There are some great names associated with Pauley Pavilion: Lew
Alcindor, Baron Davis, Jordan Farmar and Russell Vastano?
Don’t be surprised if the last name doesn’t sound
familiar. Vastano, a second-year psychology student, is one of the
driving forces behind the Rieber Vista Sixers intramural basketball
team, a squad that has managed to fly under the national radar.
At UCLA, intramural basketball games are held in both the
Student Activities Center and Pauley Pavilion. Any student who
wants to has the opportunity to step onto the court normally
reserved for giraffes and old men in zebra costumes and play
competitive basketball.
The games are an opportunity for the nameless Kelvin Kims on
campus to shine, and Pauley is one of the biggest stages in all of
college basketball. The arena itself is not awe inspiring, but
because of the history it holds a certain magic. Eleven national
championships, a long tradition of excellence, and decades in the
spotlight are all characteristics of UCLA basketball.
Standing on the court before tip-off you can’t help but
feel like you’re a part of that great history in a way you
weren’t previously. Images of Billy Knight’s
game-winning shot against USC and clutch Arron Afflalo jump shots
come to mind when you stand at center court.
“I think it’s pretty cool that I can tread on ground
that UCLA’s greatest once played on,” Vastano said in a
post-game interview.
During league play, courts are set up horizontally down the
regulation court so several games can occur at once.
The impact of getting to play on such hallowed ground is a
common sentiment. Liam Spurgeon, a second-year psychology student
and power forward for the Sixers, commented on the history of the
venue.
“You walk down the stairs and there’s the big poster
of Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) rising above the rafters,” Spurgeon
noted. “It’s a little surreal seeing all the seats,
even though they’re empty. It makes you step up your game a
little.”
It may not make the Los Angeles Times, but the Sixers stepped it
up Tuesday night in a shootout, notching a 22-11 victory and
putting them in great position for postseason play.
The team is entirely comprised of people who live on the sixth
floor of Rieber Vista, a virtually untapped resource of pure
basketball ability. Until now. The team is coached by Elizabeth
Carnés, who also headed up the recruiting and scheduling
responsibilities.
“I picked Pauley for all but one of our games because
everyone was like, “˜Whoa, we’re gonna play in
Pauley?'” Carnés said. “I think people feel
a little more excited because we play in Pauley.”
Even the coach got caught up in her surroundings when she saw
“Nell and John Wooden Court” written on the floor.
“During the game, I’m pretty focused, but when the
team is warming up I kind of look around and say, “˜Whoa,
I’m in Pauley, on the court,'” Carnés
said.
The significance is almost tantamount to getting to play
stickball at Yankee Stadium or flag football at the Rose Bowl. It
is an incredible wormhole in the universe where students at a huge
university get a chance to feel a personal connection to the
school’s sports program.
“I think it helps people develop passions in themselves.
Having Pauley open to students helps get people out there who
normally wouldn’t,” Carnés said.
Looking around the empty arena, players imagine the band’s
Hawaiian shirts behind the hoop and a full student section urging
them on. Students get to feel like a big shot and hit the big shot
on the same court as the blue and gold Bruins. When asked which
Bruin he most resembles on the court, Vastano replied, “John
Wooden, because I play like an old wise man.”
To get on the Rieber Vista Sixers bandwagon, e-mail Gordon
at bgordon@media.ucla.edu.