2008–09 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 2008–09 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team opened the season on November 3 when it took on Cal Baptist

California Baptist University

California Baptist University is a private, Christian, liberal arts university located in Riverside, California, United States. Originally founded in 1950 as California Baptist College, it is controlled by the California Southern Baptist Convention, an organization affiliated with the Southern...

in an exhibition game in Pauley Pavilion

Pauley Pavilion

Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams...

. The Bruins participated in the 2K Sports Classic

Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic

The Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic is an annual college basketball tournament played in November at the beginning of the season...

, Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, and the John R. Wooden Classic

John R. Wooden Classic

The John R. Wooden Classic is an annual season-opening men's college basketball competition. Four teams compete in one round of play. The Classic is not considered a tournament since it does not include a championship or consolation game.-History:...

in the Honda Center.

The team opened the season with the following starters: Alfred Aboya

Alfred Aboya

Alfred Aboya Baliaba is a Cameroonian college basketball player with the UCLA Bruins and Cameroon national basketball team. Aboya was one of only four Bruins to play in all 39 games, making 17 starts and playing 594 minutes in the 2007–08 season...

(Center), James Keefe (Power forward), Josh Shipp (Small forward), Jrue Holiday (Shooting guard) and Darren Collison

Darren Collison

Darren Michael Collison is an American professional basketball point guard for the Indiana Pacers. He was drafted 21st overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by New Orleans. He is a right-hander and a native of Rancho Cucamonga, California...

(Point guard).

The team opted not to have an October 17, 2008 Midnight Madness

Midnight Madness (basketball)

Midnight Madness is an annual event on college campuses that celebrates the first day in mid-October that the National Collegiate Athletic Association permits formal basketball practices each college basketball season. In some cases, the name has literal meaning since an event is scheduled...

celebration this year. 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

Arizona Wildcats

-Athletic program:The University of Arizona participates in the NCAA's Division I-A in the Pacific-12 Conference Arizona participates in the conference's South Division, along with Arizona State, Colorado, UCLA, USC, and Utah...

.

Freshman Tyler Trapani (#4), great-grandson of former head coach John Wooden

John Wooden

John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...

, had joined the team.

Three players from last season's team, Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook is an American professional basketball player currently playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA. He was drafted by the Thunder's former incarnation, the Seattle SuperSonics, which relocated from Seattle, Washington to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma...

, Kevin Love

Kevin Love

Kevin Love, born in Des Moines, Iowa, is a former NASCAR driver. He ran five races in the 2004 Craftsman Truck Series season, all for Fiddleback Racing....

and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is a Cameroonian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association . Mbah a Mouté is a prince in his native village of Bia Messe , as he is a son of the elected village chief, Camille Mouté à Bidias...

were chosen to play in the NBA. Westbrook was picked by the Seattle Sonics, now Oklahoma City Thunder

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena....

, as the fourth overall pick, Love was the fifth pick by the Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...

, and Mbah a Moute was picked by the Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....

, the 37th pick in the NBA draft.

The team finished the season by losing to Villanova

2008–09 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

The Villanova Wildcats had a 22–13 record in the 2008 season. Their season resulted in a trip to the Final Four, with their last second win over the Pittsburgh Panthers in the Elite 8.For the 2008–09 season, Villanova returned all but one from their entire roster that made it to the Sweet 16 of...

89-69 in the second round of the NCAA National Championship Tournament

2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The first and second round games were played at the following sites:First and Second Rounds: Thursday and Saturday, March 19 and 21, 2009-Qualifying teams:-Brackets:Results to date * – Denotes overtime periodAll times in U.S. EDT....

, but graduated the most talented seniors, who won an astonishing 123 games.

Highlights

During half-time of the January 31 game against Stanford, the Bruins' 1963-64

1963-64 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 1963–64 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team won its first NCAA National Basketball Championship under head coach John R. Wooden.In the national title game, the Bruins defeated Duke, coached by Vic Bubas, by the score of 98–83. Walt Hazzard of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player...

and 1964-65 National Championship

1963-64 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

teams were honored, along with their 98-year-old former coach John R. Wooden

John Wooden

, who told the crowd that he can still remember those years. The game also marked the Coaches vs. Cancer

Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic

The Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic is an annual college basketball tournament played in November at the beginning of the season...

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

Troy Aikman

Troy Kenneth Aikman is a former American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League. The number one overall draft pick in 1989, Aikman played twelve consecutive seasons as quarterback with the Cowboys...

was honored for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame

College Football Hall of Fame

The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...

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

Alfred Aboya

and Darren Collison

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

John R. Wooden Classic

game was coach Ben Howland's 300th career victory.

Sidney Wicks

Sidney Wicks

Sidney Wicks is a retired American basketball player. A native of California, he played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins and played professionally in the National Basketball Association from 1971 to 1981...

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

Jason Kapono

Jason Alan Kapono is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. Drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft, Kapono later also played for the Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, and Philadelphia 76ers...

, Arron Afflalo

Arron Afflalo

Arron Agustin Afflalo is an American professional basketball player, currently with the Denver Nuggets of the NBA. He completed a three-year career at University of California, Los Angeles in the Pacific-10 Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as the starting shooting...

, Dan Gadzuric

Dan Gadzuric

Daniel "Dan" Gadzuric is a Dutch professional basketball player who plays for the Jiangsu Dragons in the CBA.Gadzuric, a center, attended preparatory school at The Governor's Academy in Massachusetts, U.S., before playing college basketball for the Bruins at University of California, Los Angeles...

, Luc Mbah a Moute, Ryan Hollins

Ryan Hollins

Ryan Kenwood Hollins is an American professional basketball player who is currently a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. He is a 7-foot center who played collegiately for the UCLA Bruins.-High school:...

, Baron Davis

Baron Davis

Baron Walter Louis Davis is an American professional basketball player with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. Drafted as the third pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, Davis was a star at Crossroads School and UCLA....

, Trevor Ariza

Trevor Ariza

Trevor Anthony Ariza is an American basketball player in the National Basketball Association who plays for the New Orleans Hornets. Primarily a small forward, he is listed at tall and 210 pounds.-Biography:...

, Jordan Farmar

Jordan Farmar

Jordan Robert Farmar is an American professional basketball point guard for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Super League and Euroleague. He is also under contract with the New Jersey Nets, and is expected to return to the team after the 2011 NBA lockout ends.In high school, he was the...

, Matt Barnes

Matt Barnes

Matt Kelly Barnes is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association.-High school years:...

, Kevin Love

Kevin Love

Kevin Love, born in Des Moines, Iowa, is a former NASCAR driver. He ran five races in the 2004 Craftsman Truck Series season, all for Fiddleback Racing....

, Earl Watson

Earl Watson

Earl Joseph Watson, Jr. is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association . Watson is a graduate of Washington High School in Kansas City, Kansas...

, and Russell Westbrook

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

Josh Shipp (basketball)

Joshua Ian Shipp is an American basketball player for Galatasaray in the Turkish Basketball League. He previously played for Bornova Belediye...

was named to the second team; Alfred Aboya

Alfred Aboya

was honorable mention on the All-Pac 10 team; Jrue Holiday

Jrue Holiday

Jrue Randall Holiday is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA. He is the first player born in the 1990s to play in the NBA. He played his only college basketball season for the UCLA Bruins before jumping to the pros...

was named to the All-Freshman team; and Alfred Aboya and Darren Collison

Darren Collison

were named to the All-Defensive team.

Darren Collison was an honorable mention in the 2008-09 AP

Associated Press

The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

All-America basketball teams

2009 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not...

. Additionally, he was named the 2009 recipient of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award

The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award is an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor shorter–than–average players who excel on the court despite their size. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter–in–law, was established for men in 1969 and for women in 1984...

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."

In the NCAA National Championship

2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

tournament, Alfred Aboya

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

Wachovia Center

The Wells Fargo Center is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

. Top scorers in the game were Eric Maynor

Eric Maynor

Eric Demarqua Maynor is an American professional basketball player at point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA. He played college basketball for the VCU Rams...

(21) for VCU and Josh Shipp (16) for UCLA.

In the second round, with six Wildcats

Villanova Wildcats

The Villanova Wildcats is the name of the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East for every sport except football, where they compete in the Colonial Athletic Association .-Men's basketball:The Villanova Wildcats compete in the Big EAST and are currently coached by Jay...

scoring double-digit points, Villanova ended UCLA's hope of going to the Final Four for the fourth time in a row. Dante Cunningham

Dante Cunningham

Dante Cunningham is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Charlotte Bobcats. Dante was drafted in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA...

had 18 points; Reggie Redding and Corey Fisher

Corey Fisher

Anthony Guy Corey Fisher is an American professional basketball player. A point guard, he attended Villanova University in Pennsylvania. Fisher decided on Villanova due to its combination of athletics and academics. Fisher played high school basketball for St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, New...

had 13; Corey Stokes

Corey Stokes

Corey Stokes is an American basketball player, formerly for Villanova University, best known for his three-point shooting. , he's under contract with Bundesliga club BBC Bayreuth.-High school:...

put up 12; eleven points came from Scottie Reynolds

Scottie Reynolds

Scottie Reynolds is an American professional basketball player who will play for the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters of the Philippine Basketball Association. The Huntsville, Alabama native played for Villanova University in the Big East Conference of the NCAA...

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

Alfred Aboya

will play in the Hershey

The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company, known until April 2005 as the Hershey Foods Corporation and commonly called Hershey's, is the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America. Its headquarters are in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hershey's Chocolate World. It was founded by Milton S...

's all-star game, which is part of the kickoff celebration to Final Four

Final four

Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...

weekend at Ford Field

Ford Field

Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...

.

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

Freshman guard Jrue Holiday

Jrue Holiday

announced on April 9 that he would make himself eligible for the NBA draft

NBA Draft

The NBA Draft is an annual event in which the thirty teams from the National Basketball Association can draft players who are eligible and wish to join the league. These players are usually amateur U.S. college basketball players, but international players are also eligible to be drafted...

without signing with an agent.

Recruiting class

Players

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 Malcolm Lee Malcolm Lee is an American basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft...	G	6-5	180	Fr.	Riverside, CA (John W. North HS)
2	Darren Collison Darren Collison Darren Michael Collison is an American professional basketball point guard for the Indiana Pacers. He was drafted 21st overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by New Orleans. He is a right-hander and a native of Rancho Cucamonga, California... ***	G	6-0	160	Sr.	Rancho Cucamonga, CA (Etiwanda HS)
3	Josh Shipp (basketball) Josh Shipp (basketball) Joshua Ian Shipp is an American basketball player for Galatasaray in the Turkish Basketball League. He previously played for Bornova Belediye... ***	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 Mustafa Abdul-Hamid Mustafa Abdul-Hamid is an American professional basketball player.-Pro career:In August 2010, Abdul-Hamid signed for KK Hemofarm in Serbia. In March 2011, he moved to France and played with Lille MBC for the remainder of the 2010–11 season.-External links:* at uclabruins.com* at adriaticbasket.com... **	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 Alfred Aboya Alfred Aboya Baliaba is a Cameroonian college basketball player with the UCLA Bruins and Cameroon national basketball team. Aboya was one of only four Bruins to play in all 39 games, making 17 starts and playing 594 minutes in the 2007–08 season... ***	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 Jrue Holiday Jrue Randall Holiday is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA. He is the first player born in the 1990s to play in the NBA. He played his only college basketball season for the UCLA Bruins before jumping to the pros...	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 Dragovic**	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

Schedule

|-
!colspan=8| Pac-10 Tournament

2009 Pacific-10 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament

The 2009 Pacific Life Pacific-10 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament began with the first round on March 11, 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, with quarterfinals on March 12, semifinals on March 13, and the finals on March 14...

|-
!colspan=8| NCAA Tournament

2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.