2008–09 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

2008–09 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
NCAA Championships 2nd Round, L 89–69
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 18
AP	No. 18
2008–09 record	26–9 (13–5 Pac-10)
Head coach	Ben Howland
Assistant coach	Donny Daniels
Assistant coach	Scott Duncan
Assistant coach	Scott Garson
Home arena	Pauley Pavilion

2008–09 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
#15 Washington	14	–	4	.778	26	–	9	.743
#18 UCLA	13	–	5	.722	26	–	9	.743
#19 Arizona State	11	–	7	.611	25	–	10	.714
California	11	–	7	.611	22	–	11	.667
USC†	9	–	9	.500	22	–	13	.629
Arizona	9	–	9	.500	21	–	14	.600
Washington State	8	–	10	.444	17	–	16	.515
Oregon State	7	–	11	.389	18	–	18	.500
Stanford	6	–	12	.333	20	–	14	.588
Oregon	2	–	16	.111	8	–	23	.258

† 2009 Pacific-10 Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Darren Collison at the DePaul game

Pauley Pavilion, UCLA vs. FIU

The 2008–09 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team opened the season on November 3 when it took on Cal Baptist in an exhibition game in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins participated in the 2K Sports Classic, Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, and the John R. Wooden Classic in the Honda Center.

The team opened the season with the following starters: Alfred Aboya (Center), James Keefe (Power forward), Josh Shipp (Small forward), Jrue Holiday (Shooting guard) and Darren Collison (Point guard).

The team opted not to have an October 17, 2008 Midnight Madness celebration this year.^[1] Practices began on Saturday, October 18, as they prepared for the first exhibition game on Monday, November 3. The team has been picked to finish first in the Pac-10 conference again, over Arizona State, USC and Arizona.

Freshman Tyler Trapani (#4), great-grandson of former head coach John Wooden, had joined the team.

Three players from last season's team, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love^[2] and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute were chosen to play in the NBA. Westbrook was picked by the Seattle Sonics, now Oklahoma City Thunder, as the fourth overall pick, Love was the fifth pick by the Memphis Grizzlies, and Mbah a Moute was picked by the Milwaukee Bucks, the 37th pick in the NBA draft.

The team finished the season by losing to Villanova 89–69 in the second round of the NCAA National Championship Tournament. The senior class of Alfred Aboya, Darren Collison and Josh Shipp finished their careers with the most wins in school history with 123 ^[3]^[4]^[5] The distinction was relative, as John Wooden's legendary teams played shorter seasons and freshmen were ineligible.^[4]

Highlights

During half-time of the January 31 game against Stanford, the Bruins' 1963–64 and 1964–65 National Championship teams were honored, along with their 98-year-old former coach John R. Wooden, who told the crowd that he can still remember those years. The game also marked the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend with both teams wore white sneakers with their suits and ties.

A week later at the Notre Dame game, Troy Aikman was honored for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame and for having recently completed his courses for a degree in sociology during half-time. A plaque was presented to Aikman to be permanently displayed at UCLA's Hall of Fame.

Most points in a game – 113, UCLA vs. Wyoming, December 23, 2008
2nd most field goals made – 41, UCLA vs. Wyoming, December 23, 2008
Most 3-point FG made – 33 (tie), UCLA vs. Loyola Marymount, December 17, 2008
Highest 3-pt percentage – .733 (11–15), UCLA vs. Stanford, January 29, 2009
Most steals – 20, UCLA vs. Wyoming, December 23, 2008
Most turnovers – 24, UCLA vs. Prairie View A&M, November 12, 2008

Seniors Alfred Aboya and Darren Collison played more games for UCLA than any other player in history, passing Mitchell Butler's 130 games from 1990–93.

The 72–54 DePaul victory in the December 13, 2008 John R. Wooden Classic game was coach Ben Howland's 300th career victory.

Sidney Wicks and his 1968–69 championship team were honored during halftime of the final home game against Oregon on Saturday, March 7, 2009.

These former players are now playing on a NBA team: Jason Kapono, Arron Afflalo, Dan Gadzuric, Luc Mbah a Moute, Ryan Hollins, Baron Davis, Trevor Ariza, Jordan Farmar, Matt Barnes, Kevin Love, Earl Watson, and Russell Westbrook.

UCLA's three-year reign came to an end when Washington defeated Washington State, 67–60 to win the regular season Pac-10 title.

Darren Collison was named to the All-Pac-10 team; Josh Shipp was named to the second team; Alfred Aboya was honorable mention on the All-Pac-10 team; Jrue Holiday was named to the All-Freshman team; and Alfred Aboya and Darren Collison were named to the All-Defensive team.

Darren Collison was an honorable mention in the 2008–09 AP All-America basketball teams.^[6]^[7] Additionally, he was named the 2009 recipient of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The award goes to the "nation's outstanding senior male collegian 6'0" and under who has excelled both athletically and academically."^[8]

In the NCAA National Championship tournament, Alfred Aboya scored two free-throw points with 48 seconds remaining in the game to help UCLA get by VCU in the first round at the East Regional in Philadelphia's Wachovia Center. Top scorers in the game were Eric Maynor (21) for VCU and Josh Shipp (16) for UCLA.

In the second round, with six Wildcats scoring double-digit points, Villanova ended UCLA's hope of going to the Final Four for the fourth time in a row. Dante Cunningham had 18 points; Reggie Redding and Corey Fisher had 13; Corey Stokes put up 12; eleven points came from Scottie Reynolds and ten points were put up by Dwayne Anderson for the winning team. Josh Shipp had 18 points and Alfred Aboya had 8 rebounds for UCLA.

On Friday, April 3, Alfred Aboya will play in the Hershey's all-star game, which is part of the kickoff celebration to Final Four weekend at Ford Field.

The team finished the season with an attendance of 392,980 in 35 games, averaging 11,228 fans per game.

Freshman guard Jrue Holiday announced on April 9 that he would make himself eligible for the NBA draft without signing with an agent.

Recruiting class

The incoming class of Jerime Anderson, Drew Gordon, Jrue Holiday, Malcolm Lee, and J'Mison Morgan was ranked No. 1 in the nation.^[9]

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jerime Anderson PG	Anaheim, CA	Canyon HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	Sep 6, 2006
Jerime Anderson PG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 94
Drew Gordon PF	San Jose, CA	Archbishop Mitty HS	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	May 6, 2007
Drew Gordon PF	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96
Jrue Holiday SG	North Hollywood, CA	Campbell Hall HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jul 3, 2007
Jrue Holiday SG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 98
Malcolm Lee SG	Moreno Valley, CA	John W. North HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Nov 16, 2006
Malcolm Lee SG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96
J'mison Morgan C	Dallas, TX	South Oak Cliff, HS	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Jul 24, 2008
J'mison Morgan C	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 1 Rivals: 1 ESPN: 1
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "UCLA Commit List for 2008". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011. "ESPN – UCLA Bruins Basketball Recruiting 2008". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011. "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011.

Players

Alfred Aboya draws a charge from James Harden.

No.	Name	Position	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Hometown (High School)
0	Drew Gordon	F	6–8	235	Fr.	San Jose, CA (Archbishop Mitty HS)
1	Malcolm Lee	G	6–5	180	Fr.	Riverside, CA (John W. North HS)
2	Darren Collison***	G	6–0	160	Sr.	Rancho Cucamonga, CA (Etiwanda HS)
3	Josh Shipp***	G/F	6–5	220	Sr.¹	Los Angeles, CA (Fairfax HS)
4	Tyler Trapani	G	6–0	185	FR	Simi Valley, CA (Simi Valley)
5	Jerime Anderson	G	6–1	165	Fr.	Anaheim, CA (Canyon HS)
10	Mustafa Abdul-Hamid**	G	6–2	195	Jr.	St. Louis, MO (Country Day HS)
11	Spencer Soo	G	5–8	160	So.	Fresno, CA (Central HS)
12	Alfred Aboya***	F/C	6–9	245	Sr.	Yaounde, Cameroon (Tilton (NH) School)
13	James Keefe	F	6–8	231	Jr.	Rancho Santa Margarita,CA (Santa Marg. Cath. HS)
15	Blake Arnet	G	6–0	185	FR	Laguna Niguel, CA (Mater Dei)
20	Michael Roll**	G/F	6–5	200	Jr.²	Aliso Viejo, CA (Aliso Niguel HS)
21	Jrue Holiday	G	6–3	180	Fr.	North Hollywood, CA (Campbell Hall HS)
22	J’mison Morgan	C	6–10	248	Fr.	Dallas, TX (South Oak Cliff HS)
24	Matt DeMarcus	G	6–3	190	FR	Solvang, CA (Santa Ynez Valley Union)
30	Kevin Schmidt	F	6–8	220	Jr.	San Jose, CA (Bellarmine Prep)
41	Nikola Dragović**	F	6–9	216	So.	Belgrade, Serbia (2nd Secondary School of Economics)
44	James Diefenbach	F/C	6–8	250	SR	Newport Beach, CA (Newport Harbor)

(1) 2005–06 medical hardship waiver — (2) 2004–05 redshirt — (*) denotes number of varsity letters ^[10]

Schedule

Date Time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site City, State
Nov 3* 7:30 pm, uclabruins.com	No. 4	Cal Baptist Exhibition	W 86–58		Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Nov 7* 7:30 pm, uclabruins.com	No. 4	Biola Exhibition	W 76–42		Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Nov 12* 7:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 4	Prairie View A&M 2K Sports Classic First Round	W 82–58	1–0 (0–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Nov 13* 8:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 4	Miami (Ohio) 2K Sports Classic Second Round	W 64–59	2–0 (0–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Nov 20* 6:30 pm, ESPN2	No. 4	vs. Michigan 2K Sports Classic Semifinals	L 55–52	2–1 (0–0)	Madison Square Garden NY, NY
Nov 21* 2:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 4	vs. Southern Illinois 2K Sports Classic Consolation	W 77–60	3–1 (0–0)	Madison Square Garden NY, NY
Nov.29* 4:30 pm, FSN Prime Ticket	No. 11	Florida International	W 89–54	4–1 (0–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Dec 4* 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 9	vs. No. 8 Texas Pac-10/Big 12 Series	L 68–64	4–2 (0–0)	Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX
Dec 7* 7:30 pm, FSN Prime Ticket	No. 9	Cal State Northridge	W 85–67	5–2 (0–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Dec 13* 4:00 pm, KCAL-TV	No. 14	vs. DePaul John R. Wooden Classic	W 72–54	6–2 (0–0)	Honda Center Anaheim, CA
Dec 17* 8:00 pm, FSN Prime Ticket	No. 12	Loyola Marymount	W 75–44	7–2 (0–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Dec 20* 7:30 pm, FSNW	No. 12	Mercer	W 76–59	8–2 (0–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Dec 23* 7:30 pm, FSN Prime Ticket	No. 10	Wyoming	W 113–62	9–2 (0–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Dec 28* Noon, FSN Prime Ticket	No. 10	Louisiana Tech	W 78–55	10–2 (0–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Jan 2 7:30 pm, FSN/FSNPT	No. 9	at Oregon State	W 69–46	11–2 (1–0)	Gill Coliseum Corvallis, OR
Jan 4 12:30 pm, FSN/FSNPT	No. 9	at Oregon	W 83–74	12–2 (2–0)	McArthur Court Eugene, OR
Jan 11 7:30 pm, FSN/FSNPT	No. 7	at USC	W 64–60	13–2 (3–0)	Galen Center Los Angeles, CA
Thu., Jan 15 8:00 pm, FSN/FSNPT	No. 7	Arizona	W 83–60	14–2 (4–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Sat., Jan 17 12:45 pm, CBS	No. 7	#15 Arizona State	L 61–58 ^OT	14–3 (4–1)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Jan 22 6:00 pm, FSN/FSNPT	No. 11	at Washington State	W 61–59	15–3 (5–1)	Friel Court Pullman, WA
Jan 24 1:00 pm, FSN/FSNPT	No. 11	at Washington	L 86–75	15–4 (5–2)	Bank of America Arena Seattle, WA
Thu., Jan 29 7:30 pm, FSN/FSNW	No. 16	California	W 81–66	16–4 (6–2)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Sat., Jan 31 12:30 pm, ABC	No. 16	Stanford	W 97–63	17–4 (7–2)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Wed., Feb 4 7:30 pm, FSN Prime Ticket	No. 12	USC	W 76–60	18–4 (8–2)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Sat., Feb 7* 10:00 am, CBS	No. 12	Notre Dame	W 89–63	19–4 (8–2)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Feb 12 6:00 pm, ESPN	No. 6	at No. 18 Arizona State	L 74–67	19–5 (8–3)	Wells Fargo Arena Tempe, AZ
Feb 14 10:00 am, CBS	No. 6	at Arizona	L 84–72	19–6 (8–4)	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
Feb. 19 8:00 pm, FSN/FSNW	No. 15	No. 19 Washington	W 85–74	20–6 (9–4)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Feb 21 Noon, FSN/FSNPT	No. 15	Washington State	L 82–81	20–7 (9–5)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Feb 26 7:00 pm, FSN Prime Ticket	No. 19	at Stanford	W 76–71	21–7 (10–5)	Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Feb 28 6:00 pm, ESPN	No. 19	at California	W 72–68	22–7 (11–5)	Haas Pavilion Berkeley, CA
Mar 5 7:30 pm, FSN Prime Ticket	No. 17	Oregon State	W 79–54	23–7 (12–5)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Mar 7 12:30 p.m, ABC	No. 17	Oregon	W 94–68	24–7 (13–5)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Pac-10 Tournament
Mar 12 8:30 pm (Approx.), FSN	No. 14	vs. Washington State	W 64–53	25–7 (13–5)	Staples Center Los Angeles, CA
Mar 13 8:30 pm (Approx.), FSN	No. 14	vs. USC	L 65–55	25–8 (13–5)	Staples Center Los Angeles, CA
NCAA Tournament
Mar 19 6:45 pm, CBS	No. 17	vs. VCU	W 65–64	26–8 (13–5)	Wachovia Center Philadelphia, PA
Mar 21 10:05 am, CBS	No. 17	vs. Villanova	L 89–69	26–9 (13–5)	Wachovia Center Philadelphia, PA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from Coaches' Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time^[11].

Notes

UCLA was swept by ASU for the first time since the 2002-03 season (and only the third time since ASU joined the Pac).
UCLA did beat one ranked team (AP Top-25) this season: #19 Washington

References

↑ Pucin, Diane (October 17, 2008). "No 'Midnight Madness' for UCLA, USC basketball teams". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
↑ Plaschke, Bill (April 20, 2008). "Love can't have a legacy without joining fraternity". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 12, 2011.
↑ "Pac-10 Conference". USA Today. April 6, 2009. Archived from the original on February 7, 2013.
1 2 Wharton, David (March 8, 2009). "Seniors honored after winning careers". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 7, 2013.
↑ "No. 20 UCLA 94, Oregon 68". CBSSports.com. March 7, 2009. Archived from the original on February 7, 2013.
↑ 2008–09 AP All-America Basketball Teams
↑ "2009 AP All-America teams". CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
↑ Darren Collison Receives The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award
↑ Pucin, Diane (June 2, 2008). "Howland signs new deal with the Bruins". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 22, 2015.
↑ Bruins homepage
↑ "uclabruins.com Retrieved on October 1, 2008.

Media related to 2008–09 UCLA Bruins men's basketball season at Wikimedia Commons

UCLA Bruins men's basketball

Venues	Men's Gym (1932–1965) Pan-Pacific Auditorium (alternate; 1949–1959) Venice High School (1955–1956) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (1959–1965; 2011–2012) Honda Center (2011–2012) Pauley Pavilion (1965–present)

Rivalries	Arizona Notre Dame USC

Culture & lore	Game of the Century UCLA High Post Offense Joe Bruin

People	Head coaches Retired numbers NBA players

Seasons	1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

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