An off season is on for Keefe

The first time he dunked a basketball, as an awkward eighth grader, just when he could get both big hands over the rim, James Keefe got tangled up, kicked his legs out, fell and broke both arms.

But four years later, Keefe was a high school All-American and on his way to UCLA, dunking just fine.

So Keefe has overcome mishap and injury before.

This season, the 6-foot-8, 220-pound sophomore got tangled up in another injury -- one that led to a readjustment of his expectations.

In a matter of months, Keefe went from feeling bold anticipation for a season he had strenuously prepared for, to accepting that he wouldn’t play in a game after undergoing shoulder surgery last August.

And now he has adjusted again. As sixth-ranked UCLA prepares to play USC on Sunday at the Galen Center, Keefe is locating, bit by bit, the pieces of his game shattered Aug. 10 when he was diagnosed with a torn labrum.

After being told he would redshirt, spending the season working to get back to where he was 100% physically, Keefe was brought back to active status last month after teammate Michael Roll reinjured a foot.

Keefe is averaging 2.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.4 minutes a game in 11 games. Modest numbers without any spectacular plays to mark his contributions.

But a three-point basket against Washington State last week, shot with a quick release and some swagger, earned a positive comment from Bruins Coach Ben Howland.

And the way Keefe is playing defense with his upper body, creating space by moving his shoulders instead of placing his hands on an opponent’s back and getting a foul call earned notice from teammate Kevin Love.

It has been baby steps for Keefe since his first game, Jan. 3 at Stanford, when he played four minutes and didn’t score.

Relocating his instincts for the finer points -- where to cut, where to pass, when to crash the boards, when to double team on defense -- has been as difficult as rebuilding his physical strength.

“When you are taken away from the court for four months,” Keefe said, “you get a little shaky and iffy in a lot of areas. Every day the game feels a little better for me, a little more familiar. This season has taken so many turns and nothing has gone the way we planned.”

Joedy Gardner, who has coached and trained Keefe for nearly a decade, said Keefe is the most ego-less all-star with whom he has worked.

“When James was named a McDonald’s All-American, he was truly surprised,” Gardner said. “I had never seen that before, a player of that caliber who had been on all the traveling teams, AAU teams, been through the system, really be surprised people thought he was good.”

That All-American designation meant Keefe arrived at UCLA last year with high expectations. Keefe’s father, James Sr., who played tennis for Loyola Marymount, said it was immediately apparent to his son last season that gaining weight and strength would be necessary to successfully compete in college.

So Keefe got the key to the Santa Margarita High gym from Coach Jerry DeBusk. He and Gardner put together a lifting and workout plan that, Gardner said, got Keefe stronger in the upper body but not too much in the legs.

“Coach Howland wanted James to be able to defend big guys by going chest to chest instead of using his hands so much,” Gardner said. “Use your hands? Get fouls called. We built up his back muscles, shoulder muscles.”

Keefe was also instructed to improve his outside shot. His dad said Keefe and former Santa Margarita teammate Jonathan Gunderson, a sophomore at Santa Clara, spent three hours a day shooting at the high school. And when Gunderson went back to Santa Clara, James Sr. shagged balls for his son.

In June, Keefe’s shoulder popped during a pickup game. “I was scared,” Keefe said. “But I sat down and popped it back.”

For two months, Keefe ignored some slight pain until an X-ray confirmed he had a torn labrum.

James Sr. said his son accepted most setbacks with a shrug and a one-word response: Whatever. So on the day of the diagnosis and suggestion that he undergo surgery, Cathy Keefe, James’ mother, tried to coax him into his “whatever” mode.

“No mom,” Keefe said. “This is not whatever.”

Said James Sr.: “James was devastated.”

Keefe is resigned to not being able to regain all his strength this season. His playing time, though, is gradually increasing -- 12 minutes against USC, 19 against Oregon, 13 against Washington State.

He pushes back instead of getting pushed around. He is not afraid to take a shot.

“His timing is coming back game by game,” Gardner said. “So is his confidence. By the time the NCAA is here, you will see a very good player.”

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diane.pucin@latimes.com