A change in the middle
The emergence of UCLA center
George Zidek has changed the balance
of power in the paint as UCLA takes
on Arizona in tonight inTucson
By Christian Schreiber
Daily Bruin Staff
It has been easy in recent meetings of the UCLA and Arizona
men’s basketball teams to get lost in the players stalking the
perimeter.
The names that headlined past matchups litter today’s NBA
rosters: Chris Mills, Steve Kerr, Sean Elliot, Pooh Richardson,
Reggie Miller, Tracy Murray and Khalid Reeves to name a few.
And while the Bruins’ Tyus Edney and Damon Stoudamire will
attract most of the attention for tonight’s game at the McKale
Center in Tuscon, the balance of this year’s game might just be
decided away from the arc, in the paint.
Eyes trained to focus on the man bringing the ball up the court
will be superceded by the ones blocking their path to the
basket.
"No matter what the guard play is," UCLA forward Ed O’Bannon
warned, "the game is won on inside play. Inside play will be very
critical."
Critical to O’Bannon and UCLA’s hopes will be the play of center
George Zidek, whose emergence this season as an increased threat in
the post has helped No. 4 UCLA to a 9-1 overall mark and a tie for
second place in the early going of Pacific-10 play.
Opposite Zidek will be a trio of Wildcat big men making noise in
recent weeks, 6-foot-8-inch Ben Davis, 6-8 Ray Owes and 6-10 center
Joseph Blair.
Davis and Owes have combined to average 27 points and over 14
rebounds this season, helping Arizona to a 12-3 record, a No. 11
national ranking, and a sweep of the Cal and Stanford last
weekend.
But the Wildcats will likely send a more-bulky Blair into the
ring against Zidek, a rematch of the matchup that ended in a split
of the two teams’ games.
This season, Blair has averaged 11.2 points and 5.4 rebounds,
and was a key in Arizona’s 99-86 win over the Bears, scoring 15
points and pulling down six rebounds. Zidek, meanwhile, is coming
off a 20-point performance on seven-for-nine shooting against
Washington State, thickening the plot for tonight’s game.
"Blair is a guy who will muscle you
inside," Zidek said. "He’s good at fighting for position, and
he’s real wide and strong, so I’ll be trying to prevent him from
getting the ball, because once he gets the ball, it’s too
late."
Blair played consistently against the Bruins last season posting
12 points and seven rebounds in Tuscon and 10 points and five
boards in the ‘Cats loss in Westwood. Opposite those numbers,
however, were some impressive ones put up by Zidek. At home Zidek
put in 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds and topped that with an
18-point, 10-board effort at McKale.
"Zidek had a real strong game there last year," UCLA Head coach
Jim Harrick said. "We need to be real conscious of giving him the
ball because I think we match up pretty well with them inside."
That hasn’t always been the case. A succession of Arizona
centers has plagued UCLA in the last five-plus years, including
Anthony Cook and recent-departures Brian Williams, Ed Stokes and
Sean Rooks. They helped tip the scales over their contemporary
Bruin centers Kevin Butler, Richard Petruska and Rodney
Zimmerman.
Zidek’s emergence has changed that, bringing notice to the
middle of a Bruin lineup that has been more than just noticeably
weak. In fact, some have even touted Zidek, a seven-foot,
260-pounder from Prague in the Czech Republic, as the nation’s most
improved big man.
"My first three years I just sat on the bench and drank Gatorade
and handed out towels," Zidek said. "I’ve worked hard to make sure
this year wasn’t like that."
Zidek’s work poured into what has become his signature shot
 the sky hook  which he says he learned from his
father, a coach on the Czech National Team.
The hook has helped keep Zidek’s numbers consistent for the
Bruins  10.8 points to go along with 6.4 rebounds per game
 with signs of potential for scoring outbursts.
Zidek had 20 points in the team’s last outing and was the
decisive factor in UCLA’s one-point decision over then-No. 3
Kentucky, muscling for seven of UCLA’s last 11 points.
His success has come as surprise to many, but not to anyone
outside of Westwood.
"I guess you could say I’m not surprised by it," O’Bannon said.
"I watch George in here working after practice every day. His
improvement has been unbelievable."
Arizona coach Lute Olsen agreed, noting that Zidek’s emergence
changes the strategy his team uses on defense against the
Bruins.
"If you drop someone down on him, I don’t where you drop from. I
think Zidek’s presence really helps the team, and the talent of
other players really helps him," said Olsen, whose team has won an
amazing 112 of its last 115 at home since 1986. "He’s doing an
excellent job."
Zidek’s emergence has come largely as a result of dedicated,
before-and-after practice shoot-arounds. And it has worked: Zidek
stuck around after practice on Tuesday for a couple hundred extra
shots with assistant coach Mark Gottfried, including a stretch
where he knocked down 42-of-50 18-footers  after missing his
last four.
"I’ve just tried to work hard," he said. "I knew I wasn’t as
good as the other guys, so I had to outwork them. But I’m still
aware that there is plenty of room left to improve."
Blair, for one, doesn’t care.
"George has improved," he said. "But it doesn’t matter. I’ve
always treated him as a threat, and that’s how I’ll play him this
time."