With one exhibition game in the books ““ a 95-59 romp of Westmont College which was nothing like last year’s near defeat to Concordia ““ the UCLA men’s basketball team will close out its exhibition season tonight when it hosts the California State University, Los Angeles Golden Eagles.
Despite the Bruins’ dominant victory on Thursday, coach Ben Howland made it clear that he was not impressed by his team’s performance protecting its own basket.
“Our defense was not good,” Howland said of the exhibition opener. “We got beat a lot off the dribble, so we’ve got to do better than that. If we get beat off the dribble that easy, we’ll be in for some long days and some long nights.”
Much of the emphasis of the preseason has been the new transition offense that the Bruins are looking to incorporate, which would allow them to get out on the break and convert easy buckets.
But with this new style, there is a concern that the Bruins can’t get back on defense in a timely fashion.
Howland, who has always hung his hat on tough man-to-man defense, maintains that regardless of UCLA’s offensive schemes, there is no excuse for not being able to get back on defense quickly.
“If we’re going to be poor defensively because we’re running so hard, we’re going to have to figure that out,” Howland said.
As far as Cal State L.A. goes, Howland expects them to present a stiffer test than Westmont, pointing out their athleticism, size inside and the competition they regularly face in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
“They have scholarships … and they’re in a good league,” Howland said. “They’re in the best Division II league in the country.”
One question going into tonight’s game is the health of the UCLA frontline. Freshman center Joshua Smith only played eight minutes Thursday before spraining his right thumb early in the first half. The X-rays on Smith were negative, and the UCLA big man practiced with the team on Monday.
Despite the scare, Smith wagers that he will be in action tonight.
“Yeah, if I feel like my thumb can hold up … then I feel like I’ll play a lot of minutes,” Smith said. “Coach Howland told me that he was excited after the eight minutes I played.”
It looks, however, as if sophomore forward Reeves Nelson will not be able to go against the Golden Eagles, as he has yet to practice this week due to a right hip flexor he apparently suffered Thursday, but was not aware of until Friday.
“It was weird because I didn’t really feel it after the game,” Nelson said. “When I woke up the morning after, it was bothering me. I tried to lift my leg to get out of my covers and it just hurt me.”
One of the concerns entering the season was the lack of depth inside, but Nelson hopes to be ready for the season opener Friday.
As for Smith, he did not seem too worried about his thumb, making light of the situation by sharing a little history with reporters.
“I broke my pinky in the first grade,” Smith said. “I was skating at the skating rink trying to impress a girl, and I tried to jump over a little kid.”