DANIEL WONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Freshman guard
Dijon Thompson has struggled in the last
month.
By Dylan Hernandez
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
His swagger is gone, but his smile, somehow, remains.
Dijon Thompson isn’t playing well. The way he’s
playing now, he hardly looks like a Division I player, and he knows
that better than anyone.
What the true freshman guard on the UCLA men’s basketball
team doesn’t know is what to do about it.
His confidence, he admits, has gone through the Pauley Pavilion
floor, and he hasn’t been able to restore even a fraction of
it.
All he can do at this point is sheepishly grin and hope his
on-court problems will go away.
“I’m trying to kick myself in the butt,”
Thompson said. “I know I can play better. I’m trying to
get my confidence back. I’m working as hard as I
can.”
Probably too hard.
Only a month ago, Thompson appeared to be the most promising of
the Bruin freshmen, filling in admirably for injured classmate
Cedric Bozeman at the point guard position. And despite his recent
slide, Thompson’s potential remains unquestioned. In a recent
Q&A session with fans on Yahoo!, the Sporting News’ Mike
DeCourcy said Thompson may wind up being the best pro player among
the current Bruins.
In recent games, however, that perceived potential hasn’t
translated into results.
Thompson has looked terrified on the court, often committing the
most fundamental of mistakes. His passes have flown in the most
random of directions, incoming passes have bounced off his hands
and his shot selection has been questionable.
In the Bruins’ nine conference games, Thompson has
averaged 2.2 points and 3.3 turnovers per game, while shooting just
29 percent from the field.
Thompson said his decreased playing time since Bozeman’s
return on Jan. 10 has negatively affected him.
In the six games since Bozeman has come back, Thompson has
played just 12 minutes per game. Before that, he was logging more
than 17 per contest.
He tries to do too much at times, Thompson said, because he
wants to get the most out of his now-scarce minutes. And he knows
that if he doesn’t play well, someone is waiting on the bench
to replace him.
“Since Ced was hurt, there weren’t too many
subs,” Thompson said. “Now that Ced’s back, subs
can come in for me.”
Bruin head coach Steve Lavin thinks Thompson just needs more
playing time to regain his stride.
But, Lavin added, “It’s tough because we have 10
kids that want to play right now.”
When asked if he had offered Thompson any advice, senior guard
Billy Knight remained silent for a second then said, “I might
start to.
“I’d tell him to not be nervous,” continued
Knight, who at one time was in a similar predicament himself.
“I’d tell him to go out there, not be nervous and just
hang in.
“I’d tell him, “˜Don’t doubt your game.
Do stuff you didn’t do in high school. Like if you
weren’t a good rebounder, work on rebounding. By the time you
get playing time, you’ll be a lot better.'”