Monday, March 9, 1998
Men’s Basketball
SIDEBAR:
By Brent Boyd
Daily Bruin Staff
Oh, the irony.
On a day when UCLA’s seniors were celebrated, idolized and
honored, it was Arizona’s own senior sensation Michael Dickerson
who took the leading role and stole the show on the Pauley Pavilion
stage Saturday.
Dickerson scored down low, scored from the outside and wreaked
havoc on the defensive end to spur the second-ranked Wildcats to
their come-from-behind victory over the Bruins.
"He was the difference today," UCLA head coach Steve Lavin said.
"He played like a first-team All-American. He played like a
player-of-the-year candidate."
And though a berth on the All-American squad still remains in
limbo, Dickerson certainly showed why he made the first-team
all-conference team by scoring 30 points – including 22 points in
the second half to seal the Wildcat victory.
The funny thing is, it wasn’t Dickerson who was supposed to hurt
the Bruins. It was the three Arizona guards – Mike Bibby, Miles
Simon, and Jason Terry – that had the UCLA coaching staff
worried.
Despite the fact that he leads his team with 18.6 points per
game, he often remains in the shadows on a team laden with
superstars.
But Saturday he reversed the roles and turned the trio of guards
into merely supporting actors.
"We don’t have a go-to guy on this team," Dickerson said.
"Usually it’s Simon or Bibby or (Jason) Terry, and tonight it was
my turn. We just go to the guy that’s hot."
Hot?
That would be like saying the Grand Canyon is a small hole in
the ground – a gross understatement.
Dickerson was simply sizzling.
He made 10 of his 13 field goal attempts in the second half,
including 2-for-3 from beyond the three-point arc.
He scored 13 of the Wildcats’ 26 points over the final eight
minutes, and six of their final nine over the last two.
"He’s had some great games for us, but this is probably his
best," Arizona head coach Lute Olson said. "I give our guys a lot
of credit for recognizing that (Dickerson) was on a run.
"I thought they did a great job getting him screens and getting
him the basketball and then basically just getting out of his
way."
What made him particularly hard to stop was that he scored from
everywhere.
Of his 11 field goals, he had two-three pointers, five
short-range jumpers and four lay-ins.
"He was just on," UCLA guard Toby Bailey said. "We had a hand up
every time, he never got an open shot. He just made them."
As for Dickerson, he just thought it was time to show some
leadership in his last regular season collegiate contest.
"I just think that I needed to step up for my team," he said.
"I’m a senior and I was feeling it and they gave me the ball in the
right places and I didn’t want to let them down."