UCLA's Joshua Smith, right, dunks over St. John's Dwayne Polee during the first half of the Bruins' 66-59 victory on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times / February 5, 2011)Bruins' Joshua Smith discovers the joys of dunking
UCLA's 6-10, 305-pound freshman center had gotten into the frustrating habit of missing layups, but in recent games he's taken a more direct and effective approach: Just dunk it.
By Ben Bolch
The Los Angeles Times
8:33 PM PST, February 8, 2011
Frustrated by missing layup after layup, Joshua Smith decided to take the sure route to two points.
By dunking.
It started with a ferocious one-handed dunk over Arizona State's Jordan Bachynski late last month. Then came a stretch last week that included two dunks against USC and four against St. John's.
UCLA's 6-foot-10, 305-pound freshman center has seven dunks in his last three games after getting only 11 dunks in his first 20 games. Smith led the Bruins with 15 points against the Trojans and 19 points against the Red Storm.
"A lot of times I didn't realize how close I was to the basket at the beginning of the season," Smith said Tuesday. "But now I'm just realizing my size and just how people are playing me and trying to take advantage of that."
Smith credited teammate Jerime Anderson for his new mind-set, saying the junior guard told him to dunk the ball after watching him miss open layups in practice.
"I think that has kind of catapulted him to kind of a different level, being more authoritative and more aggressive with the ball," UCLA Coach Ben Howland said. "His teammates are all for it. They were excited."
That's a wrap
Lazeric Jones is expected to have his sprained left wrist more heavily taped when UCLA (16-7 overall, 7-3 Pacific 10 Conference) plays host to Oregon (12-11, 5-6) Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. An MRI exam revealed several torn tendons.
Jones injured his wrist in the second half against USC last Wednesday but continued to play through discomfort against the Trojans and during the Bruins' 66-59 victory over St. John's three days later.
"It definitely was hurting a little bit against St. John's," said Jones, who missed all six of his shots and went scoreless against the Red Storm. "But I don't want to make any excuses about it. I just have to be a little more mentally tough about it and go out there and fight through it."
Howland said Jones would be fitted for a protective cast to wear when he's not playing.
Lane to miss game
Reserve forward Brendan Lane will miss the Oregon game to attend the funeral of his grandmother Ada Banevicius, who died Saturday in West Borough, Mass. She was 82.
Lane, who is averaging 3.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game, is scheduled to fly to Boston on Wednesday and return to Southern California on Friday night. Howland said he hoped Lane could play against Oregon State on Saturday.
Etc.
Howland said he would like to play Tyler Lamb more minutes to give guard Malcolm Lee and forward Tyler Honeycutt longer breathers. While Honeycutt is averaging a team-high 33.7 minutes and Lee 32.2 minutes, Lamb is averaging only 14.1 minutes. Lamb made two three-pointers and played solid defense in eight minutes against St. John's. . . . Howland disagreed with the notion that UCLA benefited from having Pac-10 officials work the St. John's game, even though the Red Storm was called for eight more fouls and shot 34 fewer free throws than the Bruins. "They were fouls," Howland said. "It was not any kind of homer situation."
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Another article on Josh Smith from the Los Angeles Daily News Feb 5, 2011
BONSIGNORE: Freshman center Smith starting to become big, bad BruinBy Vincent Bonsignore, columnist
The Los Angeles Daily News
Posted: 02/05/2011 10:18:24 PM PST
Updated: 02/05/2011 10:54:07 PM PST
The biggest critic of UCLA center Joshua Smith Saturday wasn't the guy in the tailored suit standing near the Bruins' bench all game.
With all due respect to UCLA coach Ben Howland, even he doesn't have the juice to break down Smith's game as honestly and frankly as Smith's father, Joshua Sr., who took an early morning flight to Los Angeles from Washington state and was in the stands at Pauley Pavilion to watch the Bruins beat St. John's 66-59.
Smith, sensing his father's presence and provoked by his watchful eye, responded like any son would when they are motivated to please their old man.
He played one of his best games of the season.
And in the process he punished St. John's, which was helpless against the 6-foot-9, 305-pound manchild.
"I love my dad, but when he comes to the game he holds me accountable," Smith said, laughing. "So whenever Dad comes in, you have to put on a show for him."
It would be easy to chalk up Smith's game-altering 19-point, eight-rebound, three-block performance on just his father being in the stands. The truth is, this was his third straight impressive outing, easily his best stretch of the season.
His surge mirrors the strong push being made by the Bruins, who won their 16th game of the season - their 13th over the past 16 - and stand just one game out of first place in the Pac-10 standings.
"You're starting to see he's no longer a freshman," Howland said. "He's growing as a player and is an unbelievable force (in the paint) on both ends. He did a great job blocking shots, changing shots and playing big."
As far as developments go, Smith's progress is absolutely the most important of the season for the young Bruins, who seem to be growing up before our eyes.
If UCLA is to make a legitimate run at the conference title, Smith has to be the imposing physical presence he's capable of.
When he's throwing his size and weight around like he was during one stretch Saturday, when he dunked four straight times on St. John's, there isn't a team in the Pac-10 that can deal with him.
The good news is it looks like he's starting to understand just how strong and powerful he really is, which is a significant change from early in the season when he would try to finesse his way around the paint, unsure if he was capable of powering over opponents.
Not anymore.
If Smith gets the ball anywhere near the hoop he attacks the basket and throws down one or two-handed dunks, no longer the unsure freshman he was earlier this season and every bit the difference-making center he was recruited to be.
"He's just a natural freak," marveled teammate Malcolm Lee.
And an asset few teams in the country have.
But like most young players, it's taken patience and persistence to get Smith from Point A to Point B in his first college season.
His teammates understood immediately what Smith's size and strength offered, the advantage it provided him and the Bruins.
But Smith wasn't so sure initially, and his play reflected that.
"Sometimes as a freshman you come in and think you might not be as good as the guy guarding you," Lee said. "The reality is that isn't the case. The guys guarding him are inferior to him, because he's so much bigger and stronger than they are."
Again, Lee and the rest of the Bruins understood that right away.
But it took time for Smith to grasp it. Too often he'd rush around the paint, worried his shot might get blocked or concerned he wasn't strong enough to power over his man.
"I remember when he first came in he was having trouble finishing," Lee said. "I was like `Yo, just take your time. You're the biggest guy out there."'
Apparently Smith finally gets it, because the last three games he's just overpowered defenders to the hoop.
"Now he's just saying `Forget it, I'm just gonna dunk on everyone,"' Lee said. "And if the dunk isn't there, he's got that little jump hook. He's just being a dominant force."
And he's discovered just how much energy he can create for his team and home arena when throws down a dunk on somebody.
"When you dunk you get the team riled up, you get the crowd riled up," Smith said.
Besides playing more confidently Smith also has a better grasp on how the college game is officiated, allowing him to avoid silly fouls and stay on the court for longer periods.
He played a season-high 29 minutes against USC Wednesday and 27 against St. John's, and in both games fouls were not an issue.
He didn't start either game, but he was on the court to begin the second half both times. And Saturday the Bruins were clearly more effective when he was on the court than when he was on the bench.
When Smith was on the floor, St. John's had to defend the Bruins differently, which ultimately created better looks for his teammates - when he wasn't personally destroying the Red Storm himself.
"Teams have no choice but to double team him, and he's such a good passer that benefits us because we get open shots," Lee said. "And if they aren't double-teaming him they have to go to a zone, because no one in the country can guard him one-on-one."
Lee knew that way back in October.
It's taken Smith a little longer to figure it out.
But he finally has.
And that is bad news for the rest of the country.
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