FEARLESS FOURSOME AFTER TWO DOWN SEASONS, UCLA PINS HOPES OF TURNAROUND ON FRESHMAN QUARTET.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

Lorenzo Mata stood near one of the baskets at Pauley Pavilion, basketball cupped in his right hand andresting on his hip.

He stood at the part of the hardwood labeled ``Nell and John Wooden Court,'' drew a deep breath and looked to the ceiling. He pointed at one of 11 national championship banners that watches over the hallowed building and hovers over the men's basketball program.

``When you see all those banners ... all four of us, we need to get one,'' Mata said. ``That's our goal, to get as many banners as we can in four years. We've all talked about it. That's what we're here for. We're here to win.''

The ``four of us'' Mata is referring to is UCLA's heralded freshman class, four former Southern California high school stars with impressive credentials, wonderful talent and one of the most pressure-packed challenges in collegiate athletics.

Point guard Jordan Farmar, guard Arron Afflalo, wing Josh Shipp and Mata, a center, make their collegiate debuts today against Chicago State with the expectation that one day they will deliver UCLA's 12th national championship.

``A lot of pressure is on the freshman class,'' said Farmar, a Taft of Woodland Hills product. ``We're supposed to come in and contribute immediately. A lot of times freshmen have a little time, a little leeway to make mistakes, but I think we're going to have to limit our mistakes and play pretty good basketball early.''

UCLA's last national championship was in 1995, when Jim Harrick was coach. Steve Lavin went 145-78 in seven seasons, but it wasn't nearly enough for him to keep boosters happy and save his job.

Now, Bruins coach Ben Howland is coming off an 11-17 mark in his first season, but his first recruiting class has the Bruins poised to be relevant again in the Pacific-10 Conference. Farmar and Afflalo will start, and Shipp and Mata should each play 20-plus minutes.

``I'm not here to say, 'Don't worry about the pressure,' '' Howland said. ``Yeah, there's pressure. It's a learning process. There's pressure every day. The biggest pressure is the pressure to compete every day in practice.''

The pressure, particularly on Farmar, increased two weeks ago when senior Cedric Bozeman tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Bozeman was to share minutes with Farmar at the point and was UCLA's best perimeter defender, but he underwent surgery and is out for the season.

Bozeman also was UCLA's only other natural point guard. When Farmar might have needed to clear his mind during what promises to be a trial-by-fire first season, Bozeman was supposed to help. Now, senior guard Brian Morrison, an accurate shooter but erratic passer and ball-handler, will back up Farmar.

``People expect a lot out of him,'' Bozeman said of Farmar. ``They expect him to be Superman. But I think he'll be fine.''

Farmar is a complete point guard offensively, but Howland has chided him about improving his defense.

Farmar runs the floor well, has great vision, is a strong finisher in traffic and can shoot from the perimeter. He averaged 27.5 points and 6.5 assists as a senior at Taft, and Howland has no qualms about turning the team over to him.

Afflalo, who played at Centennial High of Compton and, like Farmar, was a McDonald's All-American. He averaged 23 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists as a senior. But Afflalo's value goes well beyond statistics.

At 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, Afflalo might be the only one of the four whose body is rigid enough to survive a Pac-10 season. His intensity and effort, Howland said, significantly and consistently raises the level of practices.

Mata, who is 6-8, is a natural rebounder who loves the rough and tumble life in the low post. He averaged 25 points and 18 rebounds as a senior at South Gate High but needs to develop his offensive game to be a low-post scoring threat in college.

And then there is the 6-5 Shipp, whose role also increased dramatically when Bozeman was injured. Shipp, whose brother, Joe, played at Cal, averaged 30.4 points per game as a senior at Fairfax High and was one of the best pure shooters in the state.

``They are the future,'' Howland said, ``but we're in the present. They've all got a lot to learn and they're all improving.''

Cal coach Ben Braun lived the freshman experience last season when he started three players right out of high school. A fourth freshman was in the rotation, and the inconsistent Bears went 13-15.

``Most of our freshmen were either starting or were in our top six,'' Braun said. ``Then, it's tough because they're playing ahead of many of the upperclassmen that we had, so there was probably a lack of experience they could draw from.''

Braun said another pitfall in playing so many freshmen is a lack of leadership, which he added gains in significance as the conference season moves forward.

``It's unlikely a freshman can come in and be in the leadership role,'' Braun said. ``He can be a role model on the floor in his effort, in his play, but it's hard for someone just feeling their way through college to be a leader off the floor.''

Late last season, leadership was an issue for the Bruins as several players spoke out about it as the season spiraled.

This year's upperclassmen, led by leading returning scorer Dijon Thompson, who averaged 14.4 points per game, junior 7-footers Michael Fey and Ryan Hollins and Morrison. are trying to ease the burden placed on the group of teenagers.

``I'm sure they're putting themselves under a lot of pressure, but the bottom line is our seniors and our veterans are going to have to step up and teach them,'' Hollins said. ``They're very talented, but we can't expect too much out of them. Just to come out and play hard.''

Inside the program, that is fine. However, outside of UCLA the expectations for freshmen are enormous, and for several reasons.

All four signed their national letters of intent during the November 2003 early-signing period, and Howland's first class ranked in the top 10 in the nation.

With Lavin going 10-19 in his final season, UCLA's first losing season since 1947-48 and its worst season since 1945-46, not much was expected in Howland's first season. And the Bruins complied.

After winning at least 21 games in each of the previous 14 seasons, UCLA had won 21 games in two seasons combined.

With each of the four recruits playing prep ball in Southern California, Bruins fans flocked to the high school games to get a peek at the future. As the Bruins faded down the stretch in losing 14 of their final 16 games last season, the focus shifted greatly to this season.

Even the four freshmen spoke publicly about entering UCLA with the goal of adding toughness to a team that has been in short supply.

The brash words figured to make for some interesting practices in the fall and raised questions of potential chemistry problems.

``I didn't know what to expect. Basketball is kind of weird,'' Farmar said. ``You don't have to like the people. You see that with Shaq (O'Neal) and Kobe (Bryant). They seem to hate each other, but when they're on the court, you wouldn't be able to tell.

``Once we get on the court, all rules, all feelings go away and we're just playing basketball. I think basketball has been a healing for all the friction that was supposed to occur.''

Maybe things are different internally than anticipated, but such is not the case for the general public. Afflalo said fans often came up to him last season and during the summer and spoke about the longing for the freshman class to restore UCLA's glory.

``Pretty much, we need a winning season, and come in here, give as much effort and hard work as you can,'' Afflalo said. ``And, hopefully, make a change.''

Brian Dohn, [phone]

brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 3 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) There are high expectations for UCLA's talented freshman class. From left, Lorenzo Mata, Jordan Farmar, Josh Shipp and Arron Afflalo were among coach Ben Howland's first recruits.

(2) UCLA freshmen (from left) Lorenzo Mata, Jordan Farmar, Arron Affalo and Josh Shipp.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) UCLA ROSTER

(2) SCHEDULE

(3) UCLA vs. CHICAGO ST.

- Jill Painter