Is UCLA's Jrue Holiday too cool for his school?

"I've never met a kid like that," senior Darren Collison says. "Always has the same composure, always has the same look."

Steady and calm, even on rough nights, and there have been a few of those at the start of his college career. The freshman guard has seemed a bit tentative once or twice, but never had that deer-in-the-headlights gaze.

Maybe Collison and the other veterans on the UCLA basketball team should concoct something to fluster him in practice.

"Right," junior Michael Roll says. "I'll let you know next week."

In the meantime, go directly to the source, the teenager with a ready smile and an easy manner. Is he really that poised? The question catches him by surprise, as if he's thinking: Isn't everyone?

There is a pause, an "um," and another pause.

"That's just the way I am," he says.

But there's a catch. The trait that makes him cool as sheet metal, allowing him to jump right in as a starter for the 10th-ranked Bruins, might also be the trait he needs to tweak.

If Holiday wants to be a star, he might have to turn up the heat.

The tough part

Composure has always been a big part of his game.

"You can see the court better when you're calm," he said. "You make better plays."

Over at USC, Coach Tim Floyd, who scouted Holiday for tonight's cross-town rivalry game at the Galen Center, says that when you watch him, "you see a complete player."

Complete as in 10.3 points and 3.9 rebounds a game. Second on the team in assists and steals. Tough enough on defense that he often finds himself covering the other team's best shooter.

And the Bruins have learned they can trust him down the stretch.

"I mean, he doesn't make a lot of mistakes," Oregon State Coach Craig Robinson said. "We were hoping we could force him into making some mistakes and we weren't capable of doing that."

This is a young man who arrived in Westwood as one of the top recruits in the nation, with fluid moves and a scorer's touch. Early on, he had a dazzling performance against Florida International, eight for eight from the field, totaling 20 points in 19 minutes.

Still, there is a sense he could do more.