Shipp is getting there

Josh Shipp has stepped cautiously into his role as a starting forward for UCLA.

Last season, Shipp played only four games. He averaged 11.3 points and 4.8 rebounds against four Pacific 10 Conference teams, but his surgically repaired hip caused him agony and he shut himself down.

As the undefeated and top-ranked Bruins (8-0) prepare to play 6-6 Oakland University of Rochester, Mich., today at Pauley Pavilion, Shipp is still finding his way.

Now he’s a redshirt sophomore and has slid into the spot Cedric Bozeman held last season. Bozeman was a sturdy defender, so sound at that duty that he earned himself an unexpected spot in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks.

Shipp is not Bozeman. Shipp is a natural scorer who works best on the run when he can sneak behind defenses and pick up garbage balls for dunks.

On some of those, Shipp has hung extra long on the rim and dropped gingerly to the floor. The assumption is that he is protecting that hip. But it’s not sore, Shipp says.

“I feel fine,” he said after scoring 18 points and having four rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots in 35 minutes of UCLA’s 65-62 victory over Texas A&M; last Saturday.

“I do everything I did before,” he said. “But we’re a different team than we were two years ago. I have different responsibilities.”

For one thing, Shipp must assume some of the defensive stability that Bozeman offered.

“I think Josh is doing fine,” Coach Ben Howland said. “Considering where he was a year ago.”

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Pac-10 statistics give the perfect snapshot of UCLA’s success. The Bruins lead the league in steals and in turnover margin, which makes up for their ranking of 10th in three-point field goal defense and seventh in field goal percentage defense.

Point guard Darren Collison is second in the league in assists and first in steals. Junior Arron Afflalo is seventh in scoring at 16.6 points a game.

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TONIGHT

vs. Oakland, 5 p.m. (No TV)

Site -- Pauley Pavilion.

Radio -- 570.

Records -- UCLA 8-0, Oakland 6-6.Update -- The Golden Grizzlies of the Mid-Continent Conference are led by Vova Severovas, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound forward from Lithuania (13.1 points and 4.9 rebounds) and 6-7, 275-pound senior center Shawn Hopes (11.7 and 4.5). They lost to Arkansas, 91-57, on Wednesday night and next travel to No. 20 Marquette.

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diane.pucin@latimes.com