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The last time UCLA had a consensus All-American, they won the National Championship.
Bruin Star Arron Afflalo was named yesterday by the Associated Press as a Starter on their All-American team. The votes were cast PRIOR to the NCAA Tournament, so Arron's slump and post-slump Tourney MVP Award did NOT figure into the AP result.
So now Arron has made every visible All-American team in the National Media, and deservingly so. The surprise is that the Country has embraced a 2-Guard who embraces Defense more than Offense. The guys that go on to be NBA Kobe-stoppers usually don't get all the hype in College -- The offensive human highlight reels are the ones who usually get to bask in that glory.
But Arron's stellar Defense doesn't keep him from lighting it up on the other end, so he was able to GET the attention of voters around the Country with his scoring, but KEEP it with his tenacious D (which never has a slump).
It looks like McDonald's got it right when they made him a McD HIGH SCHOOL All-American. Now if they could just fix their Drive-Thru speakers...
What seems to bode well for UCLA is that their previous consensus All-American was Ed O'Bannon, who led the Bruins to the 1995 National Title (Ed's little brother Charles was an All-American in 1997, but not a consensus All-American). Ed was on hand in Indy last year to watch the Bruins in the Final Four -- Perhaps this year he'll travel to Atlanta and be happier with the final result, as UCLA attempts to recapture the magic of the '95 season.
And finally, speaking of magical seasons, HBO premiered their Special tonight on the UCLA Dynasty, chock full of new interviews and vintage footage from the Wooden Glory Years. If it doesn't make you break down in tears, then you are NO hardcore, longtime Bruin Basketball fan, or you just don't get it. Despite the bullsh*t about Sam Gilbert and Digger Phelps, this documentary blows "Farenheit 911" and "An Inconvenient Truth" away, and should win next year's Oscar for Best Documentary by the same margin of victory that Lew Alcindor's Frosh team averaged during their unprecedented reign of excellence (which is briefly highlighted in the film). Most of all, it makes you proud to be a Bruin, the school of Jackie Robinson and John Wooden (and Jim Morrison!). You have to remember -- if you were a trOJan, YOUR team's documentary wouldn't be complete without a nostalgic look at the Murderer of the Century (and a current look at his larger-than-life jersey still waving proudly in the stadium).
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Below are 13 more photos from the Kansas game. Too bad for the Jayhawks: They wanted to be in Atlanta next week, saying: "We're not in Kansas any more!" But now, they ARE in Kansas, forever more, "Tot-0"-and-5 all-time against UCLA in the Tournament. Of course Kansans are no match for the Wizard, or his school.
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