UCLA Team Manager Suits Up for Practice

With a handful of Bruin players hobbled by everything from tendinitis to flu, practices ran thin at Pauley Pavilion this week. So thin, in fact, that team manager Ron Jones suited up for scrimmages.

The sophomore, who played high school basketball in his native Hawaii, never expected to be on the floor with the likes of Baron Davis and Earl Watson.

“You don’t really think about it because you hope the players stay healthy,” Jones said. “But this is really exciting.”

The players didn’t cut him any slack because, he said, “if they take it easy, then coach will get on them.” The same goes for Jones himself, even though he’s just filling in.

“I’m a little out of shape so I’ve been having trouble getting up and down the court,” Jones said. “Coach is like, ‘Run, run.’ ”

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One of the players who has missed practice, Matt Barnes, doesn’t expect to be slowed because of a sprained right ankle for too long. Known as a leaper and a scorer at Del Campo High in Sacramento, the 6-foot-7, 229-pound freshman has been alternating between small and power forward.

“It just depends on the day,” Barnes said. “Sometimes I like to play on the wing, sometimes I like to bang inside.”