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Charles O’Bannon’s time to shine for the Bruins

By Daily Bruin Staff

Nov. 19, 1996 9:00 p.m.

Wednesday, November 20, 1996

BASKETBALL:

Out of Ed’s shadow, Charles hopes to lead the way for UCLABy Hye
Kwon

Daily Bruin Staff

Charles O’Bannon suffers from a malady athletes like Gerald
Wilkins and Shannon Sharpe have had to endure throughout their
careers. They are stars in their own right, but they invariably get
compared to their older brothers. ­ older brothers that happen
to be superstars.

In O’Bannon’s case, the comparison is between himself and Ed,
the man who led the Bruins to their 11th National Championship and
garnered player-of-the-year accolades two seasons ago. Although Ed
may not be an NBA superstar, his legacy in Westwood casts quite a
shadow over his baby brother.

"We’re two different players, two different types of leaders and
we play two different positions," Charles O’Bannon said. "One thing
you can compare, pretty much, is our last names. We have the same
last name with two totally different styles of play."

But as small forward Charles begins his senior season at UCLA,
he finds himself in circumstances that are ironically similar to
the ones that Ed, who played power forward, faced in his senior
year.

First of all, there was a nucleus of three seniors two years ago
including Ed, point guard Tyus Edney and pivot man George Zidek.
This year, Charles has seniors Cameron Dollar and Bob Meyers as
companions along for the ride.

Furthermore, Ed’s team was coming off of a humiliating loss to
Tulsa in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In last year’s
tournament, Princeton was the team that sent UCLA home early.

The loss to Princeton eliminated any thoughts O’Bannon might
have had about jumping to the NBA after his junior season, and so
he returned for a senior season as his brother did following the
loss to Tulsa.

"I considered it, but there wasn’t much thought involved,"
O’Bannon said. "I wanted to go out the same way my brother went
out. I wanted to be a senior on a team that has the potential of
winning a national title.

"Financially, I’m stable because of Ed, so I just wanted to
finish my career here at UCLA and do the best that I can as far as
positioning myself for next year’s draft is concerned."

There is, however, a major distinction between Charles’ senior
season and his brother’s. It is in the form of an obstacle and a
distraction which will be a season-long test of Charles’ leadership
qualities. That, of course, is the firing of Jim Harrick.

In the infamous press conference, O’Bannon spoke of Harrick as a
father figure; a father who the Bruin basketball family has to do
without this year, a father whose absence demands that O’Bannon
take a bigger role.

Interim head coach Steve Lavin, who is about 10 years older than
his star forward, knows the importance of O’Bannon’s presence on
the team as an emotional leader.

"(O’Bannon’s) example is more powerful than anything he can
say," Lavin said. "What we’ve talked about his letting his actions
and his examples set the tone for this team. What I really expect
from him is to make the kind of sacrifices and to show the kind of
discipline that this team needs to have a great season."

O’Bannon admits Harrick’s firing was a devastating shock to him
and his teammates. But, as the Bruins start their season tonight
against Tulsa, O’Bannon stresses the importance of putting the
incident behind them and concentrating on playing basketball.

"It’s time to move on," O’Bannon said. "You can’t sit and dwell
on what’s happened in the past and things that are out of your
control. You have to deal with the present and deal with the
future. We’re trying to go on with the season.

"We can please (Harrick) by playing the way he coached, by doing
the things that he’s taught us. That’s the biggest tribute you can
give to him. It wouldn’t be to say things to the paper or on TV,
but playing the way he taught us would be the biggest tribute."

Having played 92 games in the collegiate ranks, O’Bannon has
seen his share of teams, and knows what kind of qualities make up a
successful squad. According to O’Bannon, there were flaws in the
attitudes of last year’s team that ultimately led to its
disappointing finish.

"We were immature, over confident and we just didn’t have the
focus that was required to win the tournament in college
basketball," O’Bannon said. "We thought things would not
necessarily be handed to you, but we didn’t realize how important
leadership was. We didn’t realize that it takes a lot more than
just talent to win in the tournament."

A year ago, UCLA started its season with a loss against Santa
Clara in the Maui Classic. O’Bannon doesn’t want that to happen
again. With a desire to emulate the achievements of his older
brother and a hunger to carve out his own legacy in Westwood,
O’Bannon is doing his best to keep his team focused from the very
first tip off.

"We don’t want to come out flat like we did early last season,"
O’Bannon said. "Our first couple games in Hawaii, we came out a
little slow and too overconfident. We want to come out humble but
at the same time with fire in our eyes against Tulsa. We want the
rest of the country to know that we’re for real."

JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin

Senior Charles O’Bannon hopes to lead UCLA to another NCAA
title.

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