2008–09 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
American college basketball season
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 SuperSonics as the fourth overall pick, while 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 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball 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 to 1993.
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 an 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]
College recruiting information
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
Star ratings : 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
Star ratings : 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
Star ratings : 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
Star ratings : 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
Star ratings : 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:
Roster
2008–09 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
G
10
Mustafa Abdul-Hamid
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Jr
St. Louis, Missouri
F/C
12
Alfred Aboya (C)
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
245 lb (111 kg)
Sr
Yaounde , Cameroon
G
5
Jerime Anderson
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
Fr
Anaheim, California
G
15
Blake Arnet (W)
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Fr
Laguna Niguel, California
G
2
Darren Collison (C)
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
Sr
Rancho Cucamonga, California
G
24
Matt DeMarcus (W)
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Fr
Solvang, California
F/C
44
James Diefenbach (W)
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
250 lb (113 kg)
Sr
Newport Beach, California
F
41
Nikola Dragović
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
216 lb (98 kg)
Jr
Belgrade , Serbia
F
0
Drew Gordon
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
Fr
San Jose, California
G
21
Jrue Holiday
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Fr
North Hollywood, California
F
13
James Keefe
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
231 lb (105 kg)
Jr
Rancho Santa Margarita, California
G
1
Malcolm Lee
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Fr
Riverside, California
C
22
J'mison Morgan
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
248 lb (112 kg)
Fr
Dallas, Texas
F/C
20
Michael Roll
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
RS Jr
Aliso Viejo, California
F
30
Kevin Schmidt (W)
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
Jr
San Jose, California
G/F
3
Josh Shipp (C)
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
RS Sr
Los Angeles, California
G
11
Spencer Soo (W)
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
So
Fresno, California
G
4
Tyler Trapani (W)
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Fr
Simi Valley, California
Head coach
Ben Howland (Weber State )
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Schedule
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site city, state
Exhibition
November 3, 2008 *7:30 p.m., uclabruins.com
Cal Baptist Exhibition
W 86–58
Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
November 7, 2008 *7:30 p.m., uclabruins.com
Biola Exhibition
W 76–42
Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Non-Conference Season
November 12, 2008 *7:00 p.m., ESPNU
No. 4
Prairie View A&M 2K Sports Classic
W 82–58
1–0
Pauley Pavilion (7,190)Los Angeles, CA
November 13, 2008 *8:00 p.m., ESPNU
No. 4
Miami (Ohio) 2k Sports Classic
W 64–59
2–0
Pauley Pavilion (7,802)Los Angeles, CA
November 20, 2008 *6:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 4
vs. Michigan 2k Sports Classic
L 52–55
2–1
Madison Square Garden (9,440)New York, NY
November 21, 2008 *2:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 4
vs. Southern Illinois 2k Sports Classic
W 77–60
3–1
Madison Square Garden (12,543)New York, NY
November 29, 2008 *4:30 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket
No. 11
Florida International
W 89–54
4–1
Pauley Pavilion (8,940)Los Angeles, CA
December 4, 2008 *7:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 9
at No. 8 Texas Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series
L 64–68
4–2
Frank Erwin Center (16,755)Austin, TX
December 7, 2008 *7:30 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket
No. 9
Cal State Northridge
W 85–67
5–2
Pauley Pavilion (7,687)Los Angeles, CA
December 13, 2008 *4:00 p.m., KCAL-TV
No. 14
vs. DePaul John R. Wooden Classic
W 72–54
6–2
Honda Center (14,163)Anaheim, CA
December 17, 2008 *8:00 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket
No. 12
Loyola Marymount
W 75–44
7–2
Pauley Pavilion (6,852)Los Angeles, CA
December 20, 2008 *7:30 p.m., FSNW
No. 12
Mercer
W 76–59
8–2
Pauley Pavilion (8,111)Los Angeles, CA
December 23, 2008 *7:30 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket
No. 10
Wyoming
W 113–62
9–2
Pauley Pavilion (8,795)Los Angeles, CA
December 28, 2008 *12:00 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket
No. 10
Louisiana Tech
W 78–55
10–2
Pauley Pavilion (9,680)Los Angeles, CA
Conference Season
January 2, 2009 7:30 p.m., FSN/FSNPT
No. 9
at Oregon State
W 69–46
11–2 (1–0)
Gill Coliseum (5,629)Corvallis, OR
January 4, 2009 12:30 p.m., FSN/FSNPT
No. 9
at Oregon
W 83–74
12–2 (2–0)
McArthur Court (8,595)Eugene, OR
January 11, 2009 7:30 p.m., FSN/FSNPT
No. 7
at USC
W 64–60
13–2 (3–0)
Galen Center (10,258)Los Angeles, CA
January 15, 2009 8:00 p.m., FSN/FSNPT
No. 7
Arizona
W 83–60
14–2 (4–0)
Pauley Pavilion (11,228)Los Angeles, CA
January 17, 2009 12:45 p.m., CBS
No. 7
No. 15 Arizona State
L 58–61 OT
14–3 (4–1)
Pauley Pavilion (11,659)Los Angeles, CA
January 22, 2009 6:00 p.m., FSN/FSNPT
No. 11
at Washington State
W 61–59
15–3 (5–1)
Beasley Coliseum (8,434)Pullman, WA
January 24, 2009 1:00 p.m., FSN/FSNPT
No. 11
at Washington
L 75–86
15–4 (5–2)
Hec Edmundson Pavilion (1,000)Seattle, WA
January 29, 2009 7:30 p.m., FSN/FSNPT
No. 16
California
W 81–66
16–4 (6–2)
Pauley Pavilion (11,556)Los Angeles, CA
January 31, 2009 12:30 p.m., ABC
No. 16
Stanford
W 97–63
17–4 (7–2)
Pauley Pavilion (11,129)Los Angeles, CA
February 4, 2009 7:30 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket
No. 12
USC
W 76–60
18–4 (8–2)
Pauley Pavilion (12,179)Los Angeles, CA
February 7, 2009 *10:00 a.m., CBS
No. 12
Notre Dame
W 89–63
19–4
Pauley Pavilion (11,492)Los Angeles, CA
February 12, 2009 6:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 6
at No. 18 Arizona State
L 67–74
19–5 (8–3)
Wells Fargo Arena (13,368)Tempe, AZ
February 14, 2009 10:00 a.m., CBS
No. 6
at Arizona
L 72–84
19–6 (8–4)
McKale Center (14,611)Tucson, AZ
February 19, 2009 8:00 p.m., FSN/FSNW
No. 15
No. 19 Washington
W 85–74
20–6 (9–4)
Pauley Pavilion (11,145)Los Angeles, CA
February 21, 2009 12:00 p.m., FSN/FSNPT
No. 15
Washington State
L 81–82
20–7 (9–5)
Pauley Pavilion (10,392)Los Angeles, CA
February 26, 2009 7:00 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket
No. 19
at Stanford
W 76–71
21–7 (10–5)
Maples Pavilion (7,156)Stanford, CA
February 28, 2009 6:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 19
at California ESPN College Gameday
W 72–68
22–7 (11–5)
Haas Pavilion (11,877)Berkeley, CA
March 5, 2009 7:30 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket
No. 17
Oregon State
W 79–54
23–7 (12–5)
Pauley Pavilion (10,348)Los Angeles, CA
March 7, 2009 12:30 p.m., ABC
No. 17
Oregon
W 94–68
24–7 (13–5)
Pauley Pavilion (10,982)Los Angeles, CA
Pac-10 Tournament
March 12, 2009 8:30 p.m., FSN
No. 14 (2)
vs. (7) Washington State Quarterfinals
W 64–53
25–7
Staples Center (16,271)Los Angeles, CA
March 13, 2009 8:30 p.m., FSN
No. 14 (2)
vs. (6) USC Semifinals
L 55–65
25–8
Staples Center (18,497)Los Angeles, CA
NCAA tournament
March 19, 2009 *6:45 p.m., CBS
No. 17 (6 E)
vs. (11 E) VCU First Round
W 65–64
26–8
Wachovia Center (17,146)Philadelphia, PA
March 21, 2009 *10:05 a.m., CBS
No. 17 (6 E)
vs. (3 E) Villanova Second Round
L 69–89
26–9
Wachovia Center (19,894)Philadelphia, PA
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Pacific Time .
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Final AP 4 4 13 12 16 14 13 12 10 9 13 17 15 11 20 22 20 15 18 Not released Coaches 4 4 11 9 14 12 10 9 7 т 7 11 16 12 6 15 19 17 14 17 18
See also
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 only 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 December 1, 2008 .
^ Plaschke, Bill (April 20, 2008). "Love can't have a legacy without joining fraternity" . Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on June 12, 2022.
^ "Pac-10 Conference" . USA Today . April 6, 2009. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014.
^ a b Wharton, David (March 8, 2009). "Seniors honored after winning careers" . Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on November 5, 2012.
^ "No. 20 UCLA 94, Oregon 68" . CBSSports.com . March 7, 2009. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2013 .
^ 2008–09 AP All-America Basketball Teams
^ "2009 AP All-America teams" . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2009 .
^ "Darren Collison Receives The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award" . Archived from the original on April 4, 2009. Retrieved April 1, 2009 .
^ Pucin, Diane (June 2, 2008). "Howland signs new deal with the Bruins" . Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on October 17, 2015.
Media related to 2008–09 UCLA Bruins men's basketball season at Wikimedia Commons
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics