If Cedric Bozeman can play Thursday night at Oregon State
““ and based on comments from both Bozeman and UCLA head coach
Steve Lavin, it’s looking like an enormous if ““ he
won’t be starting at point guard.
Like an office worker who’s gone on vacation for a week
only to find someone else sitting at his desk, Bozeman will watch
senior Ray Young start at the point.
Bozeman has a bruised right shoulder, originally sustained in a
home loss to Oregon Jan. 30, that he aggravated two weekends ago
against Arizona State.
“My shoulder is a little sore,” said a generally
nonchalant Bozeman. “Basically, I’m resting it and
I’m day to day.”
Though he had shoulder surgery in high school on his labrum,
Bozeman said his current ailment, which consists of a bone bruise
on the outside of his shoulder, is unrelated to that injury.
Bozeman’s relative candor in talking about his injury came
as something of a surprise, given the way Lavin skirted the issue
with Clintonesque circuitousness.
“If it is determined by doctors and trainers that it is in
his best interest to not suffer a long-term setback, then
we’ll hold him out,” Lavin explained.
UCLA sports information directors declined to comment on
Bozeman’s shoulder problems, insisting the point
guard’s injury is not a run-of-the-mill bruise.
Bruin players were more on the uninformed side.
“We all ask him about it, but he’s really
quiet,” junior Jon Crispin said. “He’s a shy guy
who just does his own thing.”
Bozeman didn’t rule out the possibility of missing the
rest of the season, an idea that has perhaps become slightly less
devastating to UCLA coaches since Young has begun excelling at the
point.
The redshirt senior from Oakland averaged 20 points, 4.5
assists, and 36 minutes per game while starting in last
weekend’s tilts with Cal and Stanford.
“In this kind of season, who would have ever thought Ray
would be playing so well at this point?” Lavin asked.
“It’s been that kind of a season. Very odd.”
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Senior Jason Kapono is only the third Pac-10 player in history
to make over 300 three pointers. His 304 trifectas put him within
striking distance of the all-time record of 323, held by Arizona
State’s Stevin Smith.
Kapono is the active Pac-10 scoring leader with 1,997
points.
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Several NCAA coaches, including Cincinnati’s Bob Huggins
and Oklahoma’s Kelvin Sampson, will wear bow ties March 1 to
honor Jim Phelan, the head coach of Mount Saint Mary’s who
will retire at the end of the season after 49 seasons as head
coach.
Lavin, known for his fashion panache, didn’t know what
he’d do for the Bruins’ March 1 game at Oregon.
“I’m not sure that I’ll bring out the bow tie,
but I have a lot of respect and admiration for the career
he’s had,” Lavin said.
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Twenty different Pac-10 players have registered multiple
double-doubles this season, but not a single rebound-starved Bruin
is one of them.
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In a late-season surge toward the Pac-10 Tournament, Washington
State won its first conference game of the season Saturday, 75-71
over Oregon State. The Cougars snapped a 21-game conference losing
streak.