LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nikola Kusturica hit his first basket of the game off a turnover by North Florida, and the UCLA freshman kept on going. He made every one of his shots in the first half for 26 of his 29 points.
The 22nd-ranked Bruins (2-0) won 114-63 on Friday night at Pauley Pavilion.
“Seeing the ball go in helps the confidence a lot, so when I saw the first one go in I was a little relieved,” the 17-year-old from Serbia said.
Kusturica arrived in
Westwood after bypassing multiple options in Europe — having already made history as the youngest to ever play for FC Barcelona — and signing a lucrative name, image and likeness deal with the Bruins.
“When I came here I was struggling, especially adjusting to the college game,” he said. “The first couple of weeks for me have been tough adjusting to coach (Mick) Cronin’s system.”
Kusturica credited teammates Eric Dailey Jr. and Trent Perry with helping him.
“In a good way, they’re not screaming at you,” he said. “They come to you and tell you what you've got to do and I really appreciate that.”
Kusturica shot 9 of 9 from the floor, 4 of 4 from 3-point range and hit all four of his free throws as the Bruins turned a one-point deficit into a 52-20 halftime lead.
“Obviously, Nikola got hot offensively, which probably rattled them,” Cronin said. “That time was coming for him. We see it all the time, so it was just a matter of when.”
UCLA ran off 35 straight points, starting with Kusturica’s three consecutive 3-pointers and ending with his two free throws. In between, the 6-foot-9 swingman slammed down a pair of one-handed dunks as the student section chanted “MVP! MVP!”
“He had no turnovers with the ball in his hands all that time, which for a freshman is unheard of,” Cronin said. “He's just wise beyond his years.”
Kusturica sat down for good with 12:46 remaining in the game. He finished with six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal in 23 minutes.
“It's all coaching,” Cronin joked. “In all seriousness, it's recruiting.”
Kusturica is one of Cronin's biggest gets since the coach arrived at UCLA eight years ago. He's expected to play two seasons for the Bruins before he becomes old enough to enter the NBA draft, which has a minimum age of 19.
Dailey, a senior, hadn't seen the kind of performance Kusturica put on out of a freshman before.
“When he shot the first shot that went in, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, he might have a night,’” Dailey said. “Then he shot the next one and I was like, ‘Oh, yeah.’ Then he got those fast breaks. This was a great game to get his confidence up. That’s what we need.”
Kusturica just missed being the first UCLA freshman to score at least 30 points since T.J. Leaf had 32 against Washington State in February 2017.
“I wish he would’ve got fouled one more time and got the 30. That would have been elite,” Dailey said. “That was a great performance by him. I’m very proud, for sure.”
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