It’s presumably no longer the season for FBI probes, international shoplifting scandals and high-profile defections. The nonconference portion of the schedule has mercifully ended for UCLA and USC.
Bruins forwards Jalen Hill and Cody Riley returned to practice this week just in time for Pac-12 Conference play, though they will be in street clothes for home games and remain in Westwood whenever their teammates travel. The freshmen were recently suspended for the season after they were caught shoplifting during the team’s visit to China last month.
LiAngelo Ball, who until recently also was a UCLA freshman, is scheduled to report to his new professional team in Lithuania next week after withdrawing from school over his family’s impatience with his indefinite suspension for shoplifiting.