ANAHEIM “”mdash; In the incredible shrinking world of UCLA big
men, freshman Ryan Wright was Saturday’s man of the moment.
In only his fourth appearance for the Bruins this season, Wright
played 33 minutes in the team’s 67-56 victory over the Nevada
Wolf Pack, scoring three points, grabbing three rebounds, and, most
importantly, getting it done on the defensive end. “Right
now, I’m really excited about Ryan Wright,” UCLA coach
Ben Howland said. “We just beat a nationally ranked team with
him playing 33 minutes and doing a solid job.” Prior to
Saturday, Wright’s season high was seven minutes played
against Coppin State. The freshman from Ontario, Canada, had scored
a total of two points and grabbed just two rebounds in his three
previous appearances. Wright looked much more comfortable against
the Wolf Pack, a welcome sign for the Bruins. “It was
definitely fun to get out there on the floor in front of a lot of
people and play in the John Wooden Classic,” Wright said.
“Hopefully, I can get to expand on that, continue to get some
more minutes, and continue to get involved in the game and feel
good about myself.” With senior Michael Fey and sophomore
Lorenzo Mata out due to injuries, and with senior Ryan
Hollins’ relative ineffectiveness, Wright got his chance to
play a lot of minutes Saturday against the Wolf Pack. And for the
most part, he did a good job. Howland was particularly impressed
with Wright’s ability to handle his responsibility of
double-teaming Nevada’s all-everything performer Nick
Fazekas. “He did the job defensively,” Howland said.
“He remembered all of his assignments.” Wright knows
that his primary responsibility is on the defensive end, and
that’s where his focus is. He also said he was concentrating
on running the floor and setting good screens, doing anything to
get his teammates open. “Defense is our focus,” Wright
said. “It always comes first. No matter how bad your offense
is going, if you shut down your opponent, you’re going to win
every game. You’ve got to focus on just shutting down the
opponent.” Wright’s aggressive play and effectiveness
on the defensive end also caught the notice of his teammates.
“Ryan Wright stands out in my mind,” sophomore point
guard Jordan Farmar said. “He just played a great game.
He’s been up and down, struggling mentally, but he stepped up
and focused and came through tonight.”
MORE FRESH PRAISES: With the shot clock running down on a UCLA
possession late in the first half, freshman point guard Darren
Collison didn’t look much like a freshman. Collison
recognized a mismatch, took one dribble toward the basket, stepped
back and hit a huge 3-pointer to give the Bruins a nine-point lead
going into halftime. It was the freshman’s 10th point of the
half, as he was an instrumental part of UCLA’s early success.
“I thought Collison gave us a huge life off the bench on both
ends of the floor in the first half,” Howland said. “He
really helped ignite our team.” With Collison in the game,
Farmar was able to move over to the shooting guard spot and become
even more of a scoring threat. “With (Collison) in there, it
gives Arron (Afflalo) and I the ability to get out and run,”
Farmar said. “He’s quick enough so if he gets by
somebody, he has a lot of options.”
THE LEGEND: There’s no name in college
basketball more respected and revered than that of John Wooden.
That fact wasn’t lost on the players, coaches or fans at the
12th annual John R. Wooden Classic. Wooden, 95, received a standing
ovation from the fans at Arrowhead Pond during a television timeout
in the second half of the game. He then stood to show his
appreciation. “Our players know how special it is to be in
this tournament because it’s named after Coach,”
Howland said. “They get it. They see Coach every game.”
Wooden coached at UCLA for 27 years, winning 10 national
championships in 12 seasons from 1964-1975.
DRIBBLERS: Howland said he expects Mata
(concussion) to practice Tuesday, and Fey (ankle) to return
Wednesday … UCLA’s next game is Saturday, Dec. 17 at
Michigan … No. 13 Washington won the first game in the Wooden
Classic, defeating New Mexico 81-71 … Freshman forward Alfred
Aboya was ineffective in his second game of the season, making the
stat sheet with just one rebound in five minutes of action.