Darren Collison (photo. UCLA)Darren Collison has been called one of the fastest prospects in the nation. Josh Shipp has been called one of the most experienced. And UCLA’s collection of freshmen - Jrue Holiday, Malcolm Lee and Drew Gordon among them - have been called some of the most promising. At halftime of the UCLA-Michigan game, here’s how they’ve all looked:
* Collison isn’t the most explosive point guard, but he knows how to navigate a pick-and-roll. He executes cleanly and simply, but there isn’t all that much flash in his game.
* Holiday looks like UCLA’s most complete player, even if he’s just a freshman. After Michigan went on a little run, Holiday silenced their section by drawing a foul on an overeager big man. He’s been able to score far easier than anyone else in the Bruins’ offense. On the other side of the ball, he’s guarding Michigan’s best player, Manny Harris in the half-court, and even came weak side to toss Kelvin Grady’s lay-up above the rim.
* Malcolm Lee hasn’t seen as much time as Holiday, but when he got in, he looked like he was shot out of a cannon. Lee actually ran too fast for his own dribble.
* Drew Gordon hasn’t settled in yet either. On one of his only touches, he bowled over Manny Harris, who had wedged his way between Gordon and the basket.
* Josh Shipp still looks like the guy who was deflated by the way he finished last season. It was an incredibly sour note, scoring six and seven points respectively in UCLA’s last two tournament games. He has four poitns and not a whole lot of confidence.
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