Though UCLA coach Ben Howland is no closer to settling upon a
starting lineup, he has found one pleasant surprise. Sophomore
forward Matt McKinney, who redshirted last season with a fractured
bone in his left foot, has played well enough in practice the past
two weeks to crack Howland’s rotation. “He’s been
the biggest surprise,” Howland said. Howland’s biggest
concern coming into the season has been front-court depth, so
McKinney’s emergence has been a welcome sight. The 6-foot-8,
222-pound forward has displayed a solid work ethic as well as an
athletic rebounding presence. Now that his foot injury has healed,
it is his footwork, fundamentals and ability to set good screens
that have garnered Howland’s attention. Senior Dijon Thompson
agreed with his coach’s assessment. “He’s
definitely the most improved guy on the team,” Thompson said.
“The only problem I’ve seen him having is that he gets
tired too quickly, and once he gets tired he forgets what
he’s doing out there.” Indeed, McKinney is still slowly
rebounding into form. His body isn’t yet used to the grind of
a full season of basketball practices, but he is hopeful that as
the season progresses he’ll get into better shape. He said he
has no pain in his foot and is running the court fluidly.
“I’m a little sore right now, practices have been long
and tough, but hopefully by next week we’ll all be
conditioned,” McKinney said. His overall athleticism is a
plus, but McKinney knows that the quickest way for him to earn
playing time is to do the so-called little things that coaches
love. “I’m working for the other guys,” he said.
“I’m not necessarily looking to score, I’m
looking to win games.” Even with such a positive attitude,
McKinney has plenty of competition for frontcourt minutes. Juniors
Michael Fey and Ryan Hollins figure to see the bulk of the starts,
while senior Josiah Johnson and freshman Lorenzo Mata are all
working hard in practice and gunning for playing time. Howland, for
his part, remains noncommital in regards to announcing his starting
lineup. Still, McKinney believes that the intensity of practices
will only benefit the team as a whole. “Everybody knows that
no spots are given; they have to be taken,” he said.
“That makes everyone work that much harder. It’s also
raising our camaraderie, we’ve got more respect for each
other now.”
GETTING HEALTHY: Thompson’s injured right
hand did not seem to affect his shooting stroke at practice
Thursday. The senior, who will have the stitches removed from his
hand on Monday, buried several three-pointers in practice despite
wearing a thick bandage over the cut in the webbing between his
index and middle finger. The trainers designed the gauze bandage
for Thompson so that he would be able to shoot without the ball
catching any of the stitches and opening the wound. Thompson said
he has had to alter his shooting technique somewhat, but did not
expect the modification to affect him once the bandage is
removed.
SCHEDULE SHAKE-UP: Monterrey Tech, a collegiate
team from Mexico, has replaced Brazil’s Centro Universitario
Mineiro Uberlandia as UCLA’s opponent in its second
exhibition game on Nov. 11. The Bruins open up exhibition play one
week from today against Simon Fraser, a collegiate team from
Canada.
ADDED MOTIVATION: Howland said that UCLA had
one of its best practices of the year Thursday, the only day this
season that the media will be allowed to attend practice.
“Maybe I should have the media in here every day,”
Howland joked.
INJURY UPDATE: Freshman Lorenzo Mata sustained
a bruised left knee after landing awkwardly on a blocked shot
attempt Tuesday, but has not missed any practice.
With reports from Jeff Eisenberg, Bruin sports senior
staff.