Freshman forward coming on strong early for Bruins

By Chris Umpierre
Daily Bruin Staff

NEW YORK ““ Freshmen aren’t supposed to play like
this.

Not in front of a national audience, not in Madison Square
Garden, not against a team like Kansas and definitely not in their
first college game.

Then again, UCLA rookie forward TJ Cummings is not your typical
freshman.

In his first college contest, the 6-foot-8 forward scored a team
high 24 points in UCLA’s 99-98 loss to No. 6 Kansas. It was
the most points scored by a Bruin freshman in a debut game in
school history.

The previous best was Don MacLean’s 22 points in
UCLA’s home opener against Texas Tech in the 1988-89
season.

Cummings scored most of his points by way of a deadly 10- to
15-foot jumper. He was also active on defense, grabbing seven
rebounds and registering two blocked shots.

His performance left several Jayhawks in awe.

“He caught us by surprise,” said Kansas forward Drew
Gooden, who was matched up with Cummings most of the game.
“We didn’t think he was that good. I didn’t hear
of anyone talking about him in the (preseason) magazines, but I
think he’s a sleeper.”

“I told him after the game that was a heck of a
debut,” Kansas forward Nick Collison said. “Our
scouting report said he was real active but I was kind of surprised
how good he was. I didn’t hear much about him but he’s
got a real nice touch and he knows how to play.”

Cummings began the game on the bench as head coach Steve Lavin
decided to start Matt Barnes. When he entered the game at the
15-minute mark of the first half, he wasted no time showing he came
to play.

On his first possession, Cummings grabbed teammate Ray
Young’s miss and was fouled by Jayhawk guard Jeff
Boschee.

He nailed both free throws, something he would do all night long
as he finished the game eight of 10 from the charity stripe.

Two possessions later, Kansas swingman Kenny Gregory jumped in
front of an errant Earl Watson pass and raced for what seemed to be
an easy fast-break hoop.

Cummings, not giving up on the play, caught Gregory just as he
was laying up the ball and rejected the shot from behind.

The block shot set the tone for the rest of Cummings’
night.

Towards the end of the game, the freshman began to call for the
ball. With his team down 91-87 at the 2:26 mark, Cummings buried a
pressure-packed jumper from the foul line.

But it wasn’t quite a perfect debut for him as his team
lost 99-98.

“The only thing I would have needed was for us to
win,” Cummings said. “I could have scored two points
and if we won I would have been happier. It’s all about the
team thing.

“I’m not really worried that much about me,”
he added. “I know there’s going to be other guys on the
team that are going to have good days. Just like I was there for
them, I want them to be there for me.”

UCLA forward Jason Kapono attributes Cummings’ poise and
maturity at such a young age to the fact that he is the son of
longtime NBA great Terry Cummings.

Kapono said his freshman teammate wasn’t nervous going
into his first college contest.

“He wasn’t like the usual freshman that’s
worried about his first game,” he said. “He was calm.
His father has played pro ball so TJ’s played with the big
dogs before. Him and his father go at it so I’m sure he
wasn’t worried about these college kids.”

While it seemed the Illinois product had no difficulty in his
first college game, he did have some problems acclimating to the
college game.

“It’s a lot more running (than high school),”
Cummings said. “There were points in the game where I was
huffing and puffing. That TV timeout saves your butt every
time.

“I expected it to be a very, very high level,” he
added. “Now I know what I have to do to get to the level
where I need to be so I can compete like this and not have any
problems.”

Lavin said he’s been impressed from day one about
Cummings’ work ethic, attitude and love for the game.

While he’s pleased with the freshman’s first game,
the forward must be able to perform on a consistent basis.

“Now the key is do it just like he has in practice ““
day after day after day,” Lavin said. “The key is not
to be a one-day wonder in practice or a one-game wonder. But with
his work ethic, attitude and approach on a daily basis to each
practice, I think he has a great career ahead of him,” Lavin
added.