Fifth Foul Tests UCLA’s Patience, Courage

The whistle blew, and Charles O’Bannon knew.

He headed straight down the court, a look of consternation on his face, turned toward the bench, hesitated and then just walked off the floor, headed for the doors on his way out of the arena for all anyone knew.

O’Bannon’s fifth foul came with 11:11 still to play in fifth-ranked UCLA’s struggle against No. 3 Kentucky. And for all anyone knew, he was taking a good part of the Bruins’ chances with him when he left.

“He had done such a great job on Rodrick Rhodes,” said Ed O’Bannon, who watched his brother hold Rhodes to four points in the first half, even though his shot was off. But Charles O’Bannon picked up his third foul before 2 1/2 minutes had passed in the second half, and his fourth was an offensive foul with 11:24 left. Thirteen seconds later, with Ed O’Bannon waiting to go in for his brother, Charles O’Bannon--who should have been on the bench already--was whistled for a reach on Rhodes, and he was done.

“I probably would have blown up if I hadn’t gone back there to release some tension,” said Charles O’Bannon, who returned to the bench a few minutes later. “I did a little bit of yelling. I didn’t throw anything. I was by myself back there but a couple of people came around the corner to see who was yelling.”

Amazing thing was, O’Bannon’s departure didn’t kill the Bruins. In fact, it was freshman J.R. Henderson--playing only because O’Bannon wasn’t--who won it for UCLA on two free throws with a sliver of a second left in the game.

“I don’t know if he has nerves,” Charles O’Bannon said, laughing, after UCLA’s 82-81 victory. “I mean, I’m sure he has nerves, but he doesn’t play like he does. He came through in the clutch. He didn’t play like a freshman today.”

Of course, the twist was, had O’Bannon stayed in the game, Henderson wouldn’t have been playing at the end.

It gave Henderson the kind of baptism by fire a young player needs--even if he endured it with a beatific smile as he waited to step to the line.

“In November and December, I want situations like that,” UCLA Coach Jim Harrick said--but only after it worked out so well. “I want a situation where I’ve got to play Toby Bailey for long periods of time. Henderson, omm’A Givens, Kris Johnson. But you can’t just (force) something like that in a game like this.”

Circumstances forced it, and O’Bannon watched as Henderson stepped to the line. Just make one, he thought. OK, one more.

“This means we are capable of playing top-five basketball and capable of beating top-five basketball teams,” Charles O’Bannon said after the celebration subsided. “That’s why I came to UCLA , not just to play in big games but to win them.”

In the future, however, he intends to play more than he did on Saturday.