UCLA coach Ben Howland announced Tuesday that leading scorer
Dijon Thompson has lost his starting job to fellow junior shooting
guard Brian Morrison. With the Bruins looking to snap their
five-game losing streak against Washington State on Thursday,
Howland decided he needed the team to get off to a better start on
defense and rebounding. “The biggest thing (Morrison) brings
is the ability to defend and block out,” Howland said.
“He’s one of our tougher kids. We need that toughness
to win. “The things that we have most control over to get
back in a winning way is to defend better and rebound
better.” Although Thompson has been scoring 14.1 points per
game, he has struggled in guarding quicker shooting guards since
moving from the small forward position earlier in the season.
Morrison has not been 100 percent healthy in his two games back
following missing nine games due to a strained left hamstring, but
he is the team’s leading three-point shooter at 41.3 percent.
Thompson, meanwhile, has seen his overall shooting percentage drop
down to 40.6.
MEET THE COACH: Howland met with each player in
his 11-man rotation individually for 15 minutes before practice on
Monday, and not surprisingly, he emphasized defense and rebounding
to forward T.J. Cummings. Howland noted that in one stretch,
Cummings corralled 40 rebounds in four games. During the losing
streak, he has only averaged 4.8 per game. “We need him to
get back to that same level for us to be our best,” Howland
said. “I just have to be the best rebounder I can be,”
Cummings said. “I don’t think it’s effort.
It’s not like there are times where I pick and choose to play
hard.” As the lone senior receiving significant playing time,
Cummings said he would in turn set up a players-only meeting at his
house in the near future.
IN THE ZONE: UCLA will utilize a smaller lineup
with its zone offense. Freshman Trevor Ariza will play at power
forward, with Morrison and Thompson on the perimeter.