In Howland's words
Here's a few comments from Ben Howland on UCLA's exhibition victory. More tomorrow morning.
Overall, I was happy that we got out of that game healthy. Last year, we lost Darren (Collison) to a knee injury in the first game.
I was excited for Nikola (Dragovic, who made 4 of 6 3-pointers). He worked hard on his body and you can tell he's in better shape. Jrue Holiday had a good game as well, nearly putting up a triple double. I thought Josh Shipp also played very well, with 20 points in 19 minutes.
We have lots of things to work on, like executing on offense. On defense, we need to work on hedging and switching assignments. It just takes experience. We'll watch a lot of film, especially the freshmen.
J'mison Morgan was a big lift in the first half. He had a huge block that sparked our defense. I forced him to push himself by playing all of the last ten minutes. Jrue had a complete game; played good defense, looked for open teammates and attacked the basket. He will draw a lot of fouls hanging in the air and taking hits.
If Jrue Holiday stays long enough, he's actually capable of recording a Quadrupal Double: points, rebounds, assists and steals. Wouldn't THAT be something to see. But 12, 7, 7 and 6 isn't shabby by any means - and with only a single turnover - just a terrific debut by our star freshman.
Also, many have commented on the last half of Josh Shipp's season a year ago, but most seem to have forgotten how GOOD he was the first half of the year. I think he just wore down and that affected his shooting. With his first full off-season to condition and another year behind him since his surgeries, I think Josh could have a terrific year - and we'll need that from him as a senior