Now that the sting of losing to the Florida Gators in the
national championship has worn off a bit, it’s time to start
looking forward to next season.
The Bruins arrived on the national scene a year earlier than
most pundits expected, reaching the title game relying heavily on a
rotation made up of seven underclassmen and only two seniors.
So should Bruin fans start making travel plans for next
year’s Final Four in Atlanta now?
Here are three reasons why the Bruins will be able to survive
the madness of the NCAA Tournament and cut down the nets next
April:
1. The best thing about freshmen is that they become
sophomores.
The Bruins relied throughout the year on freshmen Luc Richard
Mbah a Moute, Alfred Aboya and Ryan Wright to man the post while
playing Darren Collison and Mike Roll major minutes on the
perimeter.
Expect all five to make giant strides next year: Typically,
players improve the most between their freshman and sophomore
seasons (a la Arron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar).
Look for the biggest leap to be made by Aboya, who at times
flashed potential to be a force down low with his unique
strength.
Aboya was hampered by injuries throughout the season, and the
big question will be whether he can overcome chronic knee
problems.
“This season I wasn’t 100 percent,” Aboya
said. “When you stay healthy, you have a chance to work,
practice, and get better.”
If Mbah a Moute can develop a jump shot that he can consistently
knock down, the Cameroon Crazies in Pauley will go crazy.
Remember that Mbah a Moute has only played organized basketball
for five years, and he has the most room for growth.
2. The return of Josh Shipp.
Big things were expected of Shipp before he injured his hip and
missed most of the season.
At times this year, the Bruins’ offense stagnated because
they lacked an effective third scoring option behind Farmar and
Afflalo.
It’s a role Shipp will fill next season.
“My main goal right now is just getting healthy and trying
to be in the best physical shape I can be in,” Shipp said.
“Hopefully next year I can come back and be that (third)
scoring option. Ced was playing great defense. I can come back and
fill that role too.”
It was well documented that UCLA often struggled against zones
all year. However, the return of Shipp will not only alleviate the
scoring burden but it will also solve many of the Bruins’
problems against zones.
His ability to drive to the basket as well as hit the long-range
jumper will spread out the zone. He also has tremendous court
awareness and finds open teammates.
In short, Shipp takes care of many of the Bruins’
offensive woes from this past season.
3. This year’s run to the Final Four.
The pressure of March is unlike anything else in sports. Slip up
once and your season is over, no matter what you accomplished from
November to February.
To have won five elimination games in a row this year shows the
mental toughness needed to win it all. If the players use the loss
to Florida as motivation, UCLA will be contending for a national
title.
“I think kids bounce back, and I think it’s going to
be more of a motivator for them in the future as they go back to
work,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “We talked a lot
about our disappointment of not winning that and some specifics of
what we could have done better, and learning from it so that we
improve for next year and years to come as a team and
program.”
On paper, the 2006-2007 Bruins should be even better than this
year’s national runners-up.
Howland will coach a more talented team, but the rigors of the
NCAA Tournament guarantees nothing.
So should you expect UCLA to be raising banner 12 in 2007?
Better make some room in the Pauley Pavilion rafters.
E-mail Lee at jlee3@media.ucla.edu if you still think the road
trip to Indianapolis was worth it.