Ever since the summer, Ryan Hollins had this game in the back of
his mind.
With West Virginia scheduled to make a January trip to Pauley
Pavilion, that meant one big responsibility for Hollins.
“Since the summer, coach actually told me I’m the
main guy who will be guarding (Kevin) Pittsnogle,” Hollins
said. “I’ve been waiting for it, so I just had to come
out ready.”
The months of mental preparation paid off, as Hollins and the
Bruins did a tremendous job on the Mountaineers’ leading
scorer, holding Pittsnogle to a season-low eight points on 4-for-15
shooting. Pittsnogle was averaging 20.6 points per game prior to
Saturday.
Hollins also had his most productive game of the season on the
offensive end, finishing with 11 points and eight rebounds in 30
minutes.
“I thought Ryan Hollins gave us good minutes tonight and
was the best match-up against Pittsnogle, who is such an effective
perimeter player,” Howland said. “I was really pleased
with his concentration and focus today in terms of remembering all
the little things.”
Aside from being the best perimeter defender among UCLA’s
big men, which explains why freshmen Ryan Wright and Alfred Aboya
played limited minutes Saturday, Hollins was also able to build
upon some prior knowledge of Pittsnogle’s game.
Hollins and Pittsnogle played on the 2003 USA Junior World Team
together, where they got to know each other relatively well.
“We watched numerous tape, and he’s catch and shoot,
catch and shoot, catch and shoot,” Hollins said. “You
have to make him drive.”
Hollins was able to get a hand up and challenge
Pittsnogle’s 3-point attempts Saturday, as the West Virginia
senior finished 0-for-5 from 3-point range.
As for the UCLA senior, he appears to have recovered from a
strained groin that held him out of the lineup for six games. On
Saturday, in his third game back since the injury, Hollins played a
critical role in UCLA’s second-half comeback, as eight of his
points and six of his rebounds came after halftime.
“I feel like I was a little tentative in the first
half,” Hollins said. “In the second half, I just
figured that I had to go after everything.”
With every passing game, it is becoming clearer and clearer to
Hollins that his UCLA career is coming to an end. And as a senior,
he feels a sense of responsibility.
“I’m just looking forward to playing hard and
staying healthy,” Hollins said. “The team needs me
backing up my words. I try to give the team a lot of confidence and
advice, saying that I’ve been there. If you talk the talk,
you’ve got to walk the walk, and that’s what I’m
about to do.”
IN THE ZONE: UCLA struggled for much of the
game Saturday with West Virginia’s zone defense, a 1-3-1 that
the Mountaineers extend near midcourt.
Whenever they converted on the offensive end, the Mountaineers
would play zone. If UCLA got a stop, West Virginia would play
man-to-man.
“They’re a very difficult team to play against
because of their style,” Howland said. “You don’t
usually see that 1-3-1 extended against many teams.”
The first half was especially trying for the Bruins, as they
finished the half with just 22 points on 26.1 percent shooting.
“The way they play with that zone, it really forces you to
test your fundamentals,” Howland said. “You have to
jump stop, you have to be able to be strong with the ball, you have
to be able to ball fake. You can’t be tentative.”
DRIBBLERS: When asked whether Saturday’s
game was “loosely officiated” Howland said no. He
jokingly said that he could think of another adjective for the
officiating, but refused to elaborate. … Freshman Mike Roll,
UCLA’s best 3-point shooter, finished 0-for-6 from 3-point
range and 0-for-7 from the field Saturday. … UCLA and Washington
are tied for first in the Pac-10 with identical 5-2 conference
records. Washington beat UCLA 69-65 on Jan. 14 at Pauley Pavilion.
… On Saturday, the three remaining unbeaten teams in Division I
all lost. No. 1 Duke lost to Georgetown, No. 2 Florida lost to
Tennessee, and No. 9 Pittsburgh lost to St. John’s.