Freshmen Must Wait

Lately, Dijon Thompson gets playing time and does little with it. Andre Patterson doesn’t even get the time.

Yes, two of the three Bruin true freshmen have hit a wall. While point guard Cedric Bozeman plays more than 30 minutes and is allowed to play through his mistakes, Thompson and Patterson are on a short leash.

Against Stanford and California last weekend, Thompson had three points, five rebounds, two assists and five turnovers in 24 minutes. He made one of six shots. Patterson only wishes he had the chance to take that many--he missed his only shot in five minutes against Stanford and did not play against Cal.

Thompson is handling it by taking a history lesson--reading articles and looking at box scores from two and three years ago when current seniors Matt Barnes and Billy Knight endured similar growing pains.

“I’m reading up on what they went through,” Thompson said. “I don’t need anybody to tell me about it. The Internet, studying old tapes, everything I can get my hands on. Athletes go through this all the time, especially young athletes. I’m not the first one and I won’t be the last.”

Barnes and Knight became so depressed as benchwarmers they nearly transferred.

Coach Steve Lavin said communication is the key to avoiding a similar episode with Thompson, who averages nearly 17 minutes a game, or Patterson, who averages 10.2.

“The most important thing is hearing it from other players,” Lavin said. “They need testimony from older players and former players.”

Steve Henson