Bruins head to Garden for tourney

The Garden.

Perhaps no two words conjure up more basketball and sports
memories than those two.

From New York Knick Willis Reed’s dramatic comeback in the
1970 NBA Finals to “The Fight of the Century” ““
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier ““ in 1971 to Michael
Jordan’s famous “double nickel” game against the
Knicks in 1995; there is no doubt New York’s Madison Square
Garden is the premier address for sports.

On Thursday and Friday, the UCLA men’s basketball team
will play in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament on the
Garden’s hallowed court. It’s the first time the Bruins
have played in the Garden since the 1992-93 season.

“It’s a chance of a lifetime,” said UCLA guard
Jason Flowers, who will be making his first trip to New York.
“The Garden is going to be remembered forever. It’s
going into the annals of history and I’ll be able to say that
I played in Madison Square Garden.

“I might even put it on my tombstone when I die,” he
added.

While Bruin forward Jason Kapono is not going that far, he is
also looking forward to playing on the historic court.

“It’s probably the most famous place to play
basketball,” he said.

“Jordan’s played there, the great Knicks, (Larry)
Bird’s played in that arena. It’s the greatest place to
play. So for us to get a chance to go out there and play with three
other top teams, it’s going to be a pretty good experience
for us.

“Hopefully we will not be scared or timid, we’ll
just go out there and grace the floor,” he added.

Flowers said the fact that his team starts the season playing in
the Garden is what drove many of his teammates out of their beds
and into the gym during the summer.

“During the summer, you don’t want to get up at 8
o’clock in the morning,” he said. “But you know
Dick Vitale is going to be at the game. Your game can’t be
lacking when you go play in the Garden.”

One reason why the Garden is so special is its rich history. The
Garden opened in 1879. It has since been moved to three other
buildings in three other locations with the current Garden opening
in 1968.

Garden IV, the current arena that is the home of the New York
Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers, has witnessed, among
other events, Reed’s dramatic comeback from a thigh injury in
Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals.

Reed had torn a muscle in his right thigh during Game 5. He
missed Game 6, a Los Angeles Lakers win, and was doubtful for Game
7.

As his teammates warmed up minutes before Game 7, Reed was still
in th locker room. Then, with a raucous cheer from the sold-out
Garden, the New York Knicks’ center emerged from the locker
room and limped to the court.

With the crowd on its feet, Reed would go on to score the first
two baskets of the game. Although he wouldn’t score any more,
his presence was just what his team needed to defeat the Lakers,
113-99, and take the title.

The Garden has also seen two Ali-Frazier fights with the 1971
clash being deemed “The Fight of the Century.” Both men
entered the fight undefeated.

In the 15th round, Frazier dropped Ali with a devastating
hook.

In 1995, the Garden was also the scene where Jordan, in his
fifth game back from his brief 17-month retirement, scored his
famous “double nickel””“ 55 points ““ against
the Knicks.

Jordan helped win the game for his Chicago Bulls when he found
an open Bill Wennington under the basket, who went up for an easy
jam to give the Bulls a 113-111 victory.

Another reason why the Garden is so unique is because of its
ambience.

The fans truly love the game. They get to the game early and
follow each dribble, rebound, and basket with vigor.

UCLA guard Ryan Bailey got a taste of that ambience when he
played in the Jimmy Valvano Classic in nearby New Jersey during his
one-year stint with Penn State in 1996.

“The fans in New York are a lot more crazier than out
here,” he said. “Out here it’s more of a wine and
cheese crowd. People sit back and have their fun. The show is more
in the stands than on the floor.

“In New York, people like to come out and cheer. Spike Lee
is on the court harassing the players. Its seems more like a
college game at Madison Square Garden than a pro game.”

Jordan loved to play in this environment as he had some of his
biggest games at the Garden. The six-time NBA champion, who retired
in 1998, used to refer to the Garden as “the Mecca of
basketball.”

“Whenever Michael Jordan says that is the Mecca of
basketball there’s no way you can fight that,” Flowers
said. “We have tradition in Los Angeles with the Lakers and
this and that. And it’s the new Staples Center but nothing
can compare to the Garden.”

It’s not just the players who are excited about playing in
the Garden for the first time. UCLA head coach Steve Lavin said
he’s looking forward to coaching his first game as a head
coach on the famous court.

His father, Cap, played in the Garden as a part of the
University of San Francisco, which was coached by Pete Newell at
the time, in 1950. Now fifty years later, Lavin is going to be a
head coach in the Garden.

“It’s kind of neat,” Lavin said. “My dad
got to play there and now I get to go and coach there.”

Lavin added that because of the team’s short schedule in
New York, they get there Tuesday night and return on Saturday,
there won’t be that much time for the players to scour the
city.

But that’s okay with Bailey.

“If they lock us in the hotel the whole time it’s
okay with me as long as I can step foot on Madison Square
Garden,” he said.