McKnight humor
UCLA head coach Steve Lavin found a way to make fun of the whole Geoff McKnight situation on Tuesday.
Lavin made news last week when it was discovered that he recommended McKnight, son of prominent Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight, as a basketball walk-on last fall while he was recruiting two star Mater Dei players.
It all began when he was talking about how many scholarships he expects to have next season.
“It’s probably going to end up being four because there’s a good chance someone will probably go pro,” Lavin said.
A reporter then asked “Jason Flowers?”
Lavin then said with a chuckle, “No, Geoff McKnight.”
No love
UCLA (12-5, 6-1 Pac-10) remains unranked after last weekend’s sweep of the Oregon schools.
The Bruins garnered 28 votes in the AP Top 25 poll this week, well behind No. 25 Georgia, which picked up 188 votes.
Just one coach voted for UCLA in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
The players stress that the rankings don’t mean much now.
“My mom has always taught me never worry about what other people think, do what you got to do,” guard Flowers said. “If we do what we have to do, whether the coaches vote us top 25 or the media vote us top 25, it doesn’t matter.
“In the end if we are playing the right basketball that’s what matters.”
Thanks for the advice, C-Webb
Forward Matt Barnes, who is having a breakout junior season, said he credits his resurgence to some off-season work he did with the Sacramento Kings.
Barnes, who is from Sacramento, practiced with Kings players such as Chris Webber, Jason Williams and Nick Anderson in Arco Arena last summer.
“Chris (Webber) preached to me about being an inside and outside player,” he said. “He said with my size being inside and outside is really going to help my chances of getting to the next level.
“That’s something I took in stride and really worked on this summer.”
Talkin’ with T.J.
UCLA freshman forward T.J. Cummings was featured on Monday for a chat on ESPN.com to discuss the success he has had in his first season in Westwood and the state of the team.
Currently, Cummings is averaging 11 points and four rebounds per game and is second on the team in field goal percentage at 50.9 percent.
One interesting question came from a fan that asked the forward about missing an uncontested dunk in the waning minutes of Saturday’s 98-88 home win over Oregon.
The basket would have given the Bruins 100 points, giving every fan in attendance a free half-dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
“I apologize for not getting the fans doughnuts last game,” Cummings said. “We were one bucket away but we’ll try and get it next time.”
Notes compiled by AJ Cadman and Chris Umpierre, Daily Bruin Senior Staff.