After its sudden stoppage right before March Madness early this spring, Division I men’s college basketball is finally getting its chance to return to universities across the nation.
With the announcement by the NCAA that college basketball would return officially on Nov. 25, Southern California looks to be a very competitive area this year. Loyola Marymount University (LMU) will undergo a makeover with a new head coach. Then there is the crosstown rivalry between the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), teams who are always playing to spoil each other’s dreams of making it into the big dance.
One cannot start talking about California college basketball without speaking about UCLA, which is arguably the most historically known basketball program in the country. The Bruins are ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press (AP) preseason poll recently released and was picked to win the Pac-12 Conference in the preseason media poll.
As a Top 25 program, the Bruins have an unwanted target on their backs. They will play San Diego State on the road to kick off their season.
“It makes my job harder because it kind of takes the hunger away a little bit from guys,” UCLA head coach Mick Cronin said during a videoconference with reporters. “Maybe they’re not mature enough to understand that all it does is help your opponents because their coaches early in the season can say, ‘Well, you better be ready to play, they’re picked to win their league.’ ”
This comes as a problem because the last time Bruins were picked to win the Pac-12, they lost their 2011-12 season opener to LMU and finished in a tie for fifth in the conference standings. Last season, UCLA finished 19-12 with a 12-6 record in the Pac-12 and are one of three Pac-12 programs ranked in the preseason top-25 poll. They were one game behind Oregon who finished first in the conference.
Under Cronin, the Bruins were able to end the 2019-20 season with a rally of 11-3 in the last 14 games. If UCLA hopes to make it into the big dance this year they must be able to play up to that standard all season long.
UCLA has not qualified for an NCAA tournament since 2018, but what will help their chances to return to the big dance is that they will have most of their starting lineup return: senior Chris Smith, juniors Jalen Hill and David Singleton, and sophomores Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr.
The newcomers on the team include sophomore transfer from the University of Kentucky, Johnny Juzang and two Southern California locals, freshmen Jaylen Clark and Logan Cremonesi.
“We still pretty much have the same guys from last season,” Smith said. “There won’t be the preseason hiccups like we had last season, just getting to know coach Cronin. Everybody knows what we’ve gotta do and everyone knows what has to happen, so hopefully, as soon as we get the new guys rolling, we’ll have that momentum back.”
If the Bruins are the favorite to win coming out of the Pac-12, their crosstown rivals are hoping to wreck any chance of them succeeding.
For the Trojans, the team finish off last season with a record of 22-9 and finished fourth in the Pac-12. The Trojans have mostly been a 20-win middle-ranked team for the past couple of years. Head coach Andy Enfield was only able to return four scholarship athletes for the 2020-2021 season. USC lost a pair of impact seniors in Jonah Matthews and Nick Rakocevic as well as freshman phenom Onyeka Okongwu to the NBA Draft.
“Our goals are the same as every year,” Enfield said in a press conference in response to the new season. “We’re going to compete for the Pac-12 championship and then make the NCAA tournament to compete for the national championship. We had a very good team last season, so we will try to build on some of the success we had last year, especially on the defensive end of the floor, and try to get off to a good start this year.”
However, to keep up this consistency, USC may now have to look at the promising Mobley brothers, Isaiah and Evan, to create a controlling frontcourt. Although USC is a mid-card team, they may have possibly the best newcomer of the year Evan Mobley. He was a highly touted recruit for USC and was rated five stars.
“Every day it seems like he does something different, whether it’s offensively or defensively, that no one else can do on our team or anybody we played against last year,” Enfield said. “So it’s fun to watch some of those spectacular plays, but he’s a developing player.”
USC and UCLA are the two juggernauts in this field of play, but outside of these two, LMU may also play well coming out of the region.
The Lions men’s basketball team went 11–21 overall last year and 4–12 in the West Coast Conference to finish in eighth place. This subpar record led to the dismissal of six-year head coach Mike Dunlap back in March. Since then the program has hired Marquette associate head coach Stan Johnson to help get the Lions out of their current hole.
“We are excited to play someone other than ourselves, there’s no doubt about that, Johnson said in a letter to the university. “With so much uncertainty that surrounds the season with COVID issues, it puts a microscope on the importance of each game on the schedule. Every game that we are allowed to play must be treated like gold.”
As LMU looks to rebuild, players on the team look to redeem themselves from a dismal last season.
“We want to win a lot of games this year, senior forward Eli Scott said. “Last year didn’t go how we wanted and we have a full team coming back. I feel like we can do some great things this year.”
LMU hasn’t had back-to-back winning seasons since the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons, and qualified to the NCAA tournament since 1990 where they made it to the Elite Eight. It will, however, be a tough road for them as they will have to face off against Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, and BYU in conference play.
Local players and coaches alike seem to echo Johnson’s remarks about the opportunity to play again on the hardwood as the college basketball landscape was paused right before March Madness. With safety protocols put in place in order for them to compete, the men’s basketball programs at USC, UCLA and LMU, are all looking forward to shooting hoops again.
Teams can schedule 24 regular-season games and participate in one multiple-team event that includes up to three games; 25 regular-season games and participate in one multiple-team event that includes up to two games, or 25 regular-season games if a team does not participate in a multiple-team event.
Robert Rios is a reporter and writer for News4usonline. As a current intern for the news outlet, Robert hopes to gain a better news sense and establish his voice in his writing. He follows news and sports. Robert watches all sports from baseball, football, ultimate frisbee, and spike ball. Currently, Robert is attempting to get his bachelor’s degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
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Whether you believe in God or not, this is a must-read message!!!
Throughout time, we can see how we have been slowly conditioned to come to this point where we are on the verge of a cashless society. Did you know that the Bible foretold of this event almost 2,000 years ago?
In Revelation 13:16-18, we read,
“He (the false prophet who decieves many by his miracles) causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”
Referring to the last generation, this could only be speaking of a cashless society. Why? Revelation 13:17 tells us that we cannot buy or sell unless we receive the mark of the beast. If physical money was still in use, we could buy or sell with one another without receiving the mark. This would contradict scripture that states we need the mark to buy or sell!
These verses could not be referring to something purely spiritual as scripture references two physical locations (our right hand or forehead) stating the mark will be on one “OR” the other. If this mark was purely spiritual, it would indicate only in one place.
This is where it really starts to come together. It is shocking how accurate the Bible is concerning the implatnable RFID microchip. These are notes from a man named Carl Sanders who worked with a team of engineers to help develop this RFID chip
“Carl Sanders sat in seventeen New World Order meetings with heads-of-state officials such as Henry Kissinger and Bob Gates of the C.I.A. to discuss plans on how to bring about this one-world system. The government commissioned Carl Sanders to design a microchip for identifying and controlling the peoples of the world—a microchip that could be inserted under the skin with a hypodermic needle (a quick, convenient method that would be gradually accepted by society).
Carl Sanders, with a team of engineers behind him, with U.S. grant monies supplied by tax dollars, took on this project and designed a microchip that is powered by a lithium battery, rechargeable through the temperature changes in our skin. Without the knowledge of the Bible (Brother Sanders was not a Christian at the time), these engineers spent one-and-a-half-million dollars doing research on the best and most convenient place to have the microchip inserted.
Guess what? These researchers found that the forehead and the back of the hand (the two places the Bible says the mark will go) are not just the most convenient places, but are also the only viable places for rapid, consistent temperature changes in the skin to recharge the lithium battery. The microchip is approximately seven millimeters in length, .75 millimeters in diameter, about the size of a grain of rice. It is capable of storing pages upon pages of information about you. All your general history, work history, crime record, health history, and financial data can be stored on this chip.
Brother Sanders believes that this microchip, which he regretfully helped design, is the “mark” spoken about in Revelation 13:16–18. The original Greek word for “mark” is “charagma,” which means a “scratch or etching.” It is also interesting to note that the number 666 is actually a word in the original Greek. The word is “chi xi stigma,” with the last part, “stigma,” also meaning “to stick or prick.” Carl believes this is referring to a hypodermic needle when they poke into the skin to inject the microchip.”
Mr. Sanders asked a doctor what would happen if the lithium contained within the RFID microchip leaked into the body. The doctor replied by saying a terrible sore would appear in that location. This is what the book of Revelation says:
“And the first (angel) went, and poured out his vial on the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore on the men which had the mark of the beast, and on them which worshipped his image” (Revelation 16:2).
You can read more about it here–and to also understand the mystery behind the number 666: https://2ruth.org/rfid-mark-of-the-beast-666-revealed/
The third angel’s warning in Revelation 14:9-11 states,
“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.'”
Who is Barack Obama, and why is he still in the public scene?
So what’s in the name? The meaning of someone’s name can say a lot about a person. God throughout history has given names to people that have a specific meaning tied to their lives. How about the name Barack Obama? Let us take a look at what may be hiding beneath the surface.
Jesus says in Luke 10:18, “…I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
The Hebrew Strongs word (H1299) for “lightning”: “ba?ra?q” (baw-rawk)
In Isaiah chapter 14, verse 14, we read about Lucifer (Satan) saying in his heart:
“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”
In the verses in Isaiah that refer directly to Lucifer, several times it mentions him falling from the heights or the heavens. The Hebrew word for the heights or heavens used here is Hebrew Strongs 1116: “bamah”–Pronounced (bam-maw’)
In Hebrew, the letter “Waw” or “Vav” is often transliterated as a “U” or “O,” and it is primarily used as a conjunction to join concepts together. So to join in Hebrew poetry the concept of lightning (Baraq) and a high place like heaven or the heights of heaven (Bam-Maw), the letter “U” or “O” would be used. So, Baraq “O” Bam-Maw or Baraq “U” Bam-Maw in Hebrew poetry similar to the style written in Isaiah, would translate literally to “Lightning from the heights.” The word “Satan” in Hebrew is a direct translation, therefore “Satan.”
So when Jesus told His disciples in Luke 10:18 that He beheld Satan fall like lightning from heaven, if this were to be spoken by a Jewish Rabbi today influenced by the poetry in the book of Isaiah, he would say these words in Hebrew–the words of Jesus in Luke 10:18 as, And I saw Satan as Baraq O Bam-Maw.
The names of both of Obama’s daughters are Malia and Natasha. If we were to write those names backward (the devil does things in reverse) we would get “ailam ahsatan”. Now if we remove the letters that spell “Alah” (Allah being the false god of Islam), we get “I am Satan”. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Obama’s campaign logo when he ran in 2008 was a sun over the horizon in the west, with the landscape as the flag of the United States. In Islam, they have their own messiah that they are waiting for called the 12th Imam, or the Mahdi (the Antichrist of the Bible), and one prophecy concerning this man’s appearance is the sun rising in the west.
“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.'” (Revelation 14:6-7)
Why have the word’s of Jesus in His Gospel accounts regarding His death, burial, and resurrection, been translated into over 3,000 languages, and nothing comes close? The same God who formed the heavens and earth that draws all people to Him through His creation, likewise has sent His Word to the ends of the earth so that we may come to personally know Him to be saved in spirit and in truth through His Son Jesus Christ.
Jesus stands alone among the other religions that say to rightly weigh the scales of good and evil and to make sure you have done more good than bad in this life. Is this how we conduct ourselves justly in a court of law? Bearing the image of God, is this how we project this image into reality?
Our good works cannot save us. If we step before a judge, being guilty of a crime, the judge will not judge us by the good that we have done, but rather by the crimes we have committed. If we as fallen humanity, created in God’s image, pose this type of justice, how much more a perfect, righteous, and Holy God?
God has brought down His moral laws through the 10 commandments given to Moses at Mt. Siani. These laws were not given so we may be justified, but rather that we may see the need for a savior. They are the mirror of God’s character of what He has put in each and every one of us, with our conscious bearing witness that we know that it is wrong to steal, lie, dishonor our parents, murder, and so forth.
We can try and follow the moral laws of the 10 commandments, but we will never catch up to them to be justified before a Holy God. That same word of the law given to Moses became flesh about 2,000 years ago in the body of Jesus Christ. He came to be our justification by fulfilling the law, living a sinless perfect life that only God could fulfill.
The gap between us and the law can never be reconciled by our own merit, but the arm of Jesus is stretched out by the grace and mercy of God. And if we are to grab on, through faith in Him, He will pull us up being the one to justify us. As in the court of law, if someone steps in and pays our fine, even though we are guilty, the judge can do what is legal and just and let us go free. That is what Jesus did almost 2,000 years ago on the cross. It was a legal transaction being fulfilled in the spiritual realm by the shedding of His blood.
For God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23). This is why in Isaiah chapter 53, where it speaks of the coming Messiah and His soul being a sacrifice for our sins, why it says it pleased God to crush His only begotten Son.
This is because the wrath that we deserve was justified by being poured out upon His Son. If that wrath was poured out on us, we would all perish to hell forever. God created a way of escape by pouring it out on His Son whose soul could not be left in Hades but was raised and seated at the right hand of God in power.
So now when we put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14), God no longer sees the person who deserves His wrath, but rather the glorious image of His perfect Son dwelling in us, justifying us as if we received the wrath we deserve, making a way of escape from the curse of death–now being conformed into the image of the heavenly man in a new nature, and no longer in the image of the fallen man Adam.
Now what we must do is repent and put our trust and faith in the savior, confessing and forsaking our sins, and to receive His Holy Spirit that we may be born again (for Jesus says we must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God–John chapter 3). This is not just head knowledge of believing in Jesus, but rather receiving His words, taking them to heart, so that we may truly be transformed into the image of God. Where we no longer live to practice sin, but rather turn from our sins and practice righteousness through faith in Him in obedience to His Word by reading the Bible.
Our works cannot save us, but they can condemn us; it is not that we earn our way into everlasting life, but that we obey our Lord Jesus Christ:
“And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” (Hebrews 5:9)
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’
Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’
And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.'” (Revelation 21:1-8).
Thanks for posting. I really enjoyed reading it, especially because it addressed my problem. It helped me a lot and I hope it will help others too.