Bruins’ heads high despite shortcomings

Monday, April 6, 1998

Bruins’ heads high despite shortcomings

M.HOOPS: Seniors Bailey, Henderson, Johnson play in their final
UCLA game

By Emmanuelle Ejercito

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — There was something missing in the UCLA
men’s basketball team’s season-ending loss to Kentucky in the Sweet
Sixteen.

No, it wasn’t their rebounding – the Bruins out-rebounded the
much larger Wildcats 51-41. Nor was it UCLA’s free-throw shooting,
as the team connected on 81.8 percent from the charity stripe.
Kentucky’s stifling defense was there too, forcing UCLA to shoot
only 29.1 percent from the field.

What was missing was a dramatic ending to the Bruin season that
made Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride seem tame.

There was no heart-breaking buzzer beater, nor was there a
controversial call. Rather, it was a quiet ending to a tumultuous
tale with the eventual national champions dismantling UCLA 94-68 on
March 20 at Tropicana Field before a crowd of 40,859, the majority
of whom wore Wildcat Blue.

And so concluded the 1997-1998 season that featured suspensions,
reinstatements, resignations, a season-ending injury to Baron
Davis, a six-hour delayed arrival to St. Petersburg due to the
chartered plane’s radar problems and four stitches on the finger
Rico Hines cut with a butter knife two nights before the South
Regional semi-final.

"Our team is like Murphy’s Law," senior Toby Bailey said before
the Kentucky match-up. "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong with
our team.

"It’s comedy now when something happens."

What wasn’t comedy, though, was the game.

Kentucky controlled the game from the onset. Its pressure
defense forced UCLA into early turnovers. In the first half alone,
the Bruins gave the ball up 14 times, while the Wildcats played
cleanly with only four turnovers. And when the Bruins did hang on
to the ball, one of two things happened – they missed or they were
blocked.

Kentucky’s interior defense was stingy as UCLA could only
connect on seven of 18 attempts in the paint. The rims weren’t kind
either, as countless Bruin shots rolled in and out. The Wildcat big
men weren’t of much help either, blocking a Regional record 14
shots. The Kentucky 6-foot-10-inch tandem of Nazr Mohammed and
Jamaal Magloire had a game-high six blocks apiece.

"Pack in and not let us do anything inside – it was a good plan
– that’s what I would have done," senior center J.R. Henderson
said. "They didn’t let us get any good shots off. Some of our guys
need that easy shot that first lay-up to get us going, and they
blocked all those. I felt that we never really got into any
rhythm."

Depth was also a problem for the Bruins. While the Wildcats had
a nine-man rotation, UCLA was down to six with the injury to
Davis.

"Kentucky came at us in waves," senior Kris Johnson said. "In a
four or five-minute stretch they would have a whole new five on the
court against our same five. So during the course of the game we
wore down and they kept coming with fresh legs. Their press
affected us and made us make a lot of unnecessary turnovers, and I
think that we just played uptight, but in the end, definitely,
depth was the problem that’s why we lost the game."

But the loss didn’t just mark the end of the year for the
Bruins, it was also the end of an era. The 1998 Sweet Sixteen was
the last UCLA game for the three seniors – Bailey, Henderson and
Johnson. And as they have done throughout the season, the seniors
ended their careers by leading the team in scoring. Johnson had a
team-high 18 points, Bailey had 16 (all in the second half) and
Henderson contributed 10.

"What I told the team after the game, especially with our three
seniors, is that they have nothing to apologize for," UCLA head
coach Steve Lavin said. "(The seniors) have won 103 games
throughout their careers, four straight trips to the NCAA
tournament, three Pac-10 championships outright, the Sweet Sixteen,
the Elite Eight, and more importantly, all the obstacles and
hurdles they’ve overcome. Instead of choosing to dwell on the 24th
loss, the 103 wins are very special by any standard in college
athletics."

The last official time-out was called with 2:50 remaining and
UCLA trailing by 29. So when the seniors walked toward the bench,
they put their arms around each other knowing their time in a UCLA
uniform was coming to a close.

"I was just proud of the way they played, and I knew it was
coming to an end," a choked-up Bailey answered when asked what was
said in the final march to the bench, "and I just wanted to let
them know that I was proud to be able to play with them and glad
for everything that they’ve done this year and all that we’ve gone
through in our careers. You know, I love those two guys, and I’m
just sad because I won’t be able to play with them anymore."

Said Johnson: "When I realized it (was over) on the bench, I was
emotional inside, but I didn’t get like I was last year where I was
crying. I’m just proud of the way the guys responded, of how I
responded to a lot of the adversity this year. All good things must
come to an end.

We had a great run here and we gave it our best, but we couldn’t
overcome this last obstacle, and that’s what happened, and I’ve
learned to put things into perspective. This is definitely a loss
that is really hard to take, but it’s reality, and I can’t trip on
it. I just have to move on."

Moving on is also on Henderson’s mind.

"I just think of it that I’m moving on to bigger and better
things," Henderson said. "I’m not going to sit here and cry about
it.

"It’s over – there’s nothing I can do about it."

JAMIE-SCANLON JACOBS/Daily Bruin

In the end, the smothering defense and deep bench of Kentucky
were too much for the Bruins and Toby Bailey, who played in his
last collegiate game.