It has not been the most challenging of schedules for UCLA men’s basketball through its first two games.
While the nation’s elite teams, such as Duke and Kansas, and Kentucky and Michigan State, have already squared off against each other, UCLA’s opponents have not shared the same historic pedigree; Drexel and Oakland had a combined record of 29-36 last season.
As UCLA faces a Sacramento State team tonight that finished 14-15 last season, things are not changing much in that respect.
But another change could be coming for the Bruins on the court. Redshirt senior forward Travis Wear, who missed the beginning of the season after undergoing an appendectomy, might be on the court for the first time this season for UCLA. Wear was no-contact in Thursday’s practice and coach Steve Alford said Thursday that he was hoping to work Wear into contact drills later in the week.
Wear’s return will be a relief for a UCLA team that has been extremely thin on the front line. The Bruins have been forced to rely almost solely on redshirt senior forward David Wear and sophomore forward/center Tony Parker, who have had to log heavy minutes in the first two games this season.
“Travis is a great player; we really need him back,” Parker said. “He’s an extra big body for us, so we don’t have to worry about playing too long at certain spots.”
But Travis Wear contributes more than just depth for the Bruins.
The addition of Wear allows UCLA to have more options as an offense as his shooting ability helps to spread the floor in the half court offense, an area Alford said still needs improvement.
“I feel like when you add a shooter to the lineup where big men have to step out of the paint to guard, it opens up driving lanes for me, Jordan (Adams), Zach (LaVine), Kyle (Anderson) to penetrate and have the defense collapse and be able to kick it out or finish at the rim,” said junior guard Norman Powell.
After a breakout second half performance against Oakland in which Powell scored 12 points, getting more driving lanes looks to make him even more dangerous offensively. Powell, who averaged 4.6 and 6.1 points respectively in his freshman and sophomore campaigns, looks primed to turn his breakout game into a breakout season, said sophomore guard Jordan Adams said.
“Him and Tony, you can tell they’re kind of playing with a chip on their shoulders, so we take note of that as a team,” Adams said.
While Powell credited former coach Ben Howland for his development as a defender and a shooter, he attributed his early success this year to Alford’s offensive system.
“I feel like the offense releases my athletic style of play, being able get up and down the court in sprinting lanes, getting easy points in transition and (using) my athletic ability to get to the rim and make shots and create plays for other people,” Powell said.
The offense seems to be working for Adams as well. After a shaky shooting start to the season, hitting just six of his first 18 shots through a game and a half, Adams matched Powell’s second-half output against Oakland with 12 points on 4 for 6 shooting. With Adams’ shooting touch returning – he hit four three-pointers against Oakland – and Travis Wear’s return adding another shooter, Adams said he thinks UCLA’s offense will improve going forward, starting with the Sacramento State game tonight.
“I think we’re very dangerous, because we score our points in transition and we get some in the paint, but when we’re knocking down our jump shots like we haven’t been … I think we’ll be pretty good,” Adams said.