Two days after finally working his way into UCLA’s
rotation, Janou Rubin learned he will not be a part of it any
longer.
The redshirt senior, who logged a season-high 16 minutes in
UCLA’s win over Oregon on Sunday, will miss the remainder of
the year after an MRI taken Monday revealed loose bone chips in his
left knee. Rubin will undergo surgery this afternoon to repair the
condition, known as lateral femoral condyle.
“I felt like we really figured out what we were going to
be able to do playing those five perimeter players,” Howland
said of his backcourt. “It’s a setback for us from the
standpoint of feeling good (about) what we just came off of, and
now unfortunately we have to move forward without him.”
Having already used his redshirt year during the 2001-02 season,
Rubin’s career at UCLA is effectively over. Howland could not
pinpoint a single incident that caused the injury but said he
believed it arose sometime during practice last week.
Though Rubin had only scored five points this season, his
teammates said his absence will hurt the team.
“He’s one of our senior leaders,” freshman
Arron Afflalo said. “We need that leadership and
experience.”
With Rubin unavailable, starting power forward Dijon Thompson
will likely play more minutes at the wing position. Although the
6-foot-7 Thompson began the year as a small forward and is more
naturally suited to the position, playing him at that spot will
require one of UCLA’s frontcourt players to make a bigger
contribution off the bench.
“I still have to force myself to rest those young kids,
which means we have to get more minutes out of Matt (McKinney),
Ryan (Hollins) and Josiah (Johnson) at the four-spot,”
Howland said of his substitution pattern.
Hollins opened the season as the starting power forward, but
after struggling throughout most of the season, he lost that job
three weeks ago. He played a total of just two minutes last
weekend.
“He’s going to have to play more physical and be
more assertive with his body,” Howland said.
Hollins said he was surprised at his lack of playing time but
realized he needs to improve his rebounding and play more within
himself in order for things to change.
“It’s frustrating to sit and watch the team play and
encourage them along and be kind of a cheerleader,” said
Hollins, who has been slowed down because of knee surgery he
underwent over the summer. “Of course I’m determined to
get back on court, being put in this situation.”
Even with Thompson seeing more minutes at the three position
because of Rubin’s injury, Hollins may not necessarily see an
increase in playing time at the power forward position. Both
McKinney and the seldom-used Johnson seemed to be ahead of him in
the rotation against Oregon.
But McKinney’s minutes have been limited because of an
involuntary muscular disorder that prevents him from playing for
prolonged periods. Though there is no remedy for the disorder,
McKinney said he has been taking caffeine pills and drinking lots
of electrolytes to improve his stamina.