ESPN Men's Basketball

WASHINGTON D.C. -- It’s just one hour into the official start of the season and already John Thompson III wishes he could talk about someone other than Joshua Smith.

That doesn’t make him unusual. Coaches like nothing less than talking about guys who are hurt, suspended or ineligible. They aren’t ready to play, so why bother?

Fair logic in an illogical, information-hungry world.

The fact of the matter is the UCLA transfer is more than just a curiosity for Georgetown; he could be a critical piece to the Hoyas’ puzzle. With Greg Whittington sidelined indefinitely with a torn ACL, Georgetown will push junior Mikael Hopkins into the middle and count on senior Nate Lubick to help him out. Both are decent candidates; none has the potential of Smith.

Of course that’s always been the catch with Smith -- he has all this potential, most of it unrealized -- and that’s why the big man lumbering up and down the McDonough Hall court on Saturday morning is the big question mark for Georgetown.

As of right now, Smith won’t be available until the second semester, but Thompson said he’s awaiting a decision from the NCAA, intimating there’s a chance Smith could play immediately.

Thompson declined to get into specifics to the nature of the request.

“We don’t know when or how long we’ll have him,’’ Thompson said. “But we think we should know pretty soon.’’

Having Smith available is one thing; if Smith is ready another. The one-time top recruit followed up a conference all-freshman season with an average sophomore season, his playing time diminishing as the season progressed.

His lack of dedication exasperated Ben Howland, who privately and publicly fumed at his big man’s lack of progress.

Six games into his junior year and Howland’s final turbulent year, Smith elected to transfer.

Georgetown, which opens the season on Nov. 8 against Oregon in South Korea, offers not only a fresh start but also a coach who suffers no fools. Certainly Smith is to blame for his own failures, but he was also caught in a Westwood soap opera that wasn’t good for anyone.

“He has to make a decision if he wants to be good or not,’’ Thompson said. “He has all the tools. He always has. When and if he commits, he’ll see the positive results. It’s a process.’’

What will be especially interesting to watch is how Smith blends in to a team that cares about its defense above its offense. That wasn’t exactly UCLA’s MO last season, unless matador defense is a new trend.

Thompson peppered his first practice with challenges to his team about its defense, promising later that “we will guard.’’

Plenty was made about the Hoyas’ lack of offensive fireworks last season, a display that might fizzle even more sans Otto Porter, but Thompson argues that not enough was said about the other side of the ball. While it mmight have lacked in aesthetics, Georgetown did hold teams to just 56.4 points per game, practically suffocating foes into defeat.

The long and lanky Hopkins and the worker bee Lubick understand what’s expected on that end.

Smith, who didn’t exactly dash back on transition for UCLA, will have to learn.

“We’ll see how it all plays out,’’ Thompson said. “But regardless, I think this team has a chance to be very, very good.’’

LOS ANGELES -- At long last, the UCLA Bruins resembled the team everyone thought they would be.

The first six weeks of the season have brought nothing but big question marks for UCLA, with bad losses, ugly wins and unimpressive performances taking the luster off a team that had been pegged as a contender for a Final Four run after landing the nation’s top recruiting class.

A 97-94 overtime victory over No. 7 Missouri Friday night at Pauley Pavilion should help calm the storm that has surrounded coach Ben Howland, who has found his way to the hot seat, and the Bruins, who before Friday seemed to be underachieving.

This was UCLA’s first victory over a ranked team and first victory of the season that would be considered respectable by the nation. That it came in a nationally televised game and in thrilling fashion means it will receive notice and should get the Bruins (10-3) back into the top 25, where they began the season.

“I think our play definitely answered a lot of those questions,” guard Kyle Anderson said. “This is such a big win for us, and we can’t go back to those losses from before. We certainly showed the country what we have right now.”

Early on, the Bruins hadn’t shown the country much. They started with a good victory over Indiana State, but struggled against UC Irvine. Then came a loss to Georgetown, an ugly win over Georgia and a dreadful home loss to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Tyler Lamb and Joshua Smith transferred and it seemed the program was in shambles. The Bruins steadily improved and won four in a row, but critics pointed to a soft schedule. Friday’s victory over Missouri (10-2) extended UCLA’s win streak to five and, more importantly, restored order.

For the full story from ESPNLosAngeles.com, click here.

"[Josh] Smith has a huge frame and remarkable agility for a player his size. He has long arms and possesses a Division I body already. Despite his youth he has an outstanding feel for the game. … Though he's a bit overweight, he's quite bouncy and he uses his body very well to ward off taller opponents." -- ESPN Recruiting Nation, November 2007

"This strong and physical wide body is super explosive around the rim. Smith power dunks on, over or around defenders when he receives drop-off passes created by guard penetration. He has good hands and runs the floor very well for a player his size. He can beat most centers down the floor for an early post-up opportunity. … Smith must continue to add to his post-move package and work to stay in shape year around to continue his dominant ways when he gets on the college level." -- August 2008

"Smith is the most promising post prospect in the west for the class of 2010. … He is still carrying too much weight since I saw him last [Adidas Nations in April] and that is definitely affecting his game. There were many times he struggled at the rim [Rose City Showcase] and actually fell to the floor a quite a few times despite outweighing his opponent by a significant amount." -- June 2009

"Smith is the most promising 5-man out west in the class of 2010. However, his propensity to gain weight could be problematic when he gets to the next level. Due to his recent injury his body appeared to be much heavier than in the summer evaluation period and as a result his stamina is not where it needs to be." -- February 2010

Josh Smith left UCLA's program Wednesday. This probably should not come as a surprise, for a couple of reasons:

1. UCLA players have been leaving Ben Howland's program in droves -- via transfer, dismissal, or you name it -- over the past four seasons. Earlier this week, guard Tyler Lamb took off. At this point, a week that goes by without a UCLA defection feels like the exception, not the rule. That program is currently a disaster, but that's a topic for another day.

2. Smith's sad UCLA story was bound to come to an end, and sooner rather than later.

Since he arrived at the school, we've all said the same things over and over and over about Josh Smith:

What a talent. Such soft hands and quick feet, even for a guy that big. All he has to do is shed a bit of weight, get a little bit more agile, and the sky is the limit. NBA millions, here we come.

As a freshman, Smith excelled despite his frame, averaging 10.9 points and 6.3 rebounds in about 21.7 minutes of action. UCLA was solid that season -- the Bruins went to the NCAA tournament, and even won a game -- and the widely accepted prediction was that Smith would use his first full season in the graces of an elite Division I strength and training program to emerge as a sophomore leaner, meaner and more devastating than ever before.

Instead, by July 2011, Ben Howland was frankly admitting to CBS' Gary Parrish that Smith was "about 10 pounds over where he was last season." It's hard to tell whether or not he kept that weight on during the 2011-12 season, because, as a courtesy, UCLA's sports information folks stopped updating his weight listing long ago -- sort of like me on my driver's license. Smith's minutes dropped to just 17.2 per game last season. He was still somewhat efficient when on the floor, but his inability to actually stay on said floor caused his numbers to slide to 9.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Still, though. What a talent. Such soft hands and quick feet, even for a guy that big. All he has to do is shed a bit -- OK, a lot -- of weight, get a little bit more agile, and the sky is the limit. NBA millions, it's not too late.

You think Smith himself never heard any of this? You think people around him weren't telling him what the entire world knew to be true? Of course they were. Which is why this summer, he seemed to make a real, honest, genuine go of it. In July, he told ESPN LA's Peter Yoon that he had lost 15 pounds, and that he finally understood the importance of hard work in getting where he wants to be. "I want to get to the point where it's not, 'Oh, if Josh was in shape' or 'If Josh was this,'" he said. "I just want to be able to run up and down and give my team 29 or 30 minutes on the floor where I'm actually producing, not just 19 minutes where I play in spurts and try to stay out of foul trouble."

This season, through six games, Smith is averaging 5.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per game, all career lows. Some of that has to do with Howland's new talent, as well as Howland's undying affection for the Wear twins. Just as much has to do with the fact that Smith still isn't anywhere near where he needs to be to be a factor on the national collegiate hoops level, let alone an NBA prospect.

In all, Smith's most notable moment of this season -- maybe the most notable moment of his UCLA career -- is that time he airballed that layup.

That GIF is funny, sure. But it is also sad, because it is the culmination of everything Smith could have been, but it isn't. How many guys that big can dribble half that well in the open court? How many would dare to attempt a euro step around a smaller, quicker defender? Now imagine Smith at 40, 50 pounds lighter. Imagine how he must see himself, racing down the floor, knowing in his mind he can pull off this move just before his body turns and laughs in his face.

I don't know why Smith can't lose the weight. I don't know if it's UCLA's fault, or Howland's, or if he has a disorder, or if he just isn't focused on basketball, or some combination therein. I don't know if he'll find a second chance somewhere else (though I hope so); I don't know if his shot at the NBA is already over.

All I know is what we've all always known about Josh Smith, what we've been saying about the kid since he was a sophomore in high school:

What a talent. If he only lost some of that weight.

Even after UCLA signed the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, I had doubts that were masked by the program’s potential.

The additions of Shabazz Muhammad, Kyle Anderson, Tony Parker and Jordan Adams suppressed my concerns. So I bought stock in UCLA and I slotted the Bruins as a top-10 team in ESPN.com’s initial preseason poll. They had to get better, I figured. Too much talent to repeat the woes of 2011-12.

And then, UC-Irvine nearly upset the former powerhouse in overtime. Young players need time to click with veterans, right?

And then, the Bruins lost to Georgetown. C’mon, man. It was Muhammad’s first game.

And then, they fell to Cal Poly 70-68 after leading by 18 points with 11:53 to play on Sunday night. The game ended when the Bruins put the Mustangs on the free throw line in the closing seconds of a tie game. Well, even the best teams lose and … wait a minute. Huh?

It was an indefensible collapse against a program that’s lost to both Fresno State and TCU this season. Yet, it’s reminiscent of the Bruins teams that have all fallen short of expectations since the Final Four trifecta from 2006-08.

The latter teams all finished in the top five of defensive efficiency. Ben Howland hasn’t had a squad that’s even cracked the top-30 since that run.

The Bruins’ defensive lapses helped Cal Poly recover from a 51-33 hole midway through the second half on Sunday. Those mishaps extended UCLA’s streak of mental fragility. The Bruins fell apart. Again. It’s becoming a familiar theme for the storied program that missed the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years last season.

On Sunday, the Bruins allowed 37 points in the final 12 minutes -- after giving up just 33 in the first 28. In that stretch, Cal Poly made 13 of 19 shots while UCLA missed 14 of 19.

And it all ended in confusion. Sophomore Norman Powell lunged at Kyle Odister with 14 seconds to play in a tied game. Powell apparently believed that his team was still trailing.

That was certainly the most critical gaffe of the evening but not the only one. The Bruins did what the Bruins have done too often in recent seasons. They showcased the execution that’s seemingly elevated their ceiling just before the roof caved into those uncertain expectations.

They have pieces. Muhammad has played well for a guy who missed most of the preseason and the early portion of the regular season due to injury and an NCAA inquiry. But the addition hasn’t changed the culture of a team that’s failed to get stops when it’s needed them and fizzled under pressure.

While Howland has new faces, he’s still counting on the same veterans who couldn’t stop last season’s downward spiral. And he also has to rely on freshmen who love to score but haven’t attained the defensive discipline they’ll need to make a dent in a competitive Pac-12.

There’s too much talent on the roster to assume that UCLA won’t figure it out in the coming months. But the Bruins are a mess right now.

The "Kyle Anderson is a point guard" experiment has stalled. Joshua Smith's weight still limits his impact. The Bruins’ shot selection is poor and disorganized. And despite the infusion of future NBA draft picks, they’re not edgy enough to beat elite teams.

Or mid-level Big West teams.

In his first two years at UCLA, Joshua Smith showed as much promise as any player in the country. For a guy his size -- in 2012 he was listed at 6-foot-10, 305 pounds and that was probably a little bit generous, weight-wise -- Smith is uncannily agile, with soft hands and innate touch around the rim.

The only problem? He's always been too big. This was the case as a freshman, but like most freshmen, Smith's weight was forgiven. He was a young guy. It was his first year in college basketball. He earned a spot on the Pac-10 All-Freshman team; he was producing. The potential was obviously there. Get him into the program, get him on the weights, he'll get his body into shape, and the sky is the limit. Right?

That didn't happen. Smith can in as a sophomore at roughly the same size, if not bigger and his lack of conditioning made his sophomore year a struggle. Smith's productivity declined, his minutes shrank, and his foul count per 40 minutes ballooned (from an already rough 5.8 as a freshman to a downright awful 7.3 as a sophomore). With troubled forward Reeves Nelson dismissed from the team early in the season, UCLA really needed Smith to step up. Instead, he regressed.

All of which is why it so encouraging to see Smith finally starting to get it -- to understand why hard work and conditioning is paramount for a player with legitimate NBA aspirations. That's the unmistakeable impression left by ESPN LA reporter Peter Yoon's story on Smith's summer workout routine:

Smith, a junior, said he has lost at least 15 pounds since the end of last season. He is consulting a nutritionist, spending more time in the gym and the results were evident during a summer workout Tuesday, when he ran up and down the court for nearly an hour without showing much fatigue. It was a far cry from last season when he routinely lumbered around out of breath and had a mostly forgettable season.

"I can admit that last summer I didn't take that step to improve my game," he said. "I had an OK freshman year, people were praising me, I kind of got my feet wet in D-I, I kind of got my feet wet in the Pac-12 and I thought I knew what to expect. But you see that guys in the offseason were in the gym, in the weight room and stuff. & It was like if you put in the work, good things would happen and that's what I'm trying to do." [...]

"I couldn't really take anything positive from last year," Smith said. "I want to get to the point where it's not, 'Oh if Josh was in shape' or 'If Josh was this.' I just want to be able to run up and down and give my team 29 or 30 minutes on the floor where I'm actually producing, not just 19 minutes where I play in spurts and try to stay out of foul trouble." [...]

"Last summer, I can admit I didn't do anything," he said. "I went to the gym every so often, I was chilling and enjoying my summer. It's like if you want to get to that next level, you've got to put in the work. ..."

Look: As someone who is probably 15 or 20 pounds above his ideal weight (ahem, if that), I can fully identify with how difficult it can be to motivate yourself to a) eat right and b) get in the gym. Playing "Gods and Kings" and eating Lou Mahlnati's is usually a lot more fun! I get it, and I'm sure there are many readers who can identify. Which is why it's always so difficult to criticize somebody -- particularly a 19-year-old kid -- about his weight issues. I have no real interest in that.

But we're also not college basketball players at the University of California, Los Angeles. Smith is. For him to get where he wants to go -- to help lead UCLA out of mediocrity, to play the interior force alongside Shabazz Muhammed and Kyle Anderson -- Smith had to take on the responsibility of getting himself into shape. The same potential is still there. He just needs to harness it.

For the first time since he arrived in Westwood, it would appear Josh Smith is doing just that. It's an exciting prospect for UCLA fans -- and a frightening one for the rest of the Pac-12. The guy's just too talented to play 20 minutes a game. Maybe, just maybe, those days are over.

Kentucky is Kentucky, and UCLA is back.

Those are the two immediate takeaways from Wednesday night’s big college hoops recruiting announcements, when the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the Class of 2012 -- center Nerlens Noel and small forward Shabazz Muhammad -- announced their decisions within an hour of each other live on ESPNU.

The final result? Muhammad chose UCLA. Noel chose Kentucky. Life in Westwood immediately got brighter. Life in Lexington remained almost unfairly good. And despite all the anticipation and hype, in the end, neither of these decisions was particularly surprising.

UCLA coach Ben Howland was long the favorite to land Muhammad. The Las Vegas native never revealed his intentions, but the recruiting rumor mill -- I’m hearing UCLA, it’s definitely UCLA, that sort of thing -- always seemed to peg Muhammad as a future Bruin. Even after Howland endured the most embarrassing moment of his career this spring, thanks to Sports Illustrated writer George Dohrmann’s evisceration, Muhammad’s family didn’t discount the program or wave it off. Indeed, the Bruins’ recent downward spiral was apparently an attraction.

“Knowing how bad they were the last two years, it’s a challenge to get them back up to the top,” Muhammad said.

That’s good news for UCLA, because he is right: The Bruins and their head coach are indeed desperately in need of a massive, wholesale turnaround in production and perception in the years to come. After disappointing, disjointed seasons in two of the past three years, fans openly revolted against the program in 2012.

Now, with Muhammad and fellow top-five recruit Kyle Anderson on board, as well as the Wear twins and still-promising, still-frustrating forward Joshua Smith, the Bruins have a legitimate chance to make a run at the Pac–12 title in 2012–13. In the meantime, athletics director Dan Guerrero will unveil a newly renovated Pauley Pavilion, hoping this influx of talent can revitalize a fan base that tuned its beloved Bruins out for much of the past three seasons.

“Hopefully we can sell out Pauley Pavilion,” Muhammad said.

The kid gets it. The stink of recent Westwood frustration won’t dissipate overnight. But with his talents on board, Howland can still change his program’s dire narrative while he still has time.

John Calipari has no such problem. You saw the Wildcats in March: Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague were each the top players at their respective positions in the Class of 2011, and as they mixed and congealed with sophomores Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones (and senior Darius Miller), Calipari morphed them into one of the most dominant national title teams of the past 20 years -- and easily the most dominant in the one-and-done era.

That was a special talent haul, one that can’t easily be duplicated. But Calipari remains on a roll: He landed the No. 1 class in the country in 2011, the No. 1 class in the country in 2010, and the No. 1 class in the country in 2009, when John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe paved the way.

At this point, you can write it in ink each and every spring: Calipari will have the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, or something very close to it. As such, it wasn’t even remotely surprising to see the top player in the country, Noel, commit to the Wildcats on Wednesday night. By the time Noel revealed his choice on the ESPNU set -- with the added flair of the UK logo shaved into the back of his now-famous high-top fade -- much of the social media world and those who follow such things were convinced the choice was Georgetown.

Silly people. Did you really think Coach Cal was going to go 0-for-2 tonight? Come on now.

Calipari was already off to a great start on the recruiting trail this year -- top–20 players Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress signed on last fall -- but he was still missing the elite, top-five talent that has become a regular fixture in his classes since his days at Memphis. The search is over.

Noel’s commitment is not only crucial in a vacuum -- he is a massive and athletic center who specializes in dominant interior shot-blocking -- but it rounds out UK’s on-court balance, too. Noel will anchor the post. Goodwin and Poythress will star on the wings. Sophomore forward Kyle Wiltjer, a top–20 recruit who barely cracked the rotation in 2012 (as good an indication of the Wildcats’ talent as any), will take on a much larger role. And NC State transfer Ryan Harrow, the No. 10-ranked point guard in the Class of 2010 who left the Wolfpack after Sidney Lowe’s firing last season, will take over the all-important on-ball role.

Noel’s proclivity for swats will immediately invite comparison to the departing Davis, and Noel may well be a better shot-blocker than the Unibrowed One. But beyond that, the comparisons may be a little too eager. Davis was a physical freak who gained his physicality late in his high school career, when he sprouted 8 inches but somehow maintained his guard skills and agility. He was transcendent on both ends of the court, almost from Day 1.

By contrast, Noel is a lifelong big man, one whose offensive game remains very raw. (Though he shares at least this much with Davis: In a world full of 6-foot–10 prospects determined to play small forward, Noel is more than content to play as close to the rim as possible.) Likewise, for as promising as Poythress and Goodwin are, it’s clear there is no Kidd-Gilchrist -- whose combination of NBA talent and selflessness set the tone for UK’s special 2012 season -- to be found here, at least as far as we can tell right now.

Not that Kentucky fans will complain. Just a week after the program’s eighth national title, UK fans just watched live as the top recruit in the country committed to Big Blue Nation. A repeat of 2012’s dominance is too much to ask. But with another batch of talent arriving in Lexington this summer, Calipari’s unique ability to transform disparate freshmen into coherent, disciplined teams and a wide-open 2012–13 landscape, a repeat national title run is hardly out of the question.

At least one thing is clear: With Noel on board, the state of Big Blue Nation remains strong. And very, very talented.

It’s true: Life is good in Lexington.

In fact, it only seems to get better.

For the past month or two -- pretty much since UCLA dumped forward Reeves Nelson for his continued nonsense -- yours truly has been patiently waiting for the Bruins to finally figure it out. Maybe Nelson would be addition by subtraction. Maybe they needed time to grow as a team. Maybe the young guards just needed a month or two to develop. Maybe Joshua Smith just needed to get in shape.

If any or all of these things turned out to be true, UCLA -- one of the more talented teams in its league -- had a major opportunity. The Pac-12, as you may have heard, is down. A few bounces in the right direction, a little midseason congealing, and blammo: UCLA, once ranked No. 20 in the preseason (remember that?), would be right back in the thick of this season.

As of Feb. 3, the dream, as it were, appears to be officially over. Barring a totally unforeseen late-season surge, or a Pac-12 tournament title rush, the Bruins are not going to the NCAA tournament. The Bruins aren't as bad as they were in November, to be sure, but they're still incapable of beating anything resembling a decent Pac-12 team on the road. (The only conference road win came over USC, which, sorry, doesn't count.) UCLA is 12-10 overall, 5-5 in the Pac-12. At this point, they are what they are: Not horrible, not good and not likely to change either of those facts.

Still, Thursday night's loss at Washington might hurt more than any other in recent weeks, if only because UCLA had a genuine opportunity to "upset" (ahem) the conference's co-leader on the road. Basketball Prospectus' Kevin Pelton was on hand, and he was rightfully baffled by UCLA coach Ben Howland's game management:

The Bruins’ visit to Hec Edmundson Pavilion last year was the quintessential Howland timeout game. He burned through three timeouts in the first half and had used up all five of them by the 12:57 mark of a close game. When Howland took his first timeout 2:32 into Thursday’s ballgame, it looked like we were headed for a repeat. Instead, the UCLA coach showed surprising discretion, added by his team’s ability to stem any Washington momentum with timely scores.

Howland took a pair of timeouts to the five-minute mark, then used one with 4:38 to play to set up his defense after a score, giving him one to burn. He never used it.

Remarkably, the Bruins found themselves in precisely the sort of situation for which most coaches save their timeouts. After a Terrence Ross miss, UCLA took possession down two with 26 seconds remaining. The Bruins came down and got into their offense, even after the Huskies took away any opportunities for transition or the secondary break. The resulting play was a mess. Freshmen guard Norman Powell eventually got the ball in the corner. Powell, who was in the game only because Tyler Lamb had fouled out, driving for a contested pull-up jumper with three seconds left. When he missed, time ran out before the Bruins could secure the rebound or foul.

You can't take timeouts with you. It's a hoary old chestnut, but it's true. And when your team has a chance to win the game in the final moments, a coach usually decides to not leave that potentially all-important timeout on the board. It's just sort of strange, right?

More than that, it underscores the current strife of the UCLA basketball fan, who understandably expects his or her program to look more like the one of the early Howland years, when the Bruins were a fixture in three-straight Final Fours. Since then, UCLA has seemed in a constant rebuilding limbo. NBA defections and a downtick in recruiting have been the main cause of these woes -- this team would be so much better if Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee hadn't bolted for the league last spring -- but the causes don't affect UCLA fans' reception of the end result.

If Friday's post at Bruins Nation is any indication -- titled "End of Faith: Why Howland Must Go, Even Though It Hurts" -- UCLA fans are officially ready to end the Howland era. To wit (warning, long blockquote ahoy!):

I take no joy in calling for Ben Howland's firing. I really don't. But, when you look at the numbers, it's clear that Ben hasn't gotten the job done, at least not to the level UCLA deserves. That said, it's about more than the numbers, but it's about something happened this season that made me realize, on a deep, visceral level, that Howland had to go.

I stopped believing in Ben Howland.

I no longer have the confidence that everything will turn out okay for UCLA. I no longer believe that Ben can guide us to the pinnacle of college basketball. I don't have faith in Ben, not anymore. I can't point to any particular reason, or any particular point in time where that happened: I just know it did. I lost faith. I stopped believing in Ben. The magic is gone.

I could care less about watching our basketball games, because it's just painful. It hurts to see the shell of a formerly great coach flail about with a mediocre team (that he is solely responsible for building), unable to adjust, unable to find a way to win, and unable to bear any resemblance to the outstanding coach that made UCLA a dominating force in college hoops.

When you look at schools like Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, and the other elites, the fans have something we don't: a belief in their coach. Deep down in every Blue Devil, Tar Heel, Jayhawk, etc. is the belief that, even in a bad, rebuilding season (which for these guys, still always result in at least a NCAA tournament appearance), that Coach K, Williams, or Self would right the ship.

Howland, on the other hand, lost that. It's sad.

Obviously, one blog (let alone a singular post) can't speak for every UCLA fan, of which there are many. But if the comments on that post are any indication of Howland's current status among fans -- there are lots of "me toos" and "100 percent right" and "beautiful post" and so on -- UCLA fans have seen enough. The time has come, at least to them. Of course, impassioned blog comments don't have the power to fire Howland, and he is almost certain to survive this season and perhaps even another one, depending on how his latest surge in recruiting (specifically the pursuit of top-ranked recruit Shabazz Muhammad) plays out.

Either way, the Bruins' proud program finds itself at another crossroads. After another disappointing loss, UCLA fans aren't asking when this team will get better, when it will congeal, when the talent will shine through, when Joshua Smith (who is playing better) will finally become dominant. They're asking different questions now: Why isn't this team improving? Why isn't Howland doing a better job? How soon can we move on? How soon can we hire someone new?

As of February, that's where things stand in Westwood. And you thought November was ugly.

Reeves Nelson wasn't always the poster child for what was wrong with UCLA -- far from it. Colorful tattoos covered his left arm, including the one representing yin and yang. As a freshman, he started two nights after getting 15 stitches following a face-first fall on a slam dunk, with coach Ben Howland likening him to Rocky Balboa. He was a fan favorite in those days.

Nelson was also a rebel for sure, but one the Bruins had thought would annoy opponents rather than themselves. He was supposed to be the next in a long line of Howland acolytes, taking on the role of the tough guy. As a sophomore, Nelson ended up leading the team in scoring and rebounding.

Friday's announcement that Nelson's career at UCLA was over following two suspensions in the span of three weeks wasn't the necessarily the easiest decision for Howland to make.

"I had a lot of hope for him," Howland said a couple of hours after informing Nelson of his dismissal. "Reeves improved a lot as a player from his freshman to sophomore year. It's very disappointing."

Here's how a profile piece on Nelson written by Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com during his freshman year began:

He had them with his first dive for a loose ball. The gnarly shiner and bloodshot right eye he picked up earlier this season when a Kansas player poked him in the eye sped the development of the love affair up.

The eclectic tattoo collection on his forearms, shoulders and chest cemented things.

The UCLA student section has fallen for freshman center Reeves Nelson in a head-over-heels, face-painting, tattoo-copying, instant-cult-hero kind of way.

"Oh man, the crowd definitely loves him," sophomore guard Malcolm Lee said. "The other night I saw people drawing that infinity [symbol] tattoo he has on his arm on themselves.

"I think it's because he's just real aggressive. He's not scared of getting hit or hitting other people. That's big for us because our shots can go in or out, but his brutality and aggression is always there, night in and night out."

But there were always signs of another side to Nelson that weren't pretty. In high school, he was suspended following an alcohol-related incident in which he was a passenger in a single-car accident in the school's parking lot. Footage of Nelson throwing the ball at teammate Brendan Lane's chest after an opposing player scored on Lane during a game surfaced on YouTube. Nelson wasn't the best of teammates and he frustrated staff members with his attitude and demeanor, but all that came long before he was suspended twice and also missed a team flight.

"In fairness to the team, there's a point where we've got to move forward and do what's best for the team," Howland said. "I really want to help and am hoping he can grow as a player that is able to fit into a team and organization that handles all the things that go with that.

"Reeves did not want to leave. He's disappointed, but he also understands that it's the final decision. This is it. We are moving forward without him."

Howland said the two best practices of the season came after Nelson was suspended the first time Nov. 14, but his dismissal might not end up being addition by subtraction. The 2-5 Bruins have plenty of other problems to deal with, including center Joshua Smith's conditioning level, spotty guard play and an increasing malaise from fans who have seen both their basketball and football programs go under .500.

In the end, Howland had to turn Nelson from Sports Illustrated cover boy to castoff.

"I didn't want to turn this into a thing where this is the focus of UCLA basketball," Howland said. "I think it will be a positive for our team because the distraction for our team has not been a positive for our team. Negativity is not a positive for our team."

Overview: The Wolverines were fluid from the field, shooting 61.7 percent in their 79-63 victory over UCLA in the third-place game of the Maui Invitational. After amassing a double-digit lead early, the Wolverines held off every UCLA spurt. Midway through the second half, they were coasting against a Bruins squad that is off to a disastrous 1-4 start. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20 points and Zack Novak led all scorers with 22.

Turning point: Down 8-6 early in the game, the Wolverines dazed UCLA with a 13-0 run. The Bruins couldn’t afford an early deficit, but midway through the first half found themselves down by double-digits. This was a turning point on the scoreboard, but it was also a psychological transition. The Wolverines had already beaten the wounded Bruins mentally with their early rally. The Bruins' body language suggested that they’d already envisioned the outcome: another loss.

Why Michigan won: The Wolverines took advantage of UCLA’s size by running the floor and scoring in transition off 12 turnovers against a slower Bruins team. The Wolverines got an unexpected contribution from sophomore big man Jon Horford, who had a career-high 12 points (all in the first half). His success inside spread the floor far more than UCLA anticipated. The result: Michigan hit 7 of its 14 3-point attempts, many uncontested. The Wolverines kept the Bruins guessing on defense.

Why UCLA lost: The Bruins couldn’t close the gap against the Wolverines because they couldn’t find a consistent offensive attack against Michigan’s 1-3-1 and man-to-man schemes. UCLA’s starters were 2-for-13 from beyond the arc. Joshua Smith scored 12 points, but committed 6 turnovers and he couldn’t get up the floor when UCLA needed him. Michigan took a 7-point halftime lead, one that wasn’t insurmountable. But the Wolverines did a great job of doubling down whenever the Bruins got the ball inside. The Wolverines were comfortable putting pressure inside and letting UCLA’s shooters scrape the rims with errant shots (41.8 percent from the field overall). UCLA struggled to get buckets whenever the ball wasn’t in the paint. Bottom line.

Star of the game: Novak was 4-for-5 from beyond the arc on his way to 22 points, a career high. The Bruins simply didn’t have a way to guard him.

What it means for Michigan: The Wolverines learned a lot about themselves in Maui. There were major concerns about their point-guard situation entering the tournament. But freshman Trey Burke proved to be an impressive floor leader. The Wolverines also solidified their standing as Big Ten contenders. Right now, Hardaway is as good as any player in the league that’s not named Sullinger. Michigan spread teams out with its 3-point shooting. This team is often undersized, but outplayed Memphis and UCLA, two teams with talented big men inside. Michigan's biggest concern going forward will be avoiding overconfidence. Iowa State, Virginia and Oakland are ahead. They’re not Duke, Memphis or UCLA, but the Wolverines have to approach those games with the same intensity to avoid upsets.

What it means for UCLA: It just continues to get worse for Ben Howland's group. The Bruins can’t score. They’re very big inside but they’re slow, so teams can hit shots outside and score in transition against them. They settle for bad shots and just seem so dejected right now. Howland’s future with the program is going to the subject of a lot of barbershop banter. This is a Bruins squad that entered the year with a preseason national ranking. Now, they’re 1-4 and declining. They have off-court issues, too, with Reeves Nelson’s challenges. They’re off to a bad start. Utter disaster might be around the corner.

More observations: I think the Wolverines will be in trouble when they face more balanced teams. They had problems with Smith and Travis Wear inside. The fact that they’re double-teaming in the paint so often makes me wonder what they’ll do against a team that can actually hit shots from outside and hold its own in the paint. The Big Ten features a number of beefy forwards who could have their way with the Wolverines (Jared Sullinger, Trevor Mbakwe, Draymond Green). … How about Horford? How he scored his 12 points was just as important as the career-high total. He hit a turnaround jump shot. He had easy layups. He was active offensively. He could be an X-factor down the stretch … Wear showed off his range, hitting both of his 3-point attempts, but UCLA needed him to play inside more in the first half. … UCLA had opportunities to even the score, but the Bruins didn’t seem to have the mental juice to pull it off. Winning is contagious. So is losing. Bad news for the Bruins.

What’s next: Michigan has warranted legitimate Big Ten title contender talk, especially with Burke’s debut. Now the Wolverines have to get through the rest of their nonconference slate. Their first real test in Big Ten play won’t come until a Jan. 8 meeting with 11th-ranked Wisconsin. UCLA, meanwhile, must make the offensive adjustments necessary to score consistently. On defense, the Bruins have to find a way to guard the entire floor. And that’s probably going to mean less Smith, even though he can be an offensive asset. They can’t afford the defensive liability.

The “overrated” chant is overdone, but for the Loyola Marymount fans who taunted UCLA with it in the waning moments of the Bruins’ season-opening 11-point loss Friday, they were merely speaking the truth.

The Bruins were overrated in September when I omitted them from my ballot for ESPN.com’s preseason top 25 poll. The Bruins were overrated in October when the coaches ranked them No. 20 and the media picked them to win the Pac-12.

After UCLA lost to a Loyola Marymount team missing its best player -- the same Loyola Marymount that lost to Middle Tennessee on Sunday -- some voters might be wondering what is going on in Westwood. They see the collection of big men Ben Howland has on the roster and share the sentiments of Cal coach Mike Montgomery, who recently said, “UCLA, you walk through the airport, and they scare the heck out of you. They’re huge. You've got to think that UCLA is going to be awfully good.”

But is it all a mirage? Look closely, and UCLA entered the season with numerous question marks that Howland could find difficult to provide the answers to even as the season progresses, and those issues were exposed by LMU at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, UCLA’s home away from home as Pauley Pavilion undergoes renovations.

If guard play is what drives good college basketball teams, the Bruins will have to improve in that department in a hurry. Point guard Lazeric Jones, the former junior college transfer, was 1-for-11 from the field in the opener after struggling through a wrist injury last season. Backup Jerime Anderson was suspended for the LMU game after pleading guilty to two misdemeanors in September, and the former top-100 recruit is seeking redemption for the off-court transgression and on-court disappointment. Shooting guard Tyler Lamb takes over the starting job coming off an unspectacular freshman season.

Howland appears committed to playing man-to-man defense, but after losing top defender Malcolm Lee and his athleticism to the NBA draft, can the Bruins effectively defend the perimeter? LMU went 10-for-15 from 3-point range and consistently pressured UCLA off the dribble. When the Bruins finished with a 14-18 record in 2010, Howland kicked himself for not switching to a zone defense earlier in the year. He has yet to shown inclination to do so again, but could be forced to at least consider the possibility after watching the game film.

"They were able to drive us all night,” Howland told reporters. “We kept getting beat on penetration.”

UCLA has four players standing 6-foot-10 and leading scorer and rebounder Reeves Nelson back for his junior season, but the Bruins will still have to prove they can play consistently. Nelson is a versatile forward, but his three attempts from 3-point range missed Friday, and the Bruins were 2-for-15 as a team from beyond the arc. Because of a lack of backcourt depth, Howland is playing David Wear out of position at small forward alongside his twin brother, Travis. Defensive-minded Anthony Stover is out with a shoulder injury.

And given the opportunity to address the conditioning level of former McDonald’s All-American Joshua Smith, Howland has consistently said the 305-pounder needs to improve in that area. The sophomore is a potential star and is a force on the block, but hasn’t managed to stay in the starting lineup because of his inability to avoid foul trouble. Even while coming off the bench against Loyola Marymount, he managed to two fouls in six first-half minutes. He finished with five points, four rebounds and three blocks in 16 minutes.

Smith compounded that uninspired effort with a tweet after the game reading, “Just lost to some straight bums lol...” He later deleted the entry and apologized, but not before coming off as immature at a time when the team is seeking a new identity.

Do Arizona, Cal, Oregon and Washington have their flaws? Certainly. But UCLA is far from being a clear favorite in the Pac-12 despite its expectations of a trip back to the NCAA tournament.

Yes, it's only one game, and there's plenty of time to grow as a team, but Howland acknowledged it a "bad loss" for a team that has suffered quite a few of them since the days of three straight Final Fours.

Before the Bruins begin play at the Maui Invitational, they have glaring problems to fix. Few might have seen a loss to LMU coming, but now it's apparent that UCLA is one shaky "top 25" team.

Dana O’Neil wrote about the top 25 things she’s looking forward to this season. Now the rest of our experts weigh in with their selections.

Stephen Bardo: I'm looking forward to seeing if the trend of mid-major teams advancing deep into the NCAA tournament continues. We've seen Butler, VCU, and George Mason crash the Final Four in recent seasons. This season should have more mid-majors capable of surprise runs, including Belmont, Creighton, Drexel, Fairfield, Harvard and Wichita State.

Jay Bilas: The Big East tournament in Madison Square Garden. This could be the last season of the Big East as, hands down, the best conference in the country. Before West Virginia, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and perhaps others bolt the league, the last Big East tourney with all of the participants will bring great drama -- and some tears. Things change, but I will miss the Big East tournament.

Eamonn Brennan: The upheaval in the Big Ten. We know Ohio State is the league's best team, and you can bank on Jordan Taylor and the ever-steady Wisconsin Badgers pushing the Buckeyes at the top of the conference. But after those two, the league is more unpredictable than any time in recent memory. Will Michigan State bounce back? Will a retooled Illinois team emerge? Can Indiana fight out of the cellar? Will Northwestern finally make the tournament? Where's Michigan's ceiling? Can an experienced Nebraska team make an impact? The search for answers to those questions -- and many more -- begins this week.

Fran Fraschilla: Madison Square Garden in March. Sadly, I am looking forward to watching the final Big East tournament as I’ve known it. Regardless of how conference realignment turns out, there will never be another 30-year period in a college basketball conference like we’ve seen in the Big East. UConn’s five-day run through the tournament last March was emblematic of the type of excitement we expected in New York. From Ewing to Mullin to Pearl to Ray Allen to Gerry and Kemba, it’s never going to be the same.

John Gasaway: The last (real) Big East tournament. I'm as realistic and progressive as the next guy. I don't fear change, and there's no doubt in my mind the ACC will be a much better basketball conference once Syracuse and Pitt join it next season. But for the past couple of decades, the Big East tournament has had something that -- to be quite honest -- no other major-conference tournament has had. And with the league losing programs like Syracuse and Pitt (and West Virginia to the Big 12), that "something" is about to disappear. But not before we enjoy one last good old-fashioned Big East tournament, March 6-10, at the Garden. It’s as if someone said this will be the last season we play football on Thanksgiving. I'll see you at the Garden in March.

Doug Gottlieb: Legit big men in the college game. Having a wealth of young and experienced big men make the games more balanced and better to watch. Jared Sullinger, Tyler Zeller, Joshua Smith, the Plumlee brothers, Thomas Robinson, Quincy Acy, Harper Kamp, Aziz N'Diaye, Derrick Nix, Alex Oriakhi and Festus Ezeli are just a few names you will hear about this season. With overall point guard play being down -- in terms of transcendent lead guards -- the focus on size and improving skill will be refreshing. Add to that list, several new talents like Anthony Davis, Cody Zeller and even Andre Drummond, all of whom are very confident and maybe more comfortable on the floor, the intrigue grows. The closer we get to conference play and postseason play, the games generally slow down and become half-court affairs. Expect these big men to become huge storylines this season.

Andy Katz: How does North Carolina handle the expectation of being No. 1? Will Kentucky be able to mesh a talented roster yet again with a new point guard? What are the chances Connecticut can repeat behind the newcomer Drummond? Will this finally be the season that Xavier or Gonzaga break through to the Final Four? But more than anything, I’m looking forward to seeing how Creighton, New Mexico, Wichita State, Drexel, Detroit and others develop over the course of the season. We’ve been spoiled with Butler and VCU in March. Can we possibly get another sleeper in 2012?

Jason King: Conference races. North Carolina seems like a shoo-in to win the ACC, but the other Big Six leagues are intriguing. Kentucky, Vanderbilt or Florida in the SEC? Kansas or Baylor in the Big 12? Connecticut, Syracuse, Louisville or Pittsburgh in the Big East? Ohio State or Wisconsin in the Big Ten? Cal, UCLA, Arizona or Washington in the Pac-12? And I haven’t even mentioned darkhorses such as Marquette, Texas A&M, Alabama and Oregon. As much as I love the NCAA tournament, I’m more impressed with teams that emerge as league champions after a brutal 16-to-18-game stretch of games.

Diamond Leung: I'm most looking forward to seeing how teams coming off conference championships last season do in the underdog role. Inexperienced Kansas, the perennial favorite in the Big 12, shares the coaches’ preseason top spot with Texas A&M. In the Big East, Pittsburgh has defending national champion UConn and Syracuse to contend with. Florida lost its starting frontcourt, while Kentucky is getting all the preseason hype in the SEC. Arizona no longer has Derrick Williams and will rely on freshmen for production. San Diego State and Utah State only return one starter each. How will these championship-caliber teams from past seasons respond now?

Joe Lunardi: I can't wait for a reprieve, however temporary, from the stories of realignment and greed in college athletics. It's been a miserable offseason on so many fronts, but we may have a season for the ages once the games begin. Take the three superpowers at the top of the rankings -- Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio State -- along with the last true Big East season we'll ever see, and it's going to be a battle royal for No. 1 seeds and the Final Four.

Myron Medcalf: I'm most looking forward to watching the race in the Big 12. Kansas has dominated the league for years. And Bill Self will find a way to keep the Jayhawks in the mix. But they'll have to get past a talented Baylor squad. Missouri is also dangerous, and Texas A&M will be tough, too. Those are the teams we're talking about now. Iowa State features a bunch of guys who've been off the grid for a few years. But Royce White & Co. certainly possess the mojo to make a lot of noise in the league. This season, the Big 12 is must-see TV.

Miles Simon: The thing that I am most looking forward to is watching all the super sophomores that came back to school. The trend with the one-and-done-rule has been for players to leave for the NBA -- whether they were ready or not. Now this season, I get to see elite level players like Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger, Terrence Jones, Perry Jones III and Jeremy Lamb compete for the national title. All of these players passed up big money for the love of their school, coaches and teammates. Having coached in college, I also believe the biggest growth in a player’s game comes between their freshman and sophomore seasons (i.e. Derrick Williams for Arizona last season). If these guys produce like I think they will, college basketball will be unbelievable in 2011-12.

Dick Vitale: I always look forward to seeing the diaper dandies, and there is a great crop coming in this season. Kentucky has Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague. I cannot wait to see Andre Drummond in the middle for Connecticut. Austin Rivers will have an instant impact, and the Dukie fans will love him. I also want to see if North Carolina can live up to its hype. Hall of Famer Roy Williams loves the challenge. Look what he did in 2005 and 2009.

Jay Williams: I’m looking forward to watching UNC handle the pressure of starting the season at No. 1 and trying to finish as a national champion. Having the most talent doesn't always translate to winning a title. Questions for the Tar Heels revolve around consistent outside shooting and who handles the point guard spot if foul trouble or injury occurs to Kendall Marshall?

Travis Wear sprained his hand in practice yesterday, leaving him listed as day-to-day (aren't we all). This qualifies as news, of course, because UCLA's season opener against Loyola Marymount is fast approaching, and one half of the twin towers has suffered an injury.

Expectations are high for both David Wear and his brother, Travis, after the transferred from North Carolina back to UCLA in an abrupt move that still has Tar Heels coach Roy Williams confused. According to ESPN.com's Robbi Pickeral, the coach's autobiography mentions the twins.

He wrote: "The Wears were two kids that I really enjoyed coaching. I thought they were really going to be good players and that they could really help us get back to where we wanted to be. They were going to play at least 45 minutes a game for us combined in 2011. Then all of a sudden the rug was pulled out from underneath us. I was just dumbfounded."

The beneficiary of all this is UCLA coach Ben Howland, who recruited the Wear twins hard out of Mater De High School in Southern California, and he was happy to land them a second time around. The two former McDonald's All-Americans are both expected to start alongside a behemoth center in Joshua Smith, forming one of America's most formidable frontcourts.

"Everything they do together," Howland said last week at Pac-12 media day. "It's unbelievable. These guys take every class together. They share the same bedroom. I mean, everything's together. They're really close.

"But what I'm most impressed [with] about them is their work ethic. They've improved a lot from a year ago to where they are right now. It's just through their hard work and efforts. They've been involved in doing yoga three days a week since January, and I really felt that's been a great thing for them."

While Pauley Pavilion undergoes renovations, UCLA will be making its primary home at the Los Angeles Sports Arena adjacent to the USC campus. The Bruins used to play at the arena decades ago, but the facility is better known as the Trojans' old home before recently moving into the Galen Center.

As of right now, UCLA sophomore Joshua Smith is a little weirded out by playing so close to the team's crosstown rival, according to ESPN Los Angeles.

But what really irked Smith was that there was still a USC banner hanging on the outside of the arena -- a not-so-subtle reminder that the Trojans played their home games there until the Galen Center opened in 2006. Smith knew that, but didn't realize that the arena was adjacent to USC's campus and the Coliseum, where USC plays football.

"It's just like, we're in SC's old gym," Smith said. "What really threw me off is I knew it was close, but I didn't know it was that close to their campus. We were pulling up and I was like the Coliseum is right there, where are we going? And then it's like The Los Angeles Sports Arena right there. I'm like, 'OK, this is a nice location.'"

A few days earlier, UCLA point guard Lazeric Jones recalled wondering while the team scrimmaged at the Sports Arena last week whether or not the Bruins would get booed during home games this season in USC territory. Coach Ben Howland quickly followed up that statement by declaring the Bruins would make the best of the arrangement.

"The facilities people at UCLA working with the Sports Arena staff in terms of fixing it up to make it feel comfortable for UCLA," Howland said. "Our locker room is very nice. They're still doing a bunch of work yet on it that will be completed in the next two weeks in terms of the entire facility."

Smith, meanwhile, talked more about the dust coming off the chairs of the locker room. Then again, he's not exactly USC's biggest fan.

The Bruins' center last year complained about USC celebrating a win on the court before the game was officially over and also directed an obscene gesture toward a Trojans fan.

While it could be seen as a good thing that the rivalry has not died down between the two schools, Smith is ultimately talking about UCLA's home court for the coming season. Like it or not, the Bruins are going to have to get comfortable there very soon.

UCLA coach Ben Howland gets his players to the NBA, and that's one of the selling points when it comes to recruiting future Bruins. So when UCLA players enter early into the NBA draft, Howland has to feel happy for them even if it does leave him wondering at the same time what might have been.

UCLA will lose both guard Malcolm Lee and forward Tyler Honeycutt, the second- and third-leading scorers from this season's team that came within a few possessions of getting to the Sweet 16. Howland had heard the super-early preseason projections that a team with the two of them might have been among the nation's elite, and he now knows those expectations won't be there anymore.

"I really believe that if we had both of them back we would have had a chance to challenge, no question, in that category," Howland said.

With Lee and Honeycutt leaving, UCLA will need other players to step up. The Bruins should have a strong frontcourt with leading scorer Reeves Nelson expected to return along with center Joshua Smith. With Smith and North Carolina transfers David and Travis Wear, UCLA will have three 6-foot-10 players to give them a size advantage over most teams.

What Howland will need to emerge is consistent production from the backcourt. Point guard Lazeric Jones should be better after an injury-plagued year that saw him get his first Division I season under his belt. Tyler Lamb is a wing who will get a chance to earn more minutes, and Norman Powell is a freshman who is expected to get early playing time. UCLA is also expected to sign a guard in junior college transfer De'End Parker.

UCLA will miss Lee's defensive presence. While his offensive skills could have used another year of seasoning, Howland thinks that he's as good of a defender as anyone in the draft, and that will be his greatest NBA skill. Lee's decision to forgo his senior season shouldn't have come as that big of a surprise, not after he let it be known two weeks ago that his AAU coach was in the process of interviewing agents.

Honeycutt's departure was an expected one even though he might have needed another year to boost his stock. Howland thinks he'll be a first-round pick, but as former UCLA and NBA player Tracy Murray described Honeycutt to the Daily Bruin, "He’s a carpenter with a bunch of tools, but he hasn't built nothing."

The Bruins should still challenge for a Pac-12 title. Washington and USC lose top players to the NBA, and Arizona's Derrick Williams and Washington State's Klay Thompson could depart as well.

The hope for Howland is that he still has the pieces to make UCLA an elite team.

The NBA draft could end up stealing plenty of talent from the Pac-12. USC's Nikola Vucevic declared last week he was signing with an agent, as did UCLA's Tyler Honeycutt today. Several players must still make decisions, including Arizona's Derrick Williams, Washington State's Klay Thompson and DeAngelo Casto, and UCLA's Malcolm Lee and Reeves Nelson.

And when it all shakes out, UCLA could easily be the favorite going into next season. The Bruins lose their best athlete in Honeycutt, but won't miss his 100 turnovers and could return most of their roster to go along with transfers David and Travis Wear.

"Would we be a better team if (Honeycutt) came back? Absolutely," said coach Ben Howland, whose team was without a senior this season. "One hundred percent.

"I'm still very optimistic. I think we'll be a very, very good team."

Howland said the team could still play with three guards, using David Wear as a small forward. And the interior presence provided by the Wear twins along with freshman center Joshua Smith -- all standing 6-foot-10 -- is a nice advantage to have.

Should Nelson and Lee stay in school, UCLA would return its top two scorers along with point guard Lazeric Jones, who now has a Division I season under his belt.

UCLA will have plenty of challengers in the Pac-12. Arizona will really miss Williams should he leave for the NBA, but would still return most of a team that includes point guard Lamont Jones and bring in a top recruiting class coming off an Elite Eight appearance. Washington should still have Isaiah Thomas and an emerging star in Terrence Ross. Cal brings back freshman of the year Allen Crabbe, and Washington State would be strong with Thompson returning to school.

Losing Honeycutt isn't ideal, but it appears the Bruins will manage. And after some more draft decisions get made, they could really find themselves in a good spot.