fare thee well, arron

UCLA shooting guard, Arron Afflalo, has declared himself for the NBA Draft yet again, and this time there's no going back. There's two things I've always wondered about Arron:

1) Why is his first name spelled with two R's instead of two A's?
2) Why does his last name have that extraneous L in it?

Really, wouldn't it have been easier for everyone involved if he was just Aaron Affalo? Would it have killed him to make those changes to make our lives a little easier? I think not.

In any case, since I broke down the strengths and weaknesses for Jordan Farmar last year, I figure might as well do the same for Arron, so here goes:

Strengths

• He's a willing defender - Arron works really hard to shut down any player he's matched up against. He takes every one on one matchup to heart, and despite limited lateral quickness, almost always manages to stay in front of his man. He won't necessarily generate a ton of steals, like speedy teammate Darren Collison, but his man will find it difficult to get a clean shot off when Afflalo clamps down.
  
• He can hit the open three - Afflalo has a quick release with nice form on his shot. He's adept at coming off screens while still being in position to drain the outside J.
  
• He is a great finisher - Despite his limited jumping ability, Afflalo has a knack for getting the ball in the rim on breaks, no matter what the defender tries to do to stop him.
  
• He's a solid guy - Always a team player, always says the right thing to the media, always wants to win. Really, just a stand-up kid.

Weaknesses

• He's not the most athletic kid in the world - Arron lacks the explosive jumping ability you usually see in NBA 2-guards these days. He is more of a jumpshooter than a rim rocker. He might have trouble getting his own shot in the NBA unless he comes off a ton of screens.
  
• He has a tendency to crumble under pressure - In the biggest games of his career versus Florida, Afflalo was all but invisible. In a few key games this season, such as losses to Cal in the Pac-10 Tournament and NCAA Tourney games against Indiana and Pittsburgh, Afflalo struggled mightly to make shots. The worse things got, the more he pressed, which only compounded the poor shooting.
  
• He needs some Pro-Activ solution - Look the kid can't help that he's got major acne all over his face, but at some point, the boy has to become a man. Follow P Diddy and Jessica Simpsons example, and use your signing bonus to buy some Pro-Activ, won't you?

All things considered, the very best case scenario I see for Afflalo in the NBA is a career like Bruce Bowen or Raja Bell. Glue guys who are known for their fierce D, but can also hit the open three when called upon.

The question is this -- would you use a first round pick in the hope that he can turn into Raja Bell? At best? I'm worried many NBA teams will say no, and drop Afflalo into the second round, where his contract would not be guaranteed. If this happens, I'm not sure Arron will look back on his decision to leave as a wise one. I hope however, that things work out.

Good luck Arron! See you in the NBA.

a couple final ucla notes

Can't we all just get along?
From the Daily Bruin:

As the game ended, UCLA students who attempted to get onto the field were pepper-sprayed by police officers. According to second-year student Matt Ross, students stopped trying to rush the field when they were met by security guards and police with pepper spray, but were pushed over a short fence and onto the field by students from behind. "(A) cop saw me falling on my face, and instead of trying to help me up, he held me down by the shirt and pepper-sprayed me in the face," Ross said.

USC Cheerleaders are smart as a whip:

go bruins!

An amazing defensive display on Saturday carried the Bruins to one of the most unforgettable upsets of #2 USC. It didn't matter that we were only 6-5 before the game started -- this was our National Championship, and we played like it. Surrounded by a sea of red in the Trojan alumni section, I found myself celebrating with only a handful of other UCLA fans while thousands of USC fans looked on in utter disbelief. Truly memorable... I'm glad I ended up getting tickets to the game at the very last minute to share in the victory.

Go Bruins! Thanks for making my day.

say it ain't so, bruins

Former UCLA Bruin cornerback, Ricky Manning Jr., was suspended for Sunday's NFL game between Manning's Chicago Bears and the New England Patriots. I had heard on TV that he was arrested for felony assault at a Westwood Denny's near the UCLA campus. This led me to search the net to find out more info, and what I found was quite sobering.

From the New York Post:

According to the victim's claims in the police report obtained by NBCsports.com, Manning, Tyler Ebell and Maurice Jones-Drew - all former UCLA football players - were among a group of customers who began to bully 25-year-old Soroush Sabzi, who was seated alone nearby, working on his laptop.

When Sabzi, a student and Swedish citizen of Persian descent, asked to be left alone, the insults, including, "Are you a faggot?" and "You f---ing Jew," continued.

Sabzi, the police report continues, next called out for restaurant management. At that point, Manning approached Sabzi, who was still seated, stood above him and called him a "an ugly f---ing Jew" and a "faggot."

When, according to the report, the victim again asked to be left alone, Manning began to slap him. Manning's accomplices joined in. Sabzi was punched to the ground then kicked, leaving "visible injuries to his face, cheek, head and [sic] lost consciousness for approximately 10 seconds."

And knowing that the NY Post can be sensationalistic, I dug around for more evidence, and uncovered this post on the the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office website:

Manning was with two other former UCLA football players -- Maurice Drew, 21, and Tyler Ebell, 23 -- when Manning allegedly exchanged words with a customer in a Denny’s in Westwood in the early morning hours on April 23. Manning assaulted the victim before leaving the restaurant. He was arrested by LAPD officers a short time later.

The assault charge was dismissed in June against Drew for insufficient evidence. On Sept. 12, Judge Amy Hogue reduced the felony assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury charge against Ebell to a misdemeanor. His case was referred to the City Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

What deeply saddens me is not just Manning's actions, for he is a certified a-hole at best, but the fact that Tyler Ebell and Maurice Drew (who was cleared of wrongdoing, but admits to being at the scene and did nothing to stop the beating of an innocent man) were also involved.

Is this what UCLA teaches our athletes? That they are above the law? Coach Bob Toledo got fired for letting his players run amok (see the Handicap Parking Scandal of 1999), but a couple illegal parkers were nothing compared to former players who assault random strangers. Why is no one making a bigger deal about this? I actually find it hard to root for my own team knowing that we raised a group of belligerent, racist players like these. Ridiculous.

deja vu all over again

Disclaimer: If you care nothing about sports, college football, or UCLA in general, you can skip this entry. It's ok, don't feel guilty. I give you permission.

Ok, is it me, or does this UCLA football season look an awful lot like 1998? Once again we have an undefeated Bruin team coming out of nowhere with a stellar offense capable of putting up 50 a game on any field, home or away. However, the same glaring deficiently haunts this Bruin team as the Cade McNown-led '98 squad -- the defense can't stop anyone.

Just to refresh your memory, in 1998 UCLA reeled off 10 straight victories before having to meet Miami at the end of the season. The Miami game was actually supposed to be played in the beginning of the season but got rescheduled due to a huge hurricane (but you can call it slurricane) hitting Florida. Long story short, Edgerrin James ran all over the Bruin defenders for about 12,000 yards that day and the Bruins lost 49-45 (but as a complete side note, UCLA backup QB Drew Bennett caught a long bomb at about the 3 yard line as the final seconds ticked away to almost win it -- foreshadowing his new career as the Tennessee Titan's #1 WR). The best part of the whole fiasco? UCLA still made it to the Rose Bowl, but gave up 14,000 yards on the ground to Ron Dayne to lose that game too (which by the way I attended in person, a blue blip in a sea of Wisconsin red).

Sadly, UCLA looks no better at stopping the run this season. Even worse, this time around the guys killing us on the ground aren't even Edgerrin James-level talents. Jerome Harrison - 260 yards, Yvenson Bernard - 167 yards, Louis Rankin - 109 yards. I think my mom (who incidentally steals cha cha music... pass it on) could put up triple digits rushing against our D. When Reggie Bush comes into town I'm almost afraid that the NCAA season rushing record will be shattered in just that one game alone.

And yet, despite all the glaring holes, I still think UCLA can pull it off. Call it hope, blind faith, or complete mental delusion. It's ok. So what if we can't stop anyone on D, all we have to do is score 73 on O. I believe in you Bruins (but if this turns out to be 1998 all over again, well let's just forget I wrote this, shall we?).