What a difference a year makes.
At this time last season, the Bruins’ basketball team was
a relatively unproven bunch.
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was still an unknown name, and major
contributors Josh Shipp and Alfred Aboya were sidelined with
injuries.
This year, not only is Mbah a Moute being featured on preseason
all-America lists, but also, UCLA is coming off a Final Four
appearance, and all the Bruins except junior center Lorenzo Mata
are fully healthy.
“It’s extremely nice to almost have a full squad out
there,” said coach Ben Howland. “We can get our guys
going early, and get the season off to a good start.”
The 2006-2007 season will be Howland’s first with all of
his own recruits, and there certainly has not been this much
optimism around the UCLA basketball program since the days of Ed
O’Bannon and Tyus Edney.
The team has already held a live scrimmage for just students
last Sunday, and on Tuesday Howland opened up practice to the media
for the first time during his UCLA tenure.
Howland realizes that, with almost all of the Bruins returning,
this is a special time for the program.
“Our guys realize that we have a unique
opportunity,” Howland said. “We had an exceptional run
last season, and we want to keep that momentum going.”
Howland should have a good chance of that, especially with the
veteran presence of junior guard Arron Afflalo and sophomore Shipp,
who know they are the leaders of this year’s young Bruin
squad.
On Tuesday, both players were seen playing with a calm sense of
confidence, knowing that the younger players will be following
their example.
“With my experience and my minutes, I know I am the elder
statesman of the team,” Afflalo said. “I have to give
it all out on the court because I know the younger guys will be
looking up to me.”
The younger guys that Afflalo will be helping are a combination
of freshmen point guard Russell Westbrook, power forward James
Keefe and European import Nikola Dragovic. All three players have
been making significant improvement since the Bruins started
practicing in September.
“They have all been pleasant surprises, especially
Russell,” Howland said. “His composure with the ball
and his knowledge of the game has been extremely
pleasing.”
Westbrook in particular will have the difficult responsibility
of being the No. 2 point guard as a true freshman, just as his
predecessor Darren Collison did before him.
Being doubted before as an undersized player at Leuzinger High
School, Westbrook is not fazed by the challenge.
“I am actually extremely excited,” Westbrook said.
“I’m looking forward to learning under Darren, and
doing whatever I can to help our team.”
Unlike Westbrook, Keefe and Dragovic will have much slower
transitions into the Bruins’ regular rotation. Keefe will be
backing up last year’s Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Mbah a
Moute, while Dragovic is slated behind Shipp and Keefe at the small
forward position.
“It’s been a difficult transition, having to go up
against Shipp and Mbah a Moute on a daily basis,” Keefe said.
“But I’m confident that I can learn quickly, and get
out there.”
Howland certainly feels that Keefe is ready for the
challenge.
“He will be able to give us quality minutes at the forward
position,” Howland said. “He has had excellent
coaching, and is a very smart player on the court.”
Wherever the contributions come from, Howland still realizes
that the Bruins’ success this season will ultimately lie with
the players’ ability to play as a team, and Collison’s
ability to fill the huge void left by Jordan Farmar’s
departure to the NBA.
“Every guy has to play their role, and we’ll be
fine,” Howland said. “The more contributions we get
from everyone, the better we’ll be.”
MATA STILL OUT: Mata, who underwent surgery on
his right knee on Oct. 12, is still a few weeks away from being
able to practice, and Howland is hoping that the junior center may
be ready for the team’s regular season opener on Nov. 15.
“He is getting better physically,” Howland said.
“He no longer has a knee brace, and he has been taking part
in individual drills.”
Mata has been unable to practice all summer as he has undergone
two surgeries on his knee.
WESTBROOK RETURNING: Westbrook suffered a mild
concussion last Wednesday, and has been held out of physical
contact for the past week.
Howland said, however, that he expects Westbrook to practice in
all drills today, and be ready for Thursday’s game against
Cal Poly Pomona.
DRIBBLERS: Sophomore Ryan Wright was held out
of practice for three days last week with an injured ankle, but
returned to practice on Tuesday and should be fine for
Thursday’s game. The NCAA outlawed Division I teams such as
UCLA playing against talent teams like EA Sports All-Stars, so UCLA
is playing against two Division III teams in its two exhibition
games.