Men’s Basketball Briefs

Freshman will start at point guard

True freshman Cedric Bozeman will most likely be UCLA’s
starting point guard on opening day, Bruin head coach Steve Lavin
said last Thursday.

Lavin has liked what he’s seen from both Bozeman, a
McDonald’s All-American last year while at Santa Ana’s
Mater Dei High School, and redshirt freshman Ryan Walcott during
the first couple of weeks of fall practice.

“Bozeman and Walcott have performed exceptionally well to
this point,” Lavin said. “Both of them have exceptional
poise for players their age. They give us two different looks.
Ryan’s smaller (at 6-foot-1), but quicker and he has a
year’s experience. Bozeman is taller (6-foot-7 1/2) and
longer and sees over the defense. They’ll be effective in our
press because of their quickness.”

Walcott has been hampered by tendinitis in his knees, but Lavin
thinks he’ll be ready to play in the team’s Nov. 19
season opener against Houston at the Maui Invitational.

Lavin was reluctant to name his starting point guard, but when
pressed, said Bozeman would probably be it.

“Ryan Walcott’s missed so much practice time that
Cedric is clearly ahead of him,” Lavin said.

“As Ryan gets healthy, I think he can close the gap on
Cedric. They’ll both contribute.”

Lavin also said that forward Jason Kapono will be used to bring
the ball up the court at times.

Left out of the mix at point guard is senior Ray Young, who
worked on his ballhandling over the summer in hopes of getting some
time at that position.

Other Bruin notes

Lavin has also been impressed by Bozeman’s incoming
classmates, forwards Andre Patterson and Dijon Thompson. “All
three (true) freshman will have a chance to make an impact,”
Lavin said. “It’s a very special group.”…
Redshirt freshman Josiah Johnson, like Walcott, has tendinitis in
his knees. … Lavin thinks his team will have little trouble
dealing with the loss of Watson, last year’s captain.
“I think the leadership this year will come by
committee,” Lavin said. “We have a good mix of juniors
and seniors. They’ll set the tone and lead by
example.”… Former Bruin Jerome Moiso is all but officially
an NBA journeyman now. Moiso, who began the summer as a Boston
Celtic, was dealt for the second time this offseason, going from
the Philadelphia 76ers to the Charlotte Hornets as part of a
three-team trade involving the Golden State Warriors last week. …
Moiso’s ex-teammate, JaRon Rush, was released from the
Seattle Supersonics last week.

Elsewhere…

Arizona sophomore guard Travis Hanour left the Wildcat
basketball program last week, citing personal reasons for his
departure. Hanour was expected to replace Gilbert Arenas ““
one of the four Arizona players who left early for the NBA draft
during the offseason ““ as the starting off-guard. Arizona now
only has nine scholarship players, among whom five are freshmen.
… Duke All-American point guard Jason Williams, who broke his
left hand in an August pick-up game, is recovering well and should
be completely healthy for the Maui Invitational.

Compiled by Dylan Hernandez, Daily Bruin Senior Staff. Material
from wire reports and news sources were used in this report.