Drew Gordon is gone.
Reeves Nelson, although injured recently (hyperextension of right knee), should start at the forward position vacated by Drew. So far this season, Nelson is averaging 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in 14.8 minutes.
Photo: Bruins freshman Reeves Nelson scores inside against Kramer Knutson of Portland last week during the 76 Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center. Credit: Bret Hartman / For The Los Angeles Times
Freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt, who has yet to play in the regular season, is also scheduled to play today.
Also, Coach Ben Howland has said he might dabble in some zone defense.
A lot of "first's" today. The Bruins are obvious underdogs in this one, on paper and otherwise. But, rest assured, Coach Ben will have these guys competing. Listen to Coach Ben, team! Good luck against Kansas. GO, BRUINS!!!
UCLA Hosts No. 1 Kansas in Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series
from The Official Site of UCLA Men's Basketball
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
DATE: Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009
SITE: Pauley Pavilion (12,819)
TIP-OFF: 2:37 p.m. PT
TELEVISION: FSN/PT
TALENT: Steve Physioc (play-by-play), Marques Johnson (analyst) and Michael Eaves (sideline)
RADIO: AM 570 KLAC
SIRIUS SATELLITE: Channel 121
SIRIUS XM SATELLITE: Channel 105
TALENT: Chris Roberts (play-by-play) and Don MacLean (analyst)
BRUIN INJURY REPORT
Freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt has missed the first six games with a stress reaction in his right tibia (as announced on Nov. 8, 2009). He should be able to play this week against No. 1 Kansas. Freshman forward/center Reeves Nelson missed two practices this week with a hyperextended right knee but should be available for Sunday's game against the Jayhawks.
SERIES VERSUS KANSAS
This is the 15th meeting between the Kansas Jayhawks and UCLA with the Bruins leading the series 10-4. UCLA won the last meeting, a 68-55 win in an NCAA Regional Final on Mar. 24, 2007. Senior guard Michael Roll and senior forward James Keefe are the only two current Bruins that played in that contest. Roll played nine minutes scoring three points and grabbling one rebound. Keefe just played in one minute of the second half without recording any statistics. UCLA is 4-1 all-time against KU at home and 2-1 in Pauley Pavilion. UCLA Head Coach Ben Howland is 1-0 against Kansas.
UCLA VS. NO. 1
UCLA sports an overall record of 10-18 (.357) all-time against teams that are ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll. Four of those wins have come since 2000 (last 11 seasons). One of those wins was when 11th-ranked UCLA handed No. 1 Kansas an 87-77 defeat in Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 12, 2002. The last time UCLA faced a No. 1 team was in the 73-60 loss at home to Stanford (Feb. 21, 2004). The last time the Bruins beat a No. 1 team was in the 96-89 overtime victory over Arizona in the quarterfinals in the Pac-10 Tournament (Mar. 13, 2003).
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Comfortable in the zone? They'll find out
If the Bruins shelve their trademark man-to-man defense for even a few minutes against top-ranked Kansas -- as Coach Ben Howland has been hinting all week -- it will mark a tectonic shift.
By David Wharton
The Los Angeles Times
December 6, 2009
If the coach calls for a zone defense at some point this afternoon, that will be just fine by Jerime Anderson.
The UCLA point guard considers the zone "kind of basic basketball. It shouldn't be too hard to catch on."
But if the Bruins shelve their trademark man-to-man for even a few minutes against top-ranked Kansas -- as Coach Ben Howland has been hinting all week -- it will mark a tectonic shift.
Even the Jayhawks, hearing rumors half a country away, seem intrigued.
"Ben plays less zone than we do, which isn't much," Kansas Coach Bill Self said. "From a defensive standpoint, on the perimeter they may want to play some zone, but I don't know exactly what that indicates."
The Bruins figure to need something special against an undefeated opponent at Pauley Pavilion, trying to end a three-game losing streak and playing without center Drew Gordon, who quit the team last week.
"It's a daunting challenge," Howland said.
The zone isn't entirely new to him -- he employed it occasionally in a previous stop at Pittsburgh and a little during his first season in Westwood.
His hand is now forced by a young team that has struggled to stay in front of the ball.
Through the first six games, opponents are shooting 45% and outscoring the Bruins by an average of two-plus points.
"Obviously, this season we haven't been the defensive stopping team that we had been in the past," senior forward James Keefe said.
When Howland was coaching in the Big East Conference, he watched Syracuse badger opponents with an aggressive zone.
At UCLA, a shift in defensive philosophy might lead to personnel changes, with more opportunity for youngsters such as Mike Moser and Tyler Honeycutt.
"One thing we can do at times is have length and size in there," Howland said.
The Bruins planned to spend this week practicing their new ploy, the coach intent on delivering a warning to his players: "Sometimes when people get in the zone, kids feel like it's time to relax."
Howland wants to see the same kind of effort that has marked UCLA's man defense in past seasons: pressuring the ballhandler, disrupting the opponent's offense.
"You have to understand that you have to work really hard," he said. "You've got to be on your toes the whole time."
That will be especially true against a Kansas squad that arrives in Southern California on the heels of a 98-31 -- yes, 98-31 -- victory over Alcorn State.
Two years ago, this would have been a marquee game.
Now, with UCLA off to a 2-4 start, the Kansas players sound as if they are guarding against complacency.
"It is not a pushover game and not one to just mark on the calendar as a win," senior guard Sherron Collins said. "We really need to go in there and play because it is going to be a tough game in a tough atmosphere."
One bit of good news for the Bruins: Freshman Reeves Nelson appears to have recovered from a hyperextended knee and will probably start in Gordon's place at center.
But Anderson suspects it will take a lot -- more than a single player, more than a switch to zone -- to spark a turnaround for his team.
"I don't think one thing is necessarily going to be a huge solution for the problems that we're having," he said. "The main thing is, we've got to play hard."
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UCLA basketball: Reeves Nelson practices
by David Wharton
The Los Angeles Times
December 4, 2009 | 6:43 pm
UCLA freshman Reeves Nelson, who hyperextended his right knee earlier this week, returned to practice Friday and is probable to start against top-ranked Kansas at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday.
The Bruins are relying on Nelson to fill at least some of the gap left by the unexpected departure of sophomore center Drew Gordon, who left the team on Tuesday.
So far this season, Nelson is averaging 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in 14.8 minutes.
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