Bozeman Sits at Important Time

Only two days earlier, Cedric Bozeman’s coach proclaimed he wouldn’t trade him for any point guard in the nation.

Yet there Bozeman sat, banished to the bench in crunch time against Oregon on Saturday. The Bruins would play out their hand with Ryan Walcott at the point.

Walcott delivered a solid performance in 16-second-half minutes, playing excellent defense against Oregon’s Luke Ridnour and knocking down a three-point shot that gave UCLA its only lead of the second half. But he also missed a three-point try that could have tied the score with two seconds to play.

Bozeman, a McDonald’s All-American from Mater Dei High and UCLA’s most celebrated freshman since Baron Davis, bit his lip in the locker room, not coming close to second-guessing Coach Steve Lavin’s decision.

“I wanted to be out there, but I’ve got to go with the flow and just wait for Coach,” he said.

Bozeman missed seven games after having surgery on his right knee and has played in 18 games since returning Jan. 4. He made significant progress in recent games, averaging 4.6 assists in his last 10, culminating with eight assists in Thursday’s victory over Oregon State.

He also had cut down on turnovers, committing 11 in eight games before turning the ball over four times against Oregon.

Walcott, of course, is also improving, gaining confidence in his jump shot and proving effective against small, quick opponents such as Ridnour.

Bozeman and Walcott were both on the floor along with fellow freshmen Dijon Thompson and Andre Patterson and sophomore T.J. Cummings for an entertaining seven-minute display of energy and enthusiasm in the second half against Oregon.

There has been speculation that Bozeman will move to shooting guard next season, but with senior Ray Young and transfer Jon Crispin becoming eligible, that is unlikely unless Bozeman’s shooting vastly improves. He is averaging 3.8 points on 42.4% shooting.