Pooh Richardson’s Time Has Come : UCLA Freshman Will Start Against Loyola Marymount

From the moment Pooh Richardson set foot on the Pauley Pavilion basketball court, it was obvious that it was only a matter of time until he broke into UCLA’s starting lineup.

The time has come.

Coach Walt Hazzard announced Thursday that Richardson, a freshman from Philadelphia, would start in place of junior Corey Gaines against Loyola Marymount at Pauley Pavilion tonight at 7:30.

The Bruins will also be at home Saturday night, playing Miami of Florida at 6 p.m.

Hazzard has long been planning to work Richardson into the starting lineup, but he was undecided whether Richardson should replace Gaines or junior Montel Hatcher.

Hazzard said Thursday that he had decided to leave Hatcher in the lineup because he is coming back from a pulled quadriceps muscle in his leg. Hazzard didn’t want to have Hatcher warm up, then sit on the bench and cool off.

Besides, he said, Gaines can come off the bench and play either point guard or shooting guard. Hatcher is strictly a shooting guard.

Hazzard said that the poor start by the Bruins in the opening minutes of each half against St. John’s last Saturday convinced him that the change was necessary.

“When you let a team go up, 16-2, at the start of the game, you have to to take a look at what’s going on there,” Hazzard said. “We can’t afford to let that happen.

“Pooh Richardson is something special. As soon as he came in here, you know that you had to get the ball into his hands very soon.”

Richardson had an immediate positive effect on the game when he got in last Saturday. He finished with 15 points and 10 assists.

Hazzard said: “Corey will still get a lot of time. We need Corey Gaines.”

UCLA has a 3-2 record going into this weekend’s games. And it promises to be an interesting weekend.

Even though Loyola Marymount is only about 10 miles away from UCLA, the schools have not played for 37 years. John Wooden was the Bruins’ rookie coach for that one, and UCLA won, 51-38.

Hazzard said: “We’re playing two teams this weekend who will come in here, because of the tradition of Pauley Pavilion, all fired up to play their best game of the season. It always happens that way.

“Paul Westhead has, from what I’ve heard, the finest team the school has had in many years.

“And Bill Foster is a program builder.”

Bill Foster is coaching another interesting team in Miami. The Hurricanes are bringing back basketball after an absence of 15 years.

Foster, who took a Division III North Carolina Charlotte team and six years later had it in the Final Four, and who took a Clemson program that had never had a 20-victory season to the NCAA quarterfinals, has had a year and a half to recruit an entire team from scratch.

The new Hurricane team, which consists of four freshmen and a junior, has a surprising 5-2 record.

Bruin Notes UCLA’s game against Loyola tonight will be broadcast live on KMPC (710), but there will be no telecast. The game against Miami Saturday at 6 p.m. also will be broadcast on KMPC, and televised on Channel 2. . . . Loyola’s 6-2 record includes a 122-100 victory over UC Irvine Wednesday night. Both of its losses were to Cal State Fullerton. Loyola has not beaten a Pac-10 team since defeating USC, 65-64, in the 1976 season opener.