Right Offensive Mix Is the Latest Mission

Commotion over motion is taking up a lot of UCLA practice time this week.

The Bruins plan to use the 1-4 high-post offense they employed most of the last three seasons and the four-out, one-in motion scheme utilized the last three weeks in the first-round NCAA tournament game against Mississippi on Friday.

“We’ll use a mixture,” said assistant Jim Saia, the architect of the 1-4. “When the 1-4 stalls, we can go to motion. Our veterans know the 1-4 like clockwork, so we can spend time in practice on the motion.”

The primary difference is that in the 1-4, center Dan Gadzuric operates farther from the basket. The motion, which has Gadzuric underneath the basket and the other four players on the perimeter, allows the 6-foot-11 senior to go one-on-one in the paint and to be in position for offensive rebounds.

The motion is also unstructured, allowing the perimeter players to set screens and make decisions unburdened by a script of set plays. A drawback is that UCLA’s top shooters--Jason Kapono, Billy Knight and Matt Barnes--have trouble shaking their defenders.

Another drawback is that freshmen point guard Cedric Bozeman and Ryan Walcott lack the experience to make correct decisions every time down the floor in the unstructured motion. They combined for 11 turnovers in the Pacific 10 tournament loss to California last week.

“When we run two or three different offenses, it is more difficult for freshman point guards,” Saia said. “Cedric has been through so much this season. His mind is in a whirlwind.”

Saia said he is not upset that Coach Steve Lavin went away from the 1-4 so late in the season.

“When the 1-4 is run correctly, it’s proven to be a great offense for our players,” Saia said. “But there are valid reasons to go with the motion too. Going into the tournament it’s a plus to have both because [Mississippi] has to spend time preparing for both.”

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Kapono, Gadzuric, Barnes and Knight were each selected most valuable player at the Bruin awards dinner Monday, the first time in memory four players shared the honor. Last season Kapono, Gadzuric and Earl Watson were tri-MVPs.

The same share-alike theme applied to the freshman of the year award--Bozeman, Dijon Thompson and Andre Patterson were honored.

Ryan Walcott was most improved player, T.J. Cummings took the sixth-man award, Rico Hines was the outstanding defensive player and Josiah Johnson was honored for academic achievement.