Wednesday, November 20, 1996
HOOPS:
Bruins remain optimistic for national title; new head coach
Lavin emphasizes physical conditioningBy Hye Kwon
Daily Bruin Staff
If last year’s UCLA men’s basketball team was cocky and
overconfident in its 1-2 start, this year’s squad is on the
starting blocks with an entirely different attitude Â
humility.
The fifth-ranked Bruins were humbled in the loss to Princeton in
the first round of the NCAA tournament last March, and now they
have been humbled by the loss of their long-time head coach Jim
Harrick.
They have a 32-year-old head coach who has never been at the
helm at any level. He is aided by first-year assistants who are 35
and 32 years old.
UCLA’s only national recruit, Rico Hines, was declared
academically ineligible before the start of practice. That left the
team with one freshman recruit, Sean Farnham, who originally came
to Westwood as a walk-on.
Furthermore, UCLA’s prized recruit for next year, Baron Davis,
is having serious second thoughts about the oral commitment he made
to UCLA in September.
The Bruins have been the most talked about team around the
country in the pre-season, but seemingly for all the wrong reasons.
But the regular season is finally here, and UCLA has a chance to
escape the controversies and focus on basketball.
First of all, all five starters return from last year, bringing
back 57.8 points and 27 rebounds per game. From the bench,
proficient inside scorer Kris Johnson and three-point threat
Brandon Loyd will give the team a shot in the arm when inserted
into the game.
The most convincing reason for the Bruins’ status as a title
contender might be the fact that many of this year’s players played
pivotal roles in the NCAA championship team two seasons ago.
Excluding Jelani McCoy, who was a freshman All-American last year,
the four starters contributed 37.5 points per game in the 1994-95
championship campaign.
"Two years ago, we had an attitude of champions," Lavin said.
"The team had tremendous leaders and played through tough
situations. We want that kind of team resilience again."
There are parallels to that championship team. Ed O’Bannon, Tyus
Edney and George Zidek were the senior leaders of that team, much
in the same way that three seniors this year  Charles
O’Bannon, Cameron Dollar and Bob Myers  will supply the bulk
of the team’s leadership.
"They’ve been through so much," Lavin said."They’ve been through
the highs and the lows. Their freshman year they lost to Tulsa.
Their sophomore year we climbed the mountain in the national
championship in Seattle. We need them to set the tone for this
team."
Another key ingredient to UCLA’s season will be how well Lavin
will adapt to his new role as the head coach. Describing his first
week as "overwhelming," Lavin contends that he is already
comfortable with his new job.
"Each day, each practice, each time you take the floor, you grow
more comfortable with the position," Lavin said. "It’s been an
accelerated learning curve for me. As an assistant, you’re making
suggestions with one foot in and one foot out. As a head coach,
you’re making all the decisions on all the choices. Getting over
the initial shock and trauma of what happened (two weeks ago) has
been a major hurdle. Now I’m starting to really enjoy it."
Lavin is also trying to refocus the team. Getting out on the
fast break is still very important, but Lavin is now stressing
defensive pressure and the physical conditioning that’s necessary
to execute it.
"Each game and each practice, we need to build on our
conditioning," Lavin said. "For us to play a fast breaking,
up-tempo exciting brand of basketball, you’ve got to be in great
condition."
O’Bannon, who tallied 34 steals and 19 blocked shots last year
on the defensive side of the ball, is ready for the change.
"That’s Coach Lavin’s new philosophy, that he thinks one of our
main downfalls is not being in shape," O’Bannon said. "He wants to
make sure that we’re one of the top conditioned teams in
America."
The early going will be extremely important to the Bruins, who
will open their season under the national limelight in the National
Invitational Tournament. Although winning the NIT is definitely one
of UCLA’s preseason goals, Lavin says that the Bruins must work on
things that will ultimately pay off at the end of the season.
"We’re looking to make progress in all the areas we’ve set out
as major objectives for this team," Lavin said. "That is to play
hard, to play together, play great defense and to work on our
conditioning. Those were the things we had two years ago."
Photo Illustration by CHARLES KUO/Daily Bruin