Author Archives: Jeff Eisenberg

SOUTH BEND, Ind. “”mdash; Unable to elevate for a jumper or even cut to the basket on his sprained right ankle before the game on Sunday, UCLA’s Josh Shipp didn’t expect to make much of an impact against Notre Dame. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he could play. Yet, Shipp, who didn’t practice Friday […]

It wasn’t a pregame drill, but Thursday night’s blowout victory over USC sure felt like it to the Bruins. “Lay-up after lay-up after lay-up,” senior Dijon Thompson said. “I don’t think we got this many dunks in exhibition games. And it can’t get any better than doing it against USC in my last game against […]

Humbled, sheepish, and a little bit more mature, UCLA’s four precocious freshmen are approaching the end of a season that they agree has been more difficult than any of them first imagined. Back in October, when Jordan Farmar, Arron Afflalo, Josh Shipp and Lorenzo Mata donned Bruin uniforms for the first time, the heralded foursome […]

Though his role in UCLA’s offense has eroded recently, freshman Arron Afflalo said Tuesday that his confidence has not. Afflalo, a starter at shooting guard, attempted only six shots per game this past week in the Bay Area. While that’s not enough to make much of an impact, Afflalo insists he’s not going to alter […]

PALO ALTO “”mdash; Exceedingly patient and unselfish Thursday night in Berkeley, UCLA reverted to an overanxious brand of offense three days later against Stanford that proved to be its downfall. The Bruins, desperate to overcome a 10-point halftime deficit and stay within striking distance of the Cardinal in the race for third place in the […]

BERKELEY “”mdash; This was Ben Howland’s kind of victory. From the season’s first practice in October until UCLA’s final pre-game meeting on Thursday, the Bruin coach has stressed the importance of playing solid defense, and his players responded at the most crucial time. Motivated by the memory of last month’s galling loss to Cal in […]

Satisfied that UCLA has figured out how to tackle Cal’s trademark zone defense, freshman guard Jordan Farmar said he would welcome the chance to prove it on Thursday night. “Why not?” Farmar asked. “We get open shots, we run the shot clock, and we get to rest a little bit on offense. I wouldn’t mind.” […]