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  COURTNEY STEWART/Daily Bruin Sophomore T.J. Cummings works toward a steady season.

By Christina Teller

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

On a Thursday afternoon, a father and son spend time working out. The father, dressed in tan linen pants, a black turtleneck sweater and black dress shoes, stands behind son, down in a defensive stance.

The son, dressed for practice in white UCLA shorts, sleeveless T-shirt and white Kobes, listens as he moves, absorbing the directions his father offers.

While his teammates work out with managers or other team members, sophomore T.J. Cummings has 18 years of NBA experience in his corner.

T.J.’s father, Terry, keeps his directions simple: “Have better balance when you shoot like that ... remember what I used to tell you, cut down to just one motion ... do it until it becomes second nature.”

It’s not hard to see why T.J. approaches the game the way he does.

T.J.’s approach toward basketball is mirrored in the way his father breaks down each move.

“The way he breaks things down, it just makes it so understandable for me,” T.J. explains. “He doesn’t sugar-coat things. He lets me know the real deal.”

T.J. was in middle school when he wanted to know more. He had been through the football, skateboarding and roller-blading phases. It was basketball that best suited his 6-feet-5-inch, 14-year-old frame.

“I went from 5-10 to 6-5 from seventh to eighth grade, and I was dunking then,” Cummings sad. “When I started dunking was when I got more interest for the game.”

From this time on, T.J. has been hungry – hungry for minutes, hungry for points, but mostly hungry for knowledge of how to improve.

“I feel like when I’m not doing anything, someone else is getting better,” Cummings said. “I never wanted anyone to say that I’m someone who’s not dedicated to the game or someone who didn’t earn it.”

So T.J. spent his summer improving his game. His eight-hour day included footwork in the morning, scrimmaging in the afternoon and shooting. He figured that taking 400 shots a day would be a good way for shooting to become second nature for him.

Sound familiar?

The hunger stems from the fact that Terry never forced basketball on him. In fact, basketball was not even a topic of conversation when T.J. was young. He had to go to his dad when he wanted to know more.

And it’s rooted in the fact that he saw 29 minutes in his first game as a Bruin. He contributed 25 points, the most ever by a freshman in his Bruin debut, but as the season went on, Cummings saw the bench more than he saw the court.

It was a humbling experience.

“It’s the same way for everyone, myself, Michael Jordan, you’re coming into an already set situation and you have to find a way to fit in,” Terry said. “(T.J.) had to trim down his pride and ego a bit to try to fit in, and he worked all summer to get his game to another place.

It’s because of T.J.’s versatility that makes him tough to match up against, and UCLA head coach Steve Lavin feeds T.J.’s confidence as a shooter. But Cummings is not perfect.

“Our staff has made it clear that we have confidence in his abilities and want to utilize them as a part of our team in order to be successful,” Lavin said, “but T.J. makes mistakes in an aggressive, full-steam ahead manner. I’d rather have a player make a mistake in an aggressive way than in a passive way though.”

Cummings is a 6-feet-9-inch post-player who can shoot the rock. And not just one way.

“I think about it as a chess match. You take what the defense gives you, Cummings explains. “If I get to my jump hook, that’s my go-to. If I get to the lane, see a man who’s coming my way, I take one dribble, see if he bites. If not, then kick it out to the corner to my fade-away jumper.”

“He’s got it all planned out, and it didn’t hurt that, as a kid, he had a resident basketball advisor.

And now that T.J. is on the West Coast, away from the Illinois basketball cradle where he and his father both grew up, he’s making a name for himself, working hard to become a professional at what he’s doing, just like his father taught him.

When T.J. made his decision to attend UCLA, it was his first step out of his father’s shadow, and looking back, T.J. says coming to UCLA is the best thing he’s ever done.

“I’d love for anyone to put me in the shadow of my father because he was a great basketball player, but then at the same time, I had to establish myself as my own player,” Cummings explained. “I don’t want anyone to ever think that I was getting by off what my father did.

“I wanted to establish myself with my own name.”

Terry smiles when asked if his son reminds him of the way he played and answers simply, “It’s a joy to watch him do what I used to be able to do. Of course he adds his own elements too.”

On Thursday on the floor of Pauley Pavilion, it’s clear that the son is taking his turn. Doing what his father used to do – in his own T.J Cummings way.