After a spectacular display by the UCLA reserves in
Saturday’s 87-52 loss to Arizona ““ including nine
points in 10 minutes from sophomore guard Janou Rubin ““ the
coaching staff suggested it would not give more time to the
reserves anytime soon.
Head coach Steve Lavin said he will stick with his regulars on
this Bay Area trip.
He wasn’t even convinced to give Rubin more playing time,
although he made all three of the team’s three-pointers
against the Wildcats.
“I don’t know how significant his contribution will
be,” Lavin said. “He didn’t do anything
spectacular. He just had open shots that he made.”
Rubin is eager to play more but very willing to let his coach
decide his future.
“I gave them whatever I give all the time in
practice,” he said. “I believe (Lavin) has confidence
in me, but whatever his decision is, I’m rolling with
it.”
Other reserves have the same “it’s up to
coach” mentality.
Freshman Quinn Hawking, who entered Saturday’s game with
seven minutes played on the season, played four against the
Wildcats.
“If the team continues to play the way we are, maybe
we’ll get more playing time,” he said. “Lavin has
nothing to lose, but it’s up to him.”
As of Tuesday, Lavin did not have a set lineup for
Thursday’s game against Stanford. He said he would create one
based on the player matchups.
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After a career-high 44-point performance from senior Jason
Kapono against Washington State less than three weeks ago, the
All-American has gone dry.
In the last two games he recorded 21 total points, but 11 of
them came from the free throw line.
“I don’t have any answers,” he said after the
loss to Arizona. “You can ask whatever questions you want,
but I don’t have any answers.”
On Tuesday, Kapono appeared a bit more optimistic. When asked if
he had lost any confidence, he replied “not at
all.”
“I just haven’t been shooting many shots,” he
added. “I don’t think anyone has lost confidence, but
we just turned our focus from the perimeter shooting to
driving.”
Although he wants more shots in the offense, Kapono cannot be
held entirely responsible for the team’s mediocre
performance.
This season Kapono is shooting 45 percent with 170 attempted
field goals. Last year after 13 games, Kapono shot 160 times,
making 49 percent.
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Pac-10 player of the week honors were awarded to senior forward
Joe Shipp of Cal. He averaged 25.5 points on 65 percent shooting
against the Washington schools. It was the third time Shipp
received the award this year alone.