Coaxing a complaint out of Ryan Walcott is nearly impossible
these days. He just won’t do it.
Doesn’t matter that the junior point guard spent the first
three months of the season shackled to the bench. Or that his
playing time will likely be cut even further next season by the
arrival of Ben Howland’s first recruiting class.
Right now Walcott’s spirits are higher than his trademark
knee-high tube socks. Though he acknowledges that he probably will
never assume the role of UCLA’s starting point guard, he says
he has learned to relish coming off the bench.
“It’s a tough situation,” Walcott admits,
“but I just have to keep my head up and keep working
hard.”
Extra effort is what has propelled Walcott out of
Howland’s doghouse and onto the court recently.
When Howland arrived at UCLA in April, he didn’t know much
about the 6-foot-1, 180-pound guard.
“I only knew his stats,” he said.
That didn’t bother Walcott. Nobody had expected him to
fill the void left by his cousin, Mike Bibby, as Shadow Mountain
High School’s starting point guard. Nobody had expected him
to lead the Matadors to the Arizona 5A State Championship as a
senior. Nobody had expected him to seal UCLA’s second-round
upset of top-seeded Cincinnati with a pair of free throws as a
freshman.
So he didn’t mind if Howland didn’t expect much
either.
“It was a clean slate,” Walcott said. “I had
nothing to lose.”
Walcott had practically lived in the gym over summer. He lifted
weights, played in pick-up games against Bibby, and shot hundreds
of jumpers each day. But all that perseverance did not translate
into playing time.
Howland entrusted the starting position to junior Cedric
Bozeman, refusing to play Walcott even when the situation seemed to
dictate it. Walcott, who averaged 21.8 minutes per game last
season, played just a handful of minutes each night early in the
season, often remaining on the sidelines even when Bozeman was on
the brink of exhaustion.
“It was very hard on me,” said Walcott, who briefly
considered leaving UCLA, but decided to remain a Bruin. “When
you expect to play and you’re not getting the minutes you
want, it’s frustrating. Especially because of how hard I
worked over the summer.”
Practice was even more arduous for Walcott as the coaching staff
criticized his performance repeatedly. Howland told him he lacked
creativity on offense and that his defense had become
lackadaisical.
“I used to think about what he told me every night,”
Walcott said. “I kept asking myself, “˜How can I get
better? How can I do better in practice?'”
The answer, after much soul searching? Work harder.
A turnover-plagued performance in relief of Bozeman last month
in Seattle was the low point for Walcott, but he refused to quit.
He bided his time, taking extra jump shots in practice and rooting
for his teammates from the sidelines, all the while hoping that
Howland would take notice.
At last, he did.
With the Bruins mired in a six-game losing streak, Howland
called upon Walcott and the rest of the back-ups against Washington
to re-energize UCLA’s sagging season. They responded, with
Walcott leading the way with eight points on 3-for-3 shooting.
Since that performance, Walcott has seen his playing time
increase. He’s averaged 10.3 minutes per game over the second
half of conference season and has been more active in every facet
of the game.
“He’s found his niche,” fellow-senior T.J.
Cummings said.
Added Howland, “I’ve learned to appreciate him
more.”
Walcott’s enthusiasm for basketball, absent for the better
part of the season, has returned in recent weeks. After a
first-half layup against California last week, he ran down the
court grinning, arms outstretched like the wings of an airplane.
Two days later against Stanford, he pumped his fist and played to
the crowd after a crucial first-half steal.
“I’m showing confidence and belief in him, and
he’s responding,” Howland said. “He’s
playing very well right now.”
No matter how much he contributes this season, it’s
unlikely Walcott will see much time as a senior. Heralded prep
point guard Jordan Farmar will don the blue and gold next fall,
meaning that Walcott will probably fall to third on the depth
chart.
“Jordan is Howland’s recruit,” Walcott said.
“There’s no doubt he’ll be in the mix.”
“But I’ve just got to be more of a leader on the
basketball court,” he said.
Or at least keep on working.