Hazzard Still Unsure of His Final Starter : Wilson Scores 25 Points, but Walker Gets 32 in UCLA Intrasquad Game

Trevor Wilson and Kevin Walker are still competing for the only undecided starting spot on the UCLA basketball roster, so Thursday night’s annual intrasquad game at Pauley Pavilion had some additional meaning for them.

It was no surprise, then, that Wilson and Walker both turned in impressive performances before a small crowd of 2,471.

Playing for the Blue squad, Wilson had 25 points and 18 rebounds in a 99-76 victory over the Gold. Of course, he had a lot of help from starting center Greg Foster (18 points, 10 rebounds) and starting guards Pooh Richardson (25 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists) and Dave Immel (19 points).

For the Gold, Walker scored 32 points and had 11 rebounds, while Charles Rochelin, already considered a sure bet to start at forward, finished with 11 points (2-of-12 shooting) and just 4 rebounds.

UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard, who watched while assistants Jack Hirsch coached the Blue team and Andre McCarter the Gold, said he hasn’t decided who will get the final spot.

Hazzard seems to be leaning toward Wilson, although he had to admit: “Walker was impressive. . . . Walker is going to play a lot of minutes this year at all three (front line) positions. His playing time will be substantial.”

As for the fact that Richardson took 16 shots, Hazzard said: “He’s looking more for the shots, and that’s fine, as long as he does all the other things, too. Pooh’s role is going to include providing more points. A lot of points walked out the door with Reggie (Miller), so a lot of people will have to look for more shots.”

Overall, though, Hazzard was not pleased. “It was ragged,” he said. “That’s because we’ve been playing almost a month against each other. We have some sharpening up to do. I saw some selfishness out there that will not be a part of our team this season.”

The Bruins will play an exhibition against the Swedish National team Tuesday at Pauley.