Take an ugly bulldog. Slap on some lipstick, throw in a
40-minute press, maybe some L.A. Kings-style five-man line
changes.
And if you’re the for-the-dogs Bruins, what does yet
another mid-season makeover make you?
Apparently, still an ugly bulldog.
UCLA head coach Steve Lavin fired what might be one of his last
desperation shots last night, substituting entire lineups in and
out with the hope of creating intensity for an all-game press.
But days after an emotional 90-minute team meeting, the Bruins
still came out flat.
Instead of chasing Arizona State players around, sluggish UCLA
defenders hacked them. Instead of maintaining an ambulance
driver’s level of alert, they were looking aside when passes
came their way.
“All year long, we’ve searched for the combination
of players that gives us a spark of energy,” Lavin said.
“We weren’t really able to generate that in the first
half. It’s been that kind of season.”
Lavin started senior Ray Young in place of sophomore Cedric
Bozeman, then allowed the Bruins’ first team to play for five
minutes before subbing everyone out. The second team, led by
Bozeman and Dijon Thompson, came in and stayed for five minutes of
its own.
The gimmick continued for the rest of the half, but so did
UCLA’s apathetic play. The Bruins were down 40-22 at
halftime, with more turnovers (11) than baskets (8).
“With the five in and five out thing, guys had trouble
finding their rhythm,” senior Jason Kapono said.
Bozeman said he felt players were thinking too much about the
sometimes silly-looking substitution system.
“We were talking about that, about feeling like we should
be jumping over hockey boards,” he said.
The Bruins seem to lack a fiery, rabble-rousing leadership
presence like they had last season in Matt Barnes and previous
years with Earl Watson. Even after the lethargic start, players
seemed hesitant to step up and take the kinds of shots that last
year’s seniors did.
“We miss a lot of the older veterans because they were
always aggressive and willing to take big shots,” senior Ray
Young said.
Lavin said the closest player he has to Barnes on this
year’s squad is Andre Patterson. The sophomore forward
delivered an emotional speech to the team after the loss, with the
intent of inspiring effort from the outset Saturday against No. 2
Arizona.
But like a cook missing crucial ingredients, Lavin is again and
again finding the finished product tasting a bit foul.
“We changed the lineup,” Lavin said. “Maybe
you don’t change it, I don’t know. This year, I look
back at whatever decision I’ve made, and it seems like
it’s been the wrong one.”