Coach Steve Alford talked Tuesday about the need for his team to not force things so much from deep. He saw his team at its best when patient, when making the extra pass for higher-percentage shots.
The Bruins took 25 mostly forced attempts from three-point range against Colorado last Thursday. They took 21 in a Saturday loss to Utah. But in a 91-74 Thursday night win over Stanford, UCLA took Alford’s recommendation to heart, heaving it just 13 times from beyond the arc.
“Really proud of the basketball team,” said Alford, whose team has yet to lose consecutive games this season. “I think that’s one of the hardest things to do in sports is to – when you get knocked down or lose – to feel that winning again.”
UCLA was primed for an assist-to-turnover masterpiece, all it needed was a little extra paint. That’s where sophomore forward/center Tony Parker came in.
Whether off a baseline pump fake from freshman guard Zach LaVine with 11:02 to play or a dish from sophomore guard/forward Kyle Anderson with 7:18 remaining, Parker capitalized on his opportunities, scoring a career-high 22 points. He also hauled in seven rebounds, five on the offensive end and had some of his best minutes late in the second half when redshirt senior forwards David and Travis Wear sat on the bench with four fouls each.
Not only did Parker’s production skyrocket, but for once he gave himself some time to score. The 6-foot-9 sophomore did record four personal fouls on the game, but managed to work effectively in the paint for 28 minutes, well above his season average of 19.1 minutes per game heading into the contest.
Parker said the key to his staying busy throughout the game was a little pre-game video research on prolific NBA big men from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies.
“After the Utah game, (Kory Alford and I) just watched a lot of clips on Kevin Love and Zach Randolph, two of my favorite players, and they stayed around the arc (in the paint),” Parker said. “I just tried to stay active and a lot of balls came to me and it really helped me out.”
Steve Alford offered an entirely different motive for Parker’s dominating performance. According to the first-year coach, Parker walked into the UCLA basketball office Thursday wearing his favorite color – red. Alford wasn’t having the outfit. Parker wasn’t having the fashion insult.
“It’s difficult to make him mad, but sometimes if you crack on his outfit … and he had a really ugly outfit on,” Alford said with a laugh. “That bothers him when you make fun of his garb.”
By game time, the only people being bothered were Stanford (12-6, 3-3 Pac-12) defenders, who ceded a total of 46 points to UCLA in the paint. The Bruins also managed to keep the Cardinal off balance for all 40 minutes thanks to a diverse scoring attack in which five different UCLA players finished in double figures.
“Stanford’s a long team, so the first option’s probably not going to be there,” said sophomore guard Jordan Adams, who scored 19 points. “That extra pass had their defense rotating and out of proportion, so our guys were able to find shooters and guys who can make plays.”
The Bruins (15-4, 4-2), led by the man who called himself “one of the most well-dressed players” in Alford’s coaching career, will look to impress against the California Golden Bears this Sunday at 5 p.m.