Tag Archives: Travis Wear

Travis Wear out with foot injury

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Forward Travis Wear isn’t expected to play tomorrow at USC. The Daily Bruin’s Chris Kalra ran into him at Pauley Pavilion today, where the junior — wearing a boot — said he had sprained his right ankle badly. How long Wear might be sidelined is unclear. A UCLA spokesperson said Wear injured his right foot at the beginning of Saturday’s practice and did not return.

Wear is averaging 11.6 points and 5.4 rebounds this season, and had a career-best stretch of seven double-digit scoring games earlier this season. That streak ended when he suffered a concussion in late January, an injury that sidelined him during a 78-60 loss at Arizona State.

His twin brother David started in his stead for the Jan. 26 road game, but struggled to five points on 2-of-12 shooting.

USC rematch looms after layoff

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Asked this week what it was like watching film of his team’s loss to USC, Ben Howland didn’t mince words.

“It’s depressing,” the UCLA coach said.

The Trojans stunned the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion three weeks ago, debuting in the new stadium with a 75-71 overtime upset. It marked UCLA’s only consecutive loss this season, and sent USC on a four-game winning streak that made interim coach Bob Cantu a legitimate candidate for the full-time job.

Point guard Larry Drew II had the most pointed words that night: “When we play SC again, it’s going to be war.” Continue reading “USC rematch looms after layoff” »

Bruins cutting down playbook

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Ben Howland, long known for his methodical halfcourt offenses, said he once used as many as 45 different sets.

In Saturday’s win at Stanford, the UCLA coach cut that number down to nine. After using around 18 to 20 for most of the season, he wanted to simplify the playbook even further for his young team coming off a quick turnaround.

Two days earlier, the Bruins had shot just 30.3 percent in the first half 76-63 loss at Cal. Against the Cardinal, UCLA shot 54.4 percent from the field.

“It’s all about execution and reading,” Howland said. “You have different reads: ‘If he trails me, I’m going to curl. If he goes ball side screen, I’m going to fade. If he fades, I have to shorten the pass. If he goes underneath, I have to re-screen.'” Continue reading “Bruins cutting down playbook” »

UCLA at Cal: What to Watch

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UCLA (18-5, 8-3) at Cal (14-9, 6-5)
Tipoff: 6 p.m., Haas Pavilion
TV/Radio: ESPN2/AM 570

At a glance: The last time UCLA saw Cal, the Bears were inking a slot in the NIT. Mike Montgomery’s team arrived at Pauley Pavilion three days into the new year, and proceeded to miss all 13 of its 3-point shots. Combined with another 0-fer performance against Harvard a week prior, Cal left Westwood with an ignominious streak of 19 long-range misses and a 79-65.

The Bears are looking better as of late, having knocked off both Oregon and Arizona in their past three games. Taking down top-10 teams isn’t a bad way to get your first two wins of the season against top-100 RPI opponents, and in doing so, Cal has managed to inject some faint NCAA tournament hopes into a season that was looking like the worst of Montgomery’s five-year tenure.

“His teams have always improved throughout the year and this team’s no exception,” UCLA head coach Ben Howland said of Montgomery.

Added UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad: “They’re looking really good. We played them down here and they didn’t play as well. We didn’t play as well either. We’re really going to be ready for them.” Continue reading “UCLA at Cal: What to Watch” »

Travis Wear to miss ASU game

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Travis Wear will sit out with a concussion when UCLA visits Arizona State tomorrow at 1 p.m. PT. The junior forward’s string of seven straight double-digit scoring games was cut short in a 87-73 win at Arizona Thursday night when he missed the second half after colliding with Wildcat forward Brandon Ashley.

His absence means freshman Tony Parker will almost certain play double-digit minutes for the second straight game, something he did once before in mid-December in against Texas and Prairie View A&M.

In Tucson, the 6-foot-9 center had six points, three rebounds and a block in 10 minutes while recording just one foul. His best play was a turnaround jumper with 6:48 left in the game; he drew a foul and converted the three-point play to give the Bruins a 63-55 lead.