Howland Gets Jump in Recruiting

Coaches around the country were put on notice when top Southland high school guards Aaron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar orally committed to UCLA recently.

Pilfering top talent from the Bruins’ backyard no longer will be easy.

Afflalo, a prolific scorer from Compton Centennial, and Farmar, a point guard from Woodland Hills Taft, spurned offers from several top-20 programs to stay home. Both will be high school seniors in the fall and will enroll for the 2004-05 season.

But recruiting is far from over for new Bruin Coach Ben Howland. His Pittsburgh teams won 57 games the last two seasons with savvy guards surrounded by unselfish strongmen.

Now he is focused on filling the UCLA frontcourt. “Another wing, a small forward and definitely a big kid,” he said.

None of the needs will be filled for a year. Howland is stuck next season with the players he inherited from former coach Steve Lavin and does not plan to bring in anyone before the fall despite having two open scholarships.

Top players from the 2003 high school class have committed to other schools and most junior college players cannot meet UCLA admissions standards. The only possibility of shoring up the current roster is to bring in a European player, and Howland said that is unlikely.

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Howland has been assisting in the care of his father, Bob, who injured his head in a fall over Memorial Day weekend and remains hospitalized. The condition of his father weighs heavily on Howland and has tempered the excitement of settling into his dream job.

The current players are enthusiastic about the increased emphasis on weight training, and have been learning Howland’s system and working to improve their skills largely in unsupervised settings because of NCAA rules.

The status of a handful of holdovers:

* Guard Cedric Bozeman is nearly recovered from shoulder surgery and has starting working out. He will begin weight training in a few weeks.

“He’s definitely an important player for us,” Howland said.

* Guard-forward Dijon Thompson has impressed coaches with his work ethic and willingness to learn. Thompson, who averaged 14.0 points last season, is expected to be the top Bruin scoring threat.

* Center Ryan Hollins is a finalist for the junior national team. He also competed in track and field for UCLA, and reported for junior national team tryouts after arriving in Colorado Springs at 3 a.m. from a track meet.

Coaches love Hollins’ athleticism and are addressing concerns about his strength and nutrition. “He has to eat breakfast,” Howland said.

* Guard Brian Morrison, a transfer from North Carolina who sat out last season, has done well in drills and is expected to contribute.

* Guard Ryan Walcott is one of a handful of Bruins who must focus on academics. The grades of several players slipped before Howland was hired.

New NCAA rules stipulate that players must pass at least two classes each quarter. The requirements also affect recruiting -- Howland is only targeting prospects with a proven ability in the classroom.

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Forward Andre Patterson is undecided about whether to try to regain eligibility at UCLA or transfer. Howland would like to see him return.

“I might still be a Bruin, but I’m looking at other schools now,” Patterson said. “I’ll make a decision by the end of the month.”

Patterson, a starter last season as a sophomore, was dismissed for not making sufficient academic progress in the winter quarter. He also was ineligible last fall and missed the first five games.

After posting a B average in summer classes at UCLA and fall classes at Santa Monica College, he was readmitted for the winter quarter and led the Bruins with a 5.5 rebounding average and the Pacific 10 Conference with a 60.8% field-goal percentage.

He again would have to post B averages in consecutive academic sessions this summer and fall to be able to petition the College of Letters and Science for readmission.

Another option is to transfer, sit out next season and have two years of eligibility remaining. He said Fresno State, Indiana and Michigan State have shown interest.