Standing in the middle of crowds of reporters in Pauley Pavilion
on Wednesday, Arron Afflalo and Josh Shipp were all smiles.
As a new season begins with the team’s first practice on
Friday, the soft-spoken pair is healthy and ready to go.
With Jordan Farmar gone and no seniors on the team, Afflalo, a
junior, and Shipp, a redshirt sophomore, know exactly what is
expected of them.
“Me and Arron, we’re some of the older guys on the
team now,” Shipp said. “They’re definitely going
to be looking to us to fill that leadership role.”
For Shipp, Friday’s practice will be a landmark of sorts.
Shipp tried valiantly to come back for the Bruins last season, but
his hip just wasn’t agreeing with him.
After an offseason of rehab, Shipp says his hip is feeling much
stronger than it did when he stopped playing last year. The
swingman doesn’t think it will be a problem for him this
season.
“I’m definitely anxious (to begin practice),”
Shipp said. “We’ve been doing individuals and I was
pretty excited about that. I’m just going to be regaining my
love for the game when we start practice this Friday.”
After playing in just four games last year, Shipp was forced to
give up his passion for the rest of the season. That’s
something that wasn’t easy for him to deal with.
“It’s tough, it’s something that’s hard
to describe,” Shipp said. “To take away something that
somebody loves, you can’t really put it in words.
“It was a learning process really; I’m just grateful
to be back out there,” he said.
As Shipp watched the Bruins go on to have a successful
postseason run that ultimately ended in a loss to Florida in the
national title game, he began to gain a new perspective for the
game.
“It was hard (to watch), but I enjoyed it at the same
time. I became a fan of the game and saw the rest of our guys grow.
It was a fun experience.”
Shipp gives the Bruins an extra scoring threat both on the
drive and from the perimeter, but with the departure of Cedric
Bozeman, Shipp’s defensive game is going to be in the
limelight this season. The Bruins are confident that Shipp is up to
the challenge.
“Losing Cedric Bozeman, you think you’d be hurt, but
having a Josh Shipp is a plus,” sophomore point guard Darren
Collison said. “He’s gonna help us run more; he’s
really good in transition. He knows how to finish, so he’s
going to help us out.”
“Josh is a very skilled, smart basketball player and he
can defend,” Afflalo added. “He has a lot of pride in
himself.”
Afflalo, meanwhile, is coming off an injury of his own, although
it didn’t keep him from missing any game action.
The shooting guard suffered a stress reaction in his left foot
in July, which kept him from playing basketball for about two
months.
“His foot seems to be fine,” coach Ben Howland said.
“He’s been going real hard now for at least three
weeks, maybe a month. He’s looked good; he’s shooting
the ball extremely well. I’m excited about how Arron’s
feeling.”
Afflalo, who played in every one of the team’s 39 games
last season, says he is feeling 100 percent as practice begins and
is eager to begin a new season.
“With the group of guys and the chemistry we have this
year … we can win every game,” Afflalo said
“That’s how we have to approach it.”
With Bozeman, Farmar and Ryan Hollins all gone and no seniors on
this year’s roster, one might naturally assume that this is
Afflalo’s team, that the burden of leadership is primarily
going to be filled by last year’s leading scorer and lockdown
defensive star.
But not necessarily, according to Afflalo.
“That’s something that’s going to be
collective amongst us all,” Afflalo said.
“Darren’s our point guard, so there’s a
leadership role that has to come from him. Luc (Richard Mbah a
Moute)’s one of the many guys coming back. And of course
myself and Josh.
“We won’t be relying on one guy … I think
you’ll see a lot of guys step up this year,” he
said.
Unlike Shipp, Afflalo played a key role on the court for the
Bruins last season during their postseason run.
Afflalo clinched the Bruins’ win with a clutch
three-pointer in UCLA’s second-round victory over Alabama and
was a key defensive force for the Bruins throughout the
tournament.
For Afflalo, getting as far as the Bruins did, only to fall
short against Florida, was a painful experience. But Afflalo has
channeled that pain into a motivating force for the upcoming
season.
“That hurtful feeling ““ that’s something I
won’t forget,” Afflalo said. “The memory’s
still there. The inner deep feeling is still there and I
don’t think it will ever leave until this team gets rolling
and winning again.”
In order for that to happen, Afflalo may also have to expand his
versatility this season.
Last year’s team had three players with point guard
skills, in Farmar, Bozeman and Collison, allowing Afflalo to get
acclimated to his role as a shooting guard.
But this season, Collison is the only true point guard remaining
on the team, which means Afflalo may be the guy the Bruins turn to
at the helm when Collison needs a break.
Howland is confident that Afflalo, who saw quite a bit of action
at the point as a freshman backing up Farmar, is up to the
task.
“Right now if you pencilled in who’s starting,
Darren’s starting at the point. Arron is definitely a
possibility (to back up Collison) because he did it two years ago.
There’s a good chance that could happen again for
him.”
Regardless of what they are asked to do this season, Afflalo and
Shipp are both feeling healthy and will be counted on to produce
for the Bruins.
And each is looking forward to the challenge.