UCLA's Dragovic may have sway on wins and losses

UCLA's Dragovic may have sway on wins and losses
By Jon Gold, Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Daily News
Updated: 02/16/2010 10:59:47 PM PST


So, it seems, as Nikola Dragovic goes, so goes the UCLA men's basketball team.

In nine Bruins wins, Dragovic leads the team with 15 points per game on 50.6 percent shooting. He did not play in two other UCLA victories.

In UCLA defeats, however, Dragovic slips to 9.1 points on 29 percent shooting.

In the consecutive losses to Cal and USC, Dragovic had 19 points on a combined 6-for-22 shooting, including 1-for-11 from 3-point range.

Freshman center Reeves Nelson has a similar pattern. Nelson drops from 14 points per game in victory, to 8.7 in defeat.

Do the Bruins ebb and flow with Dragovic and Nelson?

"I wouldn't even say it's about being part of the offense; it's about being into the game," UCLA senior shooting guard Michael Roll said. "When they're not playing well, as a team we have a tendency to check out. They have a tendency to not play as hard if things aren't going their way. If we can get them to turn that around - as a team, we all need to play harder if they're not playing well, just to pick up the slack."

While Dragovic has been prone to poor shot selection, Nelson is just hoping for more shots.

Nelson's touches have been erratic at times, and so have his points - from 19 against Washington State on Jan. 23 to 11 at Oregon on Jan. 28, from 18 against Stanford on Feb. 4 to a combined 16 against Cal and USC - as he continues to learn how to get open and how to use his legs in the post.

"You can't really pass the ball into yourself, so it's just up to the guards to either take open shots or get the ball inside," Nelson said. "It's easier said than done, I guess. But it's up to them - they run the offense."

Bumps and bruises
Ben Howland said at Tuesday's news conference that James Keefe was not looking good for this week, after dislocating his shoulder in Friday's practice.

"He's unlikely for this week - he did have the MRI read that he had on Sunday morning, and basically it showed that there's not a lot of new activity," Howland said. "My hope is he'll be able to play in our last four regular-season games. He's gonna need surgery once the season's over - the screws are still in place, but I think it's pretty clear they're going to have to go back in there and take a look."