Breaking Records Isn’t Nearly Enough : UCLA: MacLean says scoring marks will become meaningless without a trip to the Final Four.

Is Don MacLean one of the greatest players in UCLA history?

It should be a rhetorical question, but isn’t.

Says who?

Don MacLean.

After a game-high 25 points Saturday to lead the Bruins over Arizona State, MacLean needs only 19 points to pass Sean Elliott and become the leading scorer in Pacific 10 Conference history.

But, he says, facts are one thing, and perception is another.

So, with the NCAA tournament next up after the Bruins clinched the Pac-10 title by beating the Sun Devils at Pauley Pavilion, it is the image that will be confronted: that MacLean will never be regarded as one of the Bruin greats if he never gets to the Final Four.

“People aren’t going to remember that the team was 16-14 when I got here,” he said. “A lot of that has to do with (the arrival of) Coach Harrick, but a lot has to do with the recruits. And I was his first recruit here.

“But to be remembered as both the leading scorer and a great player, you need to have the team be a success.

“I can look at it a selfish way--that if we go far people will always remember that I’m more than just a scorer. I want to finish my career the right way. Just because of the fact that people don’t think we can.”

Saturday was the last game at Pauley Pavilion this season, a time to honor the seniors. MacLean got an ovation during a pregame ceremony, as did Gerald Madkins, Darrick Martin and student manager Steve Smelser.

MacLean responded with 17 points during the first half, then had five of his seven rebounds during the second as the Bruins pulled away.

He came out with a minute left and the Bruins in control, leaving the court for the last time as a player to another ovation. Harrick was the first to greet him with a handshake, and teammates followed with more high-fives and pats on the back when MacLean reached the bench.

“I said he had a great career and it’s not over with,” Harrick said. “Great players take you to great heights.”

Which is exactly what MacLean hopes to prove during the next couple of weeks. But before getting to the postseason, he reveled in the current glory, the first Bruin player to cut a strand from the net after the 85-77 victory.

Then, as he stood a few feet away as teammates took their turn with the scissors, he took a moment to consider past seasons.

“The fact that the program has come a long way since I stepped in,” he said. “They couldn’t even fill the seats when I came in. I’m not saying it’s all my doing, but it is kind of funny. The year before I came, we were 16-14. Now, we’re cutting down nets and winning conference championships.

“I don’t feel any pressure. I know I feel excited. That’s how I look at it.”