By Greg Schain

Daily Bruin Reporter

Going into last night’s game, UCLA head coach Steve Lavin was hoping somebody would step up and show him that they deserved to start at point guard in place of the injured Cedric Bozeman.

Nobody did.

UCLA went mainly with senior Rico Hines at the point against Riverside. Hines showed a high energy level, but finished with more turnovers (3) than points (0) or assists (2) in 24 minutes. He still hasn’t scored a point this season in almost 85 minutes.

“My shots are gonna come,” said Hines, who was 0-6 from the floor. “As long as we’re winning, I’m happy.”

Fans became impatient with Hines in the second half, screaming phrases like “No more Rico” and “Take Rico out” when his shots continuously failed to drop.

But Hines isn’t discouraged.

“Hopefully I’ll continue to go out there and play the point,” he said. “I think I will (see more minutes).”

Redshirt freshman Ryan Walcott saw minutes at the point but looked uncertain in running the offense.

“I still haven’t found my rhythm,” Walcott said. “I’m still a little rusty. I need to show more leadership and get everyone organized.”

Walcott finished without any points or assists in nine minutes.

Freshman Dijon Thompson and junior Jason Kapono also saw minutes at the point, but both seemed to have trouble creating shots for themselves at the position.

When Kapono was at the point, they lacked the presence of an outside shooter on the floor.

“Kapono can handle the point, but it will wear him out over the season,” Riverside head coach John Masi said. “I’m sure they’d rather have him on the wing nailing threes.”

Kapono thought their offensive woes, especially in the first half, went deeper than the point guard situation.

“We gotta get in our sets much quicker,” he said. “We were stagnant and shooting too quick.”

Until Bozeman recovers from the knee surgery he had on Monday, the Bruins will continue to rotate who plays at the point.

“It’s point guard by committee,” Lavin said. “Even though it didn’t look like it in the first half, our offense is predicated on passing, so our guys are interchangeable.”

Bozeman is expected to miss four to six weeks, but he describes himself as a “quick healer” and said he could be back faster than that.

The Bruins hope he’s right, because their obvious lack of depth at point guard was exposed tonight.