UCLA’s Jon Crispin has maintained his ability to clap and
smile this season, but still, sitting on the bench for the
little-used shooting guard has been a huge pain in the butt.
“It’s been tough,” Crispin said Tuesday.
“You want to play, and (the players on the court)
weren’t doing the simple things any of us can do. The hard
part was knowing that we had the talent, but that we were not
putting forth the effort.”
Crispin, a senior, finally got his first significant playing
time of the season in Saturday’s 80-75 win over Washington.
Although he didn’t score a point, he put up a rebound, an
assist and a steal in his eight minutes, after averaging 8.4
minutes last season.
“Crispin played with toughness and heart,” coach Ben
Howland said. “He helped us without making a shot.”
Earlier in the season, Howland had tried unsuccessfully to
convert Crispin, a three-point shooting specialist, into a point
guard to push backup Ryan Walcott for minutes.
Crispin understood the move.
“(Howland is) coming in with a bunch of guys that are not
his players,” Crispin said. “It should be on us to
recognize what he wants and go out and do it.”
Crispin and Walcott, along with center Michael Fey, can expect
to receive more playing time on Thursday against Arizona State.
“They’re going to get more of a chance,”
Howland said. “They’re going to get more minutes. Our
best chance to win is by strength in numbers.”
NO PRESSURE: Howland pointed out that UCLA
needs to increase its defensive pressure against teams.
Senior forward T.J. Cummings has two steals in 444 minutes.
And junior point guard Cedric Bozeman has 11 steals in 658
minutes.
“I’m just not gambling enough,” Bozeman said.
“It’s hard to gamble when you’re guarding good
players. It’s all a feel thing.”
NO MORRISON: Howland does not expect shooting
guard Brian Morrison to play this week against Arizona State and
Arizona, as the junior has yet to return to practice.
The last time Howland laid eyes on Morrison’s sprained
right ankle before the Washington game, it was black and blue.