SEATTLE “”mdash; Dijon Thompson said he didn’t want any and
played as though he didn’t need any. Coach Ben Howland said
he wanted to give his senior standout some, but couldn’t
afford to. Rest is something Thompson has not been getting
recently, which has been largely indicative of the importance of
the Bruins’ last few games. Thompson played 82 minutes during
UCLA’s two games in Washington, leading his team in scoring
and rebounding in both contests. “I want to try to give him
more minutes rest, but he’s our senior and I want to give him
every opportunity I can to help us win,” Howland said. On
Saturday against the Huskies, the senior forward’s only rest
came during a 1:03 break six minutes into the second half. While he
was on the bench, the Huskies scored five quick unanswered points,
prompting Howland to immediately bring Thompson back into the game.
“It’s been very hard the last two games when he goes
out,” Howland said. “You just have to look at what
happens to the scoreboard.” Despite all the minutes, Thompson
insists he hasn’t been getting tired. The favorable matchups
he’s had on the offensive end of the floor helps explain why
he is eager to stay out on the court. Guarded by either of
Washington’s big men, Michael Jensen or Bobby Jones for most
of Saturday’s game, Thompson repeatedly looked to catch the
ball on the perimeter and either take it strong to the basket or
shoot from outside whenever he was given space. “When I get
the ball, I feel I can pretty much make something happen every
time,” Thompson said. “Nobody in the league can guard
me. That’s how I’ve been playing.” With many of
his game-high 22 points coming down the stretch, Thompson’s
teammates couldn’t notice any fatigue in their senior leader.
They did notice the impact his presence on the floor had though.
“Coach asks a lot of Dijon offensively and
defensively,” freshman shooting guard Arron Afflalo said.
“Obviously he makes us better. We need to have him on the
court.”
LEFT OUT: While Brian Morrison may not have been the
Husky-killer he was in the first match-up against Washington, he
did have an immediate impact when he first came on the floor.
Entering the contest midway through the first half, Morrison had a
pair of nice assists by penetrating into the Huskies’
defense, setting up easy scores that enabled the Bruins to tie the
game after falling behind by as many as eight early on. But after
scoring 19 second half points in the Bruins home win over the
Huskies, the Seattle native did not have any field goal attempts
after halftime and finished with just six points. However, he did
finish with four assists, repeatedly breaking down an overly
aggressive Husky defense before fouling out with just over two
minutes remaining. “We wanted to get Brian some more
shots,” Howland said. “They overplay so much, it really
forces you to put the ball on the floor.”
DRIBBLERS: Washington remained undefeated at home this season.
The team’s last loss at Edmundson Pavilion came last year
during the Bruins’ 86-84 thriller victory. The Huskies
entered Saturday’s game as the conference’s best
three-point shooting team at 39.6 percent, but only shot 6 of 22
(27.3 percent) on Saturday.