Los Angeles – Rim rattling dunks and high arcing three-pointers had to wait.
Josh Shipp had no choice when a painful hip injury sidelined him for all but four games last season. The sophomore forward watched as his UCLA teammates made an unprecedented run to the NCAA Championship game.
He faithfully rehabilitated and returned to the court this summer in the Say No Classic, an NCAA approved summer league at West Los Angeles College.
“It feels good to be back on the court and playing,” Shipp said.
Shipp joined UCLA teammate Alfred Aboya on a team called Hank’s CTS to let onlookers see how far he’s come since he ended his brief season in January, when his surgically repaired hip became too painful to continue playing.
He underwent surgery on Sept. 28, 2005 and rejoined the Bruins three months and one day later. He played four games, averaging 11.3 points and 4.8 rebounds.
Shipp, during three possessions Sunday afternoon, showed how close he is to regaining the form of his freshman year when he averaged 9.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Shipp fed a teammate for an alley-oop dunk. Then he led a fast break that culminated with a high-flying one-hand jam. Finally, he faked a defender and calmly hit a fade-away three-pointer.
“He looks great,” Aboya said.
UCLA carries a familiar look into the fall and many players played this summer, including Lorenzo Mata, Darren Collison, James Keefe and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. The missing name, and it’s a big one, is Jordan Farmar, Shipp’s close friend, who left for the NBA and the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I came in with him,” Shipp said. “We had a lot of goals to accomplish together and I had to sit out a year – it was tough. But he’s on to bigger and better things so I’m happy for him.”
The Say No Classic offers incoming college freshmen and established college players a chance to improve their games and show off new skills in a predominantly one-on-one setting.
The league is split between two locations – one in west Los Angeles and the other in Pasadena, Calif. While Division I players can’t tryout by rule, there are open tryouts for other college players at the two locations. Once a player makes a team, he stays on that team each summer until his eligibility is finished.
Players come from schools nationwide, including USC, UCLA, Arizona State, Connecticut, Harvard and many more. Also, players must have a California residence in addition to their college address if they live outside the state.
Teams can have only two Division I players from the same school, but an unlimited number from Division II and lower.
The mix-mash rosters create interesting combos with Hank’s Franchise Boys featuring USC’s Nick Young and Gabe Pruitt, UCLA’s Michael Roll and Mata as well as Oregon’s Bryce Taylor.
“We’ve got experience together,” Young said. “We know each other’s game and it’s just fun being out there.”
The summer has been difficult for Young, who lost teammate Ryan Francis when he was shot and killed May 13 during a trip home to visit his family in Baton Rouge, La. On June 7, USC coach Tim Floyd announced Pruitt was academically ineligible for the fall semester.
“I’ve got a long life ahead of me,” said Young, who believes Francis will be a constant motivation next season. “I just can’t keep dwelling on one thing. I’ve got to keep my mind focused and stay positive.”
Marcel Jones, a small forward for Oregon State, has teamed together with Shipp to create a potent scoring tandem for Hank’s CTS.
The pair, Jones said, has played together since they were 8 years old.
“I’m from here,” Jones said. “It makes it that much more exciting to play against players that I’ve grown up with. I take the experience out here and take it back to Oregon.”
While playing near home, Jones has been flying back to Oregon once a week to do weight lifting with his Oregon State teammates and complete summer school.
Taylor returned last week to Oregon, where he’s practicing for the Ducks’ upcoming trip to the Bahamas. Despite repeated requests to Oregon Media Services, both Taylor and Oregon coach Ernie Kent were unavailable for comment.
CORRECTION: This article has been edited from the original printed version to correct misplaced quotes.