Scouting UCLA with an opposing coach

John Andrzejek knows how to gameplan for UCLA better than most. As an assistant coach at Washington State, he helped the Cougars respond to a 30-point January loss to the Bruins with an eight-point win on Feb. 11 in Pullman.

So, after UCLA beat Alabama to set up an Elite Eight matchup with Michigan on Tuesday night, UM Hoops spoke with Andrzejek to get a sense of how to prepare for the Bruins.

“You’ve gotta find a way to slow them down offensively,” Andrzejek said. “They are a really, really good offensive team. And the head of the snake is Tyger Campbell.”

Campbell, UCLA’s sophomore point guard, scores the second-fewest points among Bruins’ starters and shoots just 42.2% from the field. But with a 30.5% assist rate, he assists 5.4 baskets per game, good for second in the Pac-12.

“As much as possible, you have to fight to not get screened,” Andrzejek said. “Cause as soon as you have to put two guys on the ball, (Campbell) is an excellent passer. He’s very, very good at surveying the defense, reading where the tags are coming from and finding the open guy.