There’s a lot of karma going around in the Pac-10 right
now. Some teams are reaping the rewards for having lived decent,
generous past lives. Some other teams, however, must be wondering
if in their past lives they peed on the walls of a Buddhist Temple
or something. The universe is all about balance, and opposites set
against each other. With that in mind, let’s take a karmic
look at what’s right and what’s wrong with the
Pac-10.
What’s right Arizona is in first place, with a perfect 4-0
record in Pac-10 play. They’ve already beaten Oregon in
Eugene, and that was supposed to be their biggest rival. Everybody
“om” with me: The Wildcats should start packing for the
Final Four. Head coach Lute Olson must have done some pretty great
things in his past life. In fact, judging by his Zen-like demeanor
and class-act personality, Lute might already be some kind of
bodhisattva. Not everything is full of incense dreams and warm
fuzzy thoughts, however. Sophomore guard Will Bynum, in some
foolish quest to gain more national attention, decided to transfer
from Arizona to the “University of Bad Decisions” so he
can score 30 points a game and maybe get drafted by the NBA. Will
has great hops, a questionable shot and, obviously, an even more
questionable attitude. Also enjoying some seriously good karma are
the Cal Bears. They’re 3-0 in conference and haven’t
been 4-0 since 1957 when the legendary Pete Newell coached them.
Joe Shipp was recently named Pac-10 player of the week, and Da
Bears have three players (Shipp, Amit Tamir and Brian Wethers) that
can score. In fact, that Terrible Triumvirate comprise 68 percent
of Cal’s total offense. It seems Berkeley can ball after all.
Include Stanford, too, among this group of positive mojo. Some guy
named Matt Lottich averaged 19 points per game against Oregon and
Oregon State, going 10-of-16 from three point land. Lottich
hadn’t scored since his senior prom, and now he’s
dropping 20 a night? Somebody up in Palo Alto is definitely
following the Eight Fold Path, that much is for certain. And how
about Arizona State? The Sun Devils are typically mediocre at best,
but with the infusion of freshman talent Ike Diogu, the feisty
pitchfork-wielding Sunny Delights are actually winning games …
no, I don’t understand it either. However, not every team can
be so lucky …
What’s wrong Oregon is 1-3 in the Pac-10 and suddenly
can’t hit a shot. This clearly isn’t the same team that
could score 90 points in their sleep. The two Lukes, Jackson and
Ridnour, are cold from the field and the team isn’t
rebounding worth a mention. Both Cal and Stanford ripped the Ducks
a new bill, but luckily for coach Ernie Kent the team returns to
the Pit, the best home court in the conference, to take on the
perennially horrible (but a personal favorite of mine) Oregon State
Beavers. Karma is a fleeting, temporary thing. Oregon got cocky and
now they’re getting burned. Better meditate on the situation
and rediscover the inner Duck, boys. As far as the two Washington
schools go, they’ve been so bad for so long that either karma
has forgotten about them completely, or they’re being
punished for something really, really awful, like pulling the fire
alarm in De Neve at 7:30 in the morning and thus depriving a
thousand bleary-eyed ““ or in my case, rather hung over
““ students of a few more hours of much longed-for sleep. (If
you did this, I will get you for it. I will get you in complicated
ways.) Oregon State isn’t as bad as their record indicates.
They’re 0-4 in conference but they’ve had a second-half
lead in every single game thus far. It’s only a matter of
time before their good karma swells and the Beavers begin to bask
in the reflected glory of basketball success. Trust in the power of
Brent Barry’s alma mater. And finally, we come to rest on the
UCLA Bruins. Is it bad karma, bad Lavin, or bad players? After
years and years of unparalleled success, has UCLA cashed in on all
the good deeds of past lives already? Do the fans demand too much?
Yes, yes, sort of, and is asking for victories over San Diego,
Northern Arizona, and an 0-6 Michigan team at Pauley Pavilion too
much for you, Stevie? There isn’t much hope for this season;
in fact, each athlete is probably going to have to donate a kidney
in order to muster up enough positive Chi for next year. Maybe
Lavin should donate both; that, more than anything, will probably
have more impact on the basketball team than anything else.
Bad karma for life St. John’s guard Anthony Glover, when
asked about John Wooden, responded eloquently: “What did he
do?” I hear the boosters are collecting money for
Lavin’s kidney operation. E-mail Colin Yuhl at
cyuhl@media.ucla.edu if you’d like to contribute.