UCLA re-instates Reeves Nelson after 2nd loss...
11/17/2011 12:01:39 PMi'm enjoying this.
UCLA falls flat in 86-66 loss to Middle Tennessee State
The Bruins, who start the season 0-2 for the first time since the 2002-03 season, struggle without standout forward Reeves Nelson.
LOS ANGELES — In the span of four surprising days, UCLA went from being a Top 25 team tabbed to win the Pac-12 title to unranked and 0-2. The Bruins have staggered out of the gate with double-digit losses to two mid-majors and the brief suspension of starter Reeves Nelson for his bad attitude.
Coach Ben Howland reinstated Nelson on Wednesday afternoon after the pair met on campus.
The 0-2 start is the Bruins’ worst since 2002-03, when the school lost to San Diego and Duke to open coach Steve Lavin’s final season in Westwood. They lost their opener by 11 points to Loyola Marymount.
The latest setback was an 86-66 loss to Middle Tennessee State on Tuesday night in which the Blue Raiders shot 71 percent from the floor and made 10 of 11 3-pointers.
“Never seen that before,” big man Joshua Smith said. “It was kind of crazy when coach read the stats off.”
Howland called it “very embarrassing” to allow such a high shooting percentage, something he said none of his teams had ever done.
“We’re really a long way away from being a good team,” he said.
Things could get even worse next week, when UCLA plays in the Maui Invitational. The Bruins open Monday against Division II Chaminade, then will play either No. 12 Kansas or Georgetown. No. 6 Duke, 10th-ranked Memphis and No. 17 Michigan will be in the islands, too.
“It’s not really them,” Smith said about the competition. “It’s us we got to figure out.”
Nelson, a junior forward, missed Tuesday’s game as well as practices on Sunday and Monday. He had been suspended indefinitely for what Howland called “conduct unbecoming.”
Nelson’s attitude has varied greatly during his career, ranging from high-energy team player to petulant and pouting.
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