Upon stepping off the team bus in Westwood after a successful
sweep of the Oregon schools, Arron Afflalo took a glance to his
left and saw exactly what he didn’t want to see. A gym.
Lights on. Nobody in it. Normally, the sophomore guard would have
wasted no time dragging his luggage into the gym and starting his
weight training. But under strict orders from UCLA coach Ben
Howland to give his body a complete two-day rest, Afflalo did what
he rarely ever does ““ looked down and kept walking.
“There were thoughts of going,” Afflalo said grinning.
“But I thought I should go and get some rest. It’s what
I needed.” After losses to Washington and West Virginia
earlier in the month, the self-described gym rat was seen in the
gym only hours later working on his jumpshot. This past Sunday and
Monday, however, Afflalo was relaxing, spending time with family,
watching television, and only dribbling the basketball, not
shooting it. “It gave me a chance to clear my head,”
Afflalo said. “It was an opportunity to not think about
basketball for a little bit.” It’s no secret Afflalo
has been struggling offensively in the last four games, during
which he has shot a paltry 28.6 percent while watching his scoring
average decrease by almost two points per game. Against Oregon
State on Saturday, several of Afflalo’s jumpshots were well
off their intended mark, including one that hit the side of the
board. Yet on Tuesday morning, the sophomore already noticed the
difference in his shot from just a couple of days’ rest. His
elevation from the beginning of the season finally returned. So too
did his accuracy. “This morning, I actually felt good,”
Afflalo said. “The rest helps, you know. I understand I have
a role on this team that requires a lot of energy. “I am a
perfectionist. I want to make every shot and stop every guy.”
Though he hasn’t been doing too much of the former,
he’s been excelling in the latter. Afflalo’s defensive
assignments this past weekend, Oregon’s Malik Hairston and
Oregon State’s Chris Stephens, both leading scorers for their
respective teams, combined for only 10 points against UCLA. As
Howland figured in Tuesday’s press conference, Afflalo ceded
only one field goal to the duo in 80 minutes. “I try to take
guys completely out of the game,” Afflalo said.
“That’s my job.” And now with two days of rest,
the sophomore is confident he’ll start doing his other job
just as well ““ scoring. It’s been over three weeks
since Afflalo eclipsed the 20-point mark. The last time he did so
was on Jan. 7, when he scored 21 points against Arizona State, the
Bruins’ opponent this Thursday.
FARMAR’S FINISHES: Sophomore point guard
Jordan Farmar is only averaging 9.8 points per game during
conference play, but it’s his defense and passing ability
that is taking over games in the final minutes. Against Oregon,
Farmar made two key steals in the last five minutes to preserve an
ugly 56-49 win over the Ducks. The following Saturday against
Oregon State, the sophomore was able to repeatedly get into the
lane and find open teammates for easy baskets, dishing out eight
assists. Farmar, who finished second in assists last season as a
freshman, is currently leading the Pac-10 with an average of 5.9
assists per game. No other player in the conference averages more
than five assists.
DRIBBLERS: For a team atop its conference
standings, UCLA has some pretty unusual team statistics. Coming
into this week’s contests against the Arizona schools, the
Bruins are eighth in the Pac-10 in scoring (67.3 points per game)
and seventh in the Pac-10 in rebounding (33.5 rebounds per game).
Yet, UCLA is still second in the conference in scoring margin (+7.1
points) and rebounding margin (+4.7 rebounds). … Luc Richard Mbah
a Moute was named National Freshman of the Week by Rivals.com after
he led UCLA in scoring for both Bruin victories last week.