Ryan Hollins will not rejoin the UCLA track and field team this
season, men’s coach Art Venegas said Monday. Hollins, the
starting center on the Bruins’ men’s basketball team,
will instead participate in an arduous off-season strength and
conditioning program in order to bulk up his lanky 7-foot,
215-pound frame. “He’s going to stick to
basketball,” Venegas said. “We thank him for what he
did for us last year, but we understand we were never his primary
sport.” Venegas said he had not spoken to Hollins since
basketball season ended, but that Hollins’ father informed
him of the decision. Last month the coach described having Hollins
on the squad “a bonus,” but said he didn’t expect
it. Hollins, a sophomore, competed mostly in the high jump last
season, placing sixth in the Pac-10 with a mark of 6 feet, 10
inches. The coaching staff believed he might have developed into a
national-level jumper had he focused on track and field, but they
understand his decision. “We hope he becomes the type of
basketball player that (coach Ben) Howland believes he can
be,” Venegas said.
NO TEAMWORK: It appears as if the recruiting
partnership between Venegas and the UCLA football program has
already fallen apart. Venegas, who last season said he was hopeful
that he and first-year football coach Karl Dorrell could work
together to recruit elite two-sport talents, now says that appears
to be impossible. Venegas said Dorrell has not shown interest in
collaborative recruiting, and that he believed it was unlikely that
potential two-sport athletes, such as UCLA football signee Rodney
Van, would compete in track and field. “My take is that it
didn’t work out,” Venegas said. “We just have to
move on.” A spokesman for Dorrell refuted those claims,
citing the joint recruitment of sprinter/wide receiver Xavier
Carter (who signed with LSU) as proof that Dorrell had not changed
his policy toward recruiting two-sport athletes. “During the
recruiting process, if there is a student-athlete who could
contribute to both football and track and field, that’s
something football would encourage,” the spokesman said.
JOHNSON UPDATE: Freshman sprinter Brandon
Johnson will make his outdoor season debut at the Mt. Sac Relays
later this month, Venegas said. Johnson, UCLA’s top recruit
this past year, is suffering from leg cramps. He should step right
into the Bruins’ 4×400-meter relay and compete individually
in the short sprints. The Texas native won the state 400-meter
championship his senior year, winning the race in a speedy 46.83
seconds, the 13th fastest mark in the nation.