UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland had just been asked about Darren Collison, his team’s star point guard, and he started to discuss some plays when he wished Collison would have shot instead of passed.
Then he stopped, midsentence, and said it simply.
“Darren Collison should take the most shots on our team.”
In four games this season, Collison, who is a preseason All-American, is averaging 16 points. He has made 61 percent of his shots and 93 percent of his free-throw tries. He also leads the No. 13 Bruins (3-1) in 3-pointers.
But Collison has only attempted 36 shots, seven fewer than senior guard Josh Shipp.
“We need Collison to be the guy,” Howland said. “He is our best shooter.”
Collison nailed two crucial 3-pointers in the second half of UCLA’s win over Southern Illinois and finished the game with 16 points.
But the night before he passed up several open looks down the stretch, and the Bruins fell to Michigan.
As point guard, Collison holds the ball most in the Bruins’ offense and usually tries to facilitate. He’s never cared much about point totals or accolades.
He just wants victories.
“Being a point guard, you’re always trying to get the win,” he said.
But Howland said his team may need to tweak its offense to create more shooting opportunities for Collison.
Specifically, Collison may play off the ball more, while the Bruin big men try to screen for him.
The Bruins will emphasize that type of motion offense as they prepare for a home game against Florida International on Saturday and a critical matchup at No. 6 Texas on Dec. 4.
“I think the way that Darren can get more shots is to run a lot of ball screens,” senior forward Alfred Aboya said. “Us bigs have to do a better job setting better screens so that he can utilize that and create shots.”
Howland also discussed the possibility of freshman shooting guard Jrue Holiday handling the ball more because of his stellar passing and ability to penetrate defenses.
But Collison is still the team’s point guard, Howland said.
And that creates a very fine line for Collison, who also leads UCLA in assists.
“I think he’s doing a good job getting everybody into the game,” redshirt junior guard Michael Roll said. “It’s early on, people are still trying to figure out how to play with each other.
“When it gets to crunch time, Darren’s going to have the ball, and he’s going to take the big shot.”
ABOYA HEALS QUICKLY: Alfred Aboya returned to practice Monday, just two days after he injured his wrist against Southern Illinois.
After the Southern Illinois game, Howland feared that Aboya had broken his hand or wrist, which tempered excitement about the 22 points and eight rebounds Aboya tallied against the Salukis.
A series of tests administered in New York and Los Angeles came back negative, though, and Aboya healed quickly.
“I was very surprised,” Howland said. “I did not expect him to practice based on the amount of pain he was feeling after our game.”
Two other Bruins suffered minor injuries Monday. Freshman guard Malcolm Lee sprained his ankle, and junior forward Nikola Dragovic bruised his knee. Both are listed as day-to-day.
MORE RUNNING: Frustrated at the 28 turnovers his team committed in the final two games of the 2K Sports Classic, Howland tried to send a message in his team’s last practice.
After every turnover, players ran.
“There’s got to be more accountability every time you make a mistake,” Howland said. “Because that’s the way it is in the game.”