Maybe Charlie Brown should be the new UCLA mascot.
The perennial loser perfectly embodies this year’s Bruin
squad. Just like the famous Peanuts character, UCLA has found
virtually every way to lose during the past month.
The team’s current eight-game losing streak includes
consecutive blowouts at the hands of St. John’s, Arizona
State and Arizona.
But in three of the past four losses, at Stanford and home
against Oregon and Oregon State, the team had a chance to win the
game in the final minute but couldn’t convert.
The media has speculated on the team’s inability to win
close games, attributing it to a lack of heart and or talent. But
what seems most crucial is the team’s lack of preparation for
down-to-the-wire possessions.
Against both Oregon and Oregon State, the Bruins had a final
possession to tie or win. Both times, the team looked disorganized
about how to execute the designed play.
It makes spectators wonder, do they practice for these types of
pressure situations?
“You never want to practice for failure,” said guard
Ray Young. “It’s just that guys get so wrapped up in
the game, everyone has to slow down and stay in the moment and not
rush.”
Young has a point. Against Oregon, guard Ryan Walcott panicked
at the end of regulation, rushing a desperation three-pointer that
came up well short. The last shot was supposed go to forward Dijon
Thompson.
And against Oregon State, Thompson lost his head, getting called
for travelling with 18 seconds left when UCLA was down three.
UCLA head coach Steve Lavin said his team practices for all
types of situations, including final possessions where the team
must convert.
“Everyday we play four mini-scrimmages, where you simulate
game conditions,” Lavin said. “The clock is on and it
is officiated, just like a real game.”
But the players aren’t carrying over their practice
experience to the real game.
Until they learn how to pull out the close ones, the Bruins
losing streak could continue to snowball.
“We have these lapses where we don’t execute,”
Walcott said. “We lose to ourselves.”