Bruins become victims of the transition game

Breaking news out of Westwood on Thursday had one basketball expert already penciling UCLA into next year’s postseason tournament bracket.

NCAA? NIT?

Try the new College Basketball Invitational (won this year by Tulsa).

OK, it’s not that bad.

As an exodus this isn’t fleeing Egypt, although no one should make plans for a fourth consecutive Final Four. Anyway, who wanted to go to Detroit?

Call it over the wall, Part II.

A day after the Bruins football team ditched the scene in a time-honored tradition, two planks of the school’s basketball squad broke ranks in what is fast becoming another rite of spring -- declaring intentions for the NBA draft.

While a Bruins world mourns the loss of Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook -- with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Darren Collison possibly soon to follow -- the devoted should be thankful Ben Howland held it together this long.

Those three straight Final Four runs took talent, timing and a little bit of plate-spinning. Thursday, however, the Bruins lost a formal dining set.

“You become a little bit a victim of your own success,” said Santa Clara Coach Kerry Keating, a former UCLA assistant on Howland’s staff.

It was bound to happen -- and the Bruins are bound to bounce back.

College basketball isn’t what used to be or will ever be again.

Lew Alcindor doesn’t show up on campus as a freshman, sit out a year and then win three NCAA titles.

John Wooden’s pyramid of success at UCLA has been replaced by Howland’s conveyor belt.

Coaches don’t get to teach and coddle anymore, so the construct is simple: Sign the best players available and pray you win before they leave.

“It’s very difficult to do,” Keating said. “It takes a lot of planning.”

What are the alternatives?

Until 2006, when the NBA instituted its age-cap rule that forced the bee-line players to college for one year, the best players (Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett) went straight from high school to the pros.

“Had the NBA not changed the rule, you would have never seen Greg Oden, or Kevin Durant, or Michael Beasley or Kevin Love or O.J. Mayo,” former coach turned analyst Fran Fraschilla reminded.

In other words: Be thankful they were here at all, even if it means wondering how much Mayo meant to USC.

The mid-major coaches can still build for the long run -- but not the big-game trophy seekers.

So, Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim, in 2003, gladly traded one year of Carmelo Anthony for a long-sought national title.

Upper-tier basketball now has never been more fragile.

Kansas won this year’s NCAA title because star guard Brandon Rush didn’t turn pro after tearing his knee up before the 2007 draft.

“Kansas lucked into an injury,” Fraschilla said.

Florida won consecutive titles only because the entire starting lineup decided to return.

Sometimes you dream long but fall short. Freshman guard Derrick Rose took Memphis to the precipice -- but now his memory is a scent.

Getting caught in transition now falls under “occupational hazard.”

Florida and Ohio State, which played for the 2007 title, both failed to make this year’s tournament.

The upside is that it’s not just happening in Westwood.

Exodus happens. Stanford basketball looked up and said so long to two 7-foot sophomores. Arizona is down two stars. The Pacific 10 Conference next year is almost starting from scratch.

The smart coaches, who soon become rich ones, know how to turn over inventory.

Memphis lost Rose this week but answered with the signing of Pennsylvania prep star Tyreke Evans, a three-time state player of the year.

UCLA has a stellar class on the way, led by Jrue Holiday.

“In a strange way, it helps your recruiting,” Fraschilla said of roster clearing.

Great coaches are great for a reason.

“They’re not going to shy away from one-and-done guys as long as they have a foundation in place,” Fraschilla said.

UCLA’s foundation is in place.

The Bruins will be back.

It may be in 2010.

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chris.dufresne@latimes.com

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Begin text of infobox

School’s out

The three local standouts making themselves available for the

NBA draft on June 26 at Madison Square Garden in New York:

KEVIN LOVE

UCLA, CENTER

* A first-team All-American and Pacific 10 Conference player of the year as a freshman, Love led the Bruins with 17.5 points and 10.6 rebounds a game. He leaves Ben Howland’s team with a big hole in the middle.

RUSSELL WESTBROOK

UCLA, GUARD

* The dynamic sophomore made a big leap this season, running the Bruins’ offense when Darren Collison was injured and impressing NBA scouts with 22 points in the Final Four loss to Memphis.