ELI GILL Junior Jason Kapono fakes out
two defenders as he passes the ball in UCLA’s victory over EA
All-Stars last night.
By Christina Teller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The UCLA men’s basketball team unveiled a new cast for the
2001-02 season, with the expected players ““ minus senior Ray
Young ““ in Thursday’s 102-77 win over the EA Sports
All-Stars.
As of Thursday, Young and head coach Steve Lavin agreed that it
would be best if Young redshirts this season.
With five seniors and one junior, the Bruins have the benefit of
a veteran squad this season, but next season they will potentially
be without a senior leader, depending on whether Kapono stays for
his senior year.
On Thursday, UCLA demonstrated its depth by debuting six players
and awarding minutes to 12 of 17 players on the roster.
The first half of Cedric Bozeman’s much-anticipated debut
actually lived up to the hype. The 6-foot, 6-inch freshman point
guard played with confidence and racked up six points and four
assists in his nine minutes of play.
“I felt really comfortable out there. The older guys are
making my transition really smooth,” Bozeman said.
“It’s a lot different than playing in practice ““
the lights come on and the adrenaline starts pumping.”
But just under a minute into the second half, Bozeman went down
hard on his tailbone. He tried to shake it off but seconds later
limped off the court and did not return. Bozeman expects to be back
Nov. 14 when the Bruins face the Global All-Stars.
UCLA 102 EA All-Stars 77
Bozeman wasn’t the only Bruin freshman to shine. Dijon
Thompson contributed eight points, two assists and three rebounds,
while Andre Patterson was a quiet force inside, grabbing six
rebounds and muscling in 14 points.
And though this year’s Bruins have a different look this
season, the staples are still intact. Junior Jason Kapono went
2-for-3 from three-point land, 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and
tallied 18 points by the end of the night. Senior Billy Knight
drained two three-pointers on the night while senior Dan Gadzuric
finished with six rebounds and 12 points.
“Overall it was a good start for us,” Lavin said,
“but we have a lot to work on in terms of attention to
detail.”
In a game that featured little defense from either team, players
on both ends of the floor were able to cut straight to the
basket.
“Defensively, our rotations were a step slow, and when we
got there, we didn’t put ourselves in position to really stop
the ball,” Lavin said. “And they ended up getting easy
baskets.”
But it’s early yet.
With their first winning result, the Bruins are off to a
promising start.