Hines fails to profit on play time; position remains open
By Daily Bruin Staff
Dec. 5, 2001 9:00 p.m.
By Greg Schain
Daily Bruin Reporter
Going into last night’s game, UCLA head coach Steve Lavin
was hoping somebody would step up and show him that they deserved
to start at point guard in place of the injured Cedric Bozeman.
Nobody did.
UCLA went mainly with senior Rico Hines at the point against
Riverside. Hines showed a high energy level, but finished with more
turnovers (3) than points (0) or assists (2) in 24 minutes. He
still hasn’t scored a point this season in almost 85
minutes.
“My shots are gonna come,” said Hines, who was 0-6
from the floor. “As long as we’re winning, I’m
happy.”
Fans became impatient with Hines in the second half, screaming
phrases like “No more Rico” and “Take Rico
out” when his shots continuously failed to drop.
But Hines isn’t discouraged.
“Hopefully I’ll continue to go out there and play
the point,” he said. “I think I will (see more
minutes).”
Redshirt freshman Ryan Walcott saw minutes at the point but
looked uncertain in running the offense.
“I still haven’t found my rhythm,” Walcott
said. “I’m still a little rusty. I need to show more
leadership and get everyone organized.”
Walcott finished without any points or assists in nine
minutes.
Freshman Dijon Thompson and junior Jason Kapono also saw minutes
at the point, but both seemed to have trouble creating shots for
themselves at the position.
When Kapono was at the point, they lacked the presence of an
outside shooter on the floor.
“Kapono can handle the point, but it will wear him out
over the season,” Riverside head coach John Masi said.
“I’m sure they’d rather have him on the wing
nailing threes.”
Kapono thought their offensive woes, especially in the first
half, went deeper than the point guard situation.
“We gotta get in our sets much quicker,” he said.
“We were stagnant and shooting too quick.”
Until Bozeman recovers from the knee surgery he had on Monday,
the Bruins will continue to rotate who plays at the point.
“It’s point guard by committee,” Lavin said.
“Even though it didn’t look like it in the first half,
our offense is predicated on passing, so our guys are
interchangeable.”
Bozeman is expected to miss four to six weeks, but he describes
himself as a “quick healer” and said he could be back
faster than that.
The Bruins hope he’s right, because their obvious lack of
depth at point guard was exposed tonight.
