Never too busy

Coach Jason Kapono. Referee Ray Young. Basketball star Mayor
Riordan. Spectator Lavin.

It was a day of role reversal for the UCLA men’s
basketball team at the first annual Riordan Programs fundraiser
Sunday at Pauley Pavilion.

Kindergarten through eighth grade students, many from low-income
households and sponsored by tax-deductible donations, participated
in the basketball skills clinic, which raised money for the Riordan
Foundation.

Riordan said that it was a joy to see the basketball players
give back to the community.

“It tells me what a great school UCLA is, that their
athletes are good students and citizens. That is why they are going
to be national champions,” he said. “It is a
certainty.”

Riordan’s bank shot from the elbow elicited cheers from
the UCLA players and coaches, and children. Redshirt sophomore
guard Ryan Walcott said, “once the mayor’s blood
started flowing, he made it.”

The clinic allowed the players to experience the coaching life.
The children ran lines alongside senior forward Jason Kapono with
matching headbands and number 45 jerseys.

Kapono, however, doesn’t want to coach in the future,
citing the pressure as a deterrent.

“I do not know how coach Lavin does it “¦ he has to
read or hear something bad every day,” Kapono said.

Sophomore guard Cedric Bozeman said coaching for a day helped
his social skills and allowed him to realize how difficult it is to
keep a child’s attention. Bozeman supervised dribbling
drills, a three-on-three half-court game simulation, and full-court
games throughout the day.

On a rare day off for the hard working basketball team, not one
player missed the fundraiser. Bozeman summed it up nicely,
“It is my day off and I am putting it to good use.”

Michael Fey, one of two freshmen centers, said that the
fundraiser was “a good break, and something to do on the day
off, or else we would probably just be sitting around and watching
television.”

Fey concentrated on conveying the basic skills of basketball to
his group of apprentices. When asked about his puffy hair, he said
it was getting bigger every week and he has no plans for cutting it
soon.

Freshman forward Matt McKinney said it felt good to work with
kids as a first-time coach.

“I remember how I was a kid and looked up to college
basketball players, and now I am the role model,” he
said.

President Nike Irvin of the Riordan Foundation was grateful for
the team’s enthusiasm.

“Children from both public and private schools got
privileges only a few people get ““ the chance to receive
valuable tips from players like Kapono and Young, the opportunity
to visit the Bruin locker room and have photos with the team, and
of course, the chance to learn the 8-clap.”