Perhaps the one bit of bright news on Thursday to come from the word that UCLA senior James Keefe would have season-ending shoulder surgery next week: The Bruins seem to have found his replacement rather quickly.

Sophomore center J’mison Morgan saw his most extensive playing time of the season in UCLA’s 71-51 win over Washington State on Thursday, and he delivered a miniature triple-triple with three blocks, three assists and three rebounds.

Morgan, who missed seven Pac-10 games with a partially torn quadriceps muscle, saw his minutes drastically reduced in conference play, when he had just 15 going into Thursday’s game.

His confidence waned, and with each two-minute performance, he never felt like he gained any steam.

With 21 minutes, including big stretches in the first and second half, Morgan picked up some momentum.

“It’s real big for me – that’s the type of player I am, I have to get going,” Morgan said. “I have to get into the game before I can start helping the team big. With my performance tonight – Coach is pretty happy – I think I can get bigger blocks of minutes.”
Confidence has been the albatross dragging Morgan down.

He’ll miss a shot and get pulled and his shoulders will slump, his normally upturned grin will dwindle into a frown and his head will droop.
Not anymore.

“Sometimes you have to keep shooting,” Morgan said. “Every shot’s not going to fall for you. You have to keep shooting, keep trying to block shots, keep trying to rebound. Every play is not going to go your way in basketball. It’s an up and down game. As long as you keep your confidence, you’ll be able to help your team. You can make a play at the end of the game and that can win the game. That’s all you’ve done, but you help your team wins. Your team wins, and that’s all that matters.”