Determined to find a way to coerce junior center Michael Fey
into being more aggressive, UCLA coach Ben Howland seems to have
found a solution. Fey, who was virtually silent in the
Bruins’ first exhibition game before picking up a
questionable fourth foul early in the second half, seemed to play
with renewed energy and anger after that. The 7-footer scored all
eight of his points in the next few minutes before fouling out
midway through the second half. “He got angry on his fourth
foul, and that’s what sparked him,” Howland said.
“He admits he plays better when he’s mad, so I’ve
offered to make him mad as much as I could.” The biggest
issue Howland has with Fey is his complacency on the court. Instead
of calling for the ball or attacking the glass, Fey will often be a
non-factor in the UCLA offense. “His biggest problem is that
he’s too nice a guy,” Howland said. “Between the
lines you have to be a meaner, tougher guy. He’s 273 pounds.
If I was that big, you’d be afraid of me out there on the
floor.
ABOYA COMMITS: Alfred Aboya, a 6-foot-8 forward
from Tilton High School in New Hampshire, verbally committed to
UCLA on Tuesday morning according to multiple recruiting networks.
A native of Cameroon, Aboya, who chose UCLA over Georgetown, is the
third internationally born recruit who has committed to the Bruins
this fall. Fellow Cameroon native Luc Mbah A Moute and
Canada’s Ryan Wright are expected to sign with UCLA later
this week.
UNDER THE KNIFE: Senior guard Cedric Bozeman
will undergo surgery to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament
in his right knee this morning at the St. John’s Health
Center in Santa Monica. Bozeman, who injured his knee in practice
Thursday, will wear a splint for the next three weeks. He is
expected to return to the court in six to eight months. Howland
said he has not decided whether Bozeman will travel with the
team.
MAKING A POINT: Though UCLA has just one
healthy point guard on its roster, Howland said he does not believe
having last season’s back-up, Ryan Walcott, on the roster
would make much of a difference. Walcott told the Bruin coaches
just before the beginning of fall quarter that he intended to
transfer to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. “He
didn’t want to be here,” Howland said. “He might
have helped in practice, but he probably wouldn’t have played
ahead of Brian Morrison or Arron Afflalo at point guard
anyway,” Howland added.
ON THE MEND: Dijon Thompson’s injured
right hand is still sore, but the senior forward doesn’t
think it has hindered him much in practice. Thompon, who cut the
webbing between his index and middle finger on his right hand
during practice last month, will keep the two fingers taped
together for the next few days. “I don’t know if it
will be all the way healed by the time the season starts, but it
should be close,” the senior forward said.
NO COMPETITION: Howland said he may advocate
playing controlled scrimmages against other local Division I
programs next season instead of exhibition games. The Bruins beat
their first opponent Simon Fraser, an NAIA team from Canada, 97-48,
on Friday. Howland isn’t expecting Thursday’s matchup
with Monterrey Tech to be any more competitive. “We may
change our philosophy next year,” Howland said. “We
need to play the best competititon we can. I wish we had EA Sports
on the schedule again.” UCLA did not replace the exhibition
games this season, Howland said, because of the loss of revenue
from ticket sales.