UCLA’s Gyorgy Goloman has barely played as a sophomore, having lost the first half of the season to a leg injury. According to Steve Alford, the 6-foot-11 forward will be shouldering a much heavier workload moving forward — starting with tonight’s 8 p.m. tipoff at Oregon State.

“No limits now,” said the Bruins’ third-year coach.

Goloman had been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right leg back in October, and his recovery took longer than the team had initially expected. He was only cleared for six to eight minutes in his season debut against USC last week, and ended up seeing the floor for two minutes in what turned out to be an 89-75 loss at Pauley Pavilion.

ANALYSIS: Why have the Bruins struggled so much on defense?

While he may not contribute big numbers — having averaged just 1.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.8 minutes off the bench last year — his presence gives the Bruins more lineup flexibility, with the length to position himself at the top of the team’s zone defense.

“He’s got the basketball IQ,” Alford said of Goloman. “He understands positioning. I’m hoping that helps, because we’re struggling with the understanding of positioning, being in the right position, and doing it consistently enough.

“We’ll get a stop or two, and then we’ll have three times where they score. … Those things just can’t happen. You’ve got to have the demeanor of a team where, if someone scores two times in a row on you, stop it.”