UCLA NOTEBOOK: MORRISON GETS THE POINT BRUINS' BEST SHOOTER BECOMES FARMAR'S BACKUP.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

UCLA coach Ben Howland calls Brian Morrison the best shooter on the team.

In the wake of the Bruins losing point guard Cedric Bozeman for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, it is Morrison's role as backup point guard to freshman Jordan Farmar that might be prove most valuable.

``I'm a hard worker, so I'm very confident I'm going to get better and going to be very good at the position, actually,'' Morrison said. ``I shoot the ball so well, sometimes I look for my shot maybe too much. But I definitely feel like I pass the ball well and that I can make other people better on the floor.''

In his first opportunity, Morrison scored 11 points and added a team- high nine assists in 21 minutes while playing both guard spots last week in an exhibition win. The athletic senior also had a team-high four turnovers.

UCLA's final exhibition game is tonight against Monterrey (Mexico) Tech, and Morrison will get plenty of minutes playing the point.

Howland spoke with Morrison about the need to slow down his style of play and make sure passes instead of flashy ones, as the guard has a tendency to do.

``I know what to do,'' Morrsion said. ``Sometimes, I don't do it on the floor, but that's going to come. From a mental standpoint, I'm just trying to slow down and make better decisions with the ball. I know the more I do that, the more I'm going to play and the more I'm going to help the team.''

--Three in, two remaining: UCLA received binding national letters of intent from three of its commitments, and two should arrive by the end of the week.

The gem of the class is 6-foot-8 power forward Ryan Wright, who averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds as a junior at Loyola Catholic of Mississauga, Ontario. His letter was received, as was that of 6-4 wing Michael Roll of Aliso Niguel High of Aliso Viejo and 5-11 point guard Darren Collison of Etiwanda High.

The Bruins are awaiting the letters of intent from two players from Cameroon, both prepping on the East Coast. Alfred Aboya, a 6-7 power forward from the Tilton (N.H.) School, and Luc Richard Mbah A Moute, a 6-7 wing from Montverde (Fla.) Academy, plan to send their letters to UCLA by the end of the week.

Because of communication issues dealing with getting information to and from Cameroon, both players' letters were delayed.

--Charity stripe: Power forward Matt McKinney is not expected to play tonight after suffering a moderate right ankle sprain in practice. He is in a walking boot. ... Bozeman's torn ACL was surgically repaired Wednesday. ``The ligament was repaired with a graft from Cedric's patellar tendon,'' Howland said.

Brian Dohn, [phone]

brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com