Lavin Ready to See More of the Youth Movement

It was like elementary school recess, playful and invigorating. So much fun, in fact, Coach Steve Lavin plans to repeat it.

For more than five minutes against Oregon on Saturday, he employed a lineup consisting of four freshmen and sophomore T.J. Cummings. The score didn’t change much while the group was on the floor, but the high level of intensity and tempo exhibited by the youngsters was a noticeable change from the more plodding senior-dominated starting lineup.

“There is a strong possibility we’ll use that combination again,” Lavin said. “The chemistry that group has together is excellent, not to generate a lot of points, but they play defense with so much energy.

“Sometimes when we integrate them, the younger players defer to the older players. But as a group, they just play basketball.”

Lavin said he might include center Dan Gadzuric with four of the younger players because he wants Gadzuric to play as many minutes as possible.

He’s not exactly holding out an olive branch, but Matt Barnes wouldn’t mind a trouble-free game Thursday against California.

The last time UCLA faced the Bears, the 6-foot-7 senior forward drove a forearm into the chest of 5-10 Cal guard Shantay Legans, sending him to the floor head-first. Legans suffered a concussion and Barnes was suspended for one game.That game happened to be at Stanford, and the always inventive Cardinal student section had a field day, passing out a photo of what looked like Barnes in a police lineup, with the words: Penal Code: Assaulting a Midget.

Legans, a personable junior from Santa Barbara Dos Pueblos High, is an acquaintance of Barnes and a good friend of Gadzuric. There is no ill will as far as Barnes is concerned.

“I’m going to go out like any other game,” he said. “I’ll talk to Shantay before the game. Once the game begins, we are all enemies, but I’m not going to play dirty and I don’t expect them to either.”