Forty years after giving UCLA its first national championship,
Gail Goodrich was finally on the receiving end. At halftime during
the Bruins’ 81-79 win over Michigan on Saturday,
Goodrich’s jersey number, 25, was retired in a ceremony
featuring teammates from his 1964-5 national championship teams,
coach John Wooden and several former Bruins whose numbers have also
been retired. Goodrich, a left-handed sharp-shooting guard, already
had his high school and professional jerseys retired and did not
seem to mind that the program he catapulted to the top of the
nation was the last to honor him in this fashion. “The award
belongs to the giver,” Goodrich said. “You’re not
entitled to an award. The award in my heart is that I was part of
the 1964-5 teams.” During his brief speech, Goodrich talked
about how special he felt to be a part of those two national
championship teams and how teamwork enabled them to reach that
pinnacle of success. “Playing here at UCLA was the most
enjoyable days I had playing,” Goodrich said. “I
couldn’t wait to get to the gym.” Ed O’Bannon
(1992-95), Bill Walton (1972-4), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1967-9) and
Walt Hazzard (1962-4), four of the now seven men’s players
who have had their jerseys retired, were on hand for the ceremony.
The current batch of Bruins did their part in honoring Goodrich by
wearing UCLA uniforms from the early 1960s, with
“Bruins” emblazoned in gold on the front and
players’ names absent on the back. “It’s nice in
honoring one of the Bruin greats, especially another valley boy
like Jordan (Farmar),” UCLA coach Ben Howland said with a
smile at the end. As a senior, Goodrich led the Bruins in scoring
and also set a then-NCAA Championship game record with 42 points in
the Bruins’ win over top-ranked Michigan.
BEATEN DOWN LOW: During the crucial
three-minute stretch at the end of the game, the Bruins’ swarming
defense shut down the Wolverines. But in Howland’s eyes, that
didn’t excuse their play in the first 37 minutes of the game.
“We were really inept defensively, whether we were in man or
zone,” Howland said. For the greater part of the game, the
Bruins struggled to keep the post players in check as the
Wolverines’ three starting front-court players combined for
51 points. Michigan also picked up seven more offensive rebounds,
largely due to the fact that UCLA went into a zone defense with a
smaller lineup. “We came to double the post and that takes
away weak side rebounding,” Howland said. “When we went
one-on-one, they hurt us.” Foul trouble in the front-court
throughout the game left the Bruins undersized on the defensive
end. Four minutes into the second half, Michael Fey, Ryan Hollins
and Lorenzo Mata all had three fouls. As a result, senior Dijon
Thompson, a natural wing, was thrust into the No. 4 spot for
significant periods during the game and will continue to learn the
position as a starter in the future. “I’ve been getting
on the bigs early in the season,” Thompson said of his
teammates’ defensive efforts. “But you’ve really
got to play hard down there. I have to tip my hat to Fey, Hollins
and (Matt) McKinney for playing that position.”
SHOCKWAVES: As reports surfaced Saturday
afternoon that Rick Majerus was resigning from USC before even
coaching a game, Howland, a longtime friend of his, reacted just as
shocked as the rest of the basketball community.
“You’re kidding me, right?” said Howland, who was
unaware of Majerus’ intended resignation until a reporter
asked him about it after the game. “That’s stunning. I
hope and pray it’s not over health issues, because that was
always the biggest concern. I’m sorry to hear that for his
sake.” Majerus, who led Utah to the national championship
game in 1998, has not yet officially announced his resignation or
the reasons for it. He is expected to meet with USC athletic
director Mike Garrett on Monday to formalize his decision. After
signing a five-year contract with the Trojans last Wednesday,
Majerus was scheduled to assume full coaching responsibilities at
the end of this season on April 1. He had recommended Howland for
the head coaching position at Pittsburgh in 1999.