By Christina Teller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
LAHAINA, Hawaii “”mdash; The costume change didn’t fool
anyone.
Lavin sported an Adidas polo instead of the Hawaiian tourist
button-up garb he’d worn for the two previous games, while Billy
Knight and Andre Patterson got in on the act by wearing arm and
headbands that they’d gone without the day before.
But they were still the same team. The Bruin team, that defeated
South Carolina 89-77 on Wednesday for third place at the Maui
Invitational, just looked better.
Okay, so the announcer didn’t catch on right away. The first
time Matt Barnes went to the free-throw line, TJ Cummings’ name was
announced.
But he caught on too and got it right the next time Barnes went
to the line.
The Bruins looked good on Wednesday. But before any lofty
prediction for the future is made, keep in mind they were up
against a much weaker opponent than the Ball State team they had
faced on Tuesday.
In order to face UCLA, they had to complete the not-so-daunting
tasks of beating Chaminade and losing to Duke. Not a bad way to get
into the third-place game.
UCLA walks away with a third-place finish, but there is still
work to be done.
The team turned the ball over 21 times, only a one-turnover
improvement from the night before. But the Bruins got it right
where it counts, shooting an overall 78.6-percent from the
field.
"I can’t remember last time anyone shot that well against one of
our teams," South Carolina head coach Dave Odom said. "We gave up a
lot of open jumpers and bank shots, and it’s amazing we were even
within earshot of them."
Believe it or not, it was T.J. Cummings’ soft jumper that was
the Bruins’ steady force in the game. Cummings sunk 11 of 12 field
goals overall, racking up 25 points along with his nine rebounds;
both totals are career highs.
"Every shot I put up I think is going in, and I try to take the
best ones possible," Cummings said. "Hopefully I can keep on doing
that throughout the year."
"T.J. told me this summer he was working on his point guards
skills, so we’re going to play him at the 1,2,3,4 and 5," Lavin
said jokingly.
But seriously.
"I’m really proud of his development," Lavin said. "Obviously he
was feeling it today, but we see that everyday at practice, so
we’re really not surprised."
Billy Knight’s shot also made some noise after being anything
but loud the previous two days. Knight even made a three-pointer
from the top of the key, straying away from his usual corner
jumper.
The fact that the Bruins started out the game chipping away
inside, which opened up the perimeter, enabled shooters like Knight
and Cummings the luxury of outside looks.
At the conclusion of their tournament play, the Bruins have a
better idea of what’s going right and what’s going wrong.
Dominating the "right" column are the freshmen trio of Andre
Patterson, Dijon Thompson and Cedric Bozeman – especially the first
two.
"They give us a great lift with their energy and enthusiasm and
skill sets," Lavin said of the three freshmen. "They’re a special
group, and they each contribute in different ways. All three are
critical to our success."
The presence of Patterson and Thompson was more obvious with
their combined 36 points, 18 rebounds and six steals over the three
games, but Bozeman faces another challenge. Though he has exhibited
moments of point-guard brilliance, Bozeman is still settling into
his role as the conductor, and as Lavin reiterates every chance he
gets, there is always a learning curve in the high school-college
transition.
And when it’s all said and done, two out of three isn’t bad.