Jan. 5, 2007
By Lindsay Schnell
Special to CSTV.com
The 6-foot-5 guard, who was a Pac-10 All-Freshman Honorable Mention in his rookie year, was stuck on the bench after right hip surgery early in the season. He finished 2005-06 playing in just four games. And for someone with such a rich Pac-10 history, it was a surprising turn of events.
When Shipp arrived at UCLA in 2004, it was all set for him to have an immediate impact for the Bruins. After all, Pac-10 star power ran in his family: his father, Joe, had played football at USC and his older brother was a standout forward at Cal in 2003, leading the Pac-10 in scoring.
Shipp, a local product from Fairfax High School in L.A., played his way into a starting role for the Bruins in his first year, averaging nine points and five rebounds per game. But a bum hip forced him to the sideline last year, so he sat and watched as his team lost the national championship to Florida.
"I wasn't really bored, but a little frustrated," Shipp said of his time on the bench. "But I became a fan of the game again."
Now it's one year later, and times have certainly changed.
Shipp scored 18 points Thursday night against Oregon State, on an array of layups and floaters, giving the No. 1 Bruins a boost in their first road game of the season, a 71-56 win over the Beavers.
"Josh played great tonight, we're really fortunate he's back and he's healthy," said UCLA coach Ben Howland. "He's been just spectacular for us. It's what we expected; I'm not surprised by it, but I'm happy about it."
Howland's right: Shipp has been nothing short of brilliant in the Bruins' first 13 games, averaging 14.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per contest. He has also turned into a tenacious perimeter defender, a must if you're going to play for Howland.
"He's become a better defender," Howland said. "But he can still be better."
It was a long offseason for Shipp, who knew he would need to spend considerable time in the weight room and court to earn some playing time.
"I knew because I sat out the whole year that I had a lot to prove, so I worked out really hard this summer," Shipp said. "Just shooting and conditioning -- I was trying to be in the best shape I could."
But Howland, confident in Shipp's natural ability, told him to focus more on his health than his shooting touch.
"I told him, all you've got to do is worry about rehabbing that hip," Howland said. "It's really a lot of work, he put an unbelievable amount of time into it. He's a really good player, and bottom line is he just needs to be healthy because everything else takes care of itself with him."
Shipp says he leaned heavily on his mom during his injury, calling her for pep talks on a regular basis.
"I had never been hurt before and had never had basketball taken away from me before, so it was a new experience," he explained. "But I got through it with the support of my mom; she talked to me every day in my spare time."
Whatever Deborah Shipp said to her son must have worked. Shipp has established himself as one of the premier guards in the Pac-10, a conference that boasts four teams ranked in the Top 25. Howland says Shipp still has room for improvement, though.
"He can still be a better defender and a better rebounder," Howland said. "His rebounding totals are a little lower than his freshman year, so he can work on that."
Shipp says he rarely has problems with his hip now, though notes it's occasionally sore after a rough game.
"It hurts every now and then, but it's pretty much fine," Shipp said.
Shipp also says he has no worries about defenders knocking him a little hard in the lane when he drives inside, and says his body can take a lot abuse. All he's worried about right now, he says, is winning.
"We're just trying to win ball games," he said. "With us being No. 1 everyone's gunning for us. But it's just something we've got to fight through."
And Shipp, the standout sophomore who's dealt with fighting through lot of pain and frustration, is just the guy to lead them.
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