCAA changed alot today with lots of injuries and big games.

[SeattleSuperChronicsParticipant]

 I was too busy watching the wazzu vs Colorado overtime thriller. Cougs gunna make some noise down in Vegas.

[SlickBouncePassParticipant]

UCLA just isn’t deep enough.  I also don’t think Kentucky has enough.  Its nice to see the NCAA, despite the diaper dandies, still have teams near the top without top tier talent but experienced players, like Nova and UNC in the finals last year.  I’m glad the trend in college has gone away from what Lebron started…which is team up with your buddies and win.  I credit Ben Simmons with moving away from that trend.

Its amazing how much star players affect basketball around us.  Nowadays in the gym all the kids want to do is jack 3s.  I’m always happy to play fundamental ball with some guys and our team then destroys the quickdraw squad.  Thats what basketball is about, fundamentals.

On that note…Lonzo Ball showed a lot of mental fortitude in playing big and hitting some big 3s against a team he had to know was better than his.  UCLA just isn’t deep enough and there are other college squads with more than just one or two prospects.  Thats why Nova is more likely to be in the final 4 than Kansas Kentucky and UCLA.

On that note, there isn’t a player in college that can carry you to the top.  Fultz and Ben Simmons are great examples of that.  Basketball remains a team game.  

 

Markkanen is a nice player just underutilized.  I feel like if you stroke the ball like that, you should get more touches late in teh game.  It was nice to see him create off the dribble.  I learned nothing about his defense.  He definitely seems a little slow footed.  The only thing I like about his game is that smooth stroke.  He may be a big defensive liability so I’m not sure anymore how much I love him.

I love Arizona’s guards.  Trier I liked from HS AS games and I was surprised he didn’t come out, I don’t think his body has changed much.  I liked the fact that Trier was looking to find Markannen open, thats a high IQ player.  Kobi Simmons is also a nice talent though I don’t think he’ll be a special player in the NBA.  He’d be a nice guard for a team that needs one.

I think Arizona has a really good chance of winning it all this year.  I see Arizona, Florida State, Villanova, and UNC as my Final four teams right now…let’s see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

[llperez]

 i dont see depth as a problem for ucla. They play 8 guys every game, 6 averaging in double figures with aaron holiday being one of the best 6th men in the country and a legit nba prospect. Also ike anigbogu is a quality backup big man that is considered an nba prospect, he really is the bruins best interior defender and shot blocker and as this season continues i would like to see him get more minutes. hamilton and alford were the teams 2 best players a year ago and are both playing real well. Welsh is a returning starter who can score. Ball and tj leaf are the stars of the team. They are a well rounded squad with difference makers off the bench. Lets not get too carried away with this loss and say the bruins dont have what it takes. The game was competitive all the way through, i think the 11 point final margin was arizonas largest lead of the game. 

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