Thrust into the starting lineup out of necessity against
Pepperdine, freshman Josh Shipp made a strong case to stay there.
Shipp, who started at wing in place of injured senior Dijon
Thompson, scored 15 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and helped
spark a late UCLA surge as the Bruins nipped the Waves 85-83
Saturday at Pauley Pavilion. That performance was enough to
persuade UCLA coach Ben Howland to consider giving Shipp the
starting nod Saturday against Michigan regardless of whether the
cut on Thompson’s shooting hand has healed enough for him to
play. “I can’t argue with 15 and 12, playing good
defense and being smart,” Howland said. “Whether or not
Josh starts, he’s going to play more and more minutes if he
keeps playing like this.” The least heralded of UCLA’s
three freshman guards coming out of high school, Shipp had
displayed flashes of his potential earlier this season, but seemed
to put it all together against Pepperdine. Making his first career
start, Shipp played a team-high 36 minutes, posting a double-double
and shooting 7-for-12 from the field. All seven of his second-half
points came in the final eight minutes including a crucial
three-pointer that cut the Pepperdine lead 74-72 with 5:40 left to
play. “I didn’t realize I was that wide open,”
Shipp said. “But once I let it go, it felt real good.”
Perhaps Shipp’s biggest play came on the defensive end of the
floor. With 1:17 remaining and the Waves clinging to a two-point
lead, he secured a crucial steal, stepping in front of Pepperdine
forward Glen McGowan, who had camped out on the right block.
“Josh made some huge plays tonight,” Howland said.
“I can’t emphasize enough how good he was
tonight.” Good enough to earn a spot in the starting lineup?
Shipp laughed. “That’s coach’s decision,”
he said.
IN THE ZONE: Strictly a man-to-man team in the
early part of the season, UCLA surprised Pepperdine by utilizing a
two-three zone during the majority of the game. The ploy seemed to
confuse the Waves early in the first half as the Bruins raced out
to a 21-8 lead. Though Pepperdine got more comfortable attacking
the zone in the second half, shooting over 60 percent from the
field, Howland said it served its purpose. “It really helped
us,” Howland said. “We’re down in numbers here
now, so when you look at the minutes played, it’s easier on
us to play zone than man-to-man. I thought we had our legs at the
end to make our foul shots.” Though Howland maintained that
he prefers man-to-man defense, he said he wouldn’t hesitate
to play zone if it made sense strategically. “We’ll do
whatever we can to scheme and work toward our personnel,” he
said.
FEY AILING: A sore knee didn’t seem to
give junior center Michael Fey too many problems against
Pepperdine. Fey, who bumped the knee against Boston College last
Sunday, scored 13 points and pulled down six rebounds. Howland said
MRI results on Fey’s knee were negative, but that the
7-footer would sit out practice early this week.