Freshmen Take Turns Impressing At Ucla

Two months ago, while UCLA guard Ray Young sat on the bench wondering when his next chance would come, forward Matt Barnes could do no wrong and had the playing time to prove it.

Now, the freshmen have reversed roles. Young is playing heavy minutes and producing while Barnes struggles, in one minute and out the next.

“It’s like they’ve traded places,” said coach Steve Lavin, whose Bruins play host to Oregon State today. “At the start of the year, Matt was playing well and Ray couldn’t do anything right. They’ve flip-flopped.”

In the last five games, Young has averaged 22 minutes, scored 37 points and played tenacious defense. Barnes, who lost conditioning and confidence after spraining his ankle over Christmas, has averaged 10 minutes and scored 12 points in that span.

Last week at Washington State, Barnes had five points in 9 minutes in the first half, then did not play in the second.

Thursday, against Oregon, he played 2 minutes.

“I really want to get Matt more minutes,” Lavin said. “I have to put him in and let him play through his mistakes.”