With two minutes and 36 seconds left in UCLA’s
season-opening 68-67 victory over Vermont on Saturday, your Bruins
looked like they were still Steve Lavin’s Bruins.
Well they aren’t your Bruins ““ even if you’ve
got one of those hideous True Blue shirts ““ no, they are Ben
Howland’s. And you know that Howland, in his UCLA coaching
debut, didn’t appreciate his team’s attempt at
creativity when, at the 2:36 mark, clutching a two-point lead,
Cedric Bozeman lobbed the ball in the general direction of Dijon
Thompson for an attempted alley-oop. (When you read this column out
loud to your friends, emphasize the word
“attempted.”)
Watching the sequence unfold, I was dumbfounded. Vermont
collected the errant ball, and had a chance to tie the game with
two minutes remaining. The attempted alley-oop was undisciplined
and idiotic given the circumstances ““ something a UCLA team
of the last few years would try.
On the other hand, a UCLA team of the last few years would have
lost a game like this. Instead of folding like they did in the loss
to San Diego in last season’s opener, the Bruins stepped up
and made some plays to pull out the victory. Brian Morrison took a
charge and made a three-pointer. Ryan Hollins made a free throw
that gave UCLA the win.
So, how is this season going to be different? Looking around,
it’s apparent there have been more than just personnel
changes. John Wooden wasn’t in the stands for the game. And
Captain Helmet was wearing a suit. But more importantly, it appears
this team will actually be coached.
I know, I know. After seven seasons of Lavin basketball, the
idea of coaching seems like a vacant threat. But allow me to prove
that Howland will do it. First and foremost, Howland spoke with
Bozeman after the game about the critical lob pass.
“He will learn from that,” Howland said.
Secondly, Howland made some thoughtful personnel decisions.
Josiah Johnson, starting in place of the injured Trevor Ariza,
played 16 minutes in the first half and got ripped by Taylor
Coppenrath for 20 points. In the second half, Howland went with the
7-foot Ryan Hollins, who could guard the 6-foot-9 Coppenrath better
than the 6-foot-8 Johnson managed to do. It worked.
While Howland made a good substitution, he doesn’t have
many players to choose from. The Bruins’ roster is incredibly
thin with Ariza out for a few weeks and T.J. Cummings out for a
least three games nursing academic problems.
At one point in the first half, the Bruins had quite the motley
crew on the court: Morrison, Johnson, Hollins, Janou Rubin and Ryan
Walcott. You can only imagine what UCLA’s top 100
basketball recruits ““ Jordan Farmar, Arron
Afflalo, Lorenzo Mata and Josh Shipp, all in attendance
““ were thinking as they watched the fivesome try to keep up
with Vermont.
If you can’t figure it out, I’ll tell you what I bet
each was thinking: Hey, I might start next year!
Still, Howland eked out a win in front of 36 friends and family,
and the four recruits he just signed, to kick off the (queue drum
roll) Ben Howland Era.
In the press conference after the victory, Howland spoke about
his team’s heart, a word that hasn’t been associated
with UCLA basketball for some time.
“They never stopped believing that they would win, and I
am pleased we crawled our way back,” Howland said.
Howland has been around for a while, and obviously has mastered
the cliches every head coach should know how to spew. And with
Saturday’s victory as evidence, Howland also knows a bit
about coaching as well ““ from the fundamentals, to execution,
to strategy.
I introduced myself to the coach after the press conference, and
he brushed me off with a quick “hello.” He was clearly
busy ““ he was trying to get into his office.
To review game film.
E-mail Miller at dmiller@media.ucla.edu.