UCLA basketball waits to see who will exit
Kevin Love and Darren Collison are seen as probable losses to NBA after team's third straight loss in Final Four. Prospects for Josh Shipp, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and others are weighed.
The problem with insisting that nothing short of a national title is worth advertising is the day after.
UCLA fell short of winning a record 12th NCAA men's basketball title again this year and now comes the next most important score-keeping -- whether the Bruins lose one, two or three players off this team that was the third in a row to win at least 30 games and advance to the Final Four before losing.
Players have until April 27 to declare their draft intentions. If they choose not to immediately hire an agent, they can test themselves for NBA teams and decide by June 16 to retain their college ability. That's what California's Ryan Anderson, so far, is doing.
Another star Pacific 10 Conference freshman, Arizona guard Jerryd Bayless, has announced his NBA intentions as well as hired an agent so he can't retain NCAA eligibility.
In private, UCLA coaches have been resigned all season to losing freshman center Kevin Love and junior point guard Darren Collison.
Before this season began, they also thought it was possible junior Josh Shipp and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute might at least declare for the NBA draft, attend some camps and have their status evaluated but not hire an agent. And since the season developed and sophomore guard Russell Westbrook demonstrated that he was the most athletically talented one-on-one player UCLA has, his draft stock has risen.
However, Shipp's shot has abandoned him for most of the second half of the season, throwing his exit into doubt.
Mbah a Moute's progress with acquiring a reliable jump shot, which he would need to play small forward in the NBA, was hindered by the time he missed recovering from a concussion and then a sprained left ankle. So he may not declare and be evaluated.
"I want to be back and win a title," Mbah a Moute said Saturday.
Backup forward Alfred Aboya -- who is from Cameroon like Mbah a Moute and will earn his undergraduate degree this summer -- said he wouldn't say for certain he would return for a senior season.
"Right now I'm so disappointed," Aboya said, "that I just need to digest this loss and see what life has to offer."
With a class of four incoming freshmen, UCLA would be one over the NCAA limit of 13 scholarships next season if at least one Bruin doesn't leave early for the NBA or graduate.
