BRIDGET O’BRIEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Rico Hines eyes the UC Riverside offense earlier
this season.
By Dylan Hernandez
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Senior guard Rico Hines, who missed the UCLA basketball
team’s games against Arizona State and Arizona last week, has
been cleared to return to the court.
Hines, who was suffering from headaches caused by a concussion
he sustained two weeks ago, underwent a medical examination
following the Bruins’ practice on Tuesday. He is expected to
be in uniform on Thursday when the Bruins face Stanford at Pauley
Pavilion. Today, he will take part in his first practice since
being sidelined on Jan. 13, the day after UCLA’s home win
against Kansas.
“I want to get out there so bad,” Hines said prior
to Tuesday’s practice. “I know I can help the team
out.”
Hines certainly felt that way last Saturday, as he watched from
the bench as Arizona erased the Bruins’ 20-point lead during
the UCLA loss at the McKale Center.
Hines saw the Wildcats’ run coming and even warned his
team about it, but couldn’t do anything himself to prevent
it.
“I felt helpless,” Hines said. “There was
nothing I could do but cheer and support.”
Immediately after the game, Hines, a defensive specialist who
often takes charges and dives for loose balls, said he thought he
could have made a difference.
“We didn’t play any defense,” he said.
“They outscrapped us. I see vividly in my mind
(Arizona’s Luke) Walton and (Will) Bynum diving on the
floor.”
Bruin head coach Steve Lavin said that Hines will not be
returning to the starting lineup. Freshman point guard Cedric
Bozeman, who was made a starter in Hines’ absence, will keep
his spot.
And because redshirt freshman Ryan Walcott earned a place in the
Bruins’ rotation as Bozeman’s backup during the Arizona
trip, Lavin said he wasn’t sure how much playing time Hines
will receive.
Hines sustained the concussion during his team’s practice
on Jan. 8, when he dove for a loose ball. Reserve Josiah Johnson,
who was in the vicinity, tripped and crashed down on Hines’
head.
Despite suffering from daily headaches, Hines kept quiet so that
he could play against USC and Kansas later that week. After the
Kansas game, Hines finally told his coaches about his
condition.