JOURNEY TO THE CENTER FEY SURPRISES HIMSELF BY STARTING FOR UCLA.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

When UCLA coach Ben Howland had his first team meeting in April, he told the players they would have to earn starting jobs regardless of past performance.

Michael Fey, a 7-foot sophomore, rolled his eyes, believing he again had no chance to crack the starting lineup.

Fey figured he had no chance because he'd seen little action that season, sat out 2001-02 to improve his grades at a community college and hadn't played in nearly two years.

But Fey has been amazed at what's happened since Howland's decree: He's now the team's starting center.

The journey included a spring of hard work during individual workouts with the coaching staff, a summer of toughening up against NBA players in the customary UCLA pick-up games, and improved and aggressive play in practice.

After a career night in the opener against Vermont, in which he achieved personal bests in points, rebounds and minutes, Fey plans to solidify the starting spot he won over classmate and fellow 7-footer Ryan Hollins.

``That's the thing that motivates me,'' Fey said on the eve of the Bruins' game tonight against UC Riverside. ``I won the starting job and I want to keep it. The way I'm going to keep it is to continue working hard in practice. I've got a starting job now, and I don't plan on losing it.''

He won't if he comes close to matching the 20 points and eight rebounds he had in 24 minutes of a one-point victory over Vermont.

It was the type of output no one expected, but several of his teammates figured Fey was capable of it after watching him spend the summer playing regularly against Kevin Garnett and Jelani McCoy.

``One thing I noticed playing with all the pros, they play a lot more physical and a lot faster,'' Fey said. ``I learned how to play more physical. If I didn't play more physical against those guys, they would try to embarrass me on the court. I think it made me tougher going against guys better than me and bigger than me.''

Those games came during a full summer in which Fey stuck with a daily ritual of getting to the gym by 10 a.m., playing pick-up games for a couple of hours, heading off to summer-school classes and lifting weights before returning home around 6 p.m. for a quick dinner, studying and some sleep.

``We're going to need him to win games,'' Bruins junior Dijon Thompson said. ``We're not going to win games from the perimeter. We're going to have to have some type of low-post presence to win games.''

Although Fey's progression from little-used reserve to starter evolved during the summer runs, the foundation was put down during the individual workouts with UCLA coaches.

Fey, who averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds as a senior at Capital High in Olympia, Wash., also had good footwork and a nice shooting touch, but he said he never was taught how to get proper position in the low post to become a scoring threat. That part of his game is just now developing.

``That's typical,'' Howland said. ``It's how to make yourself big. How to get big arm bars. How to play wide. How to play low. We started from scratch in terms of our teaching in post play.''

It is a long way from the eight minutes and 2.3 points Fey averaged in 20 games last season. It became so bad that after three early-season starts, Fey rarely stepped on the court for more than a couple of trips up and down so others could rest.

``I didn't think I was in (Howland's) mind (last spring) because when I came in they asked me why I didn't play much last year,'' Fey said. ``They didn't have that much tape of me, so I didn't think I'd be a starter. I guess you could say I'm amazed. Maybe surprised.''

--Notes: X-rays of forward Trevor Ariza's collapsed lung were negative Monday, and he will undergo a CT scan today. Howland remains hopeful Ariza can return either Dec 13 against Loyola Marymount or Dec. 17 against UC Santa Barbara but added the freshman would not be rushed back and ``he may not be back until January. I can't tell you for sure.'' Howland said there was a 20 percent chance the injury could could happen again. ... Howland said Hollins will start at power forward against UC Riverside, and the lack of depth in the frontcourt means John Hoffart will get more playing time.

Brian Dohn, [phone]

brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com

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(color) UCLA center Michael Fey, who had 20 points Saturday against Vermont, is a starter after not playing for almost two years.

Edna T. Simpson/Daily News