It was a day UCLA’s heralded freshmen will always cherish,
but a performance that each of them probably would prefer to
forget.
Hoping to make an emphatic statement in their much anticipated
collegiate debut, Jordan Farmar, Arron Afflalo, and Josh Shipp
““ three quarters of a freshman class that is expected to be
among the nation’s best this season ““ predictably
experienced some growing pains Saturday afternoon.
That, however, did not derail the Bruins, who received enough of
a contribution from their upperclassmen to scratch out a 64-53
victory over Chicago State at Pauley Pavilion.
“I’m glad we got that one out of the way,”
UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
So were most of the 6,833 fans, who unleashed a chorus of boos
when Chicago State prolonged the game by calling a timeout with
just a few seconds remaining.
Better days are undoubtedly ahead for the UCLA freshmen, but
their inexperience was apparent against the Cougars.
Farmar, who started at point guard for the Bruins, committed
eight turnovers and struggled to defend opposing guards off the
dribble. Shipp, a reserve guard, attempted just three shots,
missing the rim altogether on a second-half 3-point attempt.
Afflalo, too, struggled with his shooting, but played superb
defense, limiting Chicago State guard Terren Wilson to just two
points. The freshman shooting guard was not as effective
offensively, missing 9 of his 11 field goal attempts, including two
from very close range.
“You won’t see Arron Afflalo miss those kind of easy
layups he did tonight for the rest of the year,” Howland
said.
It was clear from the opening tip-off that the majority of the
UCLA fans in attendance were there to see the freshmen make their
debut. At least one wore a replica of Farmar’s UCLA jersey,
while another came wearing Farmar’s high school jersey.
Farmar was responsible for the biggest ovation of the game,
hitting junior Ryan Hollins with a no-look pass from midcourt that
resulted in an emphatic dunk.
Both Farmar and Afflalo said opening day jitters did not affect
them.
“I didn’t have too many butterflies,” said
Afflalo, who finished with five points.
“Same with me,” Farmar said. “I wasn’t
too nervous for this game.”
Even with three of its freshmen struggling and a fourth, forward
Lorenzo Mata, sidelined with an ankle sprain, UCLA (1-0) was never
really challenged in the second half, maintaining at least a
seven-point lead most of the way. But had it not been for the
stabilizing influence of the Bruin upperclassmen, the final score
might have been a lot closer.
“I’m not looking forward to the freshmen getting
caught up in those lights, caught up in the game and not being
there mentally,” said senior Dijon Thompson, who led the
Bruins with 17 points.
Normally content to lead by example, Thompson said he assumed a
more vocal role when he saw the freshmen floundering against
Chicago State.
“When we got out of control and we turned the ball over, I
told them to slow down because we’re going to get our
shots,” he said. “I’ve got to be there to keep
their heads up and keep them on track.”
Besides Thompson, senior Brian Morrison, Hollins and Farmar each
had 11 points. UCLA also held a 41-21 advantage on the boards.
Though the Bruins opened up a 52-37 second half, they never did
shake the Cougars. Paced by its jet-quick backcourt, Chicago State,
which lost 20 games a year ago, clawed its way back, pulling to
within seven points several times late in the game.
Howland said he was pleased with the victory and looked at it as
a learning experience for the freshmen.
“By the time you get to January, you won’t be able
to refer to any of our freshmen as freshmen anymore,” he
said. “They’re going to get a lot of
minutes.”