Aden Holloway, the second-leading scorer for the Alabama men’s basketball team, was arrested Monday on a felony drug charge and may not be available for the Crimson Tide during March Madness, pending the university’s investigation into the matter.
Alabama coach Nate Oats said that after he told his players about the situation, the team went out and had “a really good practice” four days ahead of its first-round NCAA tournament game against Hofstra.
“Aden’s one of our guys, and everybody wants to wrap their arms around [him],” Oats said Monday during an appearance on the Crimson Tide Sports Network. “Everybody makes some mistakes in life, but [the players] also understand we’ve got to move on … and the team’s got to go play Friday.
“So I thought we did a good job of that this morning, kind of addressing the situation, what we currently knew at the time, and got our guys focused on practice.”
Holloway’s arrest came after the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force searched a residence near campus and “recovered more than a pound of marijuana, paraphernalia and cash,” the Tuscaloosa Police Department said.
The 21-year-old player is facing a first-degree charge of marijuana possession, not for personal use, which is a Class C felony and carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $15,000.
Police said Holloway also will be charged with failure to affix a tax stamp, another felony. Holloway was taken to jail shortly before 10 a.m. and was released less than an hour later on a $5,000 bond.
Alabama said in a statement Monday: “The University is aware of the allegations and is working to gather more information. The student has been removed from campus pending further investigation by the UA Office of Student Conduct.”
Oats said players need to be held accountable if they fail to meet the standards set by the program.
“So, you know, we had to suspend [Holloway] pending the investigation by the UA office of student conduct,” Oats said. “And we’re certainly disappointed in his behavior. But that being said, we still love him. He’s still our guy. We’re helping him get the help he needs, and we’re going to continue to help him whatever way we can.”
Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide, the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region, continues to prepare to face 13th-seeded Hofstra on Friday without a player who averages 16.8 points a game. Sophomore guard Labaron Philon Jr. leads the team with 21.7 points a game, and sixth-year senior Latrell Wrightsell Jr. is averaging 12.8 points.
“I did tell our team, this team more than any team I’ve ever coached is better equipped to handle a situation like this,” Oats said. “I don’t know how many games we went into where we had a game time decision. Guy goes, warms up, and we got to decide whether he’s going to play or not an hour before the game. … We’ve won plenty of games with guys not available, so our guys will be ready to go against Hofstra.”
In late November, Gabriela Jaquez scored 29 points against Tennessee. It wasn’t her career high; that came when she tallied 30 points two years prior.
But that game, when Tennessee had no answers for a player who was then the UCLA women’s basketball team’s fifth offensive option, felt like Jaquez’s coming-out party after years as a quieter cog in the Bruins’ rotation. It changed the way teams had to defend her. Previously known more for attacking the rim than for shooting from outside, Jaquez showcased a different dimension.
Suddenly, one of the best teams in the nation had one of the best breakout stars. Entering the NCAA tournament, the 31-1 Big Ten champion Bruins are relying on Jaquez as one of their super seniors to guide them back to the Final Four.
UCLA guard Charlisse Leger-Walker hugs teammate Gabriela Jaquez, who led the Bruins in scoring during a win over Tennessee on Nov. 30 at Pauley Pavilion.
(Luiza Moraes / Getty Images)
“I do think she’s always been that player,” said senior guard Kiki Rice, who has played four seasons with Jaquez. “But I do think she’s had a lot more opportunity to demonstrate that, and you saw that in the beginning of the year. She just started off such a hot shooter, and the way that she’s developed every single year, gotten better and just found a way to impact the team.”
Though she hasn’t reached that same scoring peak again, Jaquez has quietly buoyed UCLA’s dominant run this season as the Bruins have emerged as one of the favorites to win a national title. She ranks second on UCLA (among players with at least 30 attempts) in field-goal percentage at 54.3%, second in three-point shooting at 41.1% and third in scoring.
Jaquez has gotten attention for being part of a family legacy at UCLA and spending an offseason with the Bruins’ softball team. But in the background, even when she hasn’t been the leader for the UCLA women’s basketball team, Jaquez has honed herself into one of just 25 Power Four conference players shooting better than 40% from deep this season.
Jaquez, who tallied her 1,000th career point early this season, is having a career-best season with 13.6 points per game, has added double-digits in 25 of her 31 games this season.
“There’s so much depth to her,” said guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, who often dances alongside Jaquez in videos posted on social media and Leger-Walker’s YouTube video series. “Getting to understand her off the court, I think has really helped our connection on the court, and kind of how her personality is so outgoing. She likes to bring people along. You can see that on the court.”
Jaquez came in as a 5-foot-11 freshman who played primarily as an undersized forward and would crash the net and collect rebounds.
The shooting, though, has been the biggest change this season.
“I think of her as someone who, especially early on, like she doesn’t need to have the ball on hand, she doesn’t need to have plays run for her to impact the game,” Rice said. “But then she’s been shooting so well too.”
Early in the season, teams doubled Lauren Betts, who leads the team with 16.4 points per game as a center, which opened Jaquez to shoot from deep, establishing herself as someone who needed to be keyed on.
UCLA’s Gabriela Jaquez shoots the ball under pressure from Oregon’s Katie Fiso on Dec. 7 at Pauley Pavilion.
(Luke Hales / Getty Images)
Her 107 three-point attempts are a career-high this season, with her shot selection jumping to 32.4% coming from behind the arc. That’s come with a career-high 2.2 assists per game and an 85.2 defensive rating, ranked in the top 20% of the nation.
“She can shoot the ball, she can finish, she defends,” shooting guard Gianna Kneepkens said. “I love playing with Gabs. Sometimes I get caught watching her because she’s just so amazing.”
Now, Jaquez projects as a first-round WNBA pick, in large part because of her versatility on offense. She is listed as a guard on the Bruins’ roster, but often starts at forward, where she can stretch the floor. Her 5.4 rebounds per game are third on the team, thanks in large part because of her ability to fill positions one through five.
During UCLA’s Big Ten semifinal win over Ohio State, Jaquez shot four for 12 but Bruins coach Cori Close noted Jaquez’s importance when her shooting isn’t on target.
“What I liked about that the most is that she struggled a little bit in the middle of the second half,” Close said. “It just showed a lot of her mental toughness that, when we needed her the most, she was going to be there for us on the defensive end and on the rebounding end.”
While all five starters have been mentioned as possible WNBA first-rounders, Jaquez has perhaps made the biggest leap, two WNBA scouts not authorized to publicly discuss prospects said.
UCLA senior Gabriela Jaquez celebrates with the Big Ten tournament trophy after the Bruins beat Iowa in the finals on March 8 in Indianapolis.
(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)
When Rice and Leger-Walker are on the bench, Jaquez has taken on point guard duties.
“She does all those little hustle plays,” Leger-Walker said. “She will score if you need her to, she’ll cut, she’ll rebound, like, she’s so versatile. You know what you’re getting from her, and she’s kind of that person who’s the engine of our team.”
Jaquez hasn’t thought much about what happens after this season. This year’s mantra of joy has resonated after last year’s crushing Final Four loss to Connecticut.
“It’s been fuel,” Jaquez said. “That started [last] spring and into the offseason, knowing exactly what to work on, how to prepare…. But I just love the team aspect of basketball, I love this group of girls specifically and I think having so much fun out there has [been the most important thing] and winning has made it even better.”
The night Jaquez hit five three-pointers against Tennessee may have felt like her arrival. But for the teammates who have watched her develop for four years, it looked less like a breakthrough and more like the rest of the country finally catching up.
The rest of the country may have only noticed this season. But inside UCLA’s locker room, Jaquez has been that player all along.
“Gabs is an extremely confident person, so I feel like if you’d asked her this freshman year, she would have believed that she’d become just the incredible player that she is,” Rice said. “Just the opportunity, her experience at this level these past few years has really helped her develop into what she is.”
Sunday marked Senior Night for the USC women’s basketball team at Galen Center, but it was the other team’s seniors who stole the show.
Gabriela Jaquez scored 14 points, Kiki Rice had 11 points and four assists and Lauren Betts had 15 rebounds as UCLA wrapped up the regular season with a 73-50 victory over its rival and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time since going 18-0 in the Pac-10 in 1998-99 under Kathy Olivier.
Having already clinched the regular-season title, UCLA became the first team to navigate the Big Ten schedule without a loss since Maryland in 2014-15.
It was the Bruins’ 22nd consecutive win, one shy of the record they set last season. Since their lone loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, they have won by 20 or more points 16 times.
Ranked second in the nation in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls behind defending national champion Connecticut (30-0), the Bruins earned the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament in Indianapolis and got a bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.
Charlisse Leger-Walker finished with a game-high 20 points for the Bruins while Gianna Kneepkens added 14 points and five assists.
UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, controls the ball in front of USC forward Vivian Iwuchukwu during the first half Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
UCLA (28-1, 18-0) held USC to 27% shooting in the teams’ first meeting — a 34-point Bruins victory at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 3 behind Betts’ 18 points. It was USC’s most lopsided loss under coach Lindsay Gottlieb. On Sunday, USC (17-12, 9-9) shot 39% and was only three for 19 from three-point range.
UCLA jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes and carried a 19-11 advantage into the second quarter. The Bruins widened the gap to 18 points by halftime, holding the Trojans scoreless for the last 3:08.
With a lineup that goes nine deep, Sierra Canyon’s boys’ basketball team has won 25 of 26 games this season, and about the only way the Trailblazers are going to be a denied Southern Section Open Division and state championships is if a fellow Mission League team can beat them.
At least one thing is certain about the playoffs — the Mission League is tops. Three of the four teams that reached the Open Division semifinals are from the Mission League, setting up semifinals Tuesday that will feature Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Sierra Canyon and surprising La Mirada at Harvard-Westlake.
“It continues to show that the Mission League is one of the toughest leagues in the country,” Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo said. “It pays to be in a quality league.”
First up for everyone is figuring out Sierra Canyon.
“I love the options,” Sierra Canyon coach Andre Chevalier said of his team’s depth after a 70-47 blowout of Santa Margarita on Friday night in a quarterfinal between the top-seeded Trailblazers and the No. 2-seeded Eagles (27-5), according to the Southern Section’s computer power rankings.
Santa Margarita never had a chance. The Eagles missed numerous three-point attempts, while Sierra Canyon was finding different players to contribute. Nine players scored for Sierra Canyon, with Brandon McCoy getting 17 points and nine rebounds, Brannon Martinsen scoring 13 points and Maxi Adams 11. McCoy and Adams are McDonald’s All-Americans, but it’s the Trailblazers’ depth that is coming through during a long season that still has three weeks left.
Sophomore guard JJ Sati-Grier, a transfer from North Carolina, suddenly has earned playing time and had four baskets. Sophomore guard Josh Lowery had seven points.
During the second half when a Sierra Canyon player took an ill-advised shot, Chevalier shouted out, “What are you doing?” The player found himself immediately on the bench. Another player came in to contribute. If the Trailblazers keep finding so many players to deliver baskets, that’s tough to overcome.
“Our depth is going to get us over the top,” Chevalier said.
Notre Dame and Sierra Canyon finally will get to play their Mission League title game that was supposed to tip off two weeks ago but canceled because of a student’s death.
The biggest upset was La Mirada taking down No. 3-seeded Redondo Union on the road, 73-70. Gene Roebuck fouled out early in the fourth quarter but still scored 19 points. Cisco Munoz had 17 points, Tristan Partida 15 and King-Riley Owens 10. The Matadores made the Open Division playoffs last season but didn’t qualify for the state playoffs. Now they are one win away from playing for a section title.
Harvard-Westlake built a 10-point halftime lead but had to hold on against Mission League rival Crespi at home, 49-46. Joe Sterling finished with 15 points and Pierce Thompson 13.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame defeated Corona Centennial 59-56. NaVorro Bowman Jr. scored 23 points, and Zach White had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“It’s testament to the quality of the coaching, the quality of the players,” Notre Dame coach Matt Sargeant said of the league’s success.
JSerra 105, Inglewood 91: The Lions made it to the Southern Section Division 1 final. Jaden Bailes scored 33 points, and Ryan Doane had 32 points and 18 rebounds. Jason Crowe Jr. finished with 37 points for Inglewood. JSerra will face top-seeded Crean Lutheran, a 67-55 winner over Rancho Christian.
Hesperia 54, Mater Dei 49: Hesperia moved on to the Division 2 final.
Sylmar 93, Marquez 75: Aiden Garcia scored 26 point as the Spartans advanced to the City Section Division II championship game, where they will play King/Drew, which defeated Bravo 72-44. Wayne Chamberlain had 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.
Chatsworth 53, Venice 51 (OT): The Chancellors made it to the City Section Division I final with an overtime win in the semifinals. They will face top-seeded and fellow West Valley League rival Granada Hills, a 48-30 winner over L.A. Jordan.
One of the toughest decisions for Jared Honig came three years ago. He’s a Granada Hills High graduate and was a teacher and girls’ basketball coach at his alma mater “forever.”
But he and his wife lived in Santa Clarita and just had a third child.
So when the Valencia High girls’ basketball coaching job opened, the decision was made to leave Granada Hills to be closer to home. Three years later, Honig has Valencia in the Southern Section Division 1 semifinals with a playoff game on Saturday night at home against Windward.
The team is rising. The Vikings knocked off Troy and the winningest coach in California history, Kevin Kiernan, in the quarterfinals.
“That’s my first time coaching against him,” Honig said. “That was pretty cool.”
Leading the Vikings has been sophomore Kamilla Basyrova, who made a school-record 94 three-pointers last season and has already broken that record this season while averaging 19.8 points.
“Kamilla is an amazing three-point shooter,” Honig said.
Senior Cara McKell is averaging 17.8 points. The Vikings face an improving Windward team that struggled early but has caught fire, led by Charis Rainey.
Honig is starting to prepare his two girls and one boy for future basketball competitions. They’re 8, 6 and 3. He’s found a new home at Valencia High.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
The No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball team beat Indiana 92-48 at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday afternoon. Lauren Betts picked up a first-half double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. She finished with 16 points and was one of seven players to reach double figures.
“It speaks to how talented this team is,” Betts said. “We have threats at every single position, and it makes it so much easier for me to do my job, because I know that if they’re going to double, triple, I’m going to find somebody who’s able to score.”
UCLA extended its win streak to 19 games. With another lopsided victory under their belt, the Bruins said they have focused on consistency, no matter the opponent.
“I actually did bring that up in the locker room, and I should have, because that’s really been the challenge is to enjoy, relish, lean into, that we’re playing for our standard,” said coach Cori Close. “I’ve been really honest that we haven’t been doing that consistently against opponents that maybe don’t give the scoreboard, won’t give us that exact read.”
UCLA guard Kiki Rice drives to the basket under pressure from Indiana guard Nevaeh Caffey as Hoosiers forward Maya Makalusky watches at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday.
(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
UCLA’s Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 10 points in the second quarter alone and Kiki Rice, who recorded a 15-point second half after only scoring two in the first, led all Bruins in points.
“I wasn’t happy with the way I competed in the first half,” Rice said. “Regardless of the outcome offensively, I can control how hard I play. I’m proud of my defense, and in the second half I focused in on that and started to find a better rhythm.”
UCLA (25-1, 15-0 Big Ten) separated itself from Indiana (14-13, 3-12) in the second quarter with 30 points, taking a 47-20 halftime lead. In the third quarter, the Bruins outscored the Hoosiers 29-14.
Maya Makalusky scored 13 points for Indiana and Lenée Beaumont added 11. They were the only Hoosiers in double figures.
Close said Angela Dugalic led the way for the Bruins in the first half, playing at the level of aggression that the coaching staff was looking for. Close added that Dugalic’s intense effort was in response to a couple of games during which Dugalic wasn’t playing to her usual standard.
“[Yesterday] we’re talking about what was leading to that,” Close said of a conversation with Dugalic. “She was like, ‘I just start second guessing when I get that first foul.’ And I was actually thankful that she had that scenario. And I just said, ‘Hey, this is what we talked about yesterday, you got to play the same way.’”
Indiana guard Lenée Beaumont drives to the basket under pressure from UCLA guards Charlisse Leger-Walker and Kiki Rice Sunday at Pauley Pavilion.
(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
Dugalic picked up a foul in the first quarter, providing a chance to respond to adversity in a different way.
The Bruins’ four turnovers were their lowest total in a game this season after giving up the second most during a close win last week against No. 13 Michigan State. Close put the players through a special workout in between the games to reduce the giveaways.
“Not only did they have to do a bike sprint for every single turnover and every one under our passion play goal that they didn’t get, but they had to watch their lack of productivity while they did it,” Close said.
The Bruins held Indiana to 31.3% shooting from the field, below the Hoosiers’ 47.9% average on the season, fifth best in the Big Ten.
UCLA has three more games before the Big Ten tournament, with Washington up next at 7 p.m. PST on Thursday. A Bruins win or a Michigan loss would clinch the No. 1 tournament seed for UCLA.
