M. basketball: Shipp stays out of practice but still expected to start

Coming off perhaps his best effort of the season against Oregon
on Saturday, freshman Josh Shipp will return to the role of
spectator at practice this week. Hampered by an injured ankle for
the past couple of weeks, Shipp will not participate in full
contact practices leading into the Pac-10 Tournament but is
expected to start Thursday afternoon against Oregon State. Although
he is steadily recovering, the freshman guard may be held out of
practices for even longer. “I can’t see him in full
contact practice for the rest of year,” UCLA coach Ben
Howland said. “We’ve been fortunate he hasn’t
tweaked the ankle in a game. We want to cut down on opportunities
for it to happen in practice by eliminating contact for him.”
Howland indicated that Shipp has and will continue to participate
in some shooting drills and walk-through sessions. But after Shipp
poured in 20 points and grabbed six rebounds against the Ducks, the
importance of having him healthy for the postseason is as clear as
ever for the Bruins. “We cannot afford to have him tweak that
ankle in practice,” Howland said. “We need to have
him.” Shipp said it has been hard for him to watch his team
practice from the sidelines while receiving treatment. However, he
feels that when he steps onto the court for UCLA’s
first-round Pac-10 Tournament game against Oregon State, the tender
ankle will be only a minor issue. “It’s in the back of
my mind, but I’m not thinking about that too much,”
Shipp said.

TAKING CHARGE: Averaging the fifth most minutes per game in the
conference this season, Jordan Farmar has gained plenty of
experience over the course of the year. With that experience has
come more trust from his coach. As the season has progressed,
Farmar has been able to run the offense more without having to look
toward Howland for directions. The freshman point guard noted that
calling the plays has been particularly helpful against teams that
apply backcourt on-the-ball pressure such as Oregon State,
Washington and Arizona. “It’s easier to just look at my
teammates and see what I need to see instead of looking over at the
bench or trying to read lips when I can’t hear in front of
13,000 people,” Farmar said. “But once the play gets to
the rest of the team, it doesn’t matter who calls it.”
Howland indicated that he feels comfortable letting Farmar control
the offensive sets more. “Sometimes players can have a feel
for things,” Howland said. “He’s a smart player
and makes good adjustments.”

DRIBBLERS: UCLA will be staying at a hotel tonight before its
game in order to avoid traffic to the Staples Center for
Thursday’s 2:50 p.m. game. Last year, the Bruins opted to
stay at home because they did not play until the evening. …
Howland reiterated that Lorenzo Mata is available to play despite a
fractured sternum, but noted that the impressive play of Ryan
Hollins and Michael Fey in recent games has kept the freshman
center on the bench. … UCLA recruits Darren Collison and Mike
Roll both won the California Interscholastic Federation
Championships for Etiwanda and Aliso Niguel High Schools,
respectively, over the weekend.

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