5 Reasons You Will LOVE the Bruins This Season

1. Third Time’s the Charm - Ben Howland is in his third season and that can only mean good things for the Bruins. Let’s check the history… He won only 16 games at Northern Arizona his first two seasons combined but then in his third season, he led the Lumberjacks to 21 victories and the Big Sky regular-season championship. In his first two seasons at Pitt he won just 13 and 19 games respectively. In his third season, Pitt went 29-6 and advanced to the Sweet 16 while he collected Coach of the Year honors. Now, at UCLA he looks to improve further on a team that won 18 games last year, but lost in the first round to Texas Tech. Howland has a proven record of improving teams in three seasons and there are no signs that that is going to change with UCLA this season.

2. The Boys are Back In Town – Widely regarded as a top five recruiting class last year, sophomores Lorenzo Mata, Josh Shipp, Aaron Afflalo, and Jordan Farmar return. Farmar was basically the best freshman in the country filling the stat sheet with 13.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.3 apg, and 1.4 spg while winning Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors. Afflalo would have won that if not for his backcourt mate. With Dijon Thompson gone to graduation, either Farmar or Afflalo should pick up his scoring slack and possibly lead the team in scoring. Another starting freshman. Josh Shipp led Pac-10 freshman in rebounding while contributing about 9 ppg and 5 rpg. No doubt these guys are going to bring great things to Westwood.

3. Its Not Football – Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, LenDale White, and Dwayne Jarrett fortunately only play football. Unfortunately, the Duke Blue Devils don’t.

4. Cupcake City Baby – UCLA might be improved but they are young. No sense in sending them out on some brutal non-conference schedule before Pac-10 games start. Check out this murderous non-conference schedule: Cal State Monterrey Bay, New Mexico State, Delaware State, Albany, Coppin State, and Nevada. Good move, build confidence and get some W’s before conference. Aside from the preseason NIT and a visit from the Mountaineers of West Virginia the Baby Bruins won’t be tested too much this season outside of their conference schedule.

5. Seniors Step Up – Cedric Bozeman and Michael Fey are the two main seniors that will balance out the inexperience of the super sophs. Bozeman led the Pac-10 in assist as a junior and although the point spot is filled up, his height allows Howland to play him at small forward. Fey will have as much impact as anyone on how UCLA’s season plays out. Coach Howland is counting on him to give the team a consistent inside presence both offensively and defensively. If he falters, fellow senior and 7-footer Ryan Hollins is ready to step in.

5 Reasons You Will Worry About the Bruins This Season

1. Broken Bruins – Injuries always affect the outcome of a season and it will be no different for the Bruins. Cedric Bozeman, Josh Shipp, Lorenzo Mata and incoming freshman Alfred Aboya come into the season with health questions, especially Bozeman whose entire career has been marred by injury. A promising McDonald’s All-American as a freshman, knee and back problems have hindered Bozeman’s progress. His full recovery is key to UCLA’s success.

2. The Pac Is Stacked – Lets face it, the basketball teams in the Pac-10 are a LOT more competitive than the football teams. No dynasties here. Arizona, Oregon, Stanford, Washington, and UCLA all have a legitimate chance at winning the Pac-10 title this year and getting into the Big Dance. With the conference tourney at the end of the season deciding the automatic bid (and possibly a #1 seed in the West regional) anyone can win it.

3. Fumbling Farmar – As good as Farmar was last season, he still had 113 turnovers. A number that needs to drop (and most likely will) if the Bruins are to get further into post season play.

4. Little in the Middle – Fey and Rollins are tall, that’s the good news, but the Bruins are going to need a little more from them this year. Rollins tends to be a little more motivated defensively than Fey at times. But that tends to get him into foul trouble. The perimeter is set offensively and defensively, but the frontcourt has to spark the fastbreak by snagging boards and solidify the D by preventing easy baskets inside.

5. So Long Dijon – With Dijon Thompson and his 18+ points, 9 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and big game leadership lost to the NBA (NBDL actually), who assumes the his role? The youngster Farmar? While he certainly has the tools, his youth and penchant for turnovers can cost his team big games (see the first round loss to Texas Tech where he only scored 3 points in 36 minutes). Bozeman is also a good choice for go-to-guy. But can he stay healthy long enough to make an impact with this team? Will they be able to co-exist?