Sharing the Basketball Brings Happiness to All : Higher Level of Teamwork Makes the Difference for UCLA in Winning the Alaska Shootout

The days of selfish basketball are over for UCLA.

At least that’s the way it looked in the frozen north, where the 12th-ranked Bruins won the Great Alaska Shootout on Monday night with an impressive 89-74 victory over No. 16 Virginia. (Story, C1.)

“We’re more together this year and it shows,” UCLA’s Tracy Murray said. “We hit the open guy for layups and set picks for each other. We were setting phantom picks last year.”

Last year, he said, “We were a lot more selfish. We just went one-on-one whenever things broke down. That hurt us a lot.”

What’s made the difference?

“Camaraderie, hanging around each other, and blood, sweat and tears,” Murray said.

The Bruins used depth, defense and Don MacLean to win the Shootout. They never really had a close game.

Harrick said the Bruins are much better than they were last season, when they were 22-11 and made it to the regional semifinals.

“We’ve got more depth, and I think we have more firepower and I think we’re better defensively than we’ve been in the past,” he said.

Depth and defense were the weapons that beat Virginia.

“The bench was just the key factor all three games,” Harrick said.

He praised especially Keith Owens, the 6-7 shot-blocking senior, and Shon Tarver, the smooth-shooting freshman who changed his mind about attending UNLV after the Rebels were placed on NCAA probation.

“Actually our team improved, it seemed to me, when they came in the game,” Harrick said. “ Owens had five blocked shots against the Cavaliers and 15 in the Bruins’ three victories in Alaska.

The last two teams to win the Great Alaska Shootout went on to great seasons. Seton Hall won it in 1988 and went on to finish second in the NCAA tournament. Michigan State won last year and made it to the final eight.

UCLA has the same kind of potential, Virginia Coach Jeff Jones said.

“They’ve got a chance to be among the nation’s best,” he said. “What they do with that is what the season’s about.”