SoCalHoops High School News

UCLA Fan Appreciation Day:
The Scrimmage Report--(Nov. 8, 1998)

Pauley Pavilion was about 1/3 full today for the opening scrimmage between the men's team and the men's team (they split up into "white" and "blue" teams).  But before that, the women's team ran through some drills and then scrimmaged for 20 minutes against the a men's practice team (not the men's varsity, but a bunch of guys who regularly play against the women.)  Erica Gomez and Michelle Greco looked very impressive.

The men's team ran a 40 minute scrimmage and there are some general impressions we came away with:

First, this is a really young squad.  And they are relatively inexperienced at this level.  The freshmen will be asked to bear a huge load, and unless they get incredibly lucky, they're going to do the things freshmen do:   Make mistakes, lose a couple of games, and get some valuable experience for the next few years.  It's a talented bunch of players, but they won't be living up to the huge buildup they got when everyone (including us) was absolutely raving about how their recruiting class was going to be the best in the world.  It's good, but there's a lot of talent in Division I ball, and some other teams have just as much talent and more experience and depth this year.

Second, UCLA had better get someone who can shoot from the outside on a consistent basis, or they better get used to putting the ball out on the wings earlier than they did today.   At the point, even until Baron gets well, they'll still do allright, with two players capable of playing the spot, and doing it capably.  At the forward spots, they'll be good but not great, and at center, if it's Moiso, they'll be tremendous.  

Some brief thoughts on each of the players:

The "returning" players:

Ryan Bailey (6'-1" So. PG)--He's considered a "returning player" in the media guide, even though he didn't play a minute last season; he was a red-shirt transfer from Penn State. Moose looked very good today, quick, strong, and just about as effective as Earl Watson running the point in Baron Davis' absence. He's very strong to the basket, can run the floor and push the break, and best of all he finishes.  Can also jump out of the gym.  Could be a starter, but probably won't with both Baron and Earl in the lineup, but with Baron out, you'll probably see Ryan and Earl in a lot together.

Baron Davis (6'-2 1/2" So. PG/SG)-- Still not cleared to play, Baron was warming up and running easy drills with the team before the scrimmage. He's wearing a leg brace, but just watching him walk, you can tell he's not 100%.  We keep hearing stories about how he wants to try to come back by December.  Personally, we think he'd be nuts to try it.  This is his career we're talking about. We've spoken to several orthopedic surgeons on ACL tears, and they unanimously agree that if Baron were to suffer another tear, it could be career-ending.  He should definitely wait.

Sean Farnham (6'-5 1/2" Jr. F)-- For a guy who never saw much action last year (he played a total of 20 minutes in 9 games last season), Sean could be a starter on some teams at other schools. He's got pretty good quickness, defends well (ok, so we'll talk about defense), and can shoot the ball and finds a way to get open. . . or maybe he was open a lot because no one was passing him the ball on his team today.  Reasonably athletic, this graduate of Concord De La Salle might see some action early on, but he won't be a mainstay during game time.

Rico Hines (6'-4" So. F)-- Rico didn't play.  But he did look really cool in his black sweater vest sitting next to Michael Holton who also was dressed in black.

Billy Knight (6'-5" So. SG/SF)--Why is it that one of the best shooters on the team never shoots the ball? Billy has become what Brandon Lloyd was to the Bruins last season, a good shooter who doesn't shoot the ball.  At least today, Brandon shot the ball from the wing, hitting several threes.  Billy, a graduate of Westchester and older brother of Eric Knight, could be one of the better players, if he'd just allow himself the opportunity to loosen up and hit the outside shot.

Brandon Loyd (5'-11" Sr. G) -- played well, even directing Earl Watson from the wing on several plays, telling Watson what offensive half-court sets to run. Maybe it's that he's smarter, maybe it's that he could just hear Michael Holton or Jim Saia shouting the plays out, but we prefer to believe that this very under-rated and much-maligned young man could have a great season if he'd just loosen up and realize that he's now got nothing to lose.  Brandon did exhibit his nice three point shot and excellent release from the baseline, but once again, we fear that he won't see much time on the floor, and when that happens, we also won't see much production out of him when he comes into the games.   On the other hand, maybe he'll stay loose and just have fun this season.

Todd Ramasar (6'-5" So. SG/SF)-- Todd, a walkon as a freshmen who played in six games, looked pretty good today. He moves well with and without the ball, runs the floor better than some of the scholarship guys, and can even shoot the ball and rebound.  Not a big banger or post up guy, but can hit the 17' shot. 

Travis Reed (6'-7" So. F)-- Travis was the first one pulled from the game today during subs, and you see the pained look on his face. Whether he was just jittery over dropping so many balls, or because he missed quite a few turn around j's from the low post is pretty much beside the point. After settling down though, in the second half he played great, doing a lot of the dirty work that Gadzuric seemed a bit hesitant to do himself.  Travis will still see big minutes this season, and with his experience from last year he'll lend a calming influence to at least one of the two new big guys.

Earl Watson (6'-0" So. PG)--He's the man.  No question about it. With Baron out, Earl is running the show, and between him and Moose, this is going to be a pretty good team at the point.  Earl was having difficulty with his entry passes, and he needs to learn to spot some of his teammates on the floor better, but hey, this was only the first scrimmage. What he does do is run the break better than anyone else on the floor, pushing it and eluding defenders, a very dangerous player in the open court, who can pull up for the j, or drive and finish. And he still has that nice little 15' leaner which he got to drop about 3 times today.

The New Guys:

Matt Barnes (6'-7" Fr. F)--Still bothered a bit by the toe, and he's not as quick as he could be, Matt still had a great day today, posting up well, but he needs to get his feet set and work on his turnaround shot. Runs the floor well for a big guy, and we'd expect him to be trading time with Travis at the four spot now that Dan and Moiso are around. 

Dan Gadzuric (6'-10" Fr. C)-- Okay, so he's a true center, and this was his first scrimmage, and we don't want to be unkind, but can you say "deer in the headlights?"  Dan has all the tools but just seemed tentative and not at all comfortable playing in and around the basket, and he missed a bunch of layups and short range shots, missed some passes, and couldn't hang onto others.   He's obviously very athletically gifted and is extremely agile for a big man, but he's not the huge "man-child" that you might have been led to believe was coming to UCLA.  He's strong, got good body balance, not overly large feet, but will definitely need some seasoning in and around the low post.  And maybe it's just that in Holland players are more polite and don't want to dunk on guys, but he sure doesn't think "dunk" when he's on the floor, at least he didn't today.

Jerome Moiso (6'-10 1/2" Fr. F/C)-- Here's the center that everyone at Pauley has been waiting for.  He runs, he dunks, he's got these incredibly huge, soft hands (yeah, we shook hands with most of the guys today, so we know), and Jerome didn't miss hardly any of his shots today, hitting about 4 from out around near the free throw line on jumpers and down low on several powerful dunks, turnaround j's, post moves, and one very nice reverse over the head shot which fell in to the amazement of everyone watching.

JaRon Rush (6'-6" Fr. F)-- Took some time to warm up, but then had some very nice dunks and medium range shots. Runs very well, is extremely athletic, and oh, by the way, he insists that Kareem is coming to UCLA, notwithstanding anything that we hear his mother may have said: "I talked to Kareem last week, and he says he's coming to UCLA,"  JaRon told us.   And we know that he's a great outside shooter because his team won the three point shooting contest after the game.  We don't expect him to start right away, but he certainly could if Travis doesn't continue to play with intensity.

Ray Young  (6'-3" Fr. SG)--Ray just never got his shot going today. He's got the biggest calves we've seen on anyone in D-I basketball, and he can jump better than almost anyone on the team. He's a great rebounder and shot blocker,  but when playing strictly from the perimeter, he'll need time to warmup and start hitting.  Very quick and runs as fast as anyone on this team.

So that's it.  Is this the No. 1 team in the Pac-10?   Without Baron, we'd have to say no, but they're still going to be fun to watch.    Actually we'd have to pick Stanford (like everyone else) if for no other reason than they've got the experience factor down.  After that, it could be a four way tie for second,  between UCLA, Cal, Arizona and Washington.

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