Considered an off guard coming from Riverside North High, he appears to still be evolving as a floor leader for the Bruins.

The guy brought to UCLA to play point guard this season is doing fine.

Reeves Nelson scores 15 of his 19 points in the second half, and eight in a key 14-4 run, to spark the Bruins to victory.

The Bruins held Washington to eight-for-27 shooting in the second half of a 62-61 victory Thursday night, and their defense will be tested again today against Washington State.

UCLA seems to be getting the hang of this zone defense thing, noticeably absent during Coach Ben Howland’s first four seasons in Westwood.

FONTANA – Kaiser High School wrestling coach Tom Cote was surprised when Bloomington coach Gabe Schaefer tipped his hand prior to the teams’ Sunkist League matchup on Thursday, telling Cote he would bump up 130-pounder Phillip Hendrix to the 135-pound bout.

Athletic Director Dan Guerrero recognizes why the Bruins are having a tough season despite their solid coach, whom he praises.

Don’t let his teddy-bear demeanor fool you.

UCLA’s Mustafa Abdul-Hamid makes the decisive basket as time runs out.

Names that will probably never be linked again. Kobe Bryant . . . Mustafa Abdul-Hamid.

Michael Beals of Manhattan Beach Mira Costa chose baseball over volleyball when the seasons conflicted. But a scholarship offer from the Bruins persuaded him to trade cleats for spikes.

Imagine if there were a 7-footer walking around a high school campus who could dunk like Shaquille O’Neal but refused to play for the basketball team. It would be a travesty and the subject of much debate.

USC knows it will not experience postseason play following self-imposed sanctions two weeks ago. And maybe UCLA knows too – with its play serving as its own form of sanctions. The Bruins were miserable in nearly every phase of the game while the Trojans played one of their better games of the season, which resulted in a 67-46 blowout Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 11,108 at Pauley Pavilion.

Showing determination and toughness they’ve lacked for years, they rally past Bruins and cling to a playoff spot.

In six seasons Dustin Brown has seen the Kings’ playoff hopes disintegrate slowly. He has seen their hopes crumble quickly. He has seen them so bad they made plans for April vacations in December.

The Trojans’ 21-point margin of victory is their biggest against the Bruins since 1945, and emblematic of how far the UCLA program has fallen from recent heights.

The Trojans’ 21-point margin of victory is their biggest against the Bruins since 1945, and emblematic of how far the UCLA program has fallen from recent heights.