Bruins face California All-Stars tonight

  CATHY JUN Bruin team captain Earl Watson
brings the ball to the hoop as an opponent from Team Concept looks
on in the game on Nov. 1.

By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

The Bruins can breath a huge sigh of relief, since they
don’t have to play any nationally ranked programs for
awhile.

But to avoid a letdown that an off-week following their
impressive showing in the Big Apple could bring, the No. 14 UCLA
men’s basketball team will host the Electronic Arts
Sports/California Southwest All-Stars in an exhibition contest
tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion.

After strong performances against No. 4 Kansas and No. 21
Kentucky over the weekend, the Bruins have much to look forward to
following their victory over the Wildcats, and much to go on the
proverbial drawing board.

“We have to improve in transition defense in order to stop
them in the half-court,” said UCLA head coach Steve Lavin.
“We have to contain the dribble, move our feet in a
collective effort to stop them from getting into the middle, and
contest the shooters better on the perimeter.”

In addition to some of the deficiencies that hurt UCLA last
Thursday against the Jayhawks and nearly knocked them out of the
early national rankings before they executed in overtime against
the Wildcats, there are some other things they will be working on
tonight.

“It’s very important that we work on our full-court
press and changing defenses to give the opposing teams different
looks throughout the course of the game,” Lavin said.

MEN’S BASKETBALL TONIGHT 7:30 p.m. Pauley
Pavillion EA Sports/California All stars Radio XTRA 1150 UCLA gave
up a 95.5 points-per-game average in their two games at the 2000
IKON Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Allowing opposing defenses to
shoot 49 percent from the field, getting out-rebounded by 18 in the
two games and connecting on a mere 66 percent from the charity
stripe are complications that were combated by a potent and
efficient offense.

The Bruins have five players scoring in double figures and a
team scoring average of 97.5 points per contest. Shooting 49
percent as a ballclub, including 47 percent from beyond the arc,
are things to keep one’s head up about. But this squad is not
content with anything less than punishing the opposition.

“What I think really got us over the edge were the
defensive stops when we needed them,” said Bruin shooting
guard Ray Young. “We were able to rattle Kentucky and make
them take harder shots than they wanted to in their
offense.”

For UCLA, one reason to be optimistic is the play of senior
co-captain Earl Watson. An all-tournament selection last week, the
Kansas City, Kan., native is averaging 20.5 points, 8.5 assists and
five rebounds per game and played 81 of 85 minutes in the two
games. After leading his ballclub to an eight-game winning streak
heading into the 2000 NCAA Tournament, Watson looks forward to
making a push this season.

“I would love to have gone 2-0,” said Watson, who
topped 1000 points for his Bruin career against Kentucky.
“But 1-1 is big for us because we had to bounce back. I think
last year we might have gone 0-2 because our maturity and
experience weren’t there and beating Kentucky shows the
growth of this team. Now we have a chance to show we can do a lot
of good things.”

Throw into the mix freshman forward TJ Cummings, who dropped 24
points in his first game as a Bruin; and junior sharpshooter Jason
Kapono, UCLA has all the elements to tear apart one of the toughest
schedules in the nation.

Wednesday’s foe will have one familiar face on the roster.
UCLA alum Kris Johnson, the brother of Josiah and son of Marques,
has led the California Southwest All-Stars in scoring in seven of
their 10 contests on the schedule. Tezale Archie, the 6-foot-1
guard from nearby Pepperdine will also be in uniform for the
All-Stars.