With about five minutes remaining in the first half, freshman Jrue Holiday had had enough.
USC forward DeMar DeRozan was killing the Bruins, lighting up the Galen Center with jump shots and twisting drives into the lane. Josh Shipp and Michael Roll both had problems guarding the 6-foot-7-inch freshman sensation, so Holiday did something about it.
During a timeout, he told coach Ben Howland: “Switch me on. I want to guard him. I want to take on the challenge,” Holiday said.
Howland obliged.
DeRozan did not score again in the first half.
With Holiday forcing DeRozan to give up the ball time and time again after the break, the Trojan star ended the night with 15 points, only four of which came in the second half. Holiday held him scoreless for the final 17:42, while denying him opportunities at the ball.
DeRozan took only two shots in the second half.
The timeout, which came immediately after DeRozan sank three straight jumpers, was pivotal for both teams, as USC was forced to find offense somewhere else.
“(DeRozan) was killing us, and Jrue came over and said, “˜I want him,'” Howland said. “What that tells me is he was going to take it personally.”
Apart from routinely guarding the other team’s best scorer, Holiday has played with DeRozan on several teams before and knows his tendencies better than anyone else. The matchup for him had a more familiar feel.
But Holiday’s petition to Howland was not about any of that. The Bruins couldn’t stop DeRozan, and Holiday wanted a crack at it.
“He was beating us,” Howland said. “He was the one hurting us. That’s why he wanted him.”
Holiday’s pressure on DeRozan paid huge dividends for the Bruins, but Holiday’s contribution to UCLA’s win included more than defensive stops.
With the game knotted up at 53 with 5:48 remaining, Holiday did what Howland has been looking for him to do more of all season. Take charge.
From the wing, Holiday drove past his defender into the lane, twisted towards the hoop and threw up a left-handed floater over monster shot-blocker Taj Gibson. It fell, giving the Bruins a lead they would not relinquish.
“I saw Taj Gibson coming,” Holiday said. “I just had to get it up high and kiss it off the glass.”
Holiday would finish with 13 points and four rebounds in 32 minutes, second only in court time to senior Darren Collison, who played 39. It was not Holiday’s flashiest game this season, but his defensive effort gave the Bruins crucial stops throughout the night.
With the first two weekends of Pac-10 play finished, Holiday’s performance against the much bigger DeRozan also provides Howland with an assurance that the freshman has no qualms going up against more physical players.
“All we can ask of Jrue Holiday is to continue doing what he’s been doing, and he’s been doing that,” Collison said.