Ben Howland is still hoping to see senior T.J. Cummings develop
into a more consistent low post threat.
The trouble is, Cummings is so deadly from the perimeter that
it’s hard to find fault in his play as of late.
In UCLA’s overtime victory against Washington Saturday
night, Cummings torched the Huskies for 22 points on 8-for-12
shooting from the field. Against a Husky frontline featuring no one
taller than 6-foot-8, he buried jumpers from all over the court,
including a pair of first-half 3-pointers that helped the Bruins
build a double-digit halftime lead.
“The shots came to me,” Cummings said after the
game. “I hate to say it, but I like to get my
shots.”
The 6-foot-11 Cummings presents a difficult match-up for
opposing squads because of his height and his versatility. In the
past, Cummings has been pigeon-holed as a center, but in Ben
Howland’s system he is permitted to score as a face-up player
or with his back to the basket.
This subtle adjustment has helped Cummings to develop into one
of UCLA’s top scoring threats in his final season as a
Bruin.
Cummings, who regained his academic eligibility last month, has
averaged 12.4 points per game since returning to the lineup. He has
also made a more concerted effort to be a factor on the boards,
averaging a team-high 8.3 rebounds per game in conference play.
Although Howland is pleased with Cummings’s efforts so far
this season, he still feels like the senior could develop his
interior game more.
“We have to get him more looks down low,” Howland
said. “He is our best scorer in the low post, without
question.”
The other area that Howland would like to see Cummings focus on
is his aggressiveness on the defensive glass. Howland has
reiterated that he is happy with Cummings’s offensive
rebounding, particularly after he pulled down 19 boards last week
against the Washington schools.
“He’s a better offensive rebounder because he knows
he can score,” Howland said. “But there’s no such
thing as a selfish rebound.”