UCLA men's basketball guard Will McClendon spoke with reporters ahead of Tuesday morning's practice session at the Mo Ostin Basketball Center. McClendon talked about the deflections bone, his recovery from a torn ACL, how he has managed to avoid turning the ball over and what it's like to play with Adem Bona.
Have you gotten to sign the bone yet?
(Laughs) Nah. Unfortunately, we have Jaylen Clark and Jaime Jaquez on the team, so.
Is that a goal of yours?
Oh for sure, I can't wait to sign the bone, it would be an honor. It would be an honor with the names that are on the bone, so yeah, for sure.
Did you take off your brace in one game and then put it back on?
No, so I usually warm up without my brace on, and then when I go back to the bench, I usually put it on, when they tell me I have to, so yeah. Yeah, I've played every game with the brace on.
Feel like you're getting close to not needing it anymore?
Oh yeah, super super close. Hopefully this next road trip, I can take it off. We'll see what the doc says, but yeah, really really close.
Do they need to have a bone for most minutes without a turnover?
(Laughs) Man, I mean, I just try to take care of the ball. I mean, coach is big on taking care of the ball, no turnovers, so I mean, if I ain't got no turnovers then maybe, maybe.
What's your favorite part of playing with Adem?
I mean, the energy he brings on the court, he's always talking so loud, he makes big energy plays, he's such a smart player, makes the right reads, selfless player. So it's like, you just love playing with guys like that and Adem Bona's definitely one of those guys.
Coach was saying your post entry passes are some of the best on the team – is that your natural passing ability or is it something you've specifically had to hone in on in practice?
So yeah, I mean, growing up, I've been blessed to play with really talented bigs and I've been practicing post entries my whole life so I guess it just comes really natural to me, so yeah.
Can you talk about the play when you got the ball to Adem at the end of the Washington State game and how that developed?
Yeah, I mean, Tyger got a really great deflection, we needed a stop down the stretch. The ball came my side, I was dribbling, I seen Adem ahead. There was one guy, he kinda stopped, he kinda pressed up, and usually when they do that, throw it over the top. Adem was right there, took his time, finished the ball. It was a good play.
What does coach want specifically when he says he wants you to be more aggressive offensively?
I mean, he knows that I'm really a selfless player and I'm looking to pass the ball. And coming back from injury, I'm just really trying to find ways to impact the team, help the team win, so every day, day-by-day, I'm trying to get better at different aspects of the game and if coach needs me to score more, I'm working on that every day in practice.
Do you have a nickname for the bone? The Deflections Bone? What do you call it?
I mean, really, it's just The Bone, like it has its own name, it has its own meaning. It's gotten a lot bigger than in the past, so we got a different type of bone. But yeah, it's just The Bone.
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