2004 basketball recruits sign, attend first game of
season Even though he’s been set on the blue and
gold since last April, UCLA recruit Arron Afflalo was all smiles
last night at Pauley Pavilion, just hours after announcing his
official signing with the UCLA men’s basketball team for next
season. Sitting for the first half of the game with fellow recruit
Jordan Farmar, Afflalo exuded an optimistic spirit that can only
help on UCLA’s court. “I’m excited to be a
Bruin,” the 6’5″ shooting guard from Compton
Centennial High School said. “I can’t even imagine
it.” Afflalo, who was rated the No. 1 shooting guard in the
West by PrepWest Hoops, averaged 26.2 points per game in his junior
year of high school. “Arron is a classic two guard,”
coach Ben Howland said. “I’m excited about his
toughness and how he plays the game so hard.” Last season,
Farmar led his team at Taft High School to a 25-6 record and the
first CIF Los Angeles City Section championship in the
school’s history. He averaged 28.5 points per game.
“Jordan was, without a doubt, among the top three (point
guards) in the country,” Howland said. “He’s an
outstanding playmaker and shooter, and I like his leadership
qualities.” Along with Afflalo and Farmar, the 2004
recruiting class also includes 6-foot-9 center Lorenzo Mata and
6-foot-5 shooting guard Josh Shipp. All four have officially signed
on to the Bruin team. The class is ranked No. 9 in the country by
Clark Francis of Hoop Scoop. Last year, Mata had 25 double-doubles
in 26 games for South Gate High School. Shipp, a shooting guard
from Los Angeles Fairfax High School, averaged 17 points a game
last season and comes from a family of athletes, including older
brother Joe, who led the Pac-10 in scoring last year for Cal with
20.4 points per game. Part of coach Ben Howland’s rebuilding
of UCLA’s program, Afflalo seemed pleased with the
Bruins’ play last night. “They’re playing a lot
harder defensively than last year, and it’s a lot more
structured. I can see the changes that Coach Howland had been
making already,” Afflalo said.
FREE THROW WOES: The Bruins might have walked
off the Pauley Pavilion court last night with a win, but their
margin of victory was smaller than it could have been due to dismal
free throw shooting. At the end of the night, the Bruins shot only
5-for-23 at the line. “They just have to work on that
more,” EA Sports forward Ricky Anderson said. Cedric Bozeman
made only one of seven, while both Trevor Ariza and Dijon Thompson
were 1-for-4. Ryan Hollins missed all three of his free throw
opportunities.