This battalion needs a colonel, not a general ““ Ben Howland fills that role well enough. But troops don’t always relate to their generals particularly well, and that divide is often obvious with coach Howland and his players.
No, it’s a colonel that’s needed, and it doesn’t take a trip to KFC to figure that one out.
The colonel is the player on whom the team can rely ““ he transcends the captain, because sometimes team captaincy isn’t much more than a hollow gesture.
When things get tough ““ and Tuesday night against Middle Tennessee State was about as brutal as it gets ““ someone, anyone, needs to come to the rescue. Being at that game was like being in line for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride: lots of waiting around, anticipating that something exciting would eventually come, only to find no payoff in the end.
UCLA was without injured redshirt sophomore center Anthony Stover and the then-suspended Reeves Nelson, and their absence was obvious. Stover can alter a game with his defense, and Nelson can ignite a team with his energy. Either asset would have helped on Tuesday.
Who, then, is willing to embrace the role? Nelson is talented and popular, but trying to get a handle on his attitude is harder than trying to find a traffic-free route to the L.A. Sports Arena.
Sophomore center Joshua Smith has the most potential of anyone on the team, but his youth and lack of conditioning call into question his work ethic and maturity.
The Wear twins are bulldog types, but they’re quiet and still adapting to the UCLA scene. I’m not sure they have the charisma to be rallying points in times of strife.
Senior point guards Lazeric Jones and Jerime Anderson are the obvious choices, both for their age and their position.
Point guards, as the initiators of most of the plays, are naturally suited for on-court leadership.
But Jones appears to be pressing and may not be ready for the responsibility: He shot just two-of-nine on Tuesday night and committed five turnovers to just four assists.
That’s why I think Anderson has to be colonel of this team. He’s one of the longer-tenured Bruins on the team, he’s bright and well-spoken, and I think he’ll be better off in the long run in the wake of his two-game suspension for stealing a laptop over the summer. In his first game back, he had nine points and six assists in 22 minutes, and I think we’ll see more of him as the season progresses.
Right now, the most concerning personnel issue on this team is the fate of Nelson, who met with Howland multiple times this week and on Wednesday made the decision to return to the team.
The junior forward desperately needs a savvy teammate to come alongside him.
“I’ve definitely given Reeves my support,” Anderson said. “I love Reeves, we all want him back.”
It can’t end there, though. Upon Nelson’s return, a guy like Anderson needs to be a calming and tutoring presence for the enigmatic junior.
Tuesday night was, as Howland said, “embarrassing.” This proud program has no excuses for getting manhandled and out-executed by a mid-major, regardless of how good the latter is. That’s not arrogance, that’s fact.
One of the primary conundrums for this team is that its most talented players (namely, Smith, Nelson and the Wears) aren’t well-suited to be its leaders. Jones and Anderson need to be rocks, and I think the latter in particular.
We haven’t even hit the Maui Invitational yet, and already this team has the few fans in the Sports Arena shaking their heads. Games against Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State were supposed to be opportunities to work out the kinks in preparation for potentially facing the Kansases and the Dukes in Maui.
Maybe the true leader of this team will emerge over the weekend. A colonel won’t trump a Duke, but it’d be a start.
If you think reading his columns is like going through boot camp, email Eshoff at reshoff@media.ucla.edu.