Bruins' youngsters show glimpses of their gifts
By MARK WHICKER
COLUMNIST
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
December 06, 2009 6:49 PM
LOS ANGELES – The moral victory made a rare visit to Pauley Pavilion on Sunday, accompanied by sections full of Kansas fans who executed the eerie "Rock ...Chalk ... Jayhawk" chant when the clock was winding down.
They turned John Wooden's palace into Marine Layer Field House — you know, the California version of "The Phog." And they savored a 73-61 victory by top-ranked Kansas over UCLA.
But the UCLA loyalists who sat between the empty seats also stood and applauded when the day was done. Finally they could actually see the outlines of a presentable basketball team in the white jerseys.
Not that the 2-5 Bruins are ready to make national noise. They are, however, poised to make you forget last weekend's Disneyland nightmare, in which they lost to the pride of the Horizon League, the West Coast Conference and the Big West, without any particular gallantry.
"We came back to practice and Coach (Ben) Howland told us we didn't have starters, that all five spots were open," said Malcolm Lee, who took over Jerime Anderson's point spot, at least for this game. "I never like to lose any game, but this game was a stepping stone for us.
"We're short on horses right now. I think if we can beat the teams we should beat, we're going to be all right. Maybe we should play every game like it's against the No. 1 team in the country."
Based on accomplishment, Kansas probably should be No. 5 or something. The Jayhawks had been tested once, coming in, and survived Memphis. They weren't cornering smoothly here, giving UCLA 17 points on their turnovers, but whenever they needed something, they took the game into the airspace above the Bruins.
A fast break bucket by Michael Roll cut Kansas' lead to four points with 17:17 left, and Jayhawks coach Bill Self called a timeout. During the huddle he apparently explained some principles of verticality, and center Cole Aldrich went to the foul line and threw a high-low pass to Marcus Morris, who scored and sparked a 10-4 run. Kansas led by at least nine from then on.
Marcus' twin brother Markieff averages 7.5 points but wound up with 19 points. But future lottery pick Cole Aldrich had but one field goal.
"They just spread us out and made us guard them all over the floor," Lee said, "and then their bigs beat us up underneath."
The Bruins made too many turnovers, missed too many free throws, and were beaten, 36-28, in the paint. But they also saw reasons to anticipate, and not to dread, the rest of the schedule, beginning with Mississippi State at Honda Center on Saturday.
Well, Reeves Nelson couldn't see the reasons. But he was the main one.
Every game, the big freshman from Modesto finds ways to snatch rebounds, score up-and-under points, and establish territory.
"He really played well today," Self said. "He was really aggressive. I think that was the best game he's had, from the tapes I've seen."
Whether Nelson can see any tapes today is unknown. He was poked in the right eye and went to his knees, and then all the way down to the hardwood. Those who knew his pain threshold were immediately concerned. Especially when they got a look at his right eye, which made you wonder if Manny Pacquiao had sneaked into the building.
"There was just no opening in his eye," Lee said. "It started swelling up as soon as he hit the floor."
And yet here was Nelson again, wearing yellow-rimmed shades that looked like 3-D glasses. He only missed about six minutes, and he didn't play as if there was something to lose. That's how a freshman becomes a leader.
"He's the leading rebounder in our practices, by a lot," Lee said.
And, with Drew Gordon gone, Nelson is the lead rebounder in competition, He had nine boards in 23 minutes Sunday, and, for the season, has 37 in 112.
Then there's J'Mison (Bobo) Morgan, a 6-foot-11 sophomore who might as well be a freshman. Morgan is just now earning minutes. He is in no danger of making All-Pac-10, but Howland is beginning to trust him, and when Morgan swept into the lane for a nice jump hook, you saw why. Morgan also suffered an injured tooth, in a baseline collision.
Tyler Honeycutt, considered the most gifted freshman, made his first appearance of the season, went 1 for 6 with three turnovers, and yet got six rebounds in his 19 minutes.
"Just having him there will help us space out the minutes a little bit," Howland said.
"But we competed better. We fought today. And that's how it's going to have to be, to build on that competitive thing."
You build it on Reeves Nelson, whose identity can't be disguised.
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REEVES NELSON UPDATE
By Jon Gold
Inside UCLA blog
The Los Angeles Daily News
December 6, 2009 8:58 PM
UCLA freshman forward Reeves Nelson, who was poked in the eye in the second half of the Bruins' 73-61 loss to No. 1 Kansas on Sunday afternoon, was taken immediately after the game to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Reeves has a corneal abrasion and some swelling in his right eye. He will miss three to four days and will be revaluated after the swelling goes down. UCLA's medical staff is optimistic he will be available to play when the Bruins face Mississippi State in the John R. Wooden Classic on Dec. 12 at Honda Center.
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UCLA basketball: A no-zone layer against Kansas
By David Wharton
The Los Angeles Times
December 7, 2009 | 8:49 am
For much of last week, UCLA Coach Ben Howland talked about trying a zone defense against top-ranked Kansas, but that never happened during Sunday's 73-61 loss at Pauley Pavilion.
The Bruins stuck to their trademark man-to-man for a couple of reasons.
First, Kansas is big but not as quick on the perimeter as teams such as Portland that have consistently beaten UCLA off the dribble.
Second, Kansas shoots with greater accuracy from outside.
"We watched film on them against zone, and they really attack it well," Howland said, adding: "It's harder to block out in zone coverage than it is in man coverage."
Even so, the Jayhawks penetrated enough to create problems and outscore UCLA 36-28 in the paint, which left Howland musing that maybe the zone "is something we should have looked at."
The Bruins still have concerns about being athletic enough -- at this point, at least -- to stay in front of the ball. Howland said they will continue to learn the zone in practice this week.
"There will be other teams where maybe it will be something to think about based on their personnel," he said.
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UCLA's Nelson impresses Kansas star Aldrich
By Jon Gold, Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Daily News
Updated: 12/07/2009 10:49:44 PM PST
The ultimate compliment is respect from the competition.
So when preseason All-American center Cole Aldrich of Kansas calls Reeves Nelson "scrappy," it's only a good thing.
Especially after Nelson held Aldrich to just seven points in UCLA's 73-61 loss to the Jayhawks on Sunday afternoon.
"He's going to be a good player," said Aldrich, who at 6feet 11 is 3 inches taller than Nelson. "He's real scrappy. You have to keep hitting him on the boards. He's one of those guys you love playing against, but you also hate it at the same time. You love guys who go after the ball really hard, but it's like, `Man, I have to keep boxing him out?"'
Before being sidelined with a poke to the right eye that caused a corneal abrasion, Nelson had nine points and nine rebounds in his first collegiate start. Nelson moved into the first unit after the announcement of sophomore center Drew Gordon's decision to transfer at the end of the quarter.
There was some concern whether Nelson could handle himself in the post defensively against bigger, taller and stronger centers, but Nelson proved his mettle against Aldrich, who is expected to be a first-round pick in the 2010 NBA draft.
The concern now is if Nelson can stay on the court, as his aggressive playing style can cause random bumps and bruises that can pile up. Early last week, Nelson suffered a hyperextended knee that put his status for the Kansas game in question.
But UCLA coach Ben Howland has a message for Reeves: Just keep doing what you're doing.
"If you play weary out there, you're never going to be effective," Howland said. "I thought the poke in the eye was just a fluke deal. He's had bad luck working against him this week in the injury department."
Leading the pack
With Nelson moving into the starting lineup and freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt(Sylmar High) returning from a stress reaction in his shin and expected to play major minutes, as he did with 19 against Kansas on Sunday, the youth movement continues for UCLA.
That just makes Michael Roll's place on the team all the more important.
Roll not only leads the Bruins (2-5) in scoring at 13.6 points per game, but he has become a steadying presence on the court, and the de facto team spokesman.
"I try to get them to calm down a little bit out there," Roll said. "That was Tyler's first game, he probably had a lot of nerves. Sometimes when that happens, you can forget some things out there. I just try to give them pointers."
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Quotables: Malcolm Lee
By Jon Gold
Inside UCLA blog
The Los Angeles Daily News
December 8, 2009 9:00 AM
On the team finding positives in the Kansas loss:
"Although we played somewhat better than we have been playing, we shouldn't be happy with an 'L.' We should take how hard we play and how intense we are. We competed a lot. But I just feel like we need to treat every team like the No. 1 team in the country."
At some points you guys were pushing the tempo and controlling the action; how important is that?
"We were going more up and down and it was more fluid. But at the same time, we have to play in the system. We have to stay with this identity, but yet don't forget how we got here."
On Drew Gordon's transfer:
"Drew was a good presence inside; he could defend the post and run up the court. That's going to be missing. I don't think we're better off without him. We're going to miss his presence. But there was a lot of drama off the court. That affected on the court."
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Howland ON: Reeves Nelson
By Jon Gold
Inside UCLA blog
The Los Angeles Daily News
December 8, 2009 6:38 PM
On Reeves Nelson's injury:
"He's going to see the team trainer, Laef Morris, later today. I think at 4. I didn't get an update. The swelling has gone down a little bit from yesterday. Bottom line is there's no significant damage. It was checked out by the Jules Stein people after the game that night. It's still swollen. The bottom of his eye looks really swollen right now but it's starting to get better.
"He'll have to wear the goggles, I'm pretty sure."
On Reeves Nelsons' status:
"He sees our team doctor, Dr. (John) DiFiori this afternoon at 4:30 to get checked out as well. The main thing is there's no significant damage to the eye. It could have been a lot of potential for bad things in a situation like that but everything seems pretty good."
On Nelson's injuries:
"It was a long week for Reeves Nelson. On Tuesday he hurts his knee, and we didn't know how bad it was. He ended up having to wear this brace but he couldn't anything until he got the brace. We got it right at practice time on Friday so he missed some important days of practice that would have been beneficial for him. He continued to learn his sets and know what he's supposed to do and then he gets his eye poked on Friday. He had a tough week because of those injuries."
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