Men’s basketball shows potential and renewed heart after loss

I know ““ the result is familiar.

UCLA men’s basketball lost its fourth consecutive game Sunday, 73-61 to top-ranked Kansas. The Bruins have now fallen to 2-5, their worst start since 2003.

But to me, this game was much different. This was not the same group of Bruins who had sleepwalked through losses against Cal State Fullerton, Portland and Long Beach State. There was intensity and a different energy inside Pauley Pavilion. Howland tweaked his starting five and shuffled his rotation. A new Bruin team emerged, and it’s a team I think will be more competitive from here on out.

“We are fighting as one unit now,” senior guard Michael Roll said.

Let’s start from the beginning. This was UCLA’s first game without Drew Gordon, the sophomore who quit the team last week, and UCLA opened with a new starting lineup. Roll and forwards Nikola Dragovic and James Keefe were in their normal positions. But sophomore Malcolm Lee started at point guard, in place of Jerime Anderson, and freshman Reeves Nelson started his first game of the season at center, filling in for Gordon.

Nelson, a sturdy 18-year-old from Modesto, had what may prove to be a breakout game. It wasn’t always pretty, but his performance demonstrated that he could hang with some of the best big men in college basketball.

Plus, Nelson returned to play even after a nasty eye injury in the second half, sporting a pair of flashy yellow goggles. When he re-entered the game, his gruesome, swollen right eye was shown on the Pauley Jumbotron. Bruin fans won’t soon forget his grittiness, and neither will Howland.

“He showed a lot of character getting back in the game,” Howland said. “Trust me, if you saw his eye, you would understand what I’m talking about.”

Nelson still needs to work on finishing around the basket, but it’s clear that he has a natural ability to rebound and that he never fears contact. He finished with nine points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes, his best game so far.

The other new attraction for the Bruins was freshman Tyler Honeycutt, who debuted for UCLA after sitting out the first six games of the season with an injured tibia. Honeycutt gives UCLA a new spark. He still looks a little hesitant, but he has a great passing ability.

Lee played a noticeably different game, too. Early this season, the offense relied much more on him, and it seemed like the sophomore felt pressured to force bad shots.

But Howland has clearly adjusted.

Lee tried only two shots in the first half, and 10 in the game. In general, the Bruins got better offensive opportunities and didn’t rush shots near the end of the shot clock.

Howland said he reiterated to his best shooters that “you can’t do it by yourself.” And while there were still some poor attempts, the Bruins were not nearly as sloppy as they had been.

There were more changes: J’mison Morgan played important minutes at center, and the UCLA student section really bounced for the first time this season, making Pauley the loudest it’s been all year.

Some big problems remain for the Bruins. Anderson, who began this year as UCLA’s starting point guard, still looks a step too slow offensively. He had another dismal night, with zero field goals in 30 minutes. As a team, UCLA is still woeful from the free-throw line, and they miss a lot of lay-ups.

But overall, things are getting better. The Bruins are finally waking up.

E-mail Allen at sallen@media.ucla.edu.

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