COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP GAME : Dollar’s Value on the Rise in Seattle : UCLA: Guard is ready to fill the gap if Edney has problems with his wrist.

The legend of reserve guard Cameron Dollar grew exponentially Sunday as word of Tyus Edney’s injured right wrist went from breathless rumor to cold fact.

It didn’t take much. UCLA Coach Jim Harrick casually announced that Edney, only the Bruins’ most valuable player, was over at the University of Washington training room getting some “rehabilitation” on his shooting wrist that he “kind of sprained” during Saturday’s Final Four semifinal victory over Oklahoma State.

Kind of sprained? The words sent the assembled media into a news buzz and made Dollar the instant center of attention.

Dollar stories--parts of which were actually true--made the rounds shortly thereafter.

--Hey, how about Dollar putting the glove on Mark Jackson during a summer pickup game? Jackson, the former Clipper who now starts at point guard for the NBA Central Division-leading Indiana Pacers, couldn’t move without first getting permission from Dollar.

Bruin assistant Coach Lorenzo Romar, who saw the whole thing, thought a frustrated Jackson was going to hit Dollar.

--How about all the times Dollar humbled Edney during those countless practice sessions at Pauley? Started the very first day Dollar stepped on the court--honest.

--Did you hear about Dollar’s status as the absolute best defender on the Bruin roster? A guy who knows a guy who works as a UCLA student manager said so.

Calm was eventually restored, but not until UCLA issued a one-paragraph statement saying that X-rays of Edney’s wrist had proved negative and that the senior point guard would indeed start tonight’s championship game against Arkansas.

But what happens if Edney “kind of” hurts it again? What happens if he runs into the human Razorback wall known as 6-foot-7, 245-pound Corliss Williamson? What happens if Arkansas guards Corey Beck, Alex Dillard and Clint McDaniel take turns “accidentally” slapping at Edney’s wrist? Then what?

“I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights worrying about him,” Harrick said of Edney. “Seems like every night I’ve gone to bed this year worrying about his knee or his ankle or his back.”

And now his wrist.

In other words, “Hello, Sominex . . . and Cameron Dollar.”

“I’m always ready to contribute any way I might be called upon,” Dollar said. “I hope he is able to play, because I love playing with him. I hope (Saturday wasn’t) the last time that I was able to play with him. If the situation arises where he’s not able to play and is not able to go, then Cameron Dollar will be ready to play.”

Dollar is the UCLA safety net. He started with Edney during the first seven games of the season and then took a seat when Harrick began experimenting with a lineup that sometimes included freshman J.R. Henderson or freshman Toby Bailey. Since then, Dollar has made only one start, when flu sidelined Edney against USC.

But don’t underestimate his value, with or without Edney available tonight. Dollar averages only 3.3 points a game but has a respectable assists-to-turnovers margin of 2-1 and is third on the team in steals, despite limited playing time.

Against Missouri, in the second round of the NCAA tournament, he smothered the Tigers’ leading scorer, Paul O’Liney. Mississippi State’s Darryl Wilson scored 22, but they didn’t come easily when Dollar checked him. The same goes for Connecticut’s Ray Allen. And Oklahoma State’s guards were a mess against Dollar and UCLA’s rare zone play.

But Dollar isn’t perfect. Ask him.

On the supposed defensive job he did on Jackson: “I think Coach ‘Ro’ was trying to give me some extra publicity on that. I remember that pickup game, but I don’t remember me being all up on him. I remember kind of (being) on his hip and he was just carrying me around the court wherever he wanted to go.”

On supposedly shutting down Edney: “I remember my first experience with him. We were doing preseason drills before we could touch the basketball. It was my freshman year, I had just come in. I had heard about Tyus, seen film on him, but I had never played against him. In this drill we were doing, you had to pick up fullcourt, with no ball, and try to stay in front of the guy as he went full speed running at you.

“The first time I had to go up against him, the coach said, ‘Go!’ and I’m supposed to be the defensive guy. He just explodes right by me. He was just gone. I just looked back and I was like, ‘Man.’ I looked at (then-UCLA guard) Shon Tarver, and he said, ‘He does that all the time, don’t worry about it.’ ”

As for being the best defender on the team, Dollar gets an endorsement--and a rip--from Bailey.

“He’s a hack, that’s what he is,” Bailey said. “During practices he plays different. He has to calm himself during games. During practices he’s scissoring your arms, hacking you. He’s really intense.”

Dollar swears it won’t be any different against Arkansas. Nor will he change a thing if Edney can’t start or finish the game. Maybe, maybe not.

A penny for Dollar’s thoughts.