Walcott’s Hibernation Is Finished

Ryan Walcott seems to spend all his time sleeping or running. The good news for UCLA is that he’s back on his feet.

The sophomore point guard is eligible after sitting out the first two games as a penalty for playing in an exhibition game during his redshirt season two years ago.

On Saturday morning, he woke up moments before UCLA tipped off against Duke and watched from his couch. The Bruins lost and he promptly went back to sleep.

Suffice to say Walcott should be well rested Sunday against Long Beach State.

“It was rough watching them play without me,” he said.

Now it’s time to get moving.

“We can start pressing in the first half, maybe for the whole game,” he said.

Coach Steve Lavin has been reluctant to employ a full-court press in Walcott’s absence because starting guards Cedric Bozeman and Ray Young had to play nearly the entire game. Walcott is expected to play about 20 minutes.

“He’s an excellent on-the-ball defender and on offense he’s unselfish,” Lavin said. “We’ve got a long way to go as a team, but getting Ryan back is key.”

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Bozeman, who has played 76 minutes in the two games, leads the Pacific 10 Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio.

The sophomore point guard had eight assists and one turnover in the overtime loss to San Diego and six assists and three turnovers against Duke.

“Ced’s decision-making is improving,” Lavin said. “He’s just going to continue to get better.”

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Ryan Hollins did not realize he would start in place of T.J. Cummings against Duke until close to game time. Cummings and Young were held out for eight minutes because they were late to a meeting.

Hollins, a freshman center, played reasonably well, taking four rebounds, blocking a shot and making a steal in 24 minutes. He missed his first two shots, then in the final seconds made a layup off an assist from reserve guard Gene Barnes for his first college basket.

“I’m glad I didn’t know earlier that I was going to start because I would have been a mess,” he said. “I just tried to play hard.”

The 6-foot-11 Hollins felt comfortable on defense but appeared timid on offense.

“I only got four touches,” he said. “A couple times [Duke point guard Chris] Duhon guarded me and I could have posted him up. I need to be more vocal about getting the ball.”

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Hollins (flu) and forward Dijon Thompson (sprained thumb) did not practice but are expected to play Sunday.... Instead of practicing today, the Bruins will visit the City of Hope National Medical Center and spend time with patients.