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- Xavier Booker delivered 15 points, five rebounds and five blocked shots to lead No. 12 UCLA to a 74-63 victory over Pepperdine.
- Coach Mick Cronin called Booker the “MVP of the game” following his standout performance on offense and defense.
- After struggling in its season-opening win, UCLA played much better against Pepperdine.
This was what the transition was all about.
Blocking shots. Grabbing rebounds. Having a menacing presence in the paint.
That Xavier Booker looked so comfortable doing all those things in early November could portend far greater things for the converted power forward in more important games deeper into the season.
UCLA certainly was pleased with its new center Friday night at Pauley Pavilion, Booker dominating for stretches on both ends of the court during the No. 12 Bruins’ 74-63 victory over Pepperdine.
“Obviously, it goes without saying that Xavier Booker’s MVP of the game,” Bruins coach Mick Cronin said after the big man recorded all of his career-high five blocked shots in the second half and finished with a team-high 15 points to go with five rebounds in a strong rebuttal to his team’s flat showing in its season opener.
Donovan Dent finishes with 21 points and nine rebounds, but coach Mick Cronin is disappointed in what he sees from UCLA in an 80-74 win over Eastern Washington.
Playing with an edge that he said came from being challenged by his coach, Booker showed off a diverse array of skills. He made one of two three-pointers, threw down a vicious two-handed dunk and even made a nifty pass to cutting teammate Jamar Brown for a layup.
It all started with things that he had failed to do against Eastern Washington four days earlier.
“Just kind of reflecting off of the game Monday, watching the film, just seeing things I could have done better,” Booker said when asked what went into his performance. “Obviously, defense was one of those things, and coach got on us about that. So I kind of took it a little personal, and I mean, I just went out today, just being more active.”
Most importantly, Booker tallied 12 of his team’s 37 deflections, which are blocked shots, steals, tipped passes and loose balls collected.
The Michigan State transfer who had spent nearly as much time his first two college seasons hovering on the perimeter as he did under the basket looked like someone who could hold things down inside just fine.
“I know he’s got it in him,” Cronin said, “he’s just got to keep building up his stamina, he’s got to keep turning up the motor — he’s got to stay in the red, race-car red.”
Booker was joined in double figures scoring by teammates Donovan Dent (12 points, four assists), Skyy Clark (11 points) and Eric Dailey Jr. (10).
Making his season debut after sitting out the opener while rounding into form from a knee injury, Dailey received the loudest ovation from the crowd of 9,103 during player introductions.
The small forward rewarded those fans with some active play early. Dailey made a step-back three-pointer, found Clark for another three-pointer before adding some impressive defense. After grabbing an inbounds pass in the backcourt, Dailey went in for a layup in which he was fouled, eventually making the free throw to complete a three-point play.
“Obviously, take some time off, I’m gonna be a little rusty,” said Dailey, who made three of four shots, “but I mean, tonight, like it’s basketball at the end of the day, like I’m a hooper so I can go out there, play, figure out my spots and defensively, like I go out there play with a lot of energy.”
Cronin said Dailey buoyed his team with his presence and attitude alone.
“You’ve got to have a guy that shows up every day with a smile and a love for the game,” Cronin said, “and practices hard and goes full speed and just lifts everybody around you.”
After allowing Eastern Washington to shoot nearly 54%, leaving their coach livid, the Bruins made little easy in holding Pepperdine to 34.4%.
Doing his best to keep that percentage as low as possible, Booker blocked three shots in the opening minutes of the second half and added a three-pointer as the Bruins took a 17-point lead.
Aaron Clark scored 18 points for Pepperdine (1-1), which generated some cheers during a timeout in the first half. The buzz was for Waves assistant coach Tyus Edney being recognized as the honorary captain more than 30 years after his buzzer-beating layup helped propel UCLA to an NCAA tournament victory over Missouri on the way to its last national championship.
The game got off to an unfortunate start for the Bruins. Forward Tyler Bilodeau picked up a foul with only 26 seconds having elapsed and headed to the bench, though Cronin said it was purely a strategic decision to remove Bilodeau to avoid further foul trouble and not a message that the coach wasn’t going to tolerate mistakes.
Cronin had talked about quickly yanking players earlier in the week, but there was no need once his team found its footing well before halftime.
A large portion of UCLA’s turnaround could be attributed to its tallest player.
Cronin described the 6-foot-11 Booker as a quiet giant, saying that Booker said so little that Cronin wondered if he understood what he was telling him.
“But I’ve learned that he’s extremely intelligent, and I’m not talking about books,” Cronin said. “I’m talking about basketball. He’s also got a huge advantage. He played two years for [Michigan State coach] Tom Izzo, so he was in a film session every day and practice every day, getting taught by a Hall of Fame coach that’s as good as there ever was. So that didn’t really show up until we started really doing scouting reports and defending other teams’ plays.”
It showed up in a massive way Friday, the Bruins hoping it’s the start of bigger things to come.
