UCLA basketball: Joshua Smith to sit out against Stanford - Los Angeles Times
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UCLA basketball: Joshua Smith to sit out against Stanford

Los Angeles Times staff writer Ben Bolch
By Ben Bolch
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Joshua Smith will not play against Stanford on Saturday because of lingering discomfort from the head injury the UCLA freshman center suffered against California, a Bruins spokesman said.

Smith fell and banged his head against the hardwood in the first half Thursday night while attempting to take a charge. He briefly returned to the game but played a total of only six minutes.

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The 6-foot-10, 305-pound Smith has averaged 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game. He will be reevaluated Monday, and his status for UCLA’s game against Arizona the following Thursday will be determined next week.

-- Ben Bolch

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Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.†He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters†as the “Worst of the Week†after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

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