My three-hour trip to the UCLA-Stanford men’s basketball game
was one that quickly became worthwhile, as I got to witness a wide
array of occurrences that others will only be able to read
about.
The Bruins opened up conference play by outdoing a struggling
Stanford team in virtually every aspect. And this while receiving
sobering news that redshirt senior guard and forward Cedric Bozeman
might be gone for the year with a shoulder injury that could bring
an end to his tumultuous career in Westwood. On top of that,
sophomore point guard Jordan Farmar aggravated his tender right
ankle.
But once again, UCLA found role players to pick up the slack.
Instead of unheralded newcomers filling the void, a familiar face
re-emerged from the training room.
Sophomore guard Josh Shipp returned for his first game of the
year. When he converted on an easy transition layup to start the
game and fueled a 15-1 run that the Cardinal couldn’t overcome, it
became clear that this Bruins team finds a way to win. It hasn’t
mattered who played — the name on the front of
the jersey has proved to be more telling than the name on the
back.
In the press conference following the game, the severity of
Bozeman’s injury was not made completely certain, as coach Ben
Howland was told by team doctors that the injury has varying
effects.
However, sophomore Arron Afflalo was confident his senior
teammate would recover within the next few weeks. While Bozeman was
fielding questions, Afflalo smiled, rolled his eyes, and softly
muttered, "You’ll be back, Ced."
Over the last year, the Bruins have gone from a talented but
inexperienced team searching for an identity to a mature and
scrappy bunch that has fought off injuries and excuses. And nobody
knows this better than the coach.
The choice words Howland used to describe the play of Shipp in
his first game back make you think for a second that you are in
some sort of dream world. "He was just spectacular," Howland said.
"To perform the way he did was just miraculous."
Howland has never been known as a coach to sugarcoat the play of
his team. When he commends Shipp — or anybody,
for that matter — he means it.
Dampening the victory were ankle injuries to Farmar and freshman
Ryan Wright, extending a laundry list of health problems that the
Bruins have been forced to deal with.
Howland hasn’t made excuses for his team’s inability to field
the projected starting lineup for the first 12 games, instead
putting the onus on his bench players to step forward and take
advantage of the opportunity to play.
Now in his third year on the sideline in Pauley Pavilion,
Howland has made UCLA in his image as the players win with grit and
blue-collar defense.
"We are going to be very proactive with these injuries," Howland
said. "There are going to be buckets of ice all night, all morning,
because obviously we need them on Saturday."
At one point in Thursday night’s game, Afflalo was accompanied
by four freshmen: Wright, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Michael Roll
and Darren Collison.
And who were they going up against? Fifth-year senior Chris
Hernandez, two-time member of the first-team Pac-10. Senior Matt
Haryasz, an honorable mention for all-Pac-10 last year. And lastly,
senior Dan Grunfeld, a member of last season’s Pac-10 first
team.
In fact, the Bruins played with just freshmen and sophomores for
almost the entire game, until senior Janou Roubin came in with less
than two minutes to play and the game already sealed.
It seemed as though with each possession the young players
adjusted from the previous one, to capitalize after grabbing
offensive rebounds and diving for loose balls.
And on the defensive side, the Bruins caused several turnovers,
and sophomore Lorenzo Mata and Mbah a Moute recorded three blocks
each.
The energy in Pauley Pavilion is different this year. The team’s
attitude is different. And for the first time in eight years, the
outcome of the game against Stanford at home was also
different.
However, the streak meant nothing to Howland
— who was only a part of two of the home losses
to the Cardinal — and most of the players on
this year’s roster.
"These guys were in fifth grade and fourth grade when that
started. Luc and Alfred were back in Yaounde (Cameroon)," Howland
said. "It doesn’t mean anything to them. It’s a whole new season,
and it’s a whole new group."
E-mail Behniwal at abehniwal@media.ucla.edu.