Bruins Hit More Than Just Shots

What kind of team are the UCLA Bruins? Even after they declared open season Sunday on the Oregon Ducks and went on to bag their limit in a 102-71 wipeout, the Bruin personality profile is still incomplete.

They are not yet Pacific-10 champions and they are not through with the Pac-10 season. There is also something else they are not.

“We ain’t no wimps,” Reggie Miller said.

Reggie’s taste runs more towards cheeseburgers and chocolate chip cookies than quiche and white wine, but it wasn’t until a jam by Greg Foster, the final act in a UCLA dunkathon, that Miller’s opinion of the Bruins was put to the true test on the Wimp-o-meter.

With 1:09 left and with UCLA ahead by 34 points, just about ready to close out the Ducks’ worst home loss in 19 years, Foster dunked over Duck guard Rick Osborn, who got bowled over.

Only minutes earlier, Osborn had drawn another charge on another dunk when he nearly ate Craig Jackson’s right sneaker, so Osborn jumped up and charged Foster.

What followed was a brief but interesting melee that emptied both benches and part of the stands. There were several matchups.

But the main event consisted of Foster, 6-11 and 210 pounds from Oakland, and in the other corner, from Portland, standing 6-4 and weighing in at 180 pounds, was Osborn.

Osborn buried his head in Foster’s belly and both players were ejected. Other smaller fights also broke out. Trevor Wilson squared off with Ian Craig and Charles Rochelin engaged Greg Senior.

Foster, who was charged with an offensive foul on his dunk, told Osborn something while he was laying on the floor.

“I stood over him and I looked at him and I just said ‘Bad deal, man, running under me.’ People get injured like that. Then it all happened. It was just frustration, I think. We were running away with the game.”

Bad deal?

The unofficial Ducks’ version of Foster’s narration varied somewhat. Some of the Oregon players said what Foster actually said was: “In your face.”

That doesn’t sound like such a bad deal, but whatever Foster said, Osborn refused to reveal. He left the locker room without commenting.

However, teammate David Girley said the Ducks did not appreciate getting embarrassed on their home court.

“They were acting very cocky,” Girley said. “You could say they were rubbing salt into the wounds.”

It was easy to see how Girley felt. UCLA put together its finest shooting exhibition of the season. The Bruins made 64.5% of their shots, scored 55 points in the second half and set a Pac-10 record with 11 three-pointers.

“I was shaking my head out there,” said Dave Immel, who scored 17 points in 20 minutes and made all three of his three-pointers.

Immel produced 11 points in just over seven minutes of the second half when the Bruins got completely out of sight. UCLA led, 47-34, at halftime after shooting 72% when Miller had 15 of his 20 points.

“They were just unconscious,” Oregon guard Anthony Taylor said. “It didn’t seem real. They were hitting from everywhere. They were coming in off the bench and dropping threes and threes and threes.”

Kevin Walker was in the game for only seven minutes, but that was long enough to get three rebounds, take five shots, mail in two three-pointers, and score 11 points.

“It seemed like they had 35 guys who could shoot,” Oregon Coach Don Monson said.

And as Monson discovered, UCLA also had a few who could dunk. Wilson came up with a nice-looking reverse slam, said he just “felt natural out there,” and pointed out two reasons for all the UCLA offense.

“We had a rhythm going,” he said. “We also were at ease with ourselves.”

The Ducks came to attention when Immel dropped his third three-pointer and then came right back with a driving layup to send the Bruins were up and away, 68-41. Although there was 11:58 still to play, garbage time was on.

UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard said the Bruins like the background at McArthur Court as well as the soft rims, which he said forgive a lot of shots.

“They are like big sewers,” he said. “They caught everything we threw in. It was just one of those days when we woke up on the right side of the bed.”

The Bruins wake up this morning with a 13-4 Pac-10 record and the knowledge that there is only one way they won’t be the conference champion as well as the top seed in the tournament.

For that to happen, second-place Arizona (12-4) must win both of its remaining games, against Stanford and California on the road, and UCLA must lose to USC Thursday night at Pauley.

“It’s still up to us,” Hazzard said. “This didn’t guarantee us anything. But I will say that this was one of those days I’ve been looking forward to when I said we had the chance to be a very good team. You know, this team has the potential to be very explosive.”

Bruin Notes

Reggie Miller said he was a little concerned when the fight broke out. “Football players or muscle men were coming out (of the stands),” he said. What did Reggie have to worry about from them? “The blind-side tackle,” he said. Miller thought Rick Osborn overreacted when Craig Jackson and Greg Foster dunked over him. “Everybody gets dunked on,” Miller said. “Dominique Wilkins gets dunked on, but he doesn’t want to turn around and start a fight.” Oregon guard Anthony Taylor spoke for the silent Osborn. “When you get frustrated, you can’t keep your emotions to yourself. I think Rick realizes that and regrets it right now. Getting dunked on is part of basketball. Right now, though, it’s nothing I’m very thrilled about.” Oregon Coach Don Monson walked around the locker room and told his players not to talk about the fight. But Monson did say this about it: “You hate to see it, but they had some guys who were saying ‘In your face’ and stepping on Oz (Osborn), so it happens.” . . . There were no injuries reported, although a few blows were struck. The Oregon players thought either Trevor Wilson or Charles Rochelin slapped one of them in the back of the head. Said Wilson: “All I saw was a lot of people pushing other people around.” . . . UCLA’s 64.5% shooting bettered the 63.3% the Bruins shot at Cal. . . . Center Jack Haley had 9 rebounds in 26 minutes and also forced 6-11 center Sven Myer out of the Duck lineup after only 22 minutes. Myer had one rebound and two points. . . . The 31-point margin of victory fell short of the McArthur Court record by a visiting team. The Bruins beat the Ducks by 40, 104-64, in 1968.