Myers gnaws away at Beavers State
Former walk-on steps up, leads No. 19 Bruins to Oregon State
defeat to line, saves day against Oregon State
By Ross Bersot
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
In UCLA head coach Jim Harrick’s stable full of thoroughbreds,
Bob Myers didn’t even have a stall.
But when the first team faltered Saturday against Oregon State
at Pauley Pavilion, it was Myers who saved the day. The
strong-willed, strong-armed, former walk-on trotted on to the court
to the usual affectionate roar from the crowd and proceeded to take
over the game in a most unusual manner.
In 22 minutes of action, Myers posted a career-high 20 points,
five rebounds and two steals in leading the No. 19 Bruins to a
69-60 defeat of the Beavers (3-15 overall, 1-8 Pac-10).
Myers, who is accustomed to receiving applause just for entering
the game, was treated to a standing ovation from the 11,280 fans
when he was taken out with :55 left in the game. But the fans
weren’t the only ones applauding his departure.
"It was funny," Myers said. "In the second half, when I got cut
and it looked like I might have to come out, one of the Oregon
State players said, ‘Yeah, anything to get him out of the
game.’
"I didn’t expect to hear that."
Who did?
Maybe Harrick, who first inserted Myers with 12:08 remaining in
the first half and the score tied, 7-7. A lackluster performance in
the first minutes of the game prompted Harrick to clear the bench,
and just as the crowd seemed ready to put its team to pasture, in
came Myers – who led the second team to a five-point lead in an
eight-minute stint.
"I just want our players to watch Bob Myers play," Harrick said.
"He plays hard and he plays smart. He shows us that sometimes the
easy pass is better to take than the hard one. He’s a fundamental
machine."
After freshman Jelani McCoy was whistled for a technical foul,
Myers was back in the game with 3:36 on the clock. The junior, who
was 10 of 13 from the free throw line on the day, continued to
pound Oregon State inside, earning two more trips to the foul line
in the final minutes of the half. Sandwiched between them was one
of Myers’ more spectacular plays in a game best described as a
workmanlike effort. After a Charles O’Bannon miss rattled off the
rim, Myers rose from the middle of a crowd to flip the rebound
through the hoop.
At the end of the half, with UCLA leading 32-27, Myers had
already achieved a career-high 10 points. This coming just two
games following his first-ever, first-half appearance in a Bruin
uniform.
Myers might never have appeared in a basketball uniform at all
if not for the effort of UCLA assistant coach Steve Lavin, who
convinced the 6-foot-6-inch forward to give hoops a try after he
was informed that UCLA offered no NCAA-level crew team.
Myers originally scoffed at the idea.
"I said, ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me,’" Myers said. "Ed O’Bannon
and these guys, Charles O’Bannon on my team. (Lavin) said, ‘Well,
give it a shot.’ … It seems like a long time ago."
In the second half, the game got even longer for the Beavers
who, despite one of their better performances of a dismal season,
could not contain Myers or Kris Johnson (18 points, five rebounds)
in the second half. Also making things difficult for Oregon State
was the care with which the Bruins protected the ball – of 18
turnovers, only six came in the final 20 minutes.
O’Bannon three started the second period, but UCLA (15-5, 8-1)
could not sustain a substantial lead, and Oregon State narrowed the
margin to 39-37 on junior guard Markee Brown’s drifting 8-foot
jumper at 14:53. O’Bannon followed with an alley-oop dunk for two
of his 11 points on a lob from Cameron Dollar, who finished with
four assists.
Oregon State kept pace, mostly thanks to the hot hand of J.D.
Vetter, whose team-high 19 points included a four-for-five clip
from beyond the three-point arc until the Bruins embarked on a 6-0
run with 6:53 to go in the contest.
Johnson ignited the spurt with a thunderous one-handed slam on
the break which made the score 50-44. Myers made it 52-44 on what
should have been a dunk, but ended up a layup and O’Bannon finished
the run and the Beavers on a reaching layin off the glass.
"Charles told me, ‘You gotta start dunkin’,’" Myers said. "I
said, ‘One step at a time here.’"
Five minutes later, the game had ended, and Myers had taken the
biggest step of his Bruin career.
"(Myers) used to be our Rudy," O’Bannon said. "Now the crowd is
going to expect it – so he’s gotta bring it."
* * *
J.R. Henderson went out with 15:51 remaining in the first half
due to back spasms and did not return. The sophomore is not
expected to miss next weekend’s road trip to the Bay Area.
FRED HE/Daily Bruin
Bob Myers used to be the "Rudy" of the UCLA men’s basketball
team, but Saturday afternoon he led the Bruins with a career-high
20 points.
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