Starting two true freshmen in the backcourt, UCLA has been
playing with fire, so it’s no surprise that it has been
singed a bit in the first two games of the season. Though they have
won the first two games of the season, the Bruins have turned the
ball over with alarming frequency, committing 18 and 22 turnovers
in their first two games, respectively. “It’s the sign
of a young team,” coach Ben Howland said. “We’ve
had way, way too many turnovers.” Freshman point guard Jordan
Farmar has been a major contributor to UCLA’s turnover woes,
with 14 already. “Sometimes I see something and the defense
reacts quickly,” Farmar said. “It’s just me
trying to make something happen, trying too hard to get everyone
involved.” Farmar’s proclivity to give away possessions
can be attributed to his youth, but another culprit is senior Brian
Morrison. Morrison’s high energy play gives the Bruins a
major lift off the bench, but at times gets out of control,
evidenced by his four turnovers. Midway through the first half
Morrison threw a lob pass that had no chance of being converted,
squandering a fast break opportunity. Howland called timeout, and
Morrison took a seat on the bench. “When he plays under
control, Morrison is a great player,” Howland said.
“He’s an automatic lift off the bench, and he gave us a
lift tonight.”
ALL FOULED UP: Howland was concerned about his
team’s ability to guard players off the dribble, and in the
first half it was plain to everyone why. As the clock wound down
and the teams broke for halftime, UCLA had 14 fouls to Western
Illinois’ six, and shot only two free throws to the
Leathernecks’ 12. In fact, senior Dijon Thompson knocked down
those two free throws in the first three minutes of the game, and
not a single Bruin got to the foul line after that in the first
half. “We really hurt ourselves and kept (Western Illinois)
in the game with our fouls,” Howland said. Most of the fouls
came on reach-ins and slaps at the ball, the kind of ticky-tack and
unnecessary fouls that coaches loathe, because it means that the
players are using their hands and not playing solid defense.
“We need to do a better job defending with our feet,”
Howland said.
BOARD MACHINE: Thompson set a new career high
for rebounds with 16. His previous career high was 11 set at
California February 20, 2003. Only one of his boards came on the
offensive end, and his 15 defensive rebounds surpassed his previous
career high of six. Thompson was the major factor in leading the
UCLA’s dominance on the glass, as the Bruins out-rebounded
the Leathernecks by 26. “Rebounding is all about effort and
that’s my intention this year, to improve my
rebounding,” Thompson said.
DRIBBLERS: Sophomore Matt McKinney scored the
first basket of his UCLA career in the second half. McKinney, who
shot 1-for-6 on the night, redshirted his true freshman year, and
did not play last season due to a bone fracture in his left foot.
McKinney also had nine rebounds in 13 minutes…Howland said it was
unlikely freshman Lorenzo Mata would be available for
Saturday’s game against UC Irvine. Mata, who sustained a left
ankle sprain last week, has not been able to practice.