UCLA didn't offer scholarships to Derrick Williams and Kawhi Leonard, two sophomores from southern California who are projected first round picks in the 2011 NBA Draft.

"We did a poor job not evaluating them as well as we should have," Ben Howland said recently.

Kevin Love's father Stan spoke with the family of Kyle Wiltjer, who signed with Kentucky after being pursued by UCLA.

"I like Ben. It's UCLA," Stan Love said, speaking generally about his thoughts on the program. "But you do have to play modern basketball. We could have won the championship if he would have taken the reins off a little bit. Sometimes, you have to outscore the other team; you can't just 'D up' all the time."

"From my observation, UCLA is not held in as high esteem as it was three years ago," said Bob Gibbons, a North Carolina-based national recruiting expert. "For some reason, players are leaving the area and going east."