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UCLA basketball: Freshman Norman Powell suffers concussion

Los Angeles Times staff writer Ben Bolch
By Ben Bolch
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UCLA freshman guard Norman Powell sustained a concussion Tuesday when he was struck by a teammate’s stray elbow during basketball workouts. Three staples were needed to close a small cut on his forehead. Powell is being monitored daily and is listed as day to day.

The 6-foot-5 sharpshooter is a candidate to back up starting point guard Lazeric Jones in the Bruins’ season opener against Loyola Marymount on Nov. 11 with regular backup Jerime Anderson suspended after he was accused of stealing a laptop computer in July. He pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge this month.

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Concussions can be tricky things to put a timetable on. Matt Carlino suffered a concussion last November and was held out of three consecutive games before he was cleared to return. He then sat out the next two games because of limited practice time and eventually transferred to Brigham Young.

-- Ben Bolch

Sports Now
Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

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