Bruins Still in a Blue Period

UCLA center T.J. Cummings sat in a near-empty locker room thumbing through the index of his pocket Bible until he found a list of readings under a word that described his day: “Trials.”

“I’ll study these all the way home,” he said.

Answers to Bruin tribulations ranging from tardiness to torpor are elusive. But perhaps a few were uncovered during an 84-73 loss to Duke on Saturday in the John R. Wooden Tradition before 18,345 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

At first glance, the No. 14 Bruins seem far from measuring up to any portion of the legacy established by the event’s namesake, but starting 0-2 for the first time in 41 years actually is in the Wooden tradition -- he was the UCLA coach the last time it occurred.

Over the last six years, something of a Steve Lavin tradition has developed, far less glorious and pristine than that of Wooden, but a tradition, nonetheless. It goes as follows:

Hard knocks early lead, haltingly, maddeningly, yet inevitably, to greater glory late.

So the contrition expressed by Cummings and guard Ray Young for being late for a team meeting Friday night and being held out of the starting lineup might lead to a semblance of accountability from a team with questionable work habits.

The first real contribution from freshman centers Ryan Hollins and Michael Fey, who combined for six points and eight rebounds with no turnovers, might prompt Lavin to move the slender Cummings back to his natural forward position and spare him any more pummeling in the paint.

And experiencing firsthand the suffocating defensive intensity and offensive precision of a Duke team that is every bit as inexperienced as UCLA might inspire the Bruins to adopt those characteristics.

“They played solid team defense for 40 minutes,” Young marveled. “They did nothing extra-special. They just played so solid the entire game.”

Although Hollins and guard Jon Crispin started instead of Cummings and Young, the Bruins took a 12-2 lead. Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski called timeout, made wholesale substitutions and the sixth-ranked Blue Devils scored the next 13 points.

“The four kids coming off the bench did an incredible job of turning the game around,” Krzyzewski said.

Once Duke (3-0) seized control, it applied a vice grip, not relinquishing the lead over the last 33 minutes. The margin grew to 21 points in the second half and was never less than five after freshman guard J.J. Redick’s three-point basket with 7:48 left in the first half.

Redick, one of six Blue Devil freshmen, scored a game-high 20 points, making five three-point shots. Forward Shavlik Randolph, the most impressive first-year player in victories over Army and Davidson, was scoreless, but Krzyzewski simply called on others.

Point guard Chris Duhon had 14 points, eight assists and set the tone with nonstop defensive pressure that enabled Duke to produce 20 points on fastbreaks.

The Blue Devils were stronger inside as well, outscoring the Bruins in the paint, 42-22. Power forward Nick Horvath scored 16 points close to the basket and had his way with Cummings.

“We just had more energy,” Duhon said. “We were more aggressive on defense, which opened up easy opportunities. We like to get out and run and we were able to do that.”

Forward Jason Kapono led UCLA with 19 points, but most came with the outcome already determined. In the first half, he made only one of five shots and was held to three points.

“They were grabbing, tugging and pushing me the whole game,” he said. “They wanted to shadow me and take me out of the picture.”

Forward Dijon Thompson scored 10 of the first 12 UCLA points, making his first four shots, but he picked up two fouls, sat out the last nine minutes of the half and never regained his touch.

“I sat for a long time, and when you are hot it seems even longer,” he said. “I told [Lavin], ‘Let me foul out. Just keep me in there.’ ”

Instead, Hollins and Fey were on the floor together for stretches, never embarrassing themselves but rarely making an impact. Young (13 points) and point guard Cedric Bozeman (11) tried to pick up the scoring slack, but Duke answered every challenge.

UCLA employed a full-court press in the last few minutes and forced turnovers on three consecutive Duke possessions. But it was too little, too late.

The Bruin locker room afterward was subdued. The players freely acknowledged Duke’s superiority in every regard except talent.

They long to become like the Blue Devils -- fundamentally sound, unselfish with the ball, defensively rigorous. Yet they are uncertain how to get there.

“We have a problem with patience,” Kapono said. “We shoot the ball too quick and we don’t play defense.

“Everybody says stuff, and Coach says stuff. What it comes down to is, when is it going to happen and who is going to do it?”