Ravaged by injuries over the last two-plus years, junior Julia
Pitts of the UCLA women’s basketball team will redshirt for
the 2004-2005 season. Pitts and coach Kathy Olivier reached a
decision earlier this week because it was clear to both of them
that it was not in the 6-foot-2 forward’s best interest to
play this season. The time off will allow Pitts to finally recover
from a severe knee injury she incurred during her freshman year, an
injury that necessitated two different surgeries. Since then, Pitts
has been on and off the court rehabbing her left knee, which still
hasn’t fully healed. “I don’t really think Julia
would help us because I don’t think she’s close to 100
percent,” Olivier said. “I’m sad for her because
she wants to be part of it and get in there and mix it up.”
While sitting out will be tough for Pitts, who has been itching to
return to the court, she’s comfortable with the prospect of
watching this season from the bench. At the forefront of the
decision to redshirt is Pitts’ desire to contribute two full
healthy seasons to the Bruin program, especially since her first
two seasons have been plagued by injuries. “It’s been
very frustrating for me these past years being on the court and off
the court,” Pitts said. “I didn’t want to rush
it, I just wanted to have two more years to play.” Though she
attempted to make it through last season despite not being 100
percent, Pitts was forced to shut it down after a Jan. 31 game
against Oregon State. In the 2003-2004 season, Pitts played in 18
games and averaged 3.9 points per game. Pitts’ departure for
the upcoming season is a blow to UCLA’s already-thin front
line. But even from the bench, Pitts will find a way to make an
impact on the team and this season. “There are times where I
feel I’m letting down the team, but I know this is the best
thing,” Pitts said.
BRONZE MEDAL: UCLA has been picked to finish
third in the Pac-10, according to the league’s coaches. The
preseason ranking is the highest-such predicted finish for the
Bruins since 1999. “This team has high expectations,”
Olivier said. “They’re excited we’re picked in
the top half of the conference, but we’re UCLA and we should
be. Now our goal is to win conference.” Last season UCLA was
predicted to finish sixth in the conference, but ended up with a
17-13 record and finished third. Olivier thinks it’s still
too early to tell whether this year’s team can match up
against last year’s. “Our perimeter still looks really
strong, but our stability last year were our three seniors,”
Olivier said. Picked to finish ahead of UCLA in the Pac-10 are
Stanford and Arizona, respectively.