In its exhibition game Friday, UCLA men’s basketball held Azusa Pacific to 53 points on 24 percent shooting with eight steals in its 80-53 win.
Coach Steve Alford’s assessment of his team’s performance?
The defense needs some work.
“I can’t single one (player) out that I’m happy with (defensively) yet,” Alford said.
After holding the Cougars scoreless for the opening 6:50 of the first half, the Bruins were outscored 22-19 for the remainder of the period. Alford cited players being out of position defensively and sticking to their marks instead of helping others defend as the main issues that stuck out to him.
There were still some positives.
Junior center Tony Parker, who averaged a foul every 5.9 minutes last season, committed just one foul in his 23 minutes of action Friday. Even that comes with a caveat, as the 6-foot-9-inch Parker matched up against players who were just 6 feet 5 inches tall.
“(The Cougars) weren’t really looking for (the player I was guarding), so it wasn’t like I was gonna get any knick-knack fouls in the post,” Parker said. “We weren’t really battling in the post – it was really just watching a 3-fest and who can get the most long rebounds.”
But even without being tested much in the paint, Parker said his coaches were still critical of his defense.
“They didn’t think I guarded very well,” Parker said. “I told them I pitched a shutout but I didn’t really guard well that game. That’s gonna be a big key for us, really holding down the paint (and) talking to the guards on defense.”
UCLA’s quietness on defense, which Alford said several weeks ago was an issue, is a persisting problem for the Bruins. Both Parker and Alford said being talkative on the court just isn’t natural for UCLA and its team full of players with quiet personalities.
Without being vocal, Parker said, the guards on the perimeter aren’t aware of player movement behind them, which leaves them vulnerable to screens, backdoor cuts and defensive mismatches.
Although Parker – who regards himself as one of the team’s most talkative players on and off the court – said it’s the center’s job to talk and inform the guards of their surroundings, sophomore guard Bryce Alford said he thought the responsibility was that of the team’s leaders.
“That’s kinda on me and (senior guard) Norman (Powell) to get everybody to talk, you know? People follow, they follow us and as long as we’re talking and being energetic, we’re helping them out,” Alford said. “It’s just getting them to actually speak up and be loud and be out of their comfort zone, that’s the difficult part.”