11 and Counting

Before Ben Howland first came to Westwood, the UCLA men’s basketball program had already hung 11 banners from the rafters of Pauley Pavilion.

In his first four seasons as coach, Howland led the Bruins to two regular season Pac-10 championships, one Pac-10 Tournament title and two Final Fours.

Today, there are still 11 banners hanging from the rafters of Pauley Pavilion.

By any measurable standards, Howland’s time at UCLA has been a success. His players work hard, stay out of trouble and win games. But Howland and those players have the mixed blessing of being a part of the most storied program in college basketball history, where the only banners hung in the gym are those that mark national championships and where conference titles and trips to the Final Four are expected, not celebrated.

Now, at the start of his fifth season, the scrutiny on Howland and his Bruins is sharper than at the beginning of any season in recent memory. In 2005, the Bruins were perceived as a scrappy, defensive-minded team that upset its way into the national championship game. In 2006, the Bruins were expected to be polished and experienced enough to fight their way deep into the NCAA Tournament, but not talented or explosive enough to ultimately win it.

This year, with ample experience left after those runs to the Final Four and with one of the most highly touted freshmen in the country expected to give them a stronger inside presence than they’ve had in years, the Bruins will be given no excuses. Nor should they ask for any. They are UCLA basketball, and, for better or worse, all eyes on the program are pointed squarely upward ““ at the banner this team may or may not hang.

The veterans

While Arron Afflalo, the biggest name from last year’s Final Four team, has moved on to play for the Detroit Pistons, the Bruins’ only other loss from last year was little-used forward Ryan Wright, who transferred to Oklahoma. That leaves the Bruins with no shortage of experience.

Junior guard/forward Josh Shipp and senior center Lorenzo Mata-Real, both members of Howland’s first recruiting class, are the longest-tenured Bruins. While Shipp missed much of the 2005-2006 season after having hip surgery and received a NCAA medical hardship exemption to retain the year of eligibility, both have been playing meaningful minutes at UCLA long enough to remember seasons that didn’t end against Florida.

Junior guards Darren Collison and Michael Roll and forwards Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Alfred Aboya all have ample familiarity with both the rigors of college basketball and the pain of those Final Four losses. That should help the team stay focused throughout the year.

“We have a lot of guys who have leadership qualities on this team,” Howland said. “Luc does, Darren does, Alfred does, Josh does, Mike Roll does. The veteran guys are all good leaders in their own way.”

Early reports also suggest that the returning Bruins have had a productive offseason. Shooting has been one major focus. Mbah a Moute, for example, has worked at developing a shorter, more compact jump shot that should make him a more reliable outside threat, while Shipp, who has always been dangerous from the perimeter, has looked especially sharp in preseason practice.

“Everybody’s been shooting good,” Shipp said. “Everybody worked on it this summer. It’s definitely about confidence and just getting healthy. … That’s the main thing: just getting out there and working hard every day.”

But actually getting that chance to practice day-in and day-out could be a problem for the Bruins. In the Bruins’ first exhibition game, against Azusa Pacific, Collison sprained his left knee and Shipp sprained his thumb. Sophomore forward James Keefe has been sidelined while recovering from an August shoulder surgery, and, in the most severe recent development, Roll ruptured the plantar fascia in his left foot during practice this past weekend.

While Shipp is expected to play in the season opener and Collison should be back within a week, Roll will be out another three to four weeks, and Keefe isn’t expected back until mid-December. With only 11 total scholarship players on the roster, the Bruins can’t afford many lingering injuries.

“The bottom line is (during Monday’s exhibition against Chico State), we had seven of 11 guys on scholarship,” Howland said. “Again, we don’t control that. It doesn’t do any good to mope. But the reality is no, I’m not happy (with our injury situation).”

The freshman

For the past few years, the Bruins have been primarily a guard-oriented team and have struggled to find a reliable low-post scorer against top competition.

Enter Kevin Love.

The 6-foot-10-inch freshman from Lake Oswego, Ore., was rated as the No. 1 high school player in the country last year and has drawn comparisons to legendary UCLA big-man Bill Walton. His arrival signals not only that UCLA’s guards can look forward to less pressure on the perimeter but also that top-flight recruits are once again eager to put on the blue and gold.

“I just feel like UCLA is the right place for me,” Love said. “I’ve been waiting for this moment since I was a little kid, (to) come out and put on that jersey.”

Love has said in the past that one reason he wanted to play for Howland was to improve on his defensive play. During Howland’s time in Westwood, defense has been his teams’ strength, and the principles of that defense shouldn’t change with Love patrolling the paint.

The larger impact should be on the offensive end, where Love’s rebounding and outlet passing should lead to more easy fast-break baskets for the Bruins as well as a consistent presence in the post.

“(Love) is a very good low-post scorer,” Howland said. “He knows how to use his body … which takes some guys awhile to learn how to do. (He has) great hands, great feet, great skill level.”

For his part, Love isn’t bashful about his ability to contribute to the Bruins right away. While he accepts his role as a freshman on a team full of established veterans, he’s not afraid to pick up any slack he has to.

“There’s a bunch of guys that are going to listen to one another,” Love said. “But when it comes down to crunch time, I’m hoping that they’ll listen to me as well.”

The season

As the season opens, the Bruins are ranked second in the Associated Press poll, and they actually received more first-place votes than No. 1 North Carolina. The Bruins are heavily favored to win the Pac-10, and the names Collison, Love, Mbah a Moute and Shipp could all appear on NBA scouts’ lists before the end of the season.

In other words, the Bruins are back where they should be: near the top of their game. Just don’t expect them to be complacent about being there.

“I always feel like we need more work, Collison said. “I’m never satisfied. We just have to wait until the first game and see how we do.”

There will likely be more attention on that first game this year than in any other year in Howland’s time at UCLA. Things are looking up for the program, but there’s also attention backward, to all of those championship banners the team once hung and all of the years that have gone by since the 11th went up in 1995.

This is UCLA, where the men’s basketball team is expected to bring home national titles. But those expectations aren’t just coming from the stands and the press box.

“Coach Howland always says that we always need to win the Pac-10 championship first,” Love said. “But anything short of a national championship this year would kind of be a disappointment in our eyes.”

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