The Star's Bruce Pascoe previews game day essentials, from projected starting lineups to storylines and series history, ahead of the Arizona Wildcats' contest against UCLA at McKale Center on Saturday.
Who: UCLA (8-2, 4-0) at Arizona (9-2, 3-2)
Where: McKale Center
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
Social media: @TheWildcaster on Twitter / TheWildcaster on Facebook
Probable starters: Arizona
G James Akinjo (6-0 junior)
G Jemarl Baker (6-5 junior)
F Dalen Terry (6-7 freshman)
F Azuolas Tubelis (6-10 freshman)
C Jordan Brown (6-11 sophomore)
Probable starters: UCLA
G Tyger Campbell (5-11 sophomore)
G Johnny Juzang (6-6 sophomore)
F Jules Bernard (6-6 junior)
F Jaime Jaquez (6-6 sophomore)
C Cody Riley (6-9 junior)
How they match up
Arizona center Christian Koloko (35) stretches out to knock away a shot UCLA forward Cody Riley (2) in the first half of their Pac-12 game at McKale Center, February 8, 2020 Tucson, Ariz.
The series: UCLA leads Arizona 60-45 all time and has beaten the Wildcats three times in a row and in five of the last seven matchups. Last season, the Bruins beat the Wildcats 65-52 at McKale Center on Feb. 8, when the Bruins held Arizona to just 25.4% shooting, and 69-64 at Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 29, when the Bruins shot 22 more free throws than Arizona and scored 19 more points at the line (going 29 for 38).
This season: The Wildcats are scheduled to face UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 18.
UCLA overview: After making a remarkable turnaround to finish 11-3 and second in the Pac-12 last season, the Bruins were picked to win the Pac-12 this season. While they lost Pac-12 player of the year candidate Chris Smith to a torn ACL on Dec. 31 against Utah, UCLA remains among the league’s most experienced and talented teams, with the most efficient offense (109.8 points per 100 possessions) in league games. The Bruins started Pac-12 play with wins over Cal, Utah and Colorado, though a Dec. 23 game at Oregon was postponed when an official tested positive after the Bruins had traveled to Eugene. On Thursday, they beat shorthanded ASU 81-75 in overtime in Tempe.
Without Smith, the Bruins miss some length but still run something of a four-out system around big men Cody Riley or Jalen Hill, who rarely play together except when the Bruins are struggling on the glass. Jaime Jaquez moved from small forward to power forward while Jules Bernard starts at small forward and has also helped out at point guard, allowing Tyger Campbell to play off the ball at times or take a rare rest. Before the season the Bruins lost five-star point guard Daishen Nix to the G League but Campbell has posted better than a 4-1 assist turnover ratio so far, dishing 70 assists to just 19 turnovers. Campbell isn’t a big 3-point threat (24.1%) but shoots 45.2% from inside the arc. The Bruins can also play reserve David Singleton at point guard but coach Mick Cronin says he prefers not to, since Singleton is a 48.4% 3-point shooter.
Kentucky transfer Johnny Juzang, who took over Bernard’s starting job at shooting guard after the Bruins’ first six games, has become the Bruins’ third-leading scorer (10.7), though he has made just 6 of 26 3-pointers so far. Jaquez is the Bruins’ top scorer at 12.8 points per game, shooting 48.9% overall and 45.9% from 3-point range. Bernard emerged as the Bruins’ top defender last season and he’s shooting 48.5% this season. Inside, the Bruins continue to start the physical Riley while Hill continues to be an effective rebounder (6.1) and shot-blocker (1.1) off the bench.
The scout says
“You’ve got to give them credit. They haven’t missed a beat (without Smith). Campbell plays a majority of the minutes. Bernard is a good defender and he’s a great offensive rebounder, plays tough, has the ability to knock down 3s. He’s made a jump. (Jaquez) has continued to improve. He’s a very, very solid player. All five of their starters are capable of having a 20-point night and all five of them average in double figures, so they’re very balanced. (Juzang) is a very good shooter, gives them good size and length, catch-and-shoot guy, one-dribble pull-ups. They never play (Hill and Riley) together. One or the other is in the game and you can’t argue with it. They’ve had a lot of success.
“(Defensively) it’s very similar to what they did last year. They’re gonna make you find the next pass. They’re gonna take away the initial action. You have to share the basketball and be unselfish.”
— UA associate head coach Jack Murphy, who scouted the Bruins
Key player (UCLA): Tyger Campbell
Don’t let Campbell’s size (5-foot-11) or mediocre shooting percentages (38.6% overall and 24.1% from 3) fool you: He can impact the game in many more ways. Campbell is a fearless driver to the paint, plays nearly every key minute available and averages nearly a 4-1 assist-turnover ratio. He was also particularly effective at McKale Center last season, with 12 points and five rebounds in the Bruins’ 13-point win.
Key player (Arizona): Jemarl Baker
Arizona guard Jemarl Baker Jr. (10) draws a bead on his man as he sets up to defend against UCLA in the second half of their Pac-12 game at McKale Center, February 8, 2020 Tucson, Ariz.
The Wildcats’ Southern Californian guard may need to shake off a sore ankle – and any lack of confidence – in order to help avoid a weekend sweep by his hometown teams. Baker is a combined 2 for 21 from the field overall in his past two games and just 4 for 24 (16.7%) from 3 in five games since going 8 of 13 from long range against Stanford on Dec. 19.
Sidelines
He can graduate, at least
UCLA guard Chris Smith (5) attempts to dribble around Utah guard Rylan Jones (15) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)
When Chris Smith opted to withdraw from the NBA Draft last summer, his decision helped cement the Bruins as preseason favorites in the Pac-12.
Smith posted to Twitter then that he would “really like to finish what I’ve started at UCLA. We have some unfinished business and I want one last run with my teammates and coaches. These guys mean the world to me.
“It’s also very important to me to finish up strong in the classroom and earn my degree.”
But, unless Smith returns again in 2021-22, he won’t get a chance to finish that business, having been lost for the season with a torn ACL in the Bruins’ Dec. 31 win over Utah.
“It’s tough for me, guys,” Cronin said after the Bruins beat Colorado two days later. “It’s tough for me to even coach today.”
But the Bruins have rallied around the loss. They beat Colorado and ASU since then, with center Cody Riley saying earlier this week that the Bruins have continued to focus well in practice.
“I have a lot of faith in our guys and our spirit as a team,” Riley said. “Even with our coach, he’s going to make sure the energy and the motivation is there. We know that we lost Chris and it’s rough but (against Colorado) we used as motivation. We have to take advantage of our opportunities to be out there on the basketball court and play the game that we love.”
B-Will, Trier enter G League draft
Arizona Wildcats guard Brandon Williams (2) dribbles a ball between his legs during warm ups before Arizona's 104-67 win over Long Beach State in the Wooden Legacy Tournament in McKale Center on November 24th, 2019.
After departing Arizona in the offseason while rehabbing an ongoing knee issue, Brandon Williams has signed with an agent and joined another 193 players in the pool for Monday’s G League draft.
The news was tweeted Friday by Jon Chepkevich, who is the director of scouting for Pro BBall Combine, and retweeted by Williams.
Williams spent his freshman season of 2018-19 playing for the Wildcats but missed a month when his congenital knee issue flared up in midseason, and then skipped all of the 2019-20 season at Arizona after undergoing follow-up surgery. He did not return to UA in August and made his departure official on Sept. 5.
“Brandon is one of the most talented guards we have recruited during my tenure here,” UA coach Miller said then. “Unfortunately, his health didn’t allow him to showcase his talents for an entire career in our program. In his lone year playing for us, while he was never 100% physically, Brandon had an outstanding season.”
Williams will be joined in the G League draft pool by former Wildcat guard Allonzo Trier, who was waived by the Knicks in June after signing a two-year deal in December 2018. The Athletic’s Shams Charania said Trier signed a G League contract.
Dawkins back in the game (sort of)
Christian Dawkins stands outside federal court Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in New York. Dawkins and youth basketball coach Merl Code were convicted on a conspiracy count, but acquitted of some other charges.
Aspiring agent Christian Dawkins, the centerpiece of an FBI investigation that involved Arizona and several other high-major college basketball programs, has co-founded a new sports and entertainment representation business, according to Yahoo Sports.
Yahoo said Dawkins and NBA agent Brian Jungreis co-founded “Par-Lay Sports and Entertainment,” with Jungreis handling player negotiations and contracts while Dawkins is focusing on the music and entertainment side of the business.
Dawkins was convicted of felony fraud and bribery charges in both federal trials resulting from the FBI’s investigation into college basketball but has been appealing both. The convictions prohibit Dawkins from being an agent, but Yahoo said the NBA Players Association can’t keep him from being a part-owner or working at an agency.
“That shouldn’t happen,” longtime NBA agent Keith Glass told Yahoo. “Do we need a rule for that? Apparently we do.”
Dawkins, whose former firm was the one then-UA assistant coach Book Richardson admitted to taking $20,000 in bribes from, told Yahoo that he had mistakes and put himself in bad positions.
“But anybody who looks at what happened can see that I was never charged with cheating any players or clients,” Dawkins said. “There haven’t been any failures from me when it comes to that.”
Numbers game
1
UCLA loss in the Bruins’ last 12 conference games.
4
UCLA wins in the Bruins’ last six appearances at McKale Center.
695
Straight games in which UCLA has made at least one 3- pointer, a streak dating to 1999-2000.
