Veteran Bruins Learn From Past

There isn’t much about the 2000-01 season the UCLA Bruins want to remember.

Who wouldn’t welcome amnesia after winning only six of 29 games, going 0-15 in road and neutral-court games and watching foes rack up double-digit victories 20 times?

But there was a lesson taught last season that senior center Malika Leatham doesn’t want the Bruins to forget.

“Because we lost so much last year, we don’t want to lose this year,” Leatham said.

How competitive the Bruins can be remains to be seen. Eleven of the 12 players--led by senior guard Michelle Greco, the Pacific-10 Conference’s leading scorer--are back to try it again.

Nonetheless, they should be improved.

Last season, the Bruins were the college equivalent of an expansion team. Eight of those 11 players were freshmen or sophomores. Standout sophomore guard Nicole Kaczmarski unexpectedly bolted to the University of Georgia ( she left that program in September.) Other than Greco, the only experienced player was LaCresha Flannigan, and she couldn’t survive academically.

It should have been the toughest of Coach Kathy Olivier’s seven seasons at UCLA.

“I think going into it, it was the toughest year,” she said. “But once we got going, it was a very rewarding year in a different way. Just because we had a team that came in every day and worked hard, was very coachable.

“I know you usually say that when you don’t have a great record. But they had a lot of enthusiasm, and they got better along the way.”

Although much of the season was drudgery, point guard Natalie Nakase said she never saw the team reduced to bickering and finger pointing.

“It was hard because we lost a lot. But we never put our heads down,” Nakase said. “This team is special because it works hard. We knew it was like a puzzle. We just had to put the pieces together to be a better team.”

When the season mercifully ended, the Bruins worked out in the spring, then stayed at school over the summer, using the weight room, running drills and playing pickup games.

It all reenergized Greco, who last season averaged 19.9 points and set a school single-season record with 50 three-pointers.

“This is my fourth year here, and this is the most conditioned team I’ve been on,” she said. “It’s exciting to see how focused we are on the upcoming year, and it starts with conditioning.”

Still, the ability to run laps and curl dumbbells doesn’t guarantee a winner. To make genuine progress this season, the Bruins--short on height but long on speed--must first narrow the gap on the boards, after getting outrebounded last season by an average of seven a game.

A chunk of that responsibility falls to the 6-2 Leatham, who averaged five rebounds as an undersized center. But she knows she can’t do it by herself.

“Rebounding will have to be collective for us,” she said. “We’re not going to outjump other teams, so we have to put a body on people. Our team is pretty quick, so it’s possible.”

UCLA must also find its shooting eye. Greco, having to carry the offense, was shooting only 37% by season’s end. As a team, the Bruins shot 36.4% while opponents made 43.9%.

Greco will be happy to spread the wealth.

“Obviously, I’m still going to do a lot of the shooting and a lot of the plays are set up for me,” she said. “But I’d rather be scoring 15 a game and having three or four of our other players in double digits.

“I think we will be more successful if I don’t lead the league in scoring.”

There will be more help as the season progresses.

Forwards Kristee Porter (13 points, 8.1 rebounds) and Whitney Jones (7.2 points, 4.9 rebounds) will join the team in December, after their respective volleyball and soccer seasons end. Freshmen centers Krystle Johnson and Sissy Pickett also could make an impact. Johnson, 6-4, and Pickett, 6-7, are from small high schools in Alabama and Louisiana, respectively.

Both are stocky, and neither yet fits UCLA’s running style.

“I don’t want to say they’re a year away, but I know they need some time,” Olivier said. “They’ve never played at such a high level. They both need to get in a little better shape and play with some intensity.”

The Bruins’ nonconference schedule does not include Duke, Georgia or Old Dominion, but on it are Ohio State, BYU, Colorado and Baylor. UCLA feels it must have some wins going into conference play.

“I think ... we need to win early for their psyches,” Olivier said. “But from a coaching standpoint, I would love for them to look better than we looked last year at the same time, and get ready for the Pac-10.”