UCLA vs. CSSB: Close Win Highlights Josh Smith's Importance This Season

UCLA's frontcourt had frequently been labeled as its strongest unit ahead of the 2011-12 season.

Suffice to say, Sunday night's rickety 80-72 exhibition win against Division II opponent Cal State San Bernardino merely served to emphasize that belief.

Sophomore center Josh Smith scored 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Bruins, who were playing at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario before a crowd of 6,259, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Bruins will have to get used to playing on the "road" this season—even for home games. Pauley Pavilion is undergoing a renovation reported to cost $136 million that will continue throughout the duration of the 2011-12 campaign. It is expected to be ready to open by the fall of 2012.

The hostility of Sunday night's crowd, which contained a decidedly vocal selection of CSSB faithful, may have played a role in UCLA's nervy beginning to the game. With six minutes remaining, the Bruins found themselves down by two points to the Coyotes.

That's where Smith and Reeves Nelson stepped in. The soph big from Kent, Wash. easily surpassed his average of 10.9 points per game from 2010-11 on the night, and also shot 14-of-18 from the foul line—a very encouraging sign, since he will likely spend a lot of time there this season. Nelson added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Smith shot 61 percent from the line a season ago; Nelson ended at a 62 percent clip. Both will need to be hovering around a decidedly more accurate percentage if UCLA are to be successful. 

This predication upon frontcourt production may be somewhat worrisome, as the Bruins run the risk of being a top-heavy team.

Guard production will have to get better to maintain some semblance of a balance, although having senior point guard Jerime Anderson back (currently serving a two-game suspension for this offseason's laptop incident) will help with depth and experience. Powell is a freshman, Lamb, a sophomore. Both are talented, but don't look ready to be serious contributors just yet.

CSSB employed two zones against the Bruins—a 1-1-3 to start the proceedings before shifting to a 2-3. Zones have long been a thorn in UCLA's side under Howland, and they once more gave them fits  on Sunday night.

UCLA has guards who can hit outside shots, but doesn't possess a pure three-point threat. Thus, the ability of Lazeric Jones, Anderson, Powell and Lamb to slash into the defense and get good looks for the bigs will be crucial for the offense. Frequent movement can stretch a zone—UCLA would do well to try that out.

Because you can rest assured that UCLA's opponents were following Sunday night's game, and will be ready to throw their own zone looks when they face the Bruins.

It's very encouraging to see Smith exert such an impact upon proceedings, especially this early in the season, where you might expect players to show some rust or lack of fitness.

The Smith-Nelson tandem looks certain to be UCLA's bread and butter this season, although having a healthy set of Wear twins (and hopefully some production from Brendan Lane) will be a boon. Front-line depth is a definite strength of this side.

UCLA's season opener is Friday against Loyola Marymount at the LA Sports Arena, this season's "home-away-from-home" venue.