PULLMAN, Wash. “”mdash; Jason Kapono entered Saturday’s
game against Washington State having one of the worst five-game
stretches of his career, averaging just 11.1 points per game during
the span, while seeing his team drop three out of its last
five.
But he never got discouraged. Instead of getting down on
himself, Kapono took extra reps at practice in hopes of turning his
season around.
His tenacity payed off in a big way on Saturday, as he recorded
one of the greatest performances in Bruin history by exploding for
a career-high 44 points. His previous personal best was 28.
“Coming off the Kansas and Michigan games, I knew I
wasn’t shooting well,” Kapono said. “But I put in
extra practice, and it worked out well for me.”
Just how great was Kapono’s performance?
His 44 points puts him tied for fifth all-time on the UCLA
single-game scoring list, only behind four Lew Alcindor
performances from the 1960s.
And his nine three-pointers broke the school record of seven
which he set last year.
“I was in the zone today. I would say I shot the best of
my career,” said Kapono, who shot 14-19 from the field,
including nine of ten from beyond the arc.
“In high school, I scored 50 points, but that was against
a weak team. To do it on the road against a Pac-10 team is
big.”
Before Saturday, Kapono had been struggling to get open looks.
His teammates often couldn’t find ways to get him isolated on
the perimeter, and he was hesitant to drive inside.
Going into Saturday he had only taken more than 14 shots twice
this season.
But none of that was a problem against Washington State. Kapono
recorded several layups during the game, got plenty of open looks
from the three-point arc, and also was confident enough to take
shots even with defenders up in his face.
“They were playing tough defense by closing out on
me,” Kapono said. “But when you are in the zone, you
don’t see hands flying at you. You are just focusing on the
rim.”
During one first half stretch, Kapono scored 13 points in a row
for the Bruins. It wasn’t hard for teammates to see that he
was on fire.
“When somebody gets that hot, you give him the ball and
get out of the way,” guard Cedric Bozeman said.
“Every time he took a shot, I knew it was going to go
in,” point guard Ryan Walcott added. “So I just ran
back on defense.”
UCLA head coach Steve Lavin is hoping Kapono continues the hot
hand.
Before the season, he wanted Kapono to be the centerpiece of the
offense.
Now, that game plan seems to be coming together.
“He played the way we envisioned him playing in his senior
year,” Lavin said. “He is in a rhythm offensively and
it helps all of his teammates. This is closer to what we pictured
the team being like.”
And despite all of the scoring, Kapono also tied a career high
with six assists.
But he says he wasn’t concentrating on personal
achievement during the game, rather trying to get UCLA (4-5, 2-0
Pac-10) a much-needed victory.
“I didn’t think about breaking any records,”
he said. “I was just trying to stay within the team concept
and I didn’t want to lose the game.”