A Bear of a Game: Bruins Face Tough Cal Today at Pauley

UCLA’s new-look basketball team is taking on California, which is undefeated in Pacific 10 play, so this afternoon at Pauley Pavilion, something has got to give.

Will it be the Bruins, the team with a definite math problem: So many players, so little time?

Or will it be the Golden Bears, who are 3-0 in the Pac-10 and also 1-0 in Southern California after beating USC, 79-76, Friday night?

Although its streak is not as lengthy as Cal’s, UCLA has its own modest conference winning string to protect, currently numbering one game, provided courtesy of Stanford at Pauley Friday night.

When two of the conference’s expected heavyweight contenders square off at 3 p.m., who knows what to expect?

“I expect a war,” UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard said.

Such rhetoric is the official signal that the conference season has begun in earnest.

UCLA and Cal have each played only three Pac-10 games so far, which means it’s a little early to identify any one game as more important than another, but this one seems to take on legitimate Big Game qualities for both teams.

Coach Lou Campanelli’s Golden Bears can establish themselves as early frontrunners by defeating the Bruins on their home court.

And UCLA, if it is to continue building momentum, needs to keep winning at Pauley.

Actually, there are some good reasons why Hazzard should be concerned about Cal, namely Kevin Johnson, Leonard Taylor and Dave Butler. Those three players combined for 66 of Cal’s 79 points against USC Friday night.

Hazzard admitted that he is wary. “It will be a tough, physical game,” he said. “Cal is still one of the teams I like a lot in the conference. They play well together.”

In the meantime, the Bruins are rediscovering each other when they play together in a constantly changing player rotation.

Hazzard used 14 players in the 95-75 victory over Stanford, and the only two without a point were Montel Hatcher and Craig Jackson, who were starters until last week.

Dave Immel’s new role as a starter actually began when Hatcher missed the Fullerton game because of an injury, but when Hatcher was ready to go against Stanford, Hazzard stayed with Immel, which may actually work out better for both players.

The Bruins had already seen the shortcomings of a too-small backcourt that paired 6-1 Pooh Richardson with Hatcher, who is also 6-1.

Immel, three inches taller, is a better defensive matchup and probably a more consistent shooter, although Hatcher’s streak-shooting tendencies seem a lot more suitable for coming off the bench.

In the frontcourt, there’s another logjam that Hazzard still must sort out. He added to it himself when he decided to play forward Kelvin Butler instead of red-shirting him this season.

Butler, who is 6-7 and 240 pounds, is built along the lines of a steamroller, and Hazzard likes him for his toughness inside. But Butler joins a long list of UCLA big men that already includes freshmen Trevor Wilson and Kevin Walker, new starter Charles Rochelin and old starter Jackson.

After just 10 college games, Wilson is already pressing Rochelin for a start at forward opposite Reggie Miller.

And at center, where Jack Haley is the incumbent, freshman Greg Foster shows signs of more advanced play, especially with his defensive rebounding, which remains one of UCLA’s biggest problems this season.

“We still have some personnel decisions to make to get the right people in the game,” Hazzard said. “The coach has some decisions to make.”

Bruin Notes

Today’s game will be televised by Channel 2. . . . Pooh Richardson, who had nine assists against Stanford, is averaging 7.9 assists a game (9.6 in conference games). . . . UCLA announced that it will red-shirt freshman Stu Meinert. . . . The Bruins have been streaky in arriving at their 6-4 record. They won their first three games, lost their next four and have now won three straight. UCLA is 6-0 at Pauley and 0-4 on the road. . . . Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery thinks the Bruins have improved since they began the Pac-10 play 0-2 with losses at Washington State and Washington. “I don’t think this is the same team that played in the Northwest,” he said. “They are playing at home, where they don’t lose very often, and they are playing with a lot of confidence.” . . . UCLA’s next two games are on the road: Thursday night at Arizona State and next Sunday at Arizona.