By MATT "MONEY" SMITH
FOXSportsWest.com | PRIME TICKET
March 4, 2011
ANOTHER ONE?!?! I thought I heard the screams echoing throughout the southland last night as Ben Howland burned though all of his timeouts by the 12:57 minute mark of the second half in the Bruins contest against the Huskies in Washington last night. Having been around the Lakers for so long I was used to the screams of "TAKE A TIME OUT" hurled in Phil Jackson's direction.
Can we get these two guys together and figure out if they can convey their philosophy to one another and find that very popular middle ground that most coaches seem to have outside the city of Los Angeles? Stop taking time outs. Plain and simple, stop taking time outs. In a 2:30 span in the first half, Howland had sandwiched two full timeouts around an official TV timeout, and those were longer thanks to the contest being a nationally televised game. Sure there were fatigue issues, there was a cramping problem by Malcolm Lee, an in-bounds problem that led to one being used, but part of being a head coach is looking forward and budgeting your breaks, perhaps holding off early in case the need arises when one is desperately needed.
The old cliche is "you can't take them home with you." I would counter with another old cliche "it's better to have it and not need in than to need it and not have it." Using a final timeout with 12:57 to play in the second half in an arena that has been home to a 13-1 record for Lorenzo Romar's Huskies was shortsighted.
With the Bruins up four at the six-minute mark of the second half, with Joshua Smith having logged a double-double that included a career high 16 boards, UCLA looked to be in control of another contest in a tough environment and on their way to another victory and perhaps another Pac-10 regular season championship. But then C.J. Wilcox continued his offensive onslaught, and in the moment when his steady hand was needed most, Howland was helpless, out of timeouts he was to put it in a Yoda perspective.
I don't want this to be a recap of the game last night, but I needed to make the point of how big it was to let a game they looked to be in control of slip away. Right now the Bruins are out of the Top 25, they won't be cracking it this week, and most projections have them as an 8 or 9 seed come time to fill out the bracket. That means a tough contest against a comparable opponent (likely a top tier team from a smaller conference) in the first round, followed by a second round game against a No. 1 seed.
Not a promising trail to tournament success.
It's imperative they get some sort of roll going in the Pac-10 tournament if they want to avoid meeting a major power before the Sweet-16. I love the way the Bruins play, their defense, as long as it's not coming against a guy named Wilcox, is in the conversation as the best in the country. They have a talented wing player in Tyler Honeycutt, and Malcolm Lee and Smith quite bluntly cannot be controlled. There are a lot of reasons to love what Howland does with these UCLA Bruins and the level of competition they bring to a contest every night. While others have questioned the style of play he employs, you can't argue with the results. I'm over the "We only hang championship banners here" conversation.
You've won a total of one in the last 30 years.
Get over it and accept what you are in this era. Three straight Final Fours is as dominant as you'll get with a program in this era of college basketball.
(For Victoria Sun's take on the state of the Bruins, CLICK HERE.)
Look at this season as the foundation for what could be a championship run next year. There are no seniors on the squad, Smith has matured by leaps and bounds, and will be a contender for Player of the Year next season. However, you need that tourney experience, and a run to the Sweet 16 is necessary to get them in that position to take the next step. Getting bounced in the first round by Utah State, or Marquette isn't a great confidence builder going into the offseason. Beat Washington State Saturday, make a run or win the Pac-10 tournament and get yourself a 5 or 6 seed out of it.
(CLICK HERE for Jack Magruder's thoughts on seeding in the Pac-10 tourney.)
And when it comes time to take part in the best sporting event in the history of the world, be sure and hold on to just one time out . . . just in case you might need it.
