After he energetically poured in a dozen points in the first 20 minutes of Sunday’s loss to USC ““ before struggling to score just a pair in the latter 20 ““ it might be fitting to grant UCLA’s up-and-down sophomore forward a new moniker: “Half” Nelson.
The wrestling term alludes to the aggressive, physical style with which Reeves Nelson plays the game, but it also refers to the exhausting struggle he had to stay productive in the second half of the Bruins’ recent defeat.
Nelson played 17 minutes in a back-and-forth first half that had him, according to coach Ben Howland, asking to be substituted out toward the end. The sophomore finished with 34 minutes, more than what his coach envisions.
“Absolutely with Reeves, it’s like a diminishing return,” Howland said. “It’d be better to play him 30 minutes than 35 minutes, or 28 minutes than 34 minutes. He gets more out of himself playing a few less minutes.”
Nelson’s dealings with fatigue come a week after similar issues arose surrounding the playing time of junior guard Malcolm Lee, who played 36 minutes against Washington State and 39 against Washington. With only nine scholarship players, Howland has limited options for subbing out some of his important pieces, especially Lee, who the coach said is always given the assignment of guarding the other team’s best perimeter player.
One potential source of reprieve could come in the form of redshirt freshman Anthony Stover, who Howland said deserves additional action.
“I constantly kick myself for not playing Stover more minutes,” Howland said. “Stover gives us great effort and intensity defensively.”
Nelson didn’t see any way out of the conundrum.
“I was pretty tired,” he said. “But I think I needed to play that much in the first half because of how the game was going.”
Kids these days
After the loss to USC, there were a couple of instances of UCLA center Joshua Smith briefly losing his composure. The freshman, who fouled out of the contest after playing 22 minutes, called the refereeing “terrible.” He also admitted to making an obscene gesture to a USC fan who allegedly made a remark against Smith’s family.
Smith has since apologized for his comments, after watching a tape of the fouls and observing what it was the referees were seeing out of him. He also expressed regret for his exchange with the fan.
“I lost my cool,” Smith said. “I’m a bigger person than that. After the game, emotions all over the place, it just happened.”
With UCLA traveling north this weekend, the freshman will get his first taste of one of the more hostile environments in the country in Eugene, Ore. The Ducks no longer play in the legendary McArthur Court, but they still boast a fan base renowned for its animosity toward opponents.
Fresh off of his lapse of judgment at the Galen Center, Smith isn’t concerned that the Oregon fans will draw out a repeat performance. Plus, he’ll have a reliable partner in attendance.
“I’m actually excited,” he said. “My family’s going to be coming down to watch the game. If I do something stupid, after the game my mom will be there to whip me back into shape.”