By Mike DeCourcy

updated 4:13 p.m. ET Oct. 20, 2007

LOS ANGELES - If you happen to be looking for such a thing, maybe while the UCLA Bruins are going through their pre-practice stretching, you will notice a vacant spot on the facade near the roof of Pauley Pavilion. It is the perfect place to hang another championship banner should they make it an even dozen NCAA titles with a triumph next April in San Antonio.

The men's basketball championship banners are done up in navy blue and gold, not really UCLA colors, with a giant numeral 1 dominating the center of the rectangle and the year the championship was won tucked into an upper corner. There has been no need to order one since 1995, but UCLA — Sporting News' preseason No. 1 choice — made it appear this week in practice as though warming up the sewing machine might be a good idea. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Josh Shipp is coming along
Entering his third full season, Shipp is not the most dynamic athlete when healthy, so he's certainly not flying above the rim as he recovers from another hip surgery. But he is moving comfortably on the court and showing off an expanding command of offensive basketball.
Shipp is an extremely clever player who knows how to bait defenders with one move and complete a play with something that seems totally unrelated. He executed some beautiful sleight of hand with a drive through the center of the lane that concluded with him faking a lefthanded layup as he used his right hand to flip the ball behind his back to a cutting teammate.

Shipp is shooting the ball with tremendous accuracy. He should be ready to take the over perimeter scoring lead previously handled by All-American Arron Afflalo.

2. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute looks like a shooter
Mbah a Moute, a 6-7 forward, worked during the offseason with assistant coach Scott Garson on improving his form. He shot only 10-of-30 from 3-point range as a sophomore, which led to opponents sagging back and taking away his ability to drive.

If he continues to shoot as confidently as in this practice, defenders will be forced to honor his jumper and allow his drives back into the game.

When his numbers slightly declined from his freshman to his sophomore year, Mbah a Moute grew a bit sensitive to questions and criticism regarding his production. It's easy to forget, though, that Shipp's return from an injury redshirt reassigned some of the scoring opportunities that once went to Mbah a Moute. He's still a factor.

3. There's less to Kevin Love
A super freshman from Oregon who will play in the post, Love determined he needed to be leaner. He began eating better and working out even harder, and it has increased his ability to sustain intensity.

4. This could be a better defensive team
In a short huddle before the workout really began, coach Ben Howland promised the Bruins that those who do the best job defending are those who'll wind up playing. Although UCLA has maintained the Howland reputation for pugnacious defense, last year's team did more to disrupt than dictate; opponents shot 42.8 percent, the highest defensive field goal percentage for any Final Four team.

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Some of that was the product of playing in an offense-oriented league, the Pac-10. But there's still the sense the Bruins can do better. To that end, Howland wants to use Mbah a Moute as much as he can at small forward because he can replace Afflalo as the team's lockdown defender. "How many players are there in college basketball who can guard positions one through five?" Howland asks.

5. Howland can play it however he wants. The roster gives him the kind of flexibility usually available only to iPhone users.

UCLA can line up big, with 6-10 Love at center and joined by 6-8 muscleman Alfred Aboya at power forward, Mbah a Moute at small forward, 6-5 Shipp at shooting guard and Darren Collison at the point. Howland can use a quicker, more dynamic lineup that features Mbah a Moute at power forward, Shipp at small forward and uber-athlete Russell Westbrook at the two.

This versatility will be useful in the Pac-10, which includes oversized Bay Area teams Stanford (Lopez twins) and California (DeVon Hardin and Ryan Anderson) on the one hand, and speed-based Washington, Arizona and Southern California on the other. It will be even more useful in the NCAA Tournament, where a team never can be sure what sort of challenge the next opponent will bring until the bracket develops.

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