Tuesday, January 28, 1997
OPINION:
Pulling through in a crunch could be last obstacle for men’s
hoops
It’s time for the latest installment in the evolution of the
UCLA men’s basketball team.
In our last episode, we left the Bruins as a team on the rise,
one that was showing some signs of life after a gruesome start.
After stumbling out of the gates and making the pundits look like
collective geniuses after the Stanford debacle, this team began to
turn things around. The defense had begun to come together and the
team was playing as a cohesive group for the first time all
season.
The big Arizona weekend and the USC game only solidified this
development, as the Bruins came up with a trio of splendid little
victories, showing an entertaining blend of showmanship and solid,
fundamental basketball.
This was a team on the verge of exploding back onto the national
scene as its four-game winning streak put it on the brink of being
in the top 25.
The Louisville game was the perfect stage for the unveiling of
these new and improved Bruins. A national television audience, an
away game against the sixth-ranked team in the nation, and a level
of confidence, both within the team and from the fans, that has not
been seen in awhile.
The first half, well, this was what I’ve been waiting for.
The second half, ugh, another el foldo.
In the first half, the Bruins played like the teams of old, with
exciting, up-tempo basketball. In the second half, they played like
the team that we have become used to, frittering away a lead a la
the Lakers and letting Louisville dictate the tempo.
Sure, after Cameron Dollar threw away an alley-oop, allowing the
Cards to stretch their late lead to six, the Bruins were able to
pull themselves together, something that they have not been very
good at doing in the past.
Hurrah, hurrah, they still lost. And here is why.
In the crunch, this team does not have a go-to guy.
Where Kansas has Jacque Vaughn and Wake Forest has Tim Duncan,
who does UCLA have to answer the call in the waning moments?
In this instance, when the Bruins had a chance to win the game
with a final shot, the ball went to J.R. Henderson. A good decision
considering his free throws against Kentucky two years ago.
However, with the game on his shoulders, the man who has been at
his best lately, took the ball at the top of the key … and fell
down.
He didn’t get a shot off, he didn’t make the pass, he fell
down.
Talk about wilting under pressure.
This is not a new symptom, for the same problem was evident
amidst the joy of the Arizona game. When the Bruins had the ball
near the end of regulation with a tie score and a chance to win,
the same thing happened.
With six seconds left, Kris Johnson took a shot from the
baseline … and got swatted.
First of all, you don’t take your last shot with six seconds
left unless, for some bizarre, self-destructive reason you want to
give the other team another crack. You’ve got to hold the ball a
little longer.
Second, take a good shot. Johnson, who has incredible shooting
touch, has every right to take the last shot and to establish
himself as the go-to guy. But to put up a leaner that gets swatted
away, with no chance for an offensive rebound or anything, well,
that is poor clutch play.
The value of this gamesmanship was painfully evident in the
Louisville game in the form of Cardinal guard B.J. Flynn. Three
times with the shot clock winding down to zero late in the game,
the ball found its way, first into his hands, and from there to the
basket. Twice he buried three’s with the shot clock next to zero,
and the third time he put himself on the foul line.
You’ll never see Flynn make the high-flying dunk or acrobatic
pass, but when the game is on the line, you make sure that the ball
is in his hands.
What about Cameron Dollar and his heroics last year against
Washington? Well, he flubbed a layup with 37 seconds left.
Toby Bailey, perhaps? Three travelling calls in the second half
tend to damage one’s reputation as a clutch player.
Charles O’Bannon? Aah, here’s the answer. The man who scored the
Bruins first 10 points in the second half. The man who buried ‘SC
on his 21st birthday last year (you can bet that party was worth
the suspension). The man who has become the team leader and most
controlled player.
This could be the last mental obstacle that the Bruins face as
they battle for a tournament berth. The play is there, the talent
and coaching is there. Now someone has to step above the rest and
make the big shots.
Mark Shapiro is a third-year student and is the beat writer for
men’s tennis. Responses to this column can be e-mailed to
mshapiro@media.ucla.edu.