By Greg Schain
Daily Bruin Reporter UCLA freshman point guard Cedric Bozeman will
undergo surgery early next week to repair a torn meniscus in his
right knee. The injury was discovered after an MRI done Thursday
night. The surgery will take place early next week in the UCLA
Medical Center, and Bozeman is expected to miss approximately four
to six weeks. “I was pretty devastated when I first found
out,” Bozeman said. “But better they catch it now than
later in the season.” Bozeman said he first felt the injury
after UCLA’s opening game against Houston at the Maui
Invitational. He mentioned the pain to head coach Steve Lavin at
the time, but downplayed its significance. “He mentioned his
knee was sore, and there was swelling,” Lavin said. Lavin and
the trainers thought the pain was due to minor tendinitis, which is
common in basketball players. But when the pain never subsided, the
trainers decided to order an MRI, which revealed the torn meniscus
in the cartilage. Bozeman thinks the injury might have played a
role in his subpar performance over the last few games. In the
first four games of the season, Bozeman was averaging 25.0 minutes,
5.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. “I
haven’t been explosive and haven’t been able to turn
corners like I want to,” he said. “And I haven’t
been able to push the ball up the court as fast as I know I
can.” UCLA has several options to replace Bozeman at the
point guard position. The two most likely candidates are freshman
Dijon Thompson and junior Jason Kapono. Thompson played point guard
his junior year of high school, but switched out of the position
his senior year when new talent arrived. He has spent some time in
practice playing the point and says he is ready to start there if
called upon. “I feel comfortable playing the point,”
Thompson said. “I enjoy it, and it’s always nice to
have a new experience.” Kapono also says he can step in if
needed. “I’m going to have to shift my mindset in
practice to playing the point,” he said. “Instead of
trying to be a scorer, I’m going to work on creating
more.” Rico Hines could also see time at the point guard
position. Sitting for a month or more may hurt Bozeman’s
development. According to Lavin, the early part of the season is
normally a critical period for freshmen to adjust to their new
teammates and the new offensive and defensive systems. Bozeman will
have to find other ways to learn UCLA’s style of play.
“The best experience is through trial and error,” Lavin
said. “But Cedric won’t be able to do that. His role
will be similar to that of a backup quarterback calling in plays to
the starter.” This won’t be Bozeman’s first-ever
surgery. He previously went under the knife to correct a problem in
his right shoulder. He describes himself as a “quick
healer” and hopes to be back sooner than four weeks.