USC and UCLA: Moving forwards

UCLA and USC opened up their rivalry game with a change among their usual forwards, evidently for strategic reasons. The Bruins started Nikola Dragović instead of James Keefe and the Trojans started UConn transfer Marcus Johnson instead of Keith Wilkinson. "We thought we might be able to use [Johnson] off the dribble against James Keefe, that was the reason for it," said USC Coach Tim Floyd.

That didn't materialize when the Bruins revealed their starting lineup. UCLA Coach Ben Howland thought Dragović had been playing well in practice and would present a good matchup against USC.

Keefe was back in the lineup after three and a half minutes. Wilkinson was back in less than five.

No surprise, but the battle of the Nikolas (UCLA's Dragović and USC's Nikola Vucevic) turned out to be pretty lopsided. Dragović had 14 points and four rebounds in 27 minutes, including a couple of big plays down the stretch, while Vucevic had two points and two rebounds in six minutes. Both grew up in Southeast Europe, but that may be where the similarities end for the forwards. The Bruins' Nikola is a junior who plays a more significant role than the Trojans' freshman.

-- Adam Rose
Photo: Nikola Dragović dunks on Nikola Vucevic. Credit: David Zentz/Associated Press

Comments

[Bonnie L.]

Also apparently one of their father's is the other's brother's godfather. I heard one of the commentators say that.