Monday, December 2, 1996
M. HOOPS:
Relatively short players from Northridge will have to rely on
backcourt skillsBy Hye Kwon
Daily Bruin Staff
After a hiatus of almost two weeks in which interim head coach
Steve Lavin stressed the importance of playing smart basketball,
the UCLA men’s basketball team will get their first chance to
follow his advice tomorrow night against Cal State Northridge. The
game will be at 7:30 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion.
The 13th-ranked Bruins stayed home during Thanksgiving break
thanks to a 77-76 loss to Tulsa on Nov. 20. In that game, UCLA was
up by 11 points early in the second half but allowed its lead to
slip away.
Lavin contends that the Bruins (0-1) could have managed their
lead better in the loss.
"Sometimes when we have the lead, we play too fast," Lavin said.
"Depending on the time and depending on the score, you have to be
aware of the tempo. When we get a 10 or 15-point lead, we need to
swing the ball and get a couple of ball reversals and make (the
defense) work."
UCLA will likely have a good chance to work on those
time-management skills tomorrow night against the outmanned
Matadors. CSUN (1-2), which is in its first year of competition in
the Big Sky Conference, consists entirely of players that are
6-feet, 8-inches or shorter. For head coach Bobby Braswell’s
Matadors, stopping Bruin big men will be key to success.
Six-foot-10-inch center Jelani McCoy and 6-foot-9-inch forward J.R.
Henderson will more than likely get their points, but Bob Myers may
be the x-factor.
"Bob’s in a difficult situation because he’s not in a situation
where he’ll play through 16 minutes to get into a rhythm," Lavin
said. "If he’s in there four or five minutes and there’s not some
production, there’s a good chance that our All-Conference players
(McCoy and Henderson) will be coming back in.
"His contribution is still valuable to the team. It’s just that
having Jelani, J.R. or Kris Johnson sitting on the bench for a very
long stretch of time isn’t going to happen."
CSUN’s backcourt is considered its heart and soul, making up for
the team’s diminutive frontline. Junior point guard Trenton Cross
is Northridge’s top returning player, having averaged 9.3 points
per game last year. In CSUN’s 77-57 win against Cal State Dominguez
Hills last Wednesday, Cross led the team in scoring with 20 points.
Keith Higgins is the other key to Northridge’s backcourt. The
6-foot-5-inch senior guard played for Colorado State two seasons
ago before transferring to CSUN last year.
* * *
For UCLA, guard Brandon Loyd is continuing to push for more
playing time as a three-point threat.
"The way Brandon’s been playing everyday at practice merits him
seeing some valuable minutes off the bench," Lavin said. "He’s
shooting the ball so well in games and in practice. He’s been a
spark."