What struck UCLA coach Jim Mora most when he watched recent tutorials on stopping Stanford wasn’t so much intense defensive pressure or inventive schemes.
It was old-fashioned effort.
“I mean, maybe not perfect all the time,” Mora said of the effort by USC and San Diego State in victories over the Cardinal, “but a maniacal attitude to get to the ball. … That maniacal effort is what won it for those teams.”
It’s the kind of effort that Mora said had been missing at times from the Bruins’ defense last weekend during a 48-45 loss to Memphis.