How did my team (UCLA) pull this recruiting class?

[Doctor MJ]

Question for the experts here. I'm a Bruin, and I want to be happy that my team has such a great recruiting class, but this isn't my first rodeo.

Since '07, the program's been going down hill.
Last year, there's a huge expose revealing that Howland isn't much of a coach, can't properly manage egos, and doesn't stand for anything.

And that very season, he was busy slaughtering everyone else in recruiting? Really?

I remember when USC got OJ Mayo and how fishy that whole story sounded. Can y'all give me an honest narrative how UCLA became so persuasive this year with Shabazz & co?

[jman3134]

Well, the Parker commitment was not really such a great signing and in all likelihood, he followed the talent that was already coming.

With regard to Shabazz in particular, there have been rumblings that he was inked due to UCLA's affiliation with Adidas. I guess he's hopeful that he can get a contract with them after his year in school.

Kyle Anderson may have come for a similar reason, but I think he had a lot more invested in UCLA. It's entirely possible that Howland used Adidas as a recruiting tool.

[CBB_Fan]

1. Athletes like to be "the guy"
See: Dwight Howard. Top recruits like Shabazz want to be known as saviors, guys that had a fundamental impact on a program. But they also want to go somewhere with prior success or a large market. Therefore, UCLA becomes very attractive, because it is a place they can be the man, and has a storied history. It is a superb ego-booster.

2. Howland can recruit
Regardless of how bad a coach he is, the man is probably the second best recruiter in the business (behind Calipari, just ahead of Scott Drew and Roy Williams). In another world, the man would be a door to door salesman, and probably a pretty successful one.

3. NBA Stars
See: Russell Westbrook; Kevin Love

4. California
Not knocking on Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, or UNC, but none of those places compares to California as a place to live. Even high school kids can see that.

5. Recruiting violations
If you don't think 1-4 was enough, immediately begin to suspect that something is going wrong.

[Doctor MJ]

2. Howland can recruit
Regardless of how bad a coach he is, the man is probably the second best recruiter in the business (behind Calipari, just ahead of Scott Drew and Roy Williams). In another world, the man would be a door to door salesman, and probably a pretty successful one.

Really? I mean I know he's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but what's your basis for ranking him so high. My recollection is that he really had no 5-star recruits until Kevin Love (Farmar, Afflalo, and Westbrook were not on that level), and he's had no team success afterward. He's also often remarked to have a skewed personality that has left some to question whether he has Asperger's syndrome as crazy as that sounds.

What details have I missed?

[jman3134]

Well, he did pull in some top flight recruits, but most of them ended up underachieving. The others left and obtained success elsewhere. But, at the time, the class with J'Mison Morgan, Drew Gordon, Jerime Anderson, etc. was considered a top tier recruiting job. In that scenario, you had some bad seeds, but you can fault him for not developing talent.

[crgreen]

NBA GMs are on the record that Ben Howland players come into the league ready to contribute immediately at the defensive end.

Both Kyle and Shabazz have gone on record as coming to UCLA to improve THAT aspect of their individual games.

You have Kyle/Shabazz, and others WILL follow. Jordan Adams claims that all four of the recruits (Shabazz/Kyle/Adams/Parker) made the decision 2 years ago at an AAU tourney to come to UCLA together.

As for UCLA being Down, you can look at it two ways. You can say they haven't been to the final four since 2008. ORE you can say that In the last 7 seasons, no one has gotten his team to the final 4 more times than Ben Howland.

As for the level of talent/recruiting BEFORE this class - You realize that McD All Americans Kyle, Shabazz and Parker are JOINING McD All Americans TWear, DWear, Josh Smith and Larry Drew who are ALREADY Bruins. As are former consensus top 50 recruits Tyler Lamb and Norman Powell.

[lodom7]

Damn we are stacked this year, we should be top 5 for the preseason

PG: Larry Drew/Norman Powell
SG: Shabazz Muhammad/Jordan Adams
SF: Kyle Anderson/ Tyler Lamb
PF: Tony Parker/D Wear
C: Josh Smith/ T Wear/ A Stover

Anderson will probably play like a point forward or may even start at the 1 but either way that team is stacked on offense, defense and size

[Jazzfan12]

NBA GMs are on the record that Ben Howland players come into the league ready to contribute immediately at the defensive end.

Both Kyle and Shabazz have gone on record as coming to UCLA to improve THAT aspect of their individual games.

You have Kyle/Shabazz, and others WILL follow. Jordan Adams claims that all four of the recruits (Shabazz/Kyle/Adams/Parker) made the decision 2 years ago at an AAU tourney to come to UCLA together.

As for UCLA being Down, you can look at it two ways. You can say they haven't been to the final four since 2008. ORE you can say that In the last 7 seasons, no one has gotten his team to the final 4 more times than Ben Howland.

As for the level of talent/recruiting BEFORE this class - You realize that McD All Americans Kyle, Shabazz and Parker are JOINING McD All Americans TWear, DWear, Josh Smith and Larry Drew who are ALREADY Bruins. As are former consensus top 50 recruits Tyler Lamb and Norman Powell.

Most of the NBA players from UCLA are really bad defenders. Westbrook has the worst fundamentals on defense of any starting PG.

[lodom7]

NBA GMs are on the record that Ben Howland players come into the league ready to contribute immediately at the defensive end.

Both Kyle and Shabazz have gone on record as coming to UCLA to improve THAT aspect of their individual games.

You have Kyle/Shabazz, and others WILL follow. Jordan Adams claims that all four of the recruits (Shabazz/Kyle/Adams/Parker) made the decision 2 years ago at an AAU tourney to come to UCLA together.

As for UCLA being Down, you can look at it two ways. You can say they haven't been to the final four since 2008. ORE you can say that In the last 7 seasons, no one has gotten his team to the final 4 more times than Ben Howland.

As for the level of talent/recruiting BEFORE this class - You realize that McD All Americans Kyle, Shabazz and Parker are JOINING McD All Americans TWear, DWear, Josh Smith and Larry Drew who are ALREADY Bruins. As are former consensus top 50 recruits Tyler Lamb and Norman Powell.

Most of the NBA players from UCLA are really bad defenders. Westbrook has the worst fundamentals on defense of any starting PG.

?????

have you ever heard of Arron Afflalo or Luc Richard Mbah a Moute?

[Josephpaul]

Ahttp://keepingitheel.com/2012/08/15/uc ... hibitions/


With $$$$$?????

[Doctor MJ]

So, from Wiretap:

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... ast_Decade

The 5 most-likely-dirty recruitments of the last decade

1. Shabazz (UCLA)
2. Davis (Kentucky)
3. Anderson (UCLA)
(tie) Mayo (USC)
(tie) Wall (Kentucky)
6. Rose (Memphis)

I particularly like that UCLA's top 2 recruits this year are not only considered Top 3 for the decade, but that they are including players KNOWN to be dirty.

[Doctor MJ]

NBA GMs are on the record that Ben Howland players come into the league ready to contribute immediately at the defensive end.

Both Kyle and Shabazz have gone on record as coming to UCLA to improve THAT aspect of their individual games.

You have Kyle/Shabazz, and others WILL follow. Jordan Adams claims that all four of the recruits (Shabazz/Kyle/Adams/Parker) made the decision 2 years ago at an AAU tourney to come to UCLA together.

As for UCLA being Down, you can look at it two ways. You can say they haven't been to the final four since 2008. ORE you can say that In the last 7 seasons, no one has gotten his team to the final 4 more times than Ben Howland.

As for the level of talent/recruiting BEFORE this class - You realize that McD All Americans Kyle, Shabazz and Parker are JOINING McD All Americans TWear, DWear, Josh Smith and Larry Drew who are ALREADY Bruins. As are former consensus top 50 recruits Tyler Lamb and Norman Powell.

I'm sorry, are you not familiar with the expose that broke out at UCLA in the last year?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/m ... index.html

Things have not been happy in Westwood for a while, the reasons aren't simply bad luck, and right as this starts really coming to light, UCLA gets the top recruiting class in the country. This is NOT normal.

Were I to have heard something about Shabazz having a personal connection, and him recruiting other kids, then I wouldn't be suspicious. As is though, this sounds about as suspicious as any case I can remember.

Definitely hoping it's all legit, but yikes.

[wiff]

Didn't they pick up the little Gasol who is like 6'11"? He isn't even on a scholarship. He's pretty much a walk on. Right?

Dirty or clean that's going to be a really tough team.

[Jersey Generals]

Adidas. That's probably the best answer you can get. Adidas got that recruiting class.

[Cammo101]

The checks cleared.