Bruins meet Golden Bears tonight

Bruins meet Golden Bears tonight

Cal freshman-standout Abdur-Rahim potential threat to UCLA
assault

By Scott Yamaguchi

Daily Bruin Staff

UCLA men’s basketball head coach Jim Harrick was asked this week
for his thoughts on Shareef Abdur-Rahim, the freshman phenom at
California who ranks near the top of virtually every statistical
category in the Pac-10 conference.

"Hmmm, what do I think about Shareef?" Harrick asked
rhetorically, as he perused the most recent list of Pac-10 stats.
"He leads the league in scoring. He’s second in rebounding, fifth
in blocked shots, fifth in field-goal percentage shooting and third
in steals.

"That would probably equate to the best player in the
league."

Though it is too early to speak of any Pac-10 Player of the Year
honors, Abdur-Rahim is no doubt the best freshman in the league,
and he presents quite the quandary for Harrick, whose 17th-ranked
Bruins (15-5 overall, 8-1 Pac-10) hit the floor of the Oakland
Coliseum tonight for a 7:30 p.m. showdown with the Golden Bears
(12-6, 6-3).

"(Abdur-Rahim) is the best freshman I’ve ever coached against,"
former USC head coach Charlie Parker said. "Coming in, I thought
that Harold Miner, for us, was probably the best player since I’ve
been here in the last eight years at USC. I thought that Harold had
the most impact of any freshman up until this time. But I think
Shareef definitely rivals Harold Miner with the impact he’s having
for Cal and in this conference."

How do you stop a guy who averages 22.7 points per game (11th in
the NCAA), has scored at least 25 points in nine of 17 games and
already has six double-doubles?

UCLA couldn’t find the answer the first time the two teams met
this season, when Abdur-Rahim had 25 points, five rebounds, two
blocks and a steal. Of course, the Bruins – on the strength of a
career-game from Kris Johnson – did walk away with a decisive,
93-73 victory, but things surely will not be so easy this time
around.

And it’s not only because the game is being played at the
Coliseum, where UCLA is 1-1 vs. Cal, the loss coming two years ago
when the Bruins were undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation.

It will be more difficult because Cal is now enjoying the
production of last year’s Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, Tremaine
Fowlkes.

Fowlkes missed the first 14 games of the season, including the
Jan. 13 tilt with UCLA, because of an NCAA suspension that resulted
from "improprieties" in his use of a car.

Since his return Jan. 25, Fowlkes has averaged 12.0 points and
6.8 rebounds over four games. He is one of five players averaging
double figures for California, and one of two double-figure scorers
who comes off the bench.

The other, junior guard Ed Gray, is putting up 16.7 points per
game – the sixth best mark in the Pac-10.

To be sure, California is the most athletically-gifted squad in
the conference, and one of the most gifted in the nation. In their
conference opener Jan. 4, the Bears blew then-No. 9 Arizona out of
the gym, 99-75.

"They’re certainly a very, very athletic team, and very, very
talented," Harrick said. "I saw what they did to Arizona, and that
always looms brightly in your horizon, that they’ve got that kind
of game in them.

"They’ve got a lot of talent, but it’s young talent."

And as a result, Cal head coach Todd Bozeman has had a difficult
time harnessing it all. While the Bears have clearly dominated most
of their opponents, they have been clearly dominated by others.

Aside from the UCLA loss, they were beaten 83-69 by Illinois,
and just last week, they were handily beaten by Stanford,
93-79.

Cal also dropped a71-69 decision at Washington, and now sits in
a four-way tie for second place in the conference standings – two
games behind UCLA.

Not that the Bruins haven’t struggled, especially in the
turnover department. They are still last in the league in turnover
margin, committing an average of 18.6 per game while forcing just
14.7.

And should they have another sluggish, uninspired weekend like
the one they had last week against the Oregon schools (38 turnovers
in two close wins), Cal is sure to make them pay.

"The only fear, as a coach, is that your team will come out and
play like (mine) did against Oregon State," Harrick said. "You
don’t want that to happen – you want them to come out and play with
great emotion."

PATRICK LAM

Cal’s Shareef Abdur-Rahim is the lead choice for Pac-10 Freshman
of the Year.

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