SoCal College News & Reviews
UCLA's Fan Appreciation Day:
Some Impressions--(November 9, 1997)

Well, this used to be called the inter-squad game. Except before, it didn't feature a 15 minute scrimmage of the women's team; and it was a full-on scrimmage. This time, it was two 15 minute halves, featuring a Blue team and a Gold team, which mixed and matched various players in each half. It was a pretty good indication though of what we can expect to see on the floor if Jelani and Kris don't come back, at least for a little while. From what we saw today, we'd be willing to bet that if there's any way possible for them to meet the "criteria" which Lavin says they've got to meet, they'll do it.

First, the men's team: This is not a tall team. In fact, compared to some of the other teams in the Pac 10 (Washington with two power forwards at 6-9, and two real big centers, one at 7-0 and the other at 7-1; and Stanford with the freshman Collins twins readily come to mind) should be able to dominate in the post. But then these other teams don't have the kind of speed and ball control that you're likely to see with UCLA's team this year. We can only wonder where this team would be realistically ranked (they're No. 5 in the AP preseason, but that seems a bit high), if they still had Ike Nwankwo and 'omma Givens.

But the Bruins have got some real weapons that the rest of the conference doesn't have: They've got Baron Davis, Billy Knight, Rico Hines, Earl Watson, and Travis Reed, five freshman who will need to take control, and who are capable of doing it, with some senior assistance from Toby Bailey and J.R. Henderson and junior Brandon Loyd. The team isn't totally lacking height with Sean Farnham a 6'-6" sophomore and Reed who's also 6'-6", but they are lacking a true center, even if J.R. and Farnham did credible jobs at the low and high post; but then they had 6-4 guys guarding them, so it's probably not a simulation of what the season will show.

The teams were roughly divided as follows for the first 15 minute scrimmage:

Blue: Ryan Bailey, Toby Bailey, J.R. Henderson, and Brandon Loyd. Kevin Daley, Sean Farnham and Vince McGautha were the reserves.

Gold: , Baron Davis, Travis Reed, Earl Watson, Billy Knight. Matt Harbour and Todd Ramasar were the reserves.

The first half was a dead on tie; in the second half, in which the combinations above were shuffled around, (Baron and Toby played together), the score was fairly irrelevant.

Some random impressions:

Baron Davis-- he can play; yes he can. In the first half, he electrified the crowd by coming down through a press at full speed, weaving through defenders and with what seemed like a wall of players, including Toby and J.R. standing shoulder to shoulder at the free throw line, Baron took off, and then just, well, he elevated. . . and slammed it. He had about 15 assists in the game, and would have had many more if Earl Watson and Rico Hines in the first half, and Toby in the second half could have finished better.

Toby did his usual consummate job of seeming to play inconsistently, but really playing pretty well. I've come to the conclusion with him that people just expect him to be perfect every time he gets the ball, and when he's not, the expectations are too great. He's really a much better player than some give him credit for, and he's a legitimate NBA lottery pick if he stays healthy and has better than a respectable year. He shot very well from three point range, making about 4 out of 8, but had real trouble inside with the lay-ups. He doesn't give the impression of "senior leadership", but this is a real young team, and Toby is the old man here, and the others do seem to respond. He scored about 38 points, had a few bad passes, and couldn't seem to make a lay-up to save his life. But he can shoot that medium range jumper and the three like nobody's business, and he's primed to have a great year.

Rico Hines and Earl Watson played very well. Watson is a very quick defender, has very quick feet, but seems like a very small 6'0", and will need to bulk up a bit; actually Ramasar, who did a credible job subbing off the bench, doesn't look a whole lot bigger than Watson, even though he's listed at 6'-4". Ramasar also won the three point contest after the scrimmage, so we know he can present a threat from the baseline and outside.

Brandon Loyd had trouble today, and not many of his outside shots connected, but those that did were smooth, even if his shot does look a bit funny. Travis Reed is a big, bulky 6'-6" who can really bang around inside (nice tattoo, Trav), and he was also effective with the short range J.

Farnham is very active, has quick feet, but if he's really 6'-6" I'd be surprised. He played very nice defense, and in warm-ups put on a few dunks, but in the game was mostly good on defense.

Ryan "Moose" Bailey, also adds a certain "something" to the team this year, even if he's going to redshirt after transferring from Penn State. I think that "something" is bulk. He's like a slightly shorter, but much bulkier version of Toby, who likes to play the point, but will need to work on his passing selection if this "game" was really any indication, and I'm not sure it was. Everyone was pretty loose, making some very quick and fancy passes, and the crowd was suitably impressed. Come game time, real game time, we'll see if these guys stay as loose. We hope they do, because one of the keys to this team seems to be that when they're having fun, really having fun, they seem to play better, up-tempo offense and quick pressure d.

Vince McGuatha, Harbour, Ramasar, Farnham, and Loyd will all be the role players; but they're really having fun, and you can see it from watching them run together. I hope they manage to keep that "up" spirit going until Jelani and Kris return, because they'll need it.

If we got to pick the starting five based on what we saw today, it would be Baron at point, Toby at SG/PF, Billy Knight SG, J.R. Henderson C/PF, and probably Travis Reed at the other F spot. Hines and Watson off the bench first and then the rest.

This team does have speed, and they've got Baron Davis, who's bulkier and better on defense than Tyus, about as quick as Jason Kidd and seems to make the same good decisions, and shoots and goes to the hoop like, well, like no one else. He's unique and watching this team you can see who he just energizes everyone else around him.

It should be an interesting year for the men's team, and at least it will be fun to watch again.

The women: At least two merit some attention. Erica Gomez, a sophomore point from Keyport, New Jersey, was probably the most fluid and fun player to watch. She's only 5'-9", and doesn't really like to penetrate, but she can pass well, and shoots pretty well around the perimeter. I don't know, but she's just a fun player to watch. The other player was the point guard on the opposing squad, Jamie Oenning, who also can push the ball up the floor pretty well and led a very balanced attack.

More on the women's team later in the year.

For now though, here's the Men's Rosters which were given out at today's scrimmage:

1997-98 UCLA BASKETBALL ROSTERS

ALPHABETICAL

* Indicates number of UCLA letters won; § Indicates redshirting after transferring. Ages as of 10/15/97.
Head Coach: Steve Lavin (Chapman '88)

Assistant Coaches: Michael Holton (UCLA '83), Jim Saia (Chapman '87), Steve Spencer (Sonoma State '85) Trainer: Dave Polanski (Purdue '90)
Strength and Conditioning Coach: Kevin Yoxall (East Texas State'83)
Head Manager: Tony Luftman
Managers: Jacob Luna, David Sachs, Matt Gordon, Sean Jacobsen 7ason Tilton, Sid Mekari

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