Monday, 6/9/97 Cameron Dollar Basketball
Steve Lavin, UCLA men’s basketball head coach, has likened
Cameron Dollar to a quarterback for his ability to motivate his
teammates and get the job done. Getting the job done is nothing new
for Dollar: The point guard has been a clutch player for the past
four years. "He may not be pretty, he may not jump over the
backboard, he may not be as strong or as physically gifted as some
point guards, but he’s a winner," Lavin said after the Washington
game on Jan. 4. "He just comes up with big plays and finds ways."
Big plays have been abundant over the span of Dollar’s UCLA career.
Dollar saw limited playing time in his freshman and sophomore years
as backup to Tyus Edney. When called upon to take over the team,
Dollar proved his worth. With Edney unable to play due to a wrist
injury in the 1995 NCAA Championship game, it seemed as if UCLA’s
chances of dethroning defending champion Arkansas were highly
unlikely. Yet Dollar was there to dispel any doubts. Dollar
directed the Bruin offense, collecting six points and eight
assists. Dollar also helped out on the defensive end with four
steals and one blocked shot. With the graduation of Edney, the
1995-1996 season was supposed to be Dollar’s time to shine.
Instead, Dollar was hampered by injuries to two fingers. First he
had a torn ligament on his right little finger, then to complement
that, he dislocated his left little finger. But despite his
injuries, Dollar again made the big plays and lifted his team when
it counted. Making a total of six three-point shots in his junior
season, he came up with a three-pointer against Washington on March
7, 1996 in Pauley Pavilion to clinch a second-straight conference
crown. As the game went into overtime Dollar spun around at
half-court and threw the ball in at the buzzer, giving UCLA a 91-88
victory. Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat has been the
theme of Dollar’s senior campaign in 1997. Over and over again,
Dollar has come up with the winning basket with less time on the
clock than it would take to blink. In his last Pac-10 game of his
career, Dollar found himself with the ball and his team down one
point with 4.5 seconds remaining. Dollar dodged the defenders and
laid the ball in to carry the Bruins over Washington State, 87-86.
Two weeks later, Dollar would do the impossible once again, with
the trip to the Elite Eight at stake. Dollar scored a career-high
20 points against Iowa State. The two most important points came
with 1.9 seconds remaining, helping UCLA to a 74-73 overtime
victory. A "bubble" pick in the upcoming NBA draft, Dollar leaves
UCLA ranked second on the all-time steals list with 214, by setting
a single-season record of 82 steals this season, and sixth in
career assists with 451. By Emmanuelle Ejercito, Daily Bruin Staff.
Cameron Dollar