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Junior guard Jon Crispin plays against EA Sports in an exhibition match. After transferring from Penn State, Crispin is expected to be a scoring threat for the Bruins.

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Jon Crispin was sitting on the bench during a home game last year, sporting a suit and tie while watching his new team play without him.

A fan approached him with a curious comment.

“I didn’t know managers had to wear a suit and tie,” the fan said.

“Yeah, we do. We have to,” responded Crispin, fooling the fan into thinking that he was a manager, rather than a redshirt who just transferred from Penn State after his sophomore season.

Some players would be bothered by the anonymity, but not Crispin.

The junior guard enjoys his newfound anonymity, saying it has been a humbling experience not to be recognized all over campus, like he was at Penn State.

“In Los Angeles, if you aren’t Shaq or scoring 30 points a game, you’re a nobody,” Crispin said. “It’s been good for me. I’m just a six foot white guy at UCLA.”

Despite being undersized, Crispin will be called upon to add a much-needed scoring threat to a Bruin team that, besides for seniors Jason Kapono and Ray Young, does not have many outside shooters.

“He will help this team a lot before this season is over,” said UCLA head coach Steve Lavin. “He is a very savvy and heady player.”

At Penn State, the New Jersey native averaged 8.2 points per game in his career, starting all but two of the Nittany Lions’ games while averaging 27.8 minutes in his sophomore season.

But he decided to transfer, in hopes of going to a bigger program that had a chance at winning a national championship.

“Penn State is a football school,” Crispin said. “So it is tough to build a program and get recruits.”

According to Crispin, the other main difference between the programs is the pressure to win at UCLA.

“The atmosphere at Penn State was good, if we were winning,” Crispin said. “Here the atmosphere is ‘you better win.’ That is why I came here.”

Crispin’s role in helping UCLA win this season will be to come off the bench as a scoring compliment to Kapono, whom most other teams’ defenses smother with double teaming or other schemes.

Therefore, he will have to be aggressive in getting shot opportunities and creating open shots for his teammates.

“I’m going to make a constant effort to attack,” Crispin said.

So far, he hasn’t been nearly as aggressive as he wants to be. He took only two shots against San Diego in 13 minutes, missing both.

And against Duke, he took just three shots despite starting and playing 22 minutes. He made two of the three, finishing with five points.

“He is still trying to figure out his role,” Lavin said. “I think he doesn’t want to add to bad stretches that the team is having by shooting the ball quickly.”

Crispin agrees, saying he only has five shot opportunities on the season because he wants to get everyone involved in the offense.

“I’m trying to be as patient as possible,” he said. “It is tough because I’m passing up easy shots, and I’m a scorer.”

Before the San Diego game, Crispin said he hopes this team can win a national championship and break school records in order to earn a spot in UCLA lore.

He may just get his wish. The Bruins are off to their worst start in 41 years.

“I said I wanted to be a part of something special, but not that,” Crispin said. “Not 0-3.”