COURTNEY STEWART/Daily Bruin Sophomore T.J.
Cummings works toward a steady season.
By Christina Teller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
On a Thursday afternoon, a father and son spend time working
out. The father, dressed in tan linen pants, a black turtleneck
sweater and black dress shoes, stands behind son, down in a
defensive stance.
The son, dressed for practice in white UCLA shorts, sleeveless
T-shirt and white Kobes, listens as he moves, absorbing the
directions his father offers.
While his teammates work out with managers or other team
members, sophomore T.J. Cummings has 18 years of NBA experience in
his corner.
T.J.’s father, Terry, keeps his directions simple:
“Have better balance when you shoot like that … remember
what I used to tell you, cut down to just one motion … do it
until it becomes second nature.”
It’s not hard to see why T.J. approaches the game the way
he does.
T.J.’s approach toward basketball is mirrored in the way
his father breaks down each move.
“The way he breaks things down, it just makes it so
understandable for me,” T.J. explains. “He
doesn’t sugar-coat things. He lets me know the real
deal.”
T.J. was in middle school when he wanted to know more. He had
been through the football, skateboarding and roller-blading phases.
It was basketball that best suited his 6-feet-5-inch, 14-year-old
frame.
“I went from 5-10 to 6-5 from seventh to eighth grade, and
I was dunking then,” Cummings sad. “When I started
dunking was when I got more interest for the game.”
From this time on, T.J. has been hungry ““ hungry for
minutes, hungry for points, but mostly hungry for knowledge of how
to improve.
“I feel like when I’m not doing anything, someone
else is getting better,” Cummings said. “I never wanted
anyone to say that I’m someone who’s not dedicated to
the game or someone who didn’t earn it.”
So T.J. spent his summer improving his game. His eight-hour day
included footwork in the morning, scrimmaging in the afternoon and
shooting. He figured that taking 400 shots a day would be a good
way for shooting to become second nature for him.
Sound familiar?
The hunger stems from the fact that Terry never forced
basketball on him. In fact, basketball was not even a topic of
conversation when T.J. was young. He had to go to his dad when he
wanted to know more.
And it’s rooted in the fact that he saw 29 minutes in his
first game as a Bruin. He contributed 25 points, the most ever by a
freshman in his Bruin debut, but as the season went on, Cummings
saw the bench more than he saw the court.
It was a humbling experience.
“It’s the same way for everyone, myself, Michael
Jordan, you’re coming into an already set situation and you
have to find a way to fit in,” Terry said. “(T.J.) had
to trim down his pride and ego a bit to try to fit in, and he
worked all summer to get his game to another place.
It’s because of T.J.’s versatility that makes him
tough to match up against, and UCLA head coach Steve Lavin feeds
T.J.’s confidence as a shooter. But Cummings is not
perfect.
“Our staff has made it clear that we have confidence in
his abilities and want to utilize them as a part of our team in
order to be successful,” Lavin said, “but T.J. makes
mistakes in an aggressive, full-steam ahead manner. I’d
rather have a player make a mistake in an aggressive way than in a
passive way though.”
Cummings is a 6-feet-9-inch post-player who can shoot the rock.
And not just one way.
“I think about it as a chess match. You take what the
defense gives you, Cummings explains. “If I get to my jump
hook, that’s my go-to. If I get to the lane, see a man
who’s coming my way, I take one dribble, see if he bites. If
not, then kick it out to the corner to my fade-away
jumper.”
“He’s got it all planned out, and it didn’t
hurt that, as a kid, he had a resident basketball advisor.
And now that T.J. is on the West Coast, away from the Illinois
basketball cradle where he and his father both grew up, he’s
making a name for himself, working hard to become a professional at
what he’s doing, just like his father taught him.
When T.J. made his decision to attend UCLA, it was his first
step out of his father’s shadow, and looking back, T.J. says
coming to UCLA is the best thing he’s ever done.
“I’d love for anyone to put me in the shadow of my
father because he was a great basketball player, but then at the
same time, I had to establish myself as my own player,”
Cummings explained. “I don’t want anyone to ever think
that I was getting by off what my father did.
“I wanted to establish myself with my own name.”
Terry smiles when asked if his son reminds him of the way he
played and answers simply, “It’s a joy to watch him do
what I used to be able to do. Of course he adds his own elements
too.”
On Thursday on the floor of Pauley Pavilion, it’s clear
that the son is taking his turn. Doing what his father used to do
““ in his own T.J Cummings way.