UCLA Opens Pac-10 Season at Pullman

PULLMAN, Wash. — The UCLA basketball team is back on the road again, this time to begin the Pacific 10 race with games against what may be the worst and the best teams in the conference.

In what should be a break, the Bruins will play the worst first. That would be Washington State, which is remembered fondly by UCLA since it’s one of only two teams the Bruins beat on the road all last season. Tonight’s game at Friel Court will start at 7.

The Cougars are 3-4 this season, and although they beat Pepperdine, 82-77, in their last game, they still have lost three of their last four.

Meanwhile, UCLA has problems of its own. The Bruins (3-2) have dropped two straight on the road, at St. John’s and Temple, and they haven’t looked very much like the team that defeated North Carolina 18 days ago.

Not all of the Bruins are concerned about their last two games, though. “So what?” asked point guard Pooh Richardson. “The season is not going to come to an end because we lost a couple of games.”

And there is good news for UCLA. Reggie Miller, who has been sick and hurt, isn’t either anymore.

“I’m almost scared to say it because something else may go wrong, but I think I’m finally healthy,” he said.

Against St. John’s, Miller had just 2 points in the first half, finished with 18 and according to Coach Walt Hazzard was severely bothered by a twisted right ankle. Then, at Temple, Miller had the flu. He was held scoreless in the first half by the Owls and finished with just 9 points.

But now Hazzard said Reggie is ready. “I think all that physical stuff is in the past,” he said.

Another stroke of good fortune for UCLA is that the Bruins don’t have to play Pac-10 favorite Washington until Sunday afternoon. By then, UCLA might already have a win over Washington State, if the Bruins play their cards right.

Hazzard is thinking along roughly the same lines.

“We need a split on the road trip,” he said. “ . . . If we can win that (first game), we’re back in stride and we’ll just take it from there.”

To get it done, Hazzard is considering a major change, a rotation of only eight players.

That would be a dramatic departure from his previous technique. Against Temple, Hazzard used 12 players, after playing 10 at St. John’s. Now, though, Hazzard said that consistency is becoming a top priority, and he sees using fewer players to develop such a trait.

“I’m toying with the idea,” Hazzard said. “These people will develop a chemistry, a rhythm, and that’s important. This is something we have to give some consideration to.

“If you look at our team, we have a lot of good college basketball players. We also have to deal with morale and all that.

“But we have to do some experimenting, and I am looking to developing some consistency.”

Hazzard said that defensive rebounding and turnovers are the primary areas in which the Bruins need to improve. St. John’s had 15 offensive rebounds, and Temple had 17. In those two games, UCLA had 34 turnovers and forced just 16.

At the same time, Hazzard is quite pleased with his defense. The Bruins are allowing opponents to shoot only 40.8% this season. St. John’s finished at 40.4%, and Temple shot 37.9%.

“But we cannot continue to let the other team have all those second and third shots off offensive rebounds,” he said.

If Hazzard follows through in using fewer players, the backcourt area is likely to feel the cutback the most. Richardson and Montel Hatcher are secure as starters and are currently backed up by Dave Immel and Rod Palmer.

Immel was largely ineffective during his limited playing time in the two East Coast games, but Palmer impressed Hazzard and seems to have earned additional minutes. Hazzard, however, may find himself in a mood to swing Miller to the off-guard spot opposite Richardson when Hatcher sits down. Miller’s forward position could then be filled by Charles Rochelin or Trevor Wilson.

Rochelin impressed Hazzard with 14 points and 9 rebounds off the bench against Temple. At center, Jack Haley and Greg Foster seem likely to continue splitting time.

That still adds up to 10 players, even with Miller playing two positions, so cutting down to eight isn’t going to be easy, which Hazzard admits.

“Talent-wise, we’re as good as any team in the country,” he said. “Now, it’s just a matter of how we develop and pull together.

“We’re going to be a very good team. I keep telling the players that. In every year and in every game, there’s a moment of truth. We’re going to find our moment of truth this year.”

Bruin Notes Besides the victory at Washington State last season, UCLA’s only other road success was at Oregon State. . . . KRTH radio will broadcast the Washington State game, instead of KMPC, which will have the Ram-49er game. The Bruin-Husky game also will be shown on tape-delay by Channel 2 Sunday, after the NFL game between Dallas and Chicago. . . . The Cougars were 15-16 last season and 8-10 in the Pacific 10.