Instead of fanning the flames of the crosstown rivalry like he
did a year ago, UCLA’s Dijon Thompson did his best to snuff
out the hype.
A pack of reporters peppered the senior forward Tuesday with
questions about Saturday’s match-up with USC, but Thompson
wouldn’t divulge much.
“It’s just another game to me,” he said.
A closer look at the game, however, seems to indicate
otherwise.
To avoid sliding further back in the conference race, UCLA,
which was swept at home by Stanford and California this past
weekend, must defeat its crosstown rival ““ a feat the
once-proud Bruins have accomplished only once in the past three
years.
In fact, UCLA (10-6, 4-4 Pac-10) has dropped four in a row to
the Trojans (9-10, 2-6) for the first time since before World War
II. That includes this past February’s agonizing 78-77
overtime loss which ended with Thompson missing the first of two
last-second free throw attempts before unintentionally banking in
the second.
So, is this game an opportunity for redemption for Thompson?
“No, nothing personal,” the senior insisted.
“Just another game.”
Thompson’s downplaying the significance of the rivalry
game stands in direct contrast from a year ago when he embellished
the match-up. “I don’t care if we win another game this
season,” Thompson said with four games remaining. “I
would rather beat ‘SC.”
There’s no downplaying Thompson’s importance to the
Bruins, who have looked listless offensively this season when his
shots aren’t falling.
The 6-foot-7 Thompson, UCLA’s leading scorer and
rebounder, averaged 18.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game prior to
this past week as the Bruins appeared to be on the verge of
restoring their legacy. Against Stanford and Cal, however, he
scored a combined 12 points on 5-for-20 shooting and UCLA staggered
its way to consecutive losses.
“He’s going to be fine,” UCLA coach Ben
Howland said. “He had a bad weekend, but he’s been
phenomenal all year. I’m very, very confident that he’s
going to continue to be a very good player for us the rest of the
season.”
A virtuoso performance from Thompson could be the spark the
Bruins need to snap their three-game losing streak and emerge from
their offensive funk.
Freshmen Jordan Farmar and Arron Afflalo, UCLA’s second
and third leading scorers respectively, showed signs of fatigue
against the Golden Bears. Farmar scored seven points and struggled
to contain Cal’s guards off the dribble, while nine of
Afflalo’s 10 points came in the final two minutes, long after
UCLA’s fate had been sealed.
“It’s that freshman wall that all freshmen
get,” Thompson said. “It’s a little bit
overwhelming, and it’s my responsibility to pick them
up.”
The Redondo Beach native will have his chance on Saturday, but
he will likely have to contend with a zone defense from the
Trojans.
Last-place Cal befuddled UCLA this past Saturday with its
two-three zone defense, holding the listless Bruins to one field
goal during a six-minute second-half stretch. If USC employs a
similar strategy on Saturday, the team said it will be more
prepared.
That will be crucial for the Bruins if they hope to silence
their critics, who suggest they could be headed for a replay of
last year’s late-season collapse.
“You never want to lose to your crosstown rival,”
junior center Michael Fey said. “All the guys that have been
here for a couple years know that USC has had our
number.”
It’s up to Thompson and his teammates to make sure that
number doesn’t get any higher.