Wednesday, December 2, 1998
Bruins poised to sting Hornets
PREVIEW: Team to bear injuries, defend rival’s perimeter
shooting
By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
After a brief stay in Puerto Rico over the Thanksgiving holiday,
the UCLA men’s basketball team hopes to bring much of the leftovers
from their performance against No. 8 Kentucky back to Westwood for
tonight’s contest at 7:30 p.m. in legendary Pauley Pavilion.
The real question is whether the Bruins (2-2) can keep their
focus against the Hornets of Delaware State (1-3), a team that has
lost this season by more than 10 points to the likes of Delaware,
New Hampshire and Drake.
"They have a similar style of play to USF (San Francisco)," said
UCLA head coach Steve Lavin. "They play a pressure-style defense.
They have a height advantage in certain matchups and are equally
quick."
No. 18 UCLA will also have to defend the Hornets’ perimeter
shooting. Averaging 10.3 three-pointers per game, Delaware State is
on pace to finish with a school record 267 threes, beating out
their 193 bombs in 1990. The Delaware State trio of Terence Hood,
Brian Butler and Stefan Malliet have hit 35-78 (44.8 percent) from
behind the three-point line entering tonight’s match with the
Bruins.
UCLA hopes to demonstrate poise, determination and execution,
much like they displayed in the third-place game of the Puerto Rico
Shootout against the Wildcats of Kentucky. While they narrowly lost
66-62, the Bruins showed they could play with the best teams in the
land despite having a roster of 12 underclassmen.
"The coaching staff was pleased with the attitude and confidence
of the freshmen throughout the entire Puerto Rico tournament,
except for the second half against Maryland," said Lavin.
"This was their first time playing out of Pauley. They had to
experience some growing pains on the road."
Injuries continue to be the central concern for UCLA. Earl
Watson has been experiencing pain in his ribs since the Santa Clara
game but will be ready to play tonight. Sophomore guard Baron Davis
has been medically cleared to play in 5-on-5 scrimmages but not in
game action.
Freshman forward JaRon Rush has a chronic back injury that
affects his long range shooting. Freshman center Dan Gadzuric has
been experiencing less pain due to tendinitis he experienced
earlier in the season.BAHMAN FARAHDEL/Daily Bruin
UCLA freshman Jerome Moiso steadies the ball in a pre-season
game.
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