The man has been at UCLA for six seasons. The man has played for
three years for two different coaches.
He is one of only three Bruins to win Pac-10 Player of the Week
over the last three years.
And he will be honored this Sunday as one of four seniors on
Senior Day.
The man is Janou Rubin, a former walk-on who earned a
scholarship under coach Ben Howland. Rubin has seen and been
through it all during his half-dozen years at UCLA.
He entered the program under coach Steve Lavin, during the midst
of the Bruins’ five consecutive Sweet 16 runs. That freshman
year, Rubin endured losses at home to Cal State Northridge and a
30-point loss on the road to Cal. He was perplexed by the
team’s inability to bring it together when the Bruins had
four future NBA players on the team.
And now he has come full circle with coach Howland, a man Rubin
describes as a “˜basketball man,’ and is once again
ready to get the Bruin program back to where it should be.
“To see what I’ve seen, and the adversity I’ve
been through, it’s nice for us to finally be winning
again,” Rubin said. “Winning definitely makes a lot of
what I’ve gone through worth it.”
Rubin’s adversity begins from his senior year at Logan
High School. That season, Rubin averaged 26.8 points and 4.6
rebounds. Coming out of high school, Rubin decided to walk-on to
the Bruins instead of accepting scholarship offers from other
schools.
After his freshman season with the Bruins, Rubin was promised a
scholarship by coach Lavin, but instead the scholarship was given
to senior John Hoffart. The year after, Rubin was again promised a
scholarship when recruit Evan Burns failed to qualify academically
for the Bruins. Again, the promise was reneged.
Finally, after his third season, Rubin was ready to transfer. He
had other schools recruiting him, and people hadn’t
forgottten his exploits in high school. But once coach Howland came
in, and convinced Rubin that UCLA was the place to be, Rubin
decided to stay.
“I always had the motto that you finish what you came to
accomplish,” Rubin said. “It would have been easy for
me to transfer or quit, but I chose the route to stick with
it.”
Rubin was rewarded with his decision two years ago when he saw
significant playing time as a junior and was awarded Pac-10 Player
of the Week honors for his performance against the Oregon
schools.
Prior to this season, Rubin was granted a sixth season of
eligibility by the NCAA because he suffered a season-ending knee
injury to end last season. The move paid off as Rubin stepped in
earlier this season for sophomore Josh Shipp, who suffered a quad
injury and was lost for the season,
For Rubin, coming back this season was about finishing something
he always knew he had.
“I never considered myself of walk-on caliber,”
Rubin said. “I always knew I had the talent to play Division
I college basketball, and I just needed the opportunity. I came
back this year to help the team win.”
Since the return of senior Cedric Bozeman, Rubin’s playing
time this season has significantly decreased, and he has been
relegated to the bench. But Rubin realizes it is best for the team,
and he knows that he can help the team in other ways.
“We obviously have some talented players on this team, and
as long as we are winning, I have no reason to complain,”
Rubin said. “I know I have other assets.”
During his six years at UCLA, Rubin has been known around the
Bruin community for his exploits off the courts, rather than just
his performance on the court. Rubin’s training regimens are
famous, and he has helped individuals such as Jaron Smith, who is
currently playing for Howard University in Washington D.C. and was
a former UCLA student, realize their potential of playing Division
I college basketball.
Most of Rubin’s friends, in fact, are non-athletes and he
has never felt the need to hang around athletes to make him feel
special.
“I’m just a down-to-earth guy, and just like to be
around people,” Rubin said. “I don’t care whether
you’re an athlete, non-athlete, or just a teacher. If
you’ve got good character, that is all that is important to
me.”
On Sunday, all Bruin fans should appreciate that good nature and
honor Rubin for the more than half-decade he has spent at UCLA.