A Trio of Indecision : McCoy, Bailey and Henderson Ponder Staying at UCLA or Jumping to NBA Next Year

Partly to silence his coach, partly because one more year in Westwood wouldn’t break his heart, partly because it was something to say and totally subject to revision, Jelani McCoy had a statement for Steve Lavin recently:

“Right now, I’m planning on staying,” McCoy told the then-Bruin assistant.

Of course, so much can change, so much has already changed (Lavin’s title, for instance), that even McCoy knows any answer he gives now is subject to repeated and reheated alterations.

But with the UCLA basketball program in flux after the firing of Jim Harrick last week, any perceptible leanings by the Bruins’ three potential NBA draft-jumpers--McCoy, the Bruins’ sophomore center, and juniors Toby Bailey and J.R. Henderson--could take on significant meaning as this already-strange season wears on.

If all three non-seniors decide to forgo their remaining eligibility and go for NBA riches, coupled with the graduations of Charles O’Bannon, Cameron Dollar and Bob Myers in the spring, are you ready for a Bruin team of Kris Johnson, Brandon Loyd and not much else?

What seems clear is this: Harrick’s sudden dismissal, while shocking and dismaying to the players, does not seem to be a major factor in any of the trio’s decision-making process.

Still, all three are carefully watching how things develop in the weeks and months to come. Who’s going to be the permanent coach? In the chaos, will the Bruins line up crucial top recruits such as point guard Baron Davis?

None of the three appear in any pressing financial straits. The main factors are basketball, and the chance to have a successful 1997-98 season.

“One of the reasons I would stay is if we had a chance to win it again,” Bailey said. “And if I don’t see that chance, it’d be hard for me to stay.

“Plus, the coach, that’s definitely going to be a factor. I want to know who I’m going to be playing for.”

All three said that if Lavin, the interim coach this season, gets the full-time job, they would be more likely to stay. Ditto if the coach is former Bruin assistant Lorenzo Romar, who is in his first season at Pepperdine.

McCoy says that with Lavin as the coach for now, he still leans toward staying, unless UCLA wins the national title this season and he achieves his goal.

But he says he hopes the administration would at least ask for his input before making a final decision on a coach. And Milton Henderson Sr., J.R.’s father, says his son will be following the coaching search intently.

“I think Coach Harrick’s temperament was good for him,” Milton Henderson said of his laid-back son, who averaged 14.4 points and 6.0 rebounds last season. “So if they bring in somebody maybe like Bobby Knight or somebody, that would have an effect on what he does.

“There’s a lot of factors that go into it, that you have to weigh out. If all the other guys decide they’re going to stay and they’ve got some new guys in . . . Maybe if they win it this year, maybe they’ll think, ‘Maybe we can get one more before we get out of here. Get three in four years.’ That wouldn’t be bad at all.”

But UCLA has already lost out on signing Jarron and Jason Collins, two 6-foot-10 standouts from Harvard-Westlake High, who were set to go to UCLA, then decided to sign with Stanford after the Harrick firing.

The talented Davis orally committed to UCLA last month, but has apparently decided to skip the early signing period and wait until April to see if he still wants to sign with UCLA.

Beyond this season, can the Bruins replace Dollar, O’Bannon and Myers for a potential national-title run next season?

“That’s key on the whole thing,” McCoy said. “Nobody wants to stay if it’s going to be a down year. Hopefully, we’ll get some top guys, and if a lot of the guys stay, we’ll be right back at it again next year.”

Said Bailey of McCoy and Henderson: “If they stay, I’d love to stay another year.”

Indeed, Bailey, Henderson and McCoy have had conversations about making a joint decision to go out together or stay together. But each insists that, when it comes down to it, leaving early will be a personal decision.

The 6-9 McCoy, a friend and contemporary of NBA millionaires Kevin Garnett and Allen Iverson, figures to have the most pressure to bolt, since he is projected as a top-10 pick, and might have been a top pick in last spring’s draft had he left after his up-and-down freshman season.

“The whole go-out-together thing was cool,” said McCoy, who averaged 10.2 points and 6.9 rebounds. “We used to joke about that last year. But everybody can’t do the same thing; different strokes for different folks.

“If they want to leave, fine; but just because Toby and J.R. leave, that doesn’t mean I’m going to leave.”

Bailey, whose physical, attack-the-rim style seems perfectly suited for the NBA, says he knows that being obsessive about whether to leave can only distract him--and possibly drop his NBA value.

“I’m just trying to play hard, have no pressure this year, play hard, have fun and what happens happens,” said Bailey, who averaged 14.8 points and 4.3 rebounds. “As long as you win, everything falls into place.”

Which is exactly what Lavin is preaching to his NBA-tempted players.