TOO HOT TO HANDSLE

All Hands on Deck — Bruin Freshman Jaylen Hands impresses the crowd at Venice Beach, as do the rest of his teammates, the Bruin Women’s Team, and the UCLA Spirit Squad, but it’s Hands’ dunk jumping over Coach Steve Alford that Hands him the Dunk Contest Title

What a slamming day in sun-slammed Venice Beach!  On Saturday, UCLA and Under Armour staged a fun event where fans got to see a 3-on-3 street ball tournament, and then got their first look at the new UCLA Basketball Teams, spiced up nicely with appearances by members of the UCLA Spirit Squad.

The prelim tourney was made up of coed trios playing halfcourt ball.  After that, 8 members of the UCLA Dance Team plus some members of the Cheer Squad and Yell Crew and Joe & Josie performed several routines, backlit by the infernal October Sun.  Then the UCLA Women’s Team executed drills, and then the Men’s team did the same.  Finally, the fun and COED games ensued, including fans, with a skills contest, a group super-shot game, a three-point shooting contest, and a dunk contest.  We also got another bonus performance by the Spirit Squad!

Aaron Holiday won the Three-Point Shooting Contest, with Thomas Welsh also making a good showing.  One of the girls finished second though, and still had a chance to win on her very last moneyball shot which rimmed out for the Place.  Finishing in last place was LiAngelo Ball, who suffered a severe cold streak during his turn, including an airball.

In the Supershot competition, which teamed up a male player, a female player, and a student/fan, Gyorgy Goloman hit the three-pointer that carried his team to the win.  The headliner session that everyone was waiting for was the Dunk Contest, which finished in a tie, but fans voted for Jaylen Hands to break the tie.  Hands’ winning dunk included a jump over Coach Steve Alford, earning him perfect 10’s from all five judges.

Speaking of perfect 10’s, how about that Spirit Squad?  They looked SO good in the relentless heat of the Sun, with the picturesque Pacific Ocean and swaying California palm trees as a backdrop.  Special thanks go out today to Dance Team Coach Tiphanie, for being so incredibly sweet and helpful.  Tiphanie was a Raider Cheerleader, and looks like she still could be, but I’m grateful that she has taken her talents to Westwood.

Here are 53 more shots from the event.  I have a lot more, so hopefully I will have time to edit and post more soon.  I just got a real job working on a film production, so my time is suddenly extremely limited.

[The following photos are for Mike Miller, to try to judge height.]