Bruins, Trojans Are First to Admit They Have Work to Do

Who’s laughing now?

That punch line of a football conference, the Pacific 10, has risen with basketball, opening league play tonight with Stanford ranked an overwhelming No. 1 in the nation, Arizona No. 5 and UCLA No. 24. They also have the third-best collective RPI ranking in the country and victories over powers from other regions, most notably Stanford over Auburn and Duke. The Big Ten is tops in RPI rating but 0-6 against the Pac-10.

Then again, Oregon lost at home to Cal State Northridge; Colorado State has defeated UCLA, Oregon State and Washington State; and the Bruins go into this critical time fresh off near-losses to South Florida and Pepperdine. Washington, less than two years removed from a run to the Sweet 16, is 5-7 and has lost seven of 10.

In the name of compromise, the bragging comes in a whisper. Just listen to word out of Los Angeles. USC is 7-5, but only one of its victories came against an opponent with a winning record--Hawaii--prompting even the Trojans to offer honesty in place of the canned optimism that normally accompanies this time of the year. UCLA is 8-2, but the Bruins aren’t close to being conference ready, something they are, commendably, willing to acknowledge, if only because it saves them from having to hear it as an accusation from everyone else.

UCLA is not unrealistic. Neither is it what it claims to be.

More mature than last season?

It was a nice theme, at least. Yet for all the problems--the missed energy from JaRon Rush, the injuries that caused a major setback to the preseason regimen, the early absence of Matt Barnes, the unforgiving learning curve of trying to absorb a new offense--none is greater than the aging process that didn’t bring wisdom.

The Bruins are no more focused or consistent than they were last season, when at least it was understandable considering they had five freshmen who would play major roles, a transfer (Ryan Bailey) in his first season and a star (Baron Davis) working his way back from major knee surgery. So while they mention how the record could easily be 9-1, and rightfully so considering one of the losses was by a point, it is just as worthwhile to note the possibility of being 5-5, with two of the victories coming by two points and another in overtime.

UCLA needs to get “better at sustaining effort and execution over 40 minutes,” Coach Steve Lavin said. Were the problems based on poor shooting or turnovers, that would be one thing. To be talking, just as conference play is about to begin, about the inability to play hard rates as a much bigger red flag.

“Sustained intensity is something that comes with maturity,” Lavin said. “And it’s hard work.”

Said freshman Jason Kapono: “We’re all great scorers, all great offensive players. But it’s [evident] on defense. If we all knew we had to get it done, we wouldn’t have all the lapses. We wouldn’t have all the fouls.”

They wouldn’t have all the close games.

The Bruins are fourth in the Pac-10 in shooting defense as conference games begin, especially commendable since some of the best showings have come against DePaul (30.1%) and Purdue (35.4%) and not the Morgan States of the world. But they also have rarely played to that level for an entire game. And it comes in the same league in which Stanford has played most of the season with five new starters--the lone returnee, Mark Madsen, missed about a month because of a hamstring injury--and is still allowing a microscopic 31.1%.

Is UCLA ready, beginning tonight, to play at that level?

“It’s a good question,” Lavin said. “We’re definitely better than we were two weeks ago. But we still have a long way to go. We’re still a work in progress. We still have to evolve. And that’s the good news. We’re 8-2, and I don’t think we’ve played our best basketball.”

True. Of course, the Bruins also are about to start conference play while still a work in progress, while still evolving. And that’s the bad news.

Extra attention zeros in on the Bruins because Arizona, with a neutral-site victory over Kentucky and a victory at Texas, and Stanford have already proven their capabilities, and because UCLA spent the nonconference schedule saying it would take time to determine the direction of this team. It’s still taking time.

USC, meanwhile, has yet to face the pressure of a tight game. Five of the Trojans’ seven victories were by 27 points or more, and they have only one victory over a plus-.500 opponent.

“I don’t think we’re at the place we need to be, as far as knowing how our team is,” center Brian Scalabrine said. “We’re not going to blow out anyone in Pac-10 by 30 points. So we need to learn how to win close games. Until we win that first close game, we’re not going to have the true identity of the team.”

Added guard Brandon Granville: “We had high expectations going into the season. We’re a little disappointed with our record going into Pac-10. But I think it helped us realize we can’t just show up for games. We have to prepare well and practice well each week. We can’t take anyone lightly.”

The conference gets an immediate marquee matchup, Arizona at Stanford on Saturday afternoon, when Wildcat Coach Lute Olson could be going for career win No. 600.

*

Staff writer Mike Terry contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Pacific 10 Standings / Through Wednesday

*--*

Conference All Games Team W L Pct. W L Pct. Stanford 0 0 .000 11 0 1.000 Arizona 0 0 .000 11 2 .846 Oregon 0 0 .000 9 2 .818 UCLA 0 0 .000 8 2 .800 California 0 0 .000 9 3 .750 Arizona St. 0 0 .000 8 3 .727 Oregon St. 0 0 .000 8 3 .727 USC 0 0 .000 7 5 .583 Washington St. 0 0 .000 5 4 .556 Washington 0 0 .000 5 7 .417

*--*