The UCLA player who logged the most minutes, grabbed the most rebounds and snagged the most steals Tuesday night was also the one who’s probably come the furthest in his college career.
And when the season starts next week, he’s likely going to fill a bigger-than-expected role.
Jamar Brown continued to show that he’s ready for major college basketball by logging a double-double during the No. 12 Bruins’ 94-64 rout of UC Irvine at Pauley Pavilion in their final exhibition game.
Brown finished with 13 points to go with team highs in rebounds (10), steals (three) and minutes (28), production that was largely a result of a relentless approach for someone who started his career at the junior college level and spent the last two seasons playing in the Summit League.
“With Jamar Brown, you never have to coach effort or attitude — and I’m talking to the maximum,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “His effort, like some guys — they’ll tell you, ‘I play hard.’ But if you watch them, they play at like 80%. Jamar Brown plays at 100%. Like, I could not ask him to play harder than he plays.”
Brown could start UCLA’s season opener against Eastern Washington on Monday with Eric Dailey Jr. considered doubtful because of a strained knee. Cronin said Dailey had returned to the practice court but wouldn’t play until Cronin felt he was comfortable, which was unlikely to be by the opener given that there were only four practices left before then.
“I mean, there’s just no point,” Cronin said of rushing Dailey back. “It’s a long season, we got a lot of guys.”
The Bruins unveiled that depth while building leads as large as 43 points against the Anteaters. UC Irvine notched what might have been one of the greatest victories in school history on this court when the Anteaters beat UCLA in the first round of the 1986 National Invitation Tournament, but the Anteaters were thoroughly outclassed at every position Tuesday.
After struggling against San Diego State in an earlier exhibition game, UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau rediscovered his shooting stroke with some practice pointers from Cronin. Bilodeau made eight of 10 shots and all three three-pointers, scoring 12 consecutive points for the Bruins over the final 2 minutes 48 seconds of the first half.
“My feet were getting kind of too narrow,” Bilodeau said of his previous shooting mechanics, “so you put a towel in between my feet [in practice] and just pass the ball and just catch and shoot threes.”
Point guard Donovan Dent was a blur of floating jumpers and highlight passes, his 16 points and eight assists all coming in the first half before he was given the rest of the night off. Center Xavier Booker showed off a diverse array of skills on the way to scoring 14 points, making two of three three-pointers in addition to a few moves around the basket.
Redshirt freshman guard Eric Freeny sparked the play of the game when he blocked a shot, corralled the loose ball and fired an outlet pass to Dent, who threw a lob to Bilodeau for a thunderous dunk.
But perhaps the most encouraging sight for the Bruins was knowing they might not have a dropoff at small forward as long as Dailey remained sidelined.
Brown made three of six three-pointers and repeatedly beat his counterpart to the ball while chasing rebounds, grabbing four on the offensive end.
“Jamar showed you what I’ve been telling you,” Cronin said, alluding to his toughness. “He can play smarter at times, but his effort is always maximum and his attitude is always as good as you could ever ask for from somebody in life — not just basketball. Just an unbelievable person.”
The 6-foot-5 senior guard took an unconventional route to UCLA. After spending two seasons at Phoenix College, he transferred to the University of Missouri Kansas City, where he became a second team All-Summit League selection last season.
Now he’s in the Big Ten, capably filling in for one of UCLA’s top players.
“As good as we look, at times, you gotta remember he’s not out there,” Cronin said of Dailey. “Not only is he not out there as a really talented player, he’s not out there as a guy that knows how to play at UCLA. You know, that’s where Jamar has done such a great job because he looks like he’s been in our program.”
The post What can Jamar Brown do for UCLA? Plenty, based on his performance in exhibition finale appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
