Bruins Go From Champs to Chumps

Re: UCLA Bruins NCAA Tournament Lack of Killer Mentality: It finally took a team such as Princeton, with more brains than anyone else, to beat the Bruins in a close game. The Bruins all year got lucky in many close games that they should have lost. The Bruins’ entire offense consists of an inside game that everybody exposed because their defense only consists of standing around in the key while the likes of Kansas, Louisville, and Vanderbilt bombed away with three pointers.

Jim Harrick’s inability to instill the killer mentality in his players will be the downfall for many seasons to come, i.e., the first-round embarrassment to Tulsa three years ago.

The Bruins got sucked into the media build-up of the Princeton game plan. Jim, take a coaching lesson here. You cannot beat someone at their own game. Mr. Harrick, next year the only game plan in your play book should be . . . shove it down their throats basketball and don’t look back. Take a lesson from Kentucky and Mr. Pitino’s killer mentality over San Jose State.

STEVEN DEMONT

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