November 4, 2013, 11:13 p.m.

About this time a year ago Tony Parker, then a freshman center for UCLA, was on Twitter suggesting he was going home to Atlanta.
He didn't.
And Monday night against Cal State San Marcos, in UCLA's 109-79 exhibition win in front of a crowd listed as 4,023, Parker had 17 points, 16 rebounds and the biggest smile on the Pauley Pavilion court.
Parker, who lost about 20 pounds this summer, gave all the credit to trainer Wes Long, who persuaded him to ride an exercise bike a lot and to give up the high-sugar fruit juices Parker loved.
"Tony was terrific," said UCLA Coach Steve Alford. "I said it all summer. He's developed so much confidence since he lost the weight."
Sophomore forward Kyle Anderson led the Bruins with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and senior forward David Wear had 21 points and eight rebounds. Five UCLA players scored at least 10 points. Malcolm Lemmons led San Marcos with 20 points and De'End Parker had 12 points. The Cougars' coach is former USC interim head coach Jim Saia who filled in after Henry Bibby was fired midway through the 2004-05 season.
Tony Parker said it was his decision to tone his body this summer and he was determined it would happen. "I can play a lot longer and with more endurance," he said.
Alford said he was mostly pleased with his team in both exhibition wins, especially the way the Bruins cut their turnovers from 18 in their first victory over Cal State San Bernardino to only 11 Monday night.
"I'm happy with the guys," Alford said, "especially the way they played against a very aggressive offensive team that had no post presence and was dribble-driving and played a matchup zone that was a little different from what we're used to seeing."
The Bruins trailed only very early when Zack Zaragoza knocked down a three-pointer to start the game. He finished with 15 points.
The one statistic Alford didn't love was UCLA's three-point shooting (four for 17). "But we have guys who can make that shot," Alford said. "That will get better."
The Bruins open the regular season at 9 p.m. Friday against Drexel at Pauley.
Twitter: @mepucin


UCLA basketball notes: Leaner Tony Parker strong in exhibition win over Cal State San Marcos

By Clay Fowler, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
POSTED:  |
Tony Parker didn’t transfer from UCLA following a disappointing freshman season, but not all of him is back.
The 6-foot-9 sophomore dropped 25 pounds since spending most of his first collegiate season injured, unhappy or both.
The man largely responsible for the transformation of Parker’s new 255-pound body, UCLA strength coach Wes Long, is a major reason the four-star recruit decided not to return home to Atlanta as he referenced on twitter last season..
“We’ve got a great strength and conditioning coach in Wes Long and he really helped me,” Parker said. “You definitely notice your ability to move a lot quicker, to go a lot harder... you’re able to run the court faster. When you lose the weight, everything changes.”
Having carved out a seemingly prominent role as the starting center a year after averaging 2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds, Parker isn’t the only one happy he’s still a Bruin. New head coach Steve Alford is likely breathing a sigh of relief at the development of his young center after UCLA finished last in the Pac-12 with a negative-1.6 rebounding margin a season ago.
Parker collected just five rebounds in the preseason opener on Thursday, but had 16 rebounds to go along with 17 points and four blocks in Monday’s 109-79 win over Cal State San Marcos in the preseason finale.
“I’ve said it all summer long. I think (Parker) really started to develop some confidence when he lost his weight,” Alford said. “Losing 20 pounds, he started moving better. Both offensively and defensively it started flowing so much better for him. Hopefully he’s gained a lot of confidence in the exhibition season because he’s played really well. Tonight he was really good.”
The Bruins are certainly looking for changes in the front court after last season, but the personnel is virtually the same. On top of that, starting power forward Travis Wear will be out at least another two weeks following surgery to remove his appendix and last season’s leading rebounder, Kyle Anderson, has taken over point guard duties.
Parker seems assured of the opportunity to make an impact. If he can provide any sort of a physical inside presence, its safe to say Alford will give him all the playing time he can handle.

DE’END BACK WHERE HE STARTED
Former Bruin De’End Parker returned to UCLA Monday a member of his fourth college team in five years.
The Cal State San Marcos senior was in the UCLA starting lineup for the second game of the 2011-12 season, injured his leg and never appeared in a Bruin uniform again.
Parker went home to San Francisco for Christmas break and never came back. He couldn’t stand to leave Carmen Johnson, the woman who raised him in the stead of his biological mother, Johnson’s best friend.
The combination of Johnson’s battle with cancer and heart problems were of great concern to Parker, one of the 13 children she raised, three of which belonged to Parker’s mother.
Parker was dismissed from UCLA for conduct detrimental to the team and transferred to the University of San Francisco before joining Cal State San Marcos this year. He scored 12 points on 4 of 9 shooting on Monday.
Parker averaged 11.7 points for USF last season and had 14 points and four assists in his Cal State San Marcos debut on Friday in the Cougars’ preseason loss at San Diego State.

LONG SHOT
UCLA is taking its time warming up from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Bruins’ second exhibition game saw an improvement from Thursday’s 1-for-12 performance, but UCLA was just 2 for its first 12 before finishing 4 of 17.
Norman Powell, who was responsible for the Bruins’ lone 3-pointer in a 96-66 win over Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday, wasn’t a factor Monday, but Anderson was.
The sophomore, who more notably recorded a triple-double of 22 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, was 2 for 2 from deep.
The Bruins are now 5 for 29 from 3-point range in two exhibition games, but Alford was quick to point out they’re averaging 103 points per game.
“If I have to do one or the other, I’ll take the 103 a game” Alford said. “I think that’s going to end up being a strength of ours because we’ve got some guys that can make the 3-point shot...We haven’t gotten a lot of easy looks from 3. They’ve ended up being more difficult 3-point shots.”
UCLA opens the regular season Friday against Drexel at Pauley Pavilion.