Jon Crispin knew what UCLA was lacking. He could see it from the
bench. If only he could get his chance. But Crispin was forced to
watch and wait. And wait. And wait. On Saturday, the senior guard
finally got his chance, playing his first minutes since Jan. 9
against Oregon State. Crispin did his best to make it count.
“We didn’t have any energy (on the six-game losing
streak),” Crispin said. “We played like little kids.
And that’s the one thing I wanted to bring today if I got in
there. I wanted to just bring energy and pick our guys up
somehow.” Though Crispin was held scoreless in his eight
minutes of action, he brought a defensive intensity and aggressive
attitude that seemed to inspire both the team and the fans alike.
“Even if you’re not winning, if you’re playing
hard, the crowd’s going to be with you,” he said.
“That’s what we did today. Even if we got down a little
bit, they still stayed with us, because we were playing hard. We
were getting rebounds, we were putting guys on the floor, and
that’s the way you’ve got to do it.” Things have
been especially difficult in Westwood for Crispin, who transferred
from Penn State after the 2000-2001 season. He started 31 of 33
games that season, and the team had a tremendous NCAA Tournament
run, reaching the Sweet 16. “The last time I played a lot, we
had a lot of success,” he said. “We played very hard at
Penn State, and we won games. To come here and not do that,
it’s been hard.”
INJURY UPDATE: Shooting guard Brian Morrison
found himself on the bench for Saturday’s game, still nursing
a right ankle sprain suffered in practice Wednesday. Morrison, who
had been named the starter in favor of Dijon Thompson before last
Thursday’s game against Washington State, feels that he will
be back on the court Thursday, when the Bruins take on Arizona
State in Tempe. “It’s getting better,” Morrison
said. “I expect to play Thursday.” Coach Ben Howland
isn’t so sure. Howland received word from a team trainer that
Morrison will be able to practice in some capacity on Tuesday. The
Bruin coach added he honestly doesn’t know when the junior
guard will be game-ready.
SEEING HUSKIES: Ever since Michael Fey scored
12 points against Washington on Jan. 10, the sophomore center has
struggled mightily, both on the offensive and defensive end. But
there just seems to be something about the Huskies that brings out
the best in Fey. Saturday night he played by far his best game
since the team’s first meeting with Washington, scoring 10
points and pulling down three rebounds in 17 minutes of action.
“I told Michael Fey after the game, “˜Let’s
pretend everyone in our league is the University of
Washington,'” Howland said. “We’re going to do
hypnosis for Michael on that.” Fey is an Olympia, Wash.
native.