Lavin: Team Shouldn’t Pass on Gadzuric

Center Dan Gadzuric scored 17 points in the first 11 minutes of the first half of Wednesday’s 83-77 victory over UC Santa Barbara. He did not take another shot in the first half and made his only two shots in the second.

Foul trouble cost him some playing time, and Santa Barbara adjusted its defense to contain him, but UCLA Coach Steve Lavin offered a more ominous reason why Gadzuric stopped shooting: His teammates, infatuated by the three-point shot, stopped passing to him.

The Bruins shot 25 three-pointers, making seven.

“We settled for too many threes,” Lavin said. “We can shoot them, but it has to be after the ball has been touched inside the paint or after dribble penetration. We can’t just launch threes, especially early in the possession when that’s what the defense is trying to get you to do.”

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The Bruins led by as many as 11 points in the first half, in part because they opened the game with a surprising--and surprisingly effective--press that resulted in six Gaucho turnovers in the first six minutes.

“To be honest, Pepperdine presses better,” Santa Barbara’s Juliano Jordani said. “We were just too excited.”

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It was just a passing comment, but one that spoke volumes about the Bruin struggles against nonconference opponents at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins lost at home to Gonzaga last season and to Cal State Northridge last week before squeaking past Santa Barbara.

After the game, Lavin acknowledged Santa Barbara Coach Bob Williams as a rising star in the profession. Lavin’s next remark stopped just short of admitting that several coaches are enriching their reputations at his expense.

“We’re making a lot of rising stars here--[Northridge’s Bobby] Braswell, [Gonzaga’s Mark] Few, Bob Williams tonight . . . ,” Lavin said.