Within seconds of the opening tip-off, on his team’s first
possession of the game, Lorenzo Mata had gathered two offensive
rebounds and drawn a defensive foul.
As his headband nearly came off his head, the UCLA center
emerged from within a group of players.
Something was different.
Rather than flashing his usual smile of content, Mata got back
into position to receive an inbound pass ““ a display of his
growth as a basketball player since the end of last season.
His maturation during the off-season has occurred on two
separate fronts: mental and physical.
Mata, like the majority of his teammates for the upcoming
2005-2006 season, is competing in the Nike College ProCity League
of Los Angeles this summer at West Los Angeles College with hopes
of improving his skills for the upcoming season.
The 6-foot-8 sophomore plays for coach Rico Cabrera as a starter
on Rico’s Showtime. Although Mata is the only Bruin on the
team, both Josh Shipp and Jordan Farmar stayed after their game to
watch Mata compete.
“You can tell he has been working out and practicing
hard,” Shipp said, “He’s definitely going to help
us a lot with rebounding next year. He’s going to be
huge.”
After sitting out the last six games of the season with a
non-displaced sternum fracture, Mata was determined to improve his
play and become a bigger contributor to the team in his second
year.
“I’ve been working out and lifting as often as I
can,” Mata said. “When I’m not in the gym, I have
been working on my jumper and have been practicing on my
post-up.”
The endless practicing has not gone unnoticed by Cabrera and
fellow Rico’s Showtime player Cameron Goettsche, a forward
from UC Santa Barbara.
“He brings a lot to this team,” said the Gaucho
forward. “He comes up big on the defensive glass, and the kid
can block a shot from even the best of them.”
Last season, the Bruins lost several games due to the lack of an
inside presence on the defensive end by both Mata and last
year’s starting center, Michael Fey. This summer, though,
Mata has been specializing his workouts to excel in the defensive
side of his game.
During the ProCity League this summer, he has been the overall
leader in blocks and has been gathering many rebounds offensively
and defensively, establishing himself as one of the premier
rebounders in the league.
“Lorenzo’s defensive presence is tremendous,”
Cabrera said, “He has been consistently getting in the 10
range for rebounds, and he really challenges his
opponents.”
As an indication of his progress, the Bruin sophomore was able
to deflect a shot and still manage to get in position to grab the
rebound in the closing moments of the first half.
The center has also kept focus on his offensive fundamentals and
has sought to improve them over the duration of the summer.
“He has really improved his mid-range game and has
increased his playing time,” said Cabrera, “He played
over three fourths of the game today and was able to maintain the
pace with success.”
Where Mata has made the most progress is his versatility when
moving without the ball, especially on fast-break opportunities.
His first two scores of the game came on a left-handed slam dunk on
a fast break and an reverse dunk that brought the crowd to its
feet.
Mata’s success has come in part with his willingness to be
a team player and do whatever his coaches and teammates request of
him, whether it be during the regular season or summer league.
“He is a very selfless, team-first player,” said
Cabrera, “Whatever the team needs, he’ll do.
That’s something you can’t teach to players.”