DANIEL WONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Hines is questionable for Thursday’s game against
Arizona State after playing through a concussion.
By Christina Teller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
In one of the biggest weekends for the UCLA men’s
basketball team, during which it would face its cross-town rival
and the nation’s No. 1 team, senior Rico Hines just wanted to
play.
After suffering a concussion diving for a loose ball in last
Tuesday’s practice, Hines was questionable for play against
USC on Thursday.
But he wanted to play and told coaches and trainers that he was
fine, despite having headaches every morning since the
concussion.
After playing 27 minutes against USC and 11 against Kansas,
Hines woke up on Sunday with another headache.
“He said he blacked out during the Kansas game,”
senior Billy Knight said of Hines. “He didn’t collapse,
but he was asking, “˜Where am I?'”
Hines talked to his mom, Faye Bordeaux, on Sunday, and she
advised him to tell the doctors about his symptoms. During practice
on Monday, Hines told the team doctor that the had been suffering
from headaches since the concussion. The doctor told Hines to sit
out for a few days.
According to UCLA head coach Steve Lavin, Hines is questionable
for Thursday’s game at Arizona State and will not practice or
play until his headaches are gone. If Hines is cleared by team
doctors, Lavin said that there is a good chance Hines would
play.
If Hines does not play during the Arizona trip, the Bruins will
be without one of their team leaders and their most aggressive
defensive player.
“A lot of the time it’s Rico making the pass that
sets up the big shot, and it shows that you need a transporter and
not necessarily five scorers,” Lavin said. “Our
challenge will be to continue to make progress without a valuable
cog of the team.”
The fact that the No. 9 Bruins are 12-3 gives them leeway going
into the weekend, and when asked if he would choose not to mention
the headaches if the Bruins weren’t in such a good spot,
Hines laughed and said, “I don’t know, man.”
Freshman Cedric Bozeman will get the start on Thursday if Hines
is not cleared to play. Bozeman, who saw a season-high 27 minutes
against Kansas on Saturday, has been working his way back into the
lineup since returning from a knee injury on Jan. 4.
The Bruins are 10-1 with Hines in the starting lineup but have
run into problems without a true point guard. With Bozeman back in
the mix, UCLA can continue to adapt to having one person run the
show for the majority of the game.
“(Cedric) had a good game against Kansas, and he’s
gradually getting back into the game,” Knight said. “We
got used to having him out there with him playing on
Saturday.”
With contributions from Dylan Hernandez, Daily Bruin Senior
Staff.