COLLEGE BASKETBALL 1992-93 : Edney: Beep! Beep! : Littlest Bruin Keeps Foes on the Run

Tyus Edney was given a nickname, courtesy of former teammate Don MacLean, after the public-address announcer at Louisville’s Freedom Hall had mangled Edney’s name last season.

He is known to his teammates as Russ, short for Ty -RUSS .

UCLA’s sophomore point guard is also known as “Roadrunner,” as much because of his affinity for the cartoon character of the same name as for the characteristics he shares with it: quickness, cleverness and elusiveness.

By any name, the littlest Bruin--Edney is listed at 5 feet 10 and 145 pounds--might also be the one that Coach Jim Harrick could least afford to lose.

Russ never sleeps, quarterbacking the offense at one end of the floor and spearheading the defense at the other.

Edney has led the Bruins to Madison Square Garden, where they will play Seton Hall Wednesday night in the semifinals of the preseason National Invitation Tournament.

Edney’s all-around play sparked a 68-54 first-round victory over St. Louis last Wednesday night, and his free throw with four seconds to play Friday night gave the Bruins a 73-72 quarterfinal victory over Texas El Paso.

Not wanting to offend anyone in Westwood, Harrick said diplomatically that all of his players are valuable, but said of Edney: “He might be more valuable because of all the things he does.”

Not many would have predicted it 13 months ago.

“He came in as a little freshman, and no one really expected him to do anything,” said Mitchell Butler, UCLA’s senior captain. “And then this kid started to play and everybody’s eyes were just bugging out of their heads.”

At the start of practice last year, Edney was UCLA’s fifth guard.

Harrick had to be talked into recruiting him from Long Beach Poly High by former assistants Tony Fuller and Brad Holland.

But during the NCAA tournament last March, Edney was a starter, playing ahead of senior Darrick Martin, UCLA’s all-time leader in games played and No. 2 on its all-time assist list.

In between, Edney opened the eyes of former UCLA Coach John Wooden, who told Harrick that Edney saw the floor better than anyone else on the team.

Edney didn’t play well during the NCAA tournament, making only 26.1% of his shots and missing all nine of his three-point attempts, but he had done enough before then to earn the adulation of the Bruin student body and scare away potential recruits who played the same position.

Harrick said that the mother of one prospect, worried about where her son would fit into UCLA’s plans, said of Edney: “He seems to be the fans’ favorite.”

Said Harrick: “He plays recklessly.”

Last season, Edney suffered a bruised tailbone when he was knocked through the air by Thomas Hill of Duke, postponing his ascent to the starting lineup.

He played only four minutes during the Bruins’ next two games but returned to play 26 minutes in an 89-81 victory over Arizona that gave UCLA its first Pacific 10 Conference championship since 1987.

Edney scored a season-high 12 points against the Wildcats, made five of six shots and added five assists, four rebounds and a steal without making a turnover.

It was the type of performance that will be expected this season, both by Edney and his teammates.

“Last year, I played a lot, so that helped,” said Edney, who averaged 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals last week. “But this year, I think I need to step up, seniority-wise. I need to be more of a leader.

“I feel that sometimes I have to get the team going a little bit, pick it up defensively and get the intensity going so that it’s contagious.”

Edney, who made only five of 15 shots during UCLA’s season-ending 106-79 loss to Indiana, said that not playing as well as he would have liked during the NCAA tournament taught him a lesson.

“That helped me a lot as far as realizing how you have to prepare for playing at that level of competition,” he said.

He lifted weights all summer to add strength and, in turn, increase the range on his jump shot.

Otherwise, he looks the same.

“I don’t think there’s a guy in America that can get into the paint like Tyus Edney,” Butler said. “He’s so quick. He can change direction, change pace.

“From my understanding, he patterns his game after Isiah Thomas. He wants to be as complete as possible, play the game a lot bigger than he is. He’s always shown that on the court. He’s never played like he was 5-8, 5-9.

“He has always played like he was a much taller player.”