After grabbing a rebound, freshman Trevor Ariza passes to
teammate junior Dijon Thompson in a give-and-go play, ending with a
basket by Ariza to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.
Though this tale may be familiar in the next UCLA basketball
season, the future is already a reality in this summer’s Say
No Classic. This annual summer league has opened its arms to many
of the current Bruin basketball players including Thompson, Ariza,
senior T.J. Cummings and sophomore Michael Fey.
But for Ariza and Thompson, who play on the same team, the
league has given them an opportunity to develop chemistry for next
NCAA season.
“Trevor is awesome; he’s going to have a tremendous
impact on our team next year,” Thompson said.
“We’ve really been trying to work on a little two-man
game.”
More importantly, the rookie gets the added benefit of learning
from veteran Thompson.
“Dijon has been teaching me a lot,” Ariza said.
“He’s been showing me what to do and what not to do. It
helps to make me feel better about going into the next year.
I’ve been getting a lot of experience about what life is
going to be like next year.”
While participating in the summer league, the Bruin athletes
also must continue their training at Pauley Pavilion, including
head coach Ben Howland’s heavy emphasis on weight training.
Thompson is already noticeably bigger, while Ariza has gained over
five pounds.
Summer spirits are high despite last season’s chaos,
mainly due to Howland’s arrival.
“Coach is definitely strict and expecting big things from
us,” Thompson said. “But that’s the funny thing;
he’s strict, but everyone is really excited to come to practice
every day.”