Given the recent tendencies of the UCLA men’s basketball team, coach Ben Howland might as well have been speaking Ancient Greek at Monday’s practice.
“Push it!” the coach called out. “Way to run it! Transition on every possession, make or miss!”
The words sure sounded foreign coming from the coach who has been known to pride himself on ball security, managing possessions and working the shot clock.
But things appear to be different this season, if Monday’s drills ““ and Howland’s words ““ are any indication. The bulk of practice consisted of the first and second units running transition drill after transition drill against each other. That kind of activity is helped by the presence of two true point guards: junior college transfer Lazeric Jones, who ran with the first team, and incumbent Jerime Anderson, who led the second.
“I like it,” Jones said of the tempo. “I’m just trying to learn the way Coach wants me to push it, get the right guys the ball.”
Those right guys include junior Malcolm Lee and sophomore Tyler Honeycutt, a pair of high-level athletes who are both adept at finishing in transition and should benefit significantly from the change in style. Rounding out the first unit on Monday were sophomore Reeves Nelson at power forward and freshman Josh Smith at center.
Even Smith, whose weight and conditioning have been the subject of much discussion since his arrival in Westwood this summer, looked comfortable in the fast-paced tempo.
“Coach Howland really emphasizes getting up and down the floor,” Smith said. “I feel pretty good with it.”
In Smith and Nelson, the Bruins have a pair of big men who are above-average finishers around the rim. The success of UCLA’s quicker style could depend on the ability of that pair to run the floor efficiently. Howland likes their chances.
“I really think that having Reeves Nelson being able to run the floor (is an important thing),” Howland said. “We’re making a concerted effort to get the ball to that first big.”
Assuming that Smith is able to maintain his conditioning, the pace appears to be a good fit for all of the newcomers. Jones said he played up-tempo in high school and junior college, and Smith acknowledged that his high school team often played fast as well. Freshman Matt Carlino is being counted on to find open spots on the floor to utilize his outside shooting abilities, and Howland called fellow rookie Tyler Lamb ready to play right now, especially defensively.
If anything, UCLA has enough athletes to be able to play an up-tempo style. It remains to be seen whether or not Howland will keep with the change in pace, but for now the coach is clear: This team in transition will be, well, a team of transition.
“We’re trying to get some easy baskets,” Howland said.