Trevor Wilson Is Reborn at UCLA as Hazzard’s Protege

The slight, elderly man stayed in the background throughout the game. It was just an intra-squad scrimmage for the UCLA Bruin basketball team, but the man’s eyes rarely left the court.

When it was over, he approached Coach Walt Hazzard, pointed to No. 4, the 6-8 freshman forward, and said, “ That is a great athlete.”

Number 4, otherwise known as Trevor Wilson, has been on the receiving end of such praise almost since he started playing the game. But this was special. The old man who had singled him out was John Wooden.

Two games into the Bruins’ 1986-87 season, the praise has not abated. Hazzard handles all questions about his freshman these days with a big smile and a twirl of his cigar.

Yeah, he’d heard all the horror stories about Wilson’s celebrated temper during his halcyon days at Cleveland High in Reseda, where he was three times a member of the All-City 4-A basketball team and won honors ranging from Valley 4-A League Most Valuable Player, to a spot on the all-state squad, to a listing in a national publication of the top 25 high school players in the country. Hazzard knew all about the 1985 incident when Wilson, angered over a close loss, prematurely stormed out of the locker room after a spring league high school game and was subsequently dropped from the team for a couple of months.

But that didn’t stop Hazzard from going after Wilson with every recruiting tool at his disposal. Not for a moment.

“I heard all about his reputation,” Hazzard says. “I read about it in the papers. But that is not the same kid I’ve come to know. He’s a good kid. He’s in my office every morning to talk. He’s like another son to me. The things I love most about him are his work habits. Nobody is going to outwork him.

“Yes, he’s got a temper. I’m not saying he’s perfect. The thing he has to learn to do is to channel that temper into aggressiveness on the court.”

So far, that aggressiveness has resulted in some foul trouble. Wilson drew a technical for hanging on the rim in his first game and collected four personal fouls in UCLA’s victory over North Carolina a week ago.

But Wilson also made 4 of 4 field goals and added a free throw in helping the Bruins to an 89-84 upset victory over the No. 1 team in the nation.

It’s all still so strange for Wilson. A year ago, he was in a high school gym. Now, he’s in Pauley Pavilion, playing in the national spotlight in front of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy, all spectators at last week’s big win.

Pressure?

Wilson just laughs. This is fun. Pressure was having to carry teams on his shoulders since his junior high days, to try and be all things to all people. This isn’t Wilson’s team, it’s high-scoring forward Reggie Miller’s team and that’s just fine with Wilson.

For now.

“I’m having no trouble accepting my role,” he says. “They want me to rebound and play defense. As for the points, I’ll get mine. They’ll come in the flow of the game. They look to Reggie here. That’s the way it should be. It’s his senior year. He’s the most experienced person on the team.”

Will it ever be Trevor’s team?

Wilson gives the right answer: “Well, we’ll just take it one year at a time.”

Then he adds a smile, a smile that tells you he is looking forward to the post-Reggie era.

As for the controversy of his high school days, Wilson says, “What happened was garbage. It was all blown out of proportion. I’m just looking to the future now.”

So is Hazzard.

“He doesn’t have to carry this team,” the coach says. “We don’t expect him to rebound and carry the ball wire to wire. We just want him to rebound and get the ball to the right people. He makes things happen. We especially like the way he runs the court. And he has fire. A lot of fire. He’s a basketball player. He has a chance to be a great, great player in the history of this team.”

That would put him in pretty decent company, with people like Bill Walton, Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor), Jamaal Wilkes (then Keith Wilkes) and Marques Johnson. Does he truly belong in that crowd?

Don’t take Hazzard’s word for it. Just ask John Wooden.