He was supposed to be the Bruins’ outside sharpshooter.
The instant offensive spark off the bench.
But following a 10-game suspension to begin the season and a lack of practice time with the team, Nikola Dragovic’s freshman year at UCLA had seen him relegated to sitting on the bench.
“It was frustrating,” Dragovic said. “But I knew I just had to keep working hard and improving, and wait for my chance.”
On Saturday against Oregon State, Dragovic got his chance, scoring a career-high 8 points and grabbing 6 rebounds in 12 minutes of action in the Bruins’ blowout victory over the Beavers.
Coming in with 1:29 remaining in the first half, Dragovic immediately attempted a shot and missed, but grabbed his own offensive rebound.
Dragovic then made his first 3-pointer attempt 40 seconds later, earning a large roar from the Bruin crowd.
“It was amazing to be out there playing in front of 11,000 people,” Dragovic said. “It’s definitely different from sitting on the bench.”
“I was excited for him out there,” coach Ben Howland said. “He came … and shot it, which is what he is supposed to do.”
What has hindered Dragovic, however, during his time at UCLA, has been his defense. Howland’s first emphasis is defensive ball pressure, and Dragovic was not accustomed to playing a high level of defense while in Europe.
Thus, only now, after four months of practice time within Howland’s system, has Dragovic begun to showcase his full set of skills.
“He is definitely improving as a player,” Howland said. “Although he hasn’t got the minutes he has wanted, he always has kept up a great attitude, and that will keep him improving.”
In his fourth career appearance on Saturday, Dragovic was able to showcase the 3-point shooting ability and fluid offensive passing that had attracted Bruin coaches out to Serbia-Montenegro.
Dragovic was 2-for-4 from the 3-point line, and he moved well within the Bruin offense.
He even impressed Howland by his defense on Oregon State’s Marcel Jones.
“He played some good defense, and I was happy with his intensity,” Howland said. “I’m glad he was able to get some extensive minutes today.”
The only question that now remains for Dragovic is whether he can translate Saturday’s performance into increased minutes and a bigger role off the Bruins’ bench in the future.
“I told him all along that if he wants to improve his minutes, he needs to prove it in practice,” Howland said. “He has to take the minutes away from the players above him.”
ROBINSON SCORES: Sophomore walk-on DeAndre Robinson scored the first two points of his Bruin career on Saturday.
Robinson, who has made 16 appearances in his career, was previously 0 for 2 from the field.
Robinson scored on an acrobatic layup with one minute left in the game.
“You love to see the guys have the opportunity to score,” sophomore point guard Darren Collison said. “The players on the bench are the ones who get us better every day.”
RECORD DEFENSE: The Bruins held Oregon State to 35 points on Saturday, the lowest point total they have held an opponent to this season.
The previous low was 38 points against UC Riverside.
The fewest points the Bruins have ever allowed in a game at Pauley Pavilion is also 35, which occurred in 1966 against Oregon State.
DRIBBLER: Saturday’s attendance was 11,095. UCLA has now won 17 consecutive home games and are 13-0 at home this season. The Bruins’ 47-point margin of victory was the largest since a 100-39 win over Morgan State on Dec. 1, 1999. Coach Ben Howland attended future UCLA recruit Kevin Love’s game in the Nike Extravaganza on Saturday night. Love scored 36 points and grabbed 15 rebounds en route to defeating former UCLA recruit Taylor King’s Mater Dei Monarchs.