Thursday, October 29, 1998
Intense, skilled practices foretell exciting season
M.BASKETBALL: Player maturity, deeper roster boost coaches’
hopes
By David Arnold and Greg Lewis
Daily Bruin Staff
The men’s basketball team is only in their second week of
practice, and already head coach Steve Lavin is calling it "one of
the most competitive we’ve had since I came here."
He’s speaking of 1992, when names such as Gerald Madkins,
Mitchell Butler, Don Maclean, Rodney Zimmerman and Tracy Murray
were working for a spot in the starting lineup.
"There were 11 players who would eventually play in the NBA on
that one roster," said Lavin. "The competition of the daily
scrimmages was at a level you can’t wish for."
Nowadays, everyone’s talking about Lavin’s success in recruiting
and waiting to see how things will turn out with names such as Dan
Gadzuric, Jerome Moiso, JaRon Rush, Ray Young and Matt Barnes
leading the way for the Bruins this year.
"The last couple of years, we had some guys here who really
worked hard," said Lavin. "Really hard working walk-ons, great
guys, but as hard as they worked, (practice) didn’t simulate Pac-10
conditions."
In previous years, to get the best level of competition, the
coaches had to split the starting lineup. This could hurt the
chemistry of the starters, but it isn’t something they have to
worry about now.
Things are different this year, and the coaches are oozing
optimism about the conference season. With a roster overflowing
with talent and practices lasting up to three hours, they have
reason to.
Of course, there is the slight issue of Baron Davis’ knee,
injured during last year’s NCAA Tournament. Davis tore his anterior
cruciate ligament in the game against Michigan.
"We’re all pleasantly surprised with Baron’s progress and
rehabilitation," said Lavin. "There’s still no timetable on Baron,
but we’ve done that for a reason. We don’t want him to carry it out
there when his knee doesn’t measure up to the necessary strength,
or the expectations. We don’t want him to go through the
disappointment, even though we’re all pleased with the stops and
starts and so on."
Although, Davis’ quick recovery is not the only surprise to come
out of practice thus far.
Freshmen aside, sophomores Travis Reed and Earl Watson are the
most improved players to return to the team.
"Definitely, Travis and Earl are the most improved in strength
and conditioning, and in decision making and maturity," said Lavin.
"I think both players have made a quantum leap from last season to
this season."
"They’re ahead of schedule. They’re playing like juniors and
seniors as sophomores. Of course, they think they’re behind
schedule because they’re perfectionists."
With Brandon Loyd the only senior on the roster, the question of
on-court leadership will always be present for this team.
Lavin is optimistic that his backcourt will continue to be an
extension of the coaching staff. This concept makes more sense when
he talks about Davis and Watson, who started 32 and 33 games each
last year, respectively, and can relate to this year’s freshmen,
who will also be expected to do a lot for the team.
The summer was an interesting one for some current Bruins and
some who thought they were going to be.
Patreck Ceresa, a 6-foot-8-inch power forward and veteran of the
Swiss National Team, impressed prominent Division I coaches across
the nation enough to garner several scholarships. Ceresa spurned
four-year offers from the likes of Utah, Villanova and Florida
State to accept UCLA’s one-year deal.
Ceresa attended high school in Switzerland and thought his
grades were good enough for the NCAA. The NCAA, however, ruled that
Ceresa’s grades, which translated into over a 3.0 average according
to him, were not up to par, and that he was, in fact, not eligible
to play.
Vejas Anaya, a 6-foot-8 power forward of Lithuanian heritage,
was also set to become a Bruin, before a chronic knee injury forced
him off the team. Anaya had impressed many current Bruins while
playing with them over the summer.
Not all recent recruiting news has been negative for the Bruins,
however.
Shooting guard Kareem Rush verbally committed to UCLA this
month. Kareem, who is a prize recruit known for his outside
shooting, is the younger brother of Bruin forward JaRon out of
Kansas City.
Another target of the coaching staff’s is 6-foot-9 power forward
Carlos Boozer Jr. from Juneau, Alaska. Boozer has narrowed his list
of schools to UCLA, Duke and St. John’s, and has said that he will
not commit until the spring signing period.
Justin Davis, a 6-foot-8 power forward out of St. Joseph’s of
Alameda High School has given the Bruins new hope by denying his
verbal commitment to Cal. After wavering on his commitment,
Berkeley coach Ben Braun nullified Davis’ scholarship offer.
While new faces and names were being added to the team’s roster,
veterans took the opportunity to hone their play.
Over the summer, Bruins Reed, Moose Bailey, Todd Ramasar and
Anaya all showcased their skills in the Just Say No League, a
basketball league designed for college players to keep in shape
over the summer.
The pieces have all fallen into place for this year’s Bruin
hoops squad, with recruits and returners alike hungrier than ever.
The Final Four is the ultimate destination, and UCLA seems to be
well on its way.
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