Coach Steve Alford’s goal-setting meeting sparks Bruins’ turnaround

When UCLA men’s basketball returned home, battered and bruised, from its four-game road trip having lost five straight games, coach Steve Alford took to the whiteboard to get his team back on track.

Nine days, three wins.

Those words that Alford wrote became a rallying cry for a team needing to turn its season around quickly. With doubts swirling around the national media about the Bruins slipping from NCAA Tournament contention, Alford narrowed his team’s focus.

The Bruins didn’t need to concern themselves with the postseason; instead Alford challenged them to just get three wins against Stanford, Cal and USC and move forward from there.

“It’s a mission that, if we do it, we can really get things tilting back in the other way,” Alford said.

So far, so good.

UCLA eked out a double-overtime victory of Stanford Thursday then raced past Cal to another win on Sunday. If UCLA can finish its goal and earn the third win over USC Wednesday, it will sit at 11-7 overall and 3-2 in Pac-12 play, putting the Bruins in much better position as they head into a challenging latter two-thirds of their conference schedule.

Battling through bruises

Senior guard Norman Powell was the catalyst for UCLA in the first half of its win over Cal on Sunday.

Powell was a pest on defense, frequently stripping the ball from opponents and leading fast breaks, and doing it all while nursing a pair of ailments.

Against Alabama on Dec. 28, Powell dislocated the thumb on his shooting hand and has had tape wrapped around his hand since then.

Then, against Stanford on Thursday, Powell twice fell hard to the ground and left for the locker room after the second time with a hip injury. After sophomore guard Bryce Alford fouled out of the game at the end of first overtime, Powell begged his coach to let him re-enter the game and eventually hit the win-sealing free throws.

Three days later, Powell’s hip was still bruised, but that didn’t stop him from playing against Cal.

“As long as nothing’s broken, I’ll be there on the court,” Powell said.

More than just playing against Cal, Powell excelled. In a team-high 35 minutes, Powell totalled 14 points on 6-13 shooting and four steals, and an early pretty-spinning layup earned him oohs from the crowd.

Steve Alford praised Powell for his toughness, adding that the senior participated in the entire hour and 20 minute practice the day before. But his teammates have come to expect nothing less from their captain.

“I’ve never seen Norm not ready to play,” said junior forward/center Tony Parker. “He’s going to run around with his bow legs. He looked perfect.”

Fall for one

Defending the basket in the second half against Cal, Parker stepped in front of a driving Golden Bear, planted his feet, then tumbled to the ground. A whistle blew, an arm was pointed and the crowd burst into applause for the charge Parker drew.

For a 6-foot-9-inch, 260-pound wall in the middle of UCLA’s defense, Parker doesn’t often consider taking a charge as part of his defensive arsenal. In fact, the one he drew Sunday may just have been his first.

Parker was adamant that he never took a charge in high school, but was less certain of his time in college, wondering aloud whether or not he drew a charge against Colorado.

He was certain of one thing, however.

“That was the first time, like, I planned on taking a charge,” Parker said.

Following the charge, Parker further padded his stats with an offensive rebound on the other end, but said he envisioned a different way to follow up his big defensive play.

“I wanted to come out so I could get the charge standing ovation,” Parker said.