Ben Howland isn’t big on debuts, but his UCLA Bruins
better be.
After a season in which UCLA, under fired coach Steve Lavin, had
its first losing record in 55 years, winning even tonight’s
exhibition opener at Pauley Pavilion against EA Sports is
important.
“I’m here, I’m the coach,” Howland said.
“I’m (more) looking forward to having our team being
evaluated.
“I want to see us come out and execute what we’ve
been trying to do ““ just all the basic fundamentals you try
to teach, starting with our transition defense.”
In other words, Howland hopes his team is nothing like last
year’s team, which not only lost a lot of games, but also any
concept of playing fundamentally sound basketball.
“I hate to talk about last year and dwell on last
year,” he said. “Last year’s over with. I
don’t think it’s that important to look back on
it.”
With that in mind, Howland’s starting lineup features
three new starters in true freshman power forward Trevor Ariza,
sophomore center Michael Fey and junior shooting guard Brian
Morrison.
“We want to get started on a good foot and show the fans
that we’ve been working hard,” said Morrison, who will
make his UCLA debut after transferring from North Carolina.
Senior forward/center T.J. Cummings will sit out this fall due
to academic ineligibility.
Fey, unlike Howland, can’t help but remember how last year
his team lost 70-64 at home to EA Sports, just six nights after
losing 92-67 to Branch West for what was at that time the worst
loss ever for the Bruins in Pauley.
“Last year, it was a pretty embarrassing loss (to EA
Sports),” he said. “It’s going to be in the back
of our minds.”
This year’s EA Sports squad consists of a nine-man roster
of ex-college players, and UCLA fans might recognize some of these
faces.
Ed O’Bannon makes his return to Pauley after leading UCLA
as a senior forward to a national championship in 1995 and winning
the Wooden Award. He has since washed out of the NBA and is now
playing in Poland.
Also returning to Westwood are two former teammates of the
current team in guard Ray Young and forward Matt Barnes.
Young, who completed his eligibility at UCLA last season, scored
a game-high 26 points for UCLA against EA Sports last year. The
former McDonald’s All-American was recently released by the
Boston Celtics.
Barnes, a senior in 2002, was recently released by the Seattle
SuperSonics after previously playing in the NBDL.
“This is going to be a pretty intense game for an
exhibition,” Fey said. “We won’t hear the end of
it from Ray and Matt if we lose.”
“I know all their moves,” junior small forward Dijon
Thompson said. “There won’t be any
surprises.”
Fifth-year UCLA student Ben Lev will serve as a guest player for
EA Sports, bringing to the team his experience as an A-League
intramural player.
EA Sports is currently 1-5 with losses to mid-major schools
Pepperdine, UC Santa Barbara, BYU, Wyoming and Air Force.
It did beat Colorado State 82-80 on Monday with a buzzer-beating
3-pointer from Barnes.
“Of all their games, which game do you think they’d
like to play their best?” Howland asked rhetorically.
“They want to play well in Pauley Pavilion in front of their
old fans.”
Howland’s new-look Bruins, ironically, will want to do the
same so as to make those same fans forget the recent past.