INDIANAPOLIS “”mdash; It had been a place of horrors.
First-round NCAA Tournament losses to Princeton and Detroit. It
was the location of the Bruins’ sole loss in a national
championship game in 12 tries.
Now, however, 26 years after that championship game,
Indianapolis may become a place of destiny.
The Bruins took the first step toward reversing the evil spell
in the Hoosier State on Saturday by dismantling the Louisiana State
Tigers.
But to understand this sudden change of destiny, you must look
at the Bruins’ preparation for Saturday’s game rather
than at the game itself.
The team stayed in a hotel located 10 miles from downtown,
devoid of any distractions or potential visitors. They stayed in
East Indianapolis, a place known for its elaborate collection of
barns rather than nightly attractions.
“There are a lot of things that are a little different
with the Final Four that may not hold true for the rest of the
year,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “You just have to
prepare your team differently, because there are different
distractions.”
The players did not participate in a walk through the city like
the other teams, instead choosing to attend the retirement ceremony
of former Bruin great Reggie Miller at the Pacers’ Conseco
Fieldhouse.
Even UCLA fans were almost non-existent in downtown Indianapolis
prior to Saturday, giving way to louder and more confident LSU and
Florida fans.
During Friday’s pregame press conference, Howland and his
players were all business.
The Bruins gave very concise responses, causing many in the
national media to claim that the Bruins were boring and not lovable
winners.
But all they had to do was look at Lorenzo Mata’s broken
nose and Ryan Hollins’ knee contusion to understand the focus
with which the Bruins were practicing.
But there was obviously a method to Howland’s madness. The
Bruins came out and hit the Tigers in the mouth from the very
beginning of Saturday’s game.
“I never saw this type of game coming,” LSU forward
Glen “˜Big Baby’ Davis said. “Especially the kind
of team we are, the kind of character we have.”
“They just came out and punched us,” he said. We
didn’t recover from it.”
But those around the arena Saturday could see it coming.
The Tigers were very loose the day before the game. They signed
autographs for fans, and Davis caused a ruckus among the media in
the conference room with his constant jokes and smiles.
The Tigers, after all, were the media’s favorites. They
were the heartwarming story from Louisiana, having beaten perennial
powers Duke and Texas.
But Howland proved on Saturday that preparing his team for
victory was much more important than enjoying the spotlight or the
moment.
As Howland said, “I’ll let my players enjoy as much
as they want after we win the title.”
For all Bruins fans out there, let’s hope that the
enjoyment comes starting tonight.
Parikh was a 2005-2006 basketball columnist. E-mail him at
sparikh@media.ucla.edu if you have suggestions for how Howland
should prepare his team for tonight’s game.