l-Star Game someday.That means the ice has got to be great, he said. That means the fan experience has got to be great. That

LOS ANGELES -- UCLA is poised to unveil the strongest recruiting class coach Steve Alford has brought to Westwood, led by Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf.Their arrival comes just in time.The Bruins were 15-17 last season, only the schools fourth losing season since John Wooden arrived in 1948. Alford, who wasnt a popular hire four years ago, returned a one-year contract extension he signed after his first season and wrote an apology letter to fans.Now, hes hoping Ball, Leaf and fellow freshman Ike Anigbogu are the answer to getting the Bruins back to the postseason.Alfords challenge lies in blending the talented trio with veterans like his son Bryce, fellow senior Isaac Hamilton and junior big man Thomas Welsh while improving the Bruins defense that has never been ranked higher than eighth under him.We messed around with doing too many different things last year, Alford said Wednesday. Last year for the first time in a long time with my teams, we didnt get better month to month. Thats what was frustrating and we ended up having a bad year. Now what do you do moving forward? How do you handle that adversity?The Bruins return most of their roster, with the exception of Tony Parker who graduated and Jonah Bolden who left school over the summer to pursue a pro career.The arrival of Ball brings to mind such previously hyped freshmen as Kevin Love, Kevon Looney and Shabazz Muhammad, all one-and-done players who made a mark during brief stays in Westwood.Theres going to be a lot of hype around you, but you got to realize that once you start college a lot of those things have nothing to do with anything, Alford said. It is a start over, it is a new level, just like when you get to the NBA, what you did in college means nothing.Ball led nearby Chino Hills High to a California state title and undefeated season as a senior who earned national player of the year honors.The vets are ready to win, were ready to win and Im just going to do what I can to contribute to that, he said.Leaf, a 6-foot-9 forward from suburban San Diego, was a McDonalds All-American who scored 3,022 points in his prep career.At 6-10 and 250 pounds, Anigbogu lends some heft in the middle and gives the Bruins a different kind of center than Welsh, a 7-footer with a more delicate touch.Balls arrival figures to have the biggest effect on the younger Alford, who averaged 16.1 points in a team-high 36.2 minutes last season. The senior guard is used to taking the last shot with the game on the line and he has handled the bulk of the ball-handling the last two years.With Balls playmaking ability and passing skills, Alford can slide over to the `2 spot.Now I can finally get back to what I do best off the ball and having a guy like him will really help, Alford said. Hes probably the best passer Ive ever played with, along with Kyle Anderson. Hes going to bring a lot of different aspects that we havent had in a while.Custom Arsenal Jerseys . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Custom Chelsea Jerseys . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. 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John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead.NEW YORK -- Jon Ledecky values the two-year transition period he and Scott Malkin had before taking over control of the New York Islanders this month.Ledecky visited every NHL arena and met with about 20 team presidents, picking their brains about the best business practices in running their franchises.Having those two years to learn and do that was very helpful, Ledecky said Wednesday at a luncheon with local media.Ledecky and Malkin, childhood friends and college roommates at Harvard, took over the majority stake in the Islanders on July 1 under a deal agreed to in 2014. Charles Wang, who bought the team in 2000, retains a minority stake.The way we bought the team, Commissioner [Gary] Bettman said that should be a model for other team sales, Ledecky said. Were now in our third year, and in our third year, we shouldnt be making rookie mistakes.Ledecky, who intends to be more involved than Malkin in the business operations of the team, said he was able to subtly interact with fans at the arena and while traveling to games on the subway and Long Island Rail Road.I felt great to be able to be anonymous and be able to talk to them openly, he said. The fans want a winner. They want to know that youre going to spend to the cap, if you have to, to build a winner, which we are willing to do.The Islanders are coming off a successful first season in Brooklyns Barclays Center after spending the franchises first 43 years at Long Islands Nassau Coliseum. They overcame injuries down the stretch to earn a playoff berth for the second straight year -- and the third such berth in the past four years -- while reaching the 100-point mark in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1982. New York then beat the Florida Panthers to win a postseason series for the first time since 1993 before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the second round.The Islanders will have a different look next season, having signed forwards Andrew Ladd, Jason Chimera and?P.A. Parenteau?to replace deeparted longtime stars Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo and Matt Martin.dddddddddddd Ledecky said the franchises goal is to keep improving and win a Stanley Cup, but he wont get involved in player personnel decisions. Those are left to general manager Garth Snow.You have to have full faith and confidence in your people, Ledecky said. You set the tone, you provide a budget -- and in this case, the budget is the cap at the NHL -- and you hope that your GM and his team do the right thing.Ledecky acknowledged the growing pains in the transition to the new arena and pointed to the improvements made along the way, including the hiring of an outside company for game-day presentations -- something Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark had disclosed in March.In the second half of the season, we started seeing tweaks, Ledecky said. We started doing a little bit more with the scoreboard and tried to personalize the arena a little bit. Tried to understand how you made better ice, tried to reach out to experts in the NHL to help us with that.Ledecky also said he hopes Barclays hosts an NHL All-Star Game someday.That means the ice has got to be great, he said. That means the fan experience has got to be great. That means the arena has to look like a hockey arena. We have to personalize it when were playing in it; we have to make it Islanders-centric.Asked whether there was a possibility the Islanders could play a handful of regular-season games back at Nassau Coliseum once the arenas renovations are complete -- and at a reduced capacity than before -- Ledecky said that would be a decision made by the NHL.No team owner has the right unilaterally or otherwise to go to the National Hockey League and say Im playing games over here, Im playing games over there, he said. Thats not an issue were involved in. Thats an issue the folks would have to take up with the commissioner. ' ' '