UCLA

[JimmyBuckets]

What a strange fanbase.  While many on here are all-in on Ben ("HIRE HOWLAND NOW!"), it seems as though the UCLA fans still have a distaste for him even though Steve Alford hasn't done anything to prove he's a better option.  I personally think Alford is a bum of a coach, and Howland's record speaks for itself... And yet I read comments on twitter to the effect of "UCLA picked the wrong night night to play like Howland is still coaching."  3 straight Final Fours... I don't get these people.  

In any case, does anyone on here know the knocks on Howland (however fair or unfair they might be)? Just wondering in case he's on his way to Milwaukee.  

[LAMUfan]

UCLA fans often don't really know much about UCLA basketball, not all of them, but there are a lot of UCLA fans in general so you will hear a ton of nonsense.

[Hards Alumni]

I'll just say it.

They are just like Laker fans.

[RushmoreAcademy]

Despite having a lot of success with Buzz this board will be putting up the exact same types of comments about him next year.  It's just the nature of sports fandom and what have you done for me lately.

[LAMUfan]

Well being a Laker fan myself I will reluctantly agree with that assessment.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Read the Wisconsin boards in January when the Badgers were struggling and predictions of them not making the tournament, Ryan should retire, etc....

fandom

[Let's Go Warriors]

Read the Wisconsin boards in January when the Badgers wee struggling and redictions of them not making the tournament, Ryan should retire, etc....

fandom

Chicos,

Is this the first year Ryan beats a higher seed?  I think AZ could be tough on the Badgers tomorrow night.  Baylor looked to be a cakewalk the first second the match-up was set.  A zone against UW?  Really?  come on now...

[Jet915]

UCLA has a fair weather fanbase that only cares if the team is making final fours or winning national championships.  Not their fault, its LA and Wooden set an impossible standard.

[humanlung]

What a strange fanbase.  While many on here are all-in on Ben ("HIRE HOWLAND NOW!"), it seems as though the UCLA fans still have a distaste for him even though Steve Alford hasn't done anything to prove he's a better option.  I personally think Alford is a bum of a coach, and Howland's record speaks for itself... And yet I read comments on twitter to the effect of "UCLA picked the wrong night night to play like Howland is still coaching."  3 straight Final Fours... I don't get these people.  

In any case, does anyone on here know the knocks on Howland (however fair or unfair they might be)? Just wondering in case he's on his way to Milwaukee.  

Easy to explain.  His last name isn't "Wooden".

[Pakuni]

UCLA Los Angeles has a fair weather fanbase that only cares if the team is their teams are making final fours or winning national championships. 

FTFY

[avid1010]

Read the Wisconsin boards in January when the Badgers wee struggling and redictions of them not making the tournament, Ryan should retire, etc....

fandom

exactly.  crean was mostly loved, now totally hated.  buzz will be the same thing (though i think a little less as our egos feel better if we say he was forced out).  shaka was god, now he's an arrogant jerk who supports obama.  

i think tomorrow's game is huge for bo's legacy.  if he wins he finally breaks into the final four club where everyone who has experienced his level of regular season success has visited.  if he fails to do so he'll continue to be consistently impressive in the regular season, while consistently underachieving in the ncaa tourney.  i think i saw first elite eight since 2005 for UW...that shocked me.  

so did we hire howland yet?  i'm ready. 

[StCroix64]

I thought last year, when he was fired.  Besides not working with alumni, most thought he didn't engage his players very well.  In the few games I watched, one with Walton commentating, he made some comment to the effect, the players don't even listen to him. 

No idea, but I remember last year reading something about this and also remember the Walton comment on a late game mid-season.

[humanlung]

I thought last year, when he was fired.  Besides not working with alumni, most thought he didn't engage his players very well.  In the few games I watched, one with Walton commentating, he made some comment to the effect, the players don't even listen to him. 

No idea, but I remember last year reading something about this and also remember the Walton comment on a late game mid-season.

Walton is a tool. 

[VegasWarrior77]

The father of Shabazz Muhammad was just sentenced to 37 months in prison for a mortgage fraud scheme.  Looks like he was scamming for over a decade.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/father-nba-player-shabazz-muhammad-gets-prison-time-mortgage-fraud-scheme

Father of NBA player Shabazz Muhammad gets prison time in mortgage fraud scheme

By JEFF GERMAN LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL March 27, 2014 - 12:13pm

Ronald Holmes, the father of NBA player Shabazz Muhammad, was sentenced in Las Vegas to 37 months in federal prison Thursday in a $2.5 million mortgage fraud scheme.

His 21-year-old son, a Bishop Gorman High School graduate, plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Senior U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks also ordered Holmes to pay roughly $1.7 million in restitution and serve five years of probation and perform 1,000 hours of community service after he gets out of prison.

He gave Holmes until May 30 to surrender to federal prison authorities.

Holmes 51, who pleaded guilty in December to one felony count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud, apologized to Hicks for his conduct.

"I want to express my regret that I participated in this behavior," he said. "I will never do it again."

In court papers, San Diego defense lawyer Michael Lipman had sought a lighter sentence, urging Hicks to consider his client's long record of volunteer work for underprivileged children.

Holmes, a volunteer assistant basketball coach at Bishop Gorman, has "worked tirelessly" the past 16 years to help at-risk youth in Las Vegas and has been a devoted father to his three children, all of whom have excelled in sports, Lipman wrote.

"Mr. Holmes is ashamed that at the very time when his children should be focused on their success, they must endure public embarrassment over his conduct," Lipman said.

Holmes' youngest son, Rashad Muhammad, plays basketball for San Jose State and his daughter, Asia Muhammad, is a professional tennis player.

Lipman asked for a prison term of 366 days and 2,500 to 3,000 hours of community service for Holmes.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Schiess, however, pushed for the 37-month prison sentence, arguing in court papers that Holmes is a repeat mortgage fraud offender who has not learned a lesson from his past mistakes.

Schiess argued that Holmes also has exploited the good fortune of Shabazz Muhammad.

He said Holmes told the FBI in March 2013, that he had been living off a loan tied to his son's projected earnings as a top NBA prospect. At the time, Muhammad was attending UCLA and later was drafted as a No. 1 pick by the Timberwolves.

Schiess accused Holmes of using his children and community work to "talk his way into a lighter sentence."

On Thursday, Hicks sided with Schiess in handing out the tougher sentence, telling Holmes he was "troubled" by his criminal past.

Holmes pleaded guilty in Southern California in 1999 to using fraudulent bank statements to obtain mortgages. He was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay about $78,000 in restitution.

In May, a Las Vegas federal grand jury indictment alleged that Holmes and his partners obtained mortgage loans by "fraudulent means" to buy houses from 2006 to 2009.

Holmes and his co-conspirators spent loan proceeds on themselves and lived in some of the houses, according to the indictment. In one instance, bankruptcy petitions were filed to stall foreclosure on a house so that Holmes could continue to stay there.

The indictment listed at least three Las Vegas properties, valued at roughly $2.5 million, alleged to have been unlawfully obtained in the scheme.

Holmes was accused of recruiting straw buyers and supplying false information to financial institutions to help the straw buyers obtain the mortgages.

Contact reporter Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Follow him on Twitter @JGermanRJ.

[FloorSlapping]

I thought last year, when he was fired.  Besides not working with alumni, most thought he didn't engage his players very well.  In the few games I watched, one with Walton commentating, he made some comment to the effect, the players don't even listen to him. 

No idea, but I remember last year reading something about this and also remember the Walton comment on a late game mid-season.

The end of last season was pretty bad, as UCLA had only eight players available for the Pac 12 and NCAA tournament (injuries also contributed).  Howland had lost eleven players to transfer and did not make a Sweet 16 over his last five seasons.

[Pakuni]

The end of last season was pretty bad, as UCLA had only eight players available for the Pac 12 and NCAA tournament (injuries also contributed).  Howland had lost eleven players to transfer and did not make a Sweet 16 over his last five seasons.

Buzz lost 13 players to transfer over six years (not counting Christopherson and Mbakwe).

Dave Singleton
Patrick Hazel
Youssoupha Mbao
Brett Roseboro
Liam McMorrow
Jeronne Maymom
Reggie Smith
Erik Williams
Jamail Jones
Jameel McKay
Garrett Swanson
TJ Taylor
Jamal Ferguson

[GooooMarquette]

The end of last season was pretty bad, as UCLA had only eight players available for the Pac 12 and NCAA tournament (injuries also contributed).  Howland had lost eleven players to transfer and did not make a Sweet 16 over his last five seasons.

Story from a close friend and UCLA alum/fan:

Howland played his tough/defensive style of ball the first several years, recruiting the players he wanted.  That got him 3 Pac-12 Championships, 5 NCAA bids and 3 Final Fours in his first 6 years.

The UCLA money fans didn't like the style of play, and were disappointed that they "only" made it to the Final Four those three years.  As a result, the $$$ (and hence UCLA leadership) "encouraged" Ben to go after more "showtime" players, and let them play the style of ball that would get them to Westwood (i.e., do whatever the hell they wanted).  Howland gave in - his one true "mistake" in the whole mess - brought in players the boosters wanted, and things unraveled from there.

IMHO, Howland learned from his experience to stick with what he knows and succeeds at - recruit his kind of hard working kids who play tough defense, and coach his style of ball.  I think that would play just fine at MU...given his success in 4 years at Pitt and his first 6 years at UCLA.  

I say hire him NOW!

[JakeBarnes]

Story from a close friend and UCLA alum/fan:

Howland played his tough/defensive style of ball the first several years, recruiting the players he wanted.  That got him 3 Pac-12 Championships, 5 NCAA bids and 3 Final Fours in his first 6 years.

The UCLA money fans didn't like the style of play, and were disappointed that they "only" made it to the Final Four those three years.  As a result, the $$$ (and hence UCLA leadership) "encouraged" Ben to go after more "showtime" players, and let them play the style of ball that would get them to Westwood (i.e., do whatever the hell they wanted).  Howland gave in - his one true "mistake" in the whole mess - brought in players the boosters wanted, and things unraveled from there.

IMHO, Howland learned from his experience to stick with what he knows and succeeds at - recruit his kind of hard working kids who play tough defense, and coach his style of ball.  I think that would play just fine at MU...given his success in 4 years at Pitt and his first 6 years at UCLA.  

I say hire him NOW!

This is exactly what my UCLA friend said. He still has a love/hate relationship with Howland, but he admitted that if Howland went back to his Pitt/early UCLA style, he'd flourish at Marquette.

[Pakuni]

This is exactly what my UCLA friend said. He still has a love/hate relationship with Howland, but he admitted that if Howland went back to his Pitt/early UCLA style, he'd flourish at Marquette.

And I think the great majority MU fans would be fine with that. He wouldn't have to replicate his UCLA success to be considered a success here. Do what he did his last couple of years at Pitt (57 wins, two Sweet 16s) and most of us would be thrilled.

[WadeATKBurton]

Buzz lost 13 players to transfer over six years (not counting Christopherson and Mbakwe).

Dave Singleton
Patrick Hazel
Youssoupha Mbao
Brett Roseboro
Liam McMorrow
Jeronne Maymom
Reggie Smith
Erik Williams
Jamail Jones
Jameel McKay
Garrett Swanson
TJ Taylor
Jamal Ferguson

Maymon turned out to be the best. How ironic lol

[JakeBarnes]

Maymon turned out to be the best. How ironic lol

The only real irony is that he did it playing the 5.

[WadeATKBurton]

The only real irony is that he did it playing the 5.

True, but I call it like I see it. Unlike others I have no hard feelings against the guy.

[Norm]

True, but I call it like I see it. Unlike others I have no hard feelings against the guy.

I think most of the angst was directed toward Maymon's dad, as he was the one who pretty much decided Jeronne should transfer.

[JakeBarnes]

True, but I call it like I see it. Unlike others I have no hard feelings against the guy.

I guess what I am saying is I don't get how there is irony there. The only person the board was mad at was his father. I know that I personally, and most of Scoop, knew that the real issue was his dad. I cheered for his success and hoped that the mistakes of the father didn't hurt the son.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

I think most of the angst was directed toward Maymon's dad, as he was the one who pretty much decided Jeronne should transfer.

I think getting away from his old man is what allowed JMay to develop and flourish.