Arthoscopic surgery on his right knee may have hampered junior
Ryan Hollins during the offseason, but after a successful period of
rehabilitation, Hollins is expected to be healthy and ready for the
start of practice on Saturday. “Any injury is going to set
you back, and I feel a lot of rust, but that’s just
natural,” said Hollins, who said he has not experienced any
swelling in his knee. “I should be fine; I’m playing
well right now.” Hollins went under the knife July 20 to
remove pieces of loose cartilage from his right knee. Although his
rehabilitation is going well, he has not been able to undergo a
strenuous lower-body strength training regimen. “More than
anyone on the team he needed the playing time over the summer just
because he doesn’t have a lot of experience,” coach Ben
Howland said. “He’s gotten a lot stronger in the upper
body over the summer, but lower body is about the same.”
Since last season Hollins has put on 10 pounds of muscle, mostly in
the upper body, and now weighs in at 225 pounds. Hollins, who said
he could now bench 285 pounds, is expected to take over the four
spot for the Bruins this year. “It’s a great thing for
me,” he said. “You have to be skilled with the ball,
face up the basket. I’m always working on my shot, on
dribbling. But I’m still going to be playing (center) so I
have to work on all my skills.” Backing Hollins up will be
senior Josiah Johnson and redshirt sophomore Matt McKinney.
CENTER OF ATTENTION: Howland said he is pleased
with Fey, who has put on 20 pounds and is physically stronger to
start a season than he has ever been. “He’s really
gotten stronger,” Howland said. “Last year he looked
soft, and he didn’t look real muscular.” The 7-foot,
270-pound junior said he believes he has the inside track on the
starting center job. But freshman center Lorenzo Mata also figures
to see significant playing time. “I’m going to be
battling for playing time,” Mata said. “It comes down
to who’s going to get the most rebounds and make the
defensive plays. That’s the reason I came here.”
LEWIS UNLIKELY TO JOIN TEAM: Although Howland
said he would not approach Marcedes Lewis about rejoining the
basketball team, he left open the possibility that he could play,
if the junior tight end were interested. “If he were to come
to me, I’d consider it, but there’s no question his
future as a pro is on the gridiron,” Howland said. Lewis, who
played power forward during his freshman year, said earlier this
month that he would not play basketball again because he loses too
much weight, hampering his performance for the football team.
DRIBBLERS: Senior guard Janou Rubin, who
arrived at UCLA as a walk-on, was awarded a scholarship this season
for the second straight year. … Both Jordan Farmar and Josh Shipp
missed a week of workouts with pulled quadriceps, but are expecting
to be ready when practice begins Saturday. … Cedric Bozeman,
Dijon Thompson, and Brian Morrison are all on pace to graduate
after winter quarter.