UCLA's Honeycutt, Nelson learning on the fly how to box out

UCLA's Honeycutt, Nelson learning on the fly how to box out
By Jon Gold, Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Daily News
Updated: 01/12/2010 10:39:59 PM PST

Reeves Nelson and Tyler Honeycutt are learning all about the college life.

It's not just about hectic class schedules and 40-pound history books, but life in college basketball as well.

The UCLA freshmen have been thrust into the starting lineup — Honeycutt got his first starting gig against Cal last Wednesday — and head coach Ben Howland has had to do some teaching on the fly, particularly on the glass.
Tyler Honeycutt, the freshman forward is averaging 4.5 pts and 5.8 rbds per game for the Bruins this season(photo: The Daily Bruin)



Nelson and Honeycutt, skilled and athletic jumpers, lead the team at 5.8 rebounds per game despite essentially having to learn how to box out for the first time.

"You'd be surprised at some of the fundamentals that are not habits coming out of high school," Howland said. "Blocking out is one of them.

Tyler is a very good rebounder — he goes and gets it with two hands, he's quick to the ball — but there are also times where he is getting blocked out and he can be even a better rebounder."

Reeves Nelson, the freshman forward has started in all 16 games this season, averaging 10.3 pts and 5.8 rbds per game

Nelson's rebounding numbers have increased with his playing time, but he also has been nonexistent on the boards at times, with three rebounds in 32 minutes at Cal and three boards in 28 minutes against Delaware State.

"It definitely is an adjustment. You never had to really box out against high school players ... you just had the ability right off the bat," said Nelson, who averages 10.3 points per game. "It's just repetition and getting used to it, that's all."

Honeycutt, meanwhile, appears to be getting used to it just fine.

In the past three games, the Sylmar High product has 25 rebounds, including 10 against Cal. His offensive game is still being refined — he has nine points in those three games and is averaging 4.5 for the season — but he is trying to do the little things.

"I knew there were going to be things that I needed to work on that I didn't have to do in high school," Honeycutt said. "Especially with rebounding. I was always the most athletic, pretty much the tallest guy. I didn't have to box out. I would just go up and get the rebound. It's still kind of that way, but there are a lot of times where I don't get the ball because I didn't box out."

"As teams start to see that I am a good rebounder, that they're going to have to lay a body on me. I'm going to have to lay a body right back. "

Topsy-turvy
The Pacific-10 Conference has been on one heck of a roller coaster since play began two weeks ago.

Each team owns at least one conference win — the earliest time this has happened since expansion in 1978-79 — and preseason favorite Washington has limped to a 1-3 start. Not one Pac-10 team received a single vote in the latest AP poll.

"You look at our conference right now, and it's really clear that anybody can beat anybody on a given day," Howland said. "It's just as hard to predict the bottom two teams as who's going to be the top two teams.

"It's going to be a long, hard-fought conference schedule."