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[Online Exclusive]: Hollins injures knee during practice

By Seth Fast Glass

March 30, 2006 9:00 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS — In the first four rounds of the NCAA Tournament,
senior Ryan Hollins has played the best basketball of his career.
To continue that stretch in the Final Four, however, he’ll have to
play through pain. The UCLA center suffered a right knee contusion
just above the kneecap during practice on Friday morning and did
not fully participate in the open shoot-around at the RCA Dome
later in the afternoon. Hollins said he fully expects to play
Saturday against LSU, but was uncertain whether the injury would
limit his effectiveness against the Tigers’ heralded frontline. "It
hurts pretty bad, and it swelled up a lot. You’re always
disappointed to get hurt. It lessens our chances of doing well,"
Hollins said. "But there’s nothing that’s going to hold me back. I
still have a pulse. You’ll see the same intensity and same fire
from me. I won’t even feel it. It’s not going to be an issue or an
excuse." The senior, who was named the Oakland Regional’s Most
Outstanding Player, banged knees in the beginning of practice with
freshman Alfred Aboya, who coincidentally also had a hand in
breaking sophomore Lorenzo Mata’s nose on Wednesday. Hollins had
his knee iced immediately after the injury and was scheduled to
undergo treatment for the rest of the afternoon. During UCLA’s open
practice on Friday, Hollins did not dress but did practice free
throws. Through the first four rounds of the NCAA Tournament,
Hollins has averaged 12 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. UCLA
coach Ben Howland expects his senior center to be ready and willing
to play on Saturday. "Just assuming it’s musculature, it will take
a team of horses to hold him from being able to play," Howland
said. "Anything’s possible, though, especially this year."

MASKED MATA: The sophomore center suffered a
broken nose during practice on Wednesday in one of the team’s last
drills of the day. Mata will wear a protective mask on Saturday,
the same one he wore after he fractured his nose against Arizona
State on Jan. 7. If he plays well against LSU, Mata said he might
adopt Detroit Pistons’ Richard Hamilton’s fashion statement of
wearing a mask permanently. "I played really well and practiced
with it, so I’m going to be like Rip Hamilton," Mata said. "I’m
going to keep it on all the time."

SHIPP SIDELINED: Last week in Oakland,
sophomore Josh Shipp, who has missed all but four games this season
with a hip injury, considered returning to the court and forsaking
his redshirt status if UCLA advanced to the Final Four. The Bruins
advanced to the Final Four, but Shipp will not see the court. He
said he made the decision on his own after UCLA defeated Memphis in
the regional final last Saturday. "I got caught up in the moment,"
Shipp said. "I was thinking Final Four, excitement, you’ll never
know if we’ll ever get back here. In four years, it’s not easy to
get to the Final Four (twice). But this is all about UCLA right
now."

ALL QUIET: LSU is the most entertaining. George
Mason is the Cinderella. Florida is the odds-on favorite. So what
is UCLA? "Shoot, UCLA is just UCLA," freshman point guard Darren
Collison said. "We’re quieter than they are. We just come to play
games. We’re not here to make the crowd laugh. We’re not here to
show everybody we’re a Cinderella team. We’re just here to play."
All was quiet during UCLA’s open practice as well, as the Bruins
used most of their allotted 50 minutes practicing free throws.

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS: UCLA drew the fewest
observes of any of the Final Four teams during open practice
sessions on Friday. Florida drew the most. … As they’ve done in
each of their open practices, the Bruins shot half-court shots for
the final five minutes. Freshman DeAndre Robinson, freshman Ryan
Wright and Howland were the first three to make a half-court shot.
… George Mason spent the end of its shoot-around mingling with
the team’s cheerleaders and band members, while LSU’s Glen "Big
Baby" Davis and Tyrus Thomas spent the latter part of their
practice signing autographs for Tigers fans.

NATIONAL AWARDS: Duke’s J.J. Redick edged out
Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison for the Associated Press Player of the Year
award, which was announced Friday. Redick, who averaged 27.2 points
per game this season for the Blue Devils, became the sixth Duke
player to claim the award, surpassing UCLA’s once-leading total of
five. "It’s kind of a bittersweet moment for me to be here rather
than with my teammates," Redick said. … North Carolina’s Roy
Williams won the AP Coach of the Year award after guiding the
freshman-dominated Tar Heels to a 27-8 record and a top-10 finish
in the national polls after starting the season unranked. UCLA’s
Howland received only one vote for the award and finished in a
three-way tie for seventh.

DRIBBLERS: UCLA is 7-0 all-time against LSU,
the teams’ last meeting coming in December 1994. … On the first
difference he noticed about the atmosphere of Indianapolis,
Collison said, "The logo on the uniform." … The Bruins attended
the Indianapolis Pacers’ game on Thursday night, during which
UCLA’s Reggie Miller had his number retired. Freshman Luc Richard
Mbah a Moute said autograph-seekers at the game had a little
trouble saying his name. "They have some work to do, but that’s OK.
They’re not used to it yet," Mbah a Moute said. "Hopefully after
the tournament, they will be."

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Seth Fast Glass
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