Hoops regains top spot in conference
Despite heartbreak loss to Cardinals Saturday, Cal’s defeat
propels Bruins to No.1 in Pac-10
By Scott Yamaguchi
Daily Bruin Staff
With all the disappointment surrounding its last-second, upset
loss to Louisville last weekend, few have noticed that the UCLA
men’s basketball team simultaneously regained sole possession of
first place in the Pacific 10 Conference.
While the Bruins were falling victim to a 24-foot bomb launched
by Cardinal Brian Kiser, California, which was tied with UCLA for
first place in the league, was being handled by the University of
Washington in Seattle.
But because the Louisville game was not a conference matchup
(the Cardinals belong to Conference USA), and Cal’s loss to
Washington was, UCLA remained atop the league standings with a 6-1
(13-5 overall) record. The Golden Bears, meanwhile, fell into
second place at 6-2, and Washington and Arizona are tied for third
at 5-2.
* * *
Sloppy ball handling continues to hamper UCLA, which fell to No.
19 in this week’s Associated Press Poll. The Bruins committed 25
turnovers against Louisville, and they are still ranked 10th in the
conference in turnover margin, with an average mark of -3.9.
"Starting yesterday, we’re going to double our passing and
dribbling-while-on-the-move drills," UCLA head coach Jim Harrick
said. "Instead of a 10-minute segment, we’re going to do 20-25
minutes of up-and-down the floor, transition offense, handling the
ball, passing the ball and being conscious of the kind of mistakes
you make. I’m going to be really difficult on them when they make a
poor decision with a pass."
On the bright side, Harrick’s squad still leads the nation in
field goal percentage (53.0) and leads the league in rebounds (40.7
per game), rebound margin (8.6), three-point field goal percentage
(40.5) and field goal percentage defense (40.6).
"Other than turnovers, I like the progress of our team," Harrick
said. "Defensively, when we’re alive, we’re guarding you. We
haven’t been alive every night, but when we’re alive, we’ve really
taken away some things from you. And certainly you’ve seen our
offense at its peak moment too, when we’re sharing the ball and
doing the kinds of things that we need to do."
* * *
Former walk-on Bob Myers saw the first first-half action of his
career against Louisville, grabbing two rebounds in three
minutes.
"Bob Myers gives us an ingredient we don’t have, and that’s
strength," Harrick said. "We might need him, and we were thinking
that if we could get him in at a time when it mattered, then that
could help us out down the line."
* * *
Junior center/forward Ike Nwankwo has decided to transfer to
Long Beach State, where he will have one year of NCAA eligibility
remaining.
Nwankwo, who played a total of 29 minutes in six games this year
and averaged 1.5 points per outing, was dissatisfied with his role
on the team.
* * *
Four former UCLA players will have their numbers retired in a
ceremony at halftime of Thursday’s game against Oregon. Ed
O’Bannon, Walt Hazzard, Sidney Wicks and Marques Johnson, all NCAA
Players of the Year at one time, are the honorees. They join Kareem
Abdul Jabbar and Bill Walton as the only UCLA players to have
retired jerseys.
FRED HE/Daily Bruin
Bob Myers played in his first first-half against Louisville.
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