Darren Collison could not get the brace off his leg soon enough. After spraining his left knee in November and having to miss five weeks, the Bruin’s floor general returned to the court with a leg brace that was hard to get used to.

Luckily for the junior guard and for UCLA, he didn’t have to get used to it for long.

The Bruins began Pac-10 play over the weekend with an invigorated Collison playing like the brace was an old memory.

For the quick guard, shedding the unwelcome wardrobe addition made all the difference.

“I can’t tell you how much (losing) the brace feels,” Collison said. “It’s been a blessing in disguise, just to take that brace off and just to continue to play the way I normally do.”

After the Stanford game Thursday night, Collison was beaming about being able to play brace free, and his weekend only got better from there. The guard’s return to form continued in a big way in UCLA’s win at California on Saturday. Collison looked strong at both ends of the court, handling the offense better than he has all season and impressing his coach.

“I thought Darren had his best game of the year today,” coach Ben Howland said. “He really ran the team and set the tempo, 14 (points) and five (assists).”

Collison did not agree.

While he said he was happy about his play, Collison wasn’t so quick to praise himself. With just two games of the Pac-10 season behind him, his eyes are on the future.

“I understand where coach is coming from. I did control the tempo, but I don’t like to say I’ve had best games early in my season,” Collison said. “I’m never satisfied with my performance. It was a hard game. I just have to look to improve and get better.”

So far on the year, the junior is averaging 12.4 points per game and 4 assists per game. Last season, when Collison was mostly injury free, he missed only one game with a sprained joint in his shoulder, and he averaged just slightly better numbers, with 12.7 points per game and 5.7 assists per game.

With each day and game that passes, Collison gets closer and closer to returning to his peak form, a fact that might trouble opposing defenses.

“I’m definitely getting there,” he said. “I’m definitely getting to 100 percent.”

KEEFE IN THE MIX: The original plan was for forward James Keefe to redshirt this year and play next season.

However, with Michael Roll standing to miss substantial time with a full tear of the plantar fascia in his left foot, Howland’s plans have changed, and Keefe will be an active player for the remainder of the season.

“It’s the right thing for the team,” Howland said. “The bottom line at the end of the day: He is going to end up playing major minutes in big games if we are going to have a chance to be the best team we can be this year.”

Against Cal on Saturday, Keefe was able to make his presence felt. In four minutes on the court, his only two points were self-made.

“James stepped up big for us today,” forward Josh Shipp said. “He made that huge play on that one stretch where he got the rebound and put it back. He’s definitely improving and we need that out of him.”