The starting five that will take the floor tonight for the UCLA men’s basketball team’s exhibition game against Concordia won’t be the Bruins’ starting lineup for the regular season opener.
A variety of issues ““ from injuries, to precautions to missed meetings ““ have not allowed coach Ben Howland to see what his potential everyday starting lineup might be.
But according to Howland, that’s not important. All he wants to see from his young Bruin squad is that they simply play his brand of basketball.
“A lot of hustle, an emphasis on the defensive end, an emphasis on rebounding, on sharing the basketball, being unselfish,” Howland said. “Concordia is well coached. They’re going to come in like every team and try to knock off us in our own building, and we better be prepared.”
Tonight, the Bruins will be without senior guard Michael Roll (ankle), sophomore Jerime Anderson (groin) and freshman forward Brendan Lane (ankle).
Howland said that he is not concerned about getting Roll minutes in the Bruins’ two exhibition games, stating that his experience throughout his career will prepare him for the season.
When his season does officially start, Roll said he is excited to begin his final season at UCLA.
“I had some good years in the past and I just want to make it another one,” Roll said.
With Roll out, Howland said it will allow more time for freshmen such as Tyler Honeycutt and Mike Moser to play.
Anderson returned to practice on Monday and participated in contact drills for the first time since the Bruins began practice in the fall.
“I thought he did a good job,” Howland said. “He’s a good decision-maker. We’re just not trying to over-extend him right now. I want to be very careful and bring him along.”
The coach added that Anderson will play in the Bruins’ second exhibition game on Nov. 10 at home against Humboldt State.
Anderson said that he feels that he can play tonight, but that he also understands the coaches’ decision to have him sit out.
“I know that once I get back, I’m going to be a little rusty, a little tired just because I haven’t been out here in a while,” Anderson said. “I’ve been conditioning every day, and my condition doesn’t really fall off too much. I’ve always been in good condition. I think once I get back into game shape, I’ll be OK.”
Anderson looks to play a significant role this season for the Bruins, entering the season as the projected starting point guard. Last season, Anderson backed up three-year starter Darren Collison and feels that he learned a lot from the now-New Orleans Hornet.
“I still talk to Darren here and there, and he still helps me a lot because he’s a good teacher,” Anderson said. “He’s definitely just brought me under his wing really well, and I was able to learn from him.”
In Anderson’s place, Howland said that sophomore Malcolm Lee and senior Mustafa Abdul-Hamid will handle the point-guard duties against Concordia.
Along with Lane, Honeycutt and Moser, forward Reeves Nelson and center Anthony Stover round out a freshman class that was ranked by scout.com as the fourth-best in the nation.
Sophomore forward Drew Gordon said he has been trying to emulate former UCLA player, Alfred Aboya, in how he works to lead the freshmen.
“I’ve just been trying to lead by example,” Gordon said. “Playing hard all the time, trying to be a leader for everybody who kind of doesn’t know what to do or doesn’t know where to go on the floor. I’m basically just following what Alfred did last year, just kind of mentor to people.”
Gordon also noted that his mentality in practice and on the court has changed now in his second year with the team.
“I used to try to shortcut a lot of stuff last year,” Gordon said, adding that his old attitude caused some tension in his relationship with Howland. “This year I’ve really tried to make sure I go through everything, lead by example, turn over a new leaf with Coach. It’s a new year, new season, and different mentality.”
That new mentality will be unveiled tonight at 7:30 p.m., and Gordon couldn’t be more excited.
“We’ve been itching to play,” Gordon said. “It’s time to unleash the new team.”
With reports from Eli Smukler, Bruin Sports senior staff.