UCLA coach Ben Howland has addressed it. Players are cognizant
of it. They all say when conference play rolls around, they
don’t want to be in that position.
In two of the last four games, the Bruins have stumbled into the
second half trailing their opponent. It’s a trend they aim to
curtail Saturday, when they face off against No. 17 Nevada in the
12th annual Wooden Classic.
“We can’t be getting off the blocks slowly like
we’ve been doing recently,” freshman center Ryan Wright
said. “This Nevada team is a good team and they’ll be
ready for us.”
Though the game is played on a neutral court at the Arrowhead
Pond in Anaheim, the edge may very well go to Nevada (6-0), who is
currently riding a 14-game winning streak on the road.
Add that to the fact that the Wolf Pack knocked off Kansas on
the road, and the No. 16 Bruins (6-1) looked shaky at times against
a winless Coppin State last Sunday, Saturday’s game may very
well test UCLA, to say the least. The Wolf Pack will be the second
ranked team the Bruins have faced this season.
UCLA’s frontcourt will get its second-biggest test trying
to contain its opponent’s post players. In the loss to now
seventh-ranked Memphis, Howland admitted the Bruins did not fare
well.
“We played Memphis and that’s something we
didn’t do well. So this gives us another opportunity,”
Howland said. “They’re an outstanding team and
it’s going to be a good challenge for us.”
Enter Nevada senior center Nick Fazekas, who has been on a tear
in the last two games. Against the Jayhawks and Pacific Tigers,
Fazekas, the 2005 Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year,
averaged 29 points and 9.5 rebounds in the pair of road wins.
Against Kansas, the 6-foot-11, 235-pound junior scored a
career-high 35 points, 21 of which came in the first half.
“(Fazekas) is one of the best bigs in the country and
he’ll be a first-round pick (in the NBA). He’s very
skilled ““ he can face up and shoot 3s and play down
low,” Howland said.
Though senior center Ryan Hollins will see the bulk of playing
time against Fazekas, freshman Alfred Aboya will likely be in the
mix. Aboya saw his first action against Coppin State since coming
back from his left knee arthroscopic procedure on Oct. 12.
Previously, Aboya underwent right knee arthroscopic procedure on
July 11. He played 16 minutes in the game against the Eagles and
said he is slowly getting into shape.
“After the game it felt good,” Aboya said. “I
was also anxious to get in the game and that’s why my
performance was shaky. But I’m ready.”
SPICA SIGNS: Marko Spica, out of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, has
signed a National Letter of Intent with UCLA, Howland announced
Tuesday. The 6-9, 225-pound post player will be an incoming
freshman in the 2006-2007 season. Spica is now the 11th player
under scholarship for UCLA.
Spica attends the High School of Sport in Belgrade and is
considered one of the top young post players in Europe, averaging
11 points and 7 rebounds with his country’s junior squad.
“Marko is a skilled post player, who also has the ability
to step out and make a shot,” Howland said. “He and
James Keefe give us two talented inside players for next
season.”
Keefe, a 6-8, 220-pound forward from Santa Margarita Catholic
High School, signed with UCLA on Nov. 9.