Fast Start Slows in a Hurry

Under a blue awning marked “UCLA BASKETBALL,” 12 players emerged from Pauley Pavilion’s home locker room Wednesday night to begin UCLA’s very, very unusual season.

Senior captain Cameron Dollar came out first, leaping to touch the doorway’s ledge, for luck. Each teammate followed Dollar’s lead, then ran past the frozen-lemonade cart onto the court, for a season-opening Preseason NIT tournament game against Tulsa that didn’t tip off until 9:07 p.m.

Last guy out the door? Steve Lavin, the coach with the lifetime record of 0-0, entrusted with college basketball’s greatest program.

Lavin’s first official night on the job, before a house filled to around 75% capacity, turned out to be a bust, UCLA losing in overtime, 77-76.

Toby Bailey began the game and season by going high for a rebound and then jamming it. After that, the Bruins were a lot less spectacular.

This was the first of 30-odd games UCLA will play for a fill-in coach, against opponents as varied as Cal State Northridge and Kansas.

In a month or two, the team should have a better sense:

--How much Jim Harrick meant as coach.

--How much a new coach is needed.

--How many current Bruins will stay.

Nothing is predictable at this point, for a team predicted by some to take the national championship. Is Lavin up to this? Will his players obey, or go their own way? The coach must be as curious about this as anybody else.

This isn’t the first time an assistant coach has been rushed. Steve Fisher took charge of the “Fab Five” team at Michigan just as the 1992 NCAA tournament was about to begin. Lavin says he intends to call Fisher, first chance he gets, to compare notes.

One big difference is that Michigan was already in late-season form when Fisher took over for Bill Frieder, whose athletic director gave him the bum’s rush. Fisher didn’t need to look for a lineup, or an approach that would work.

On the other hand, Lavin has inherited several players with years of experience, whereas Fisher’s team was extremely young.

This could be a long season for Lavin, or a fun one, depending how the players respond. Not being stupid, they realize Lavin must go head-to-head against coaches such as Roy Williams, Denny Crum, Lute Olson and Mike Krzyzewski, a tall order even for a Jim Harrick, much less a newcomer.

Then again, if Lavin’s players start freelancing, start thinking they know better than their coach, then this season’s over. No self-coached team is going to win the NCAA championship.

Lavin looks equipped for the challenge.

He did his homework, while working on Gene Keady’s staff at Purdue, and later for Harrick. He also learned at the knee of his dad, Cap Lavin, a former University of San Francisco great, who attended Thursday’s game.

But pedigree does not a coach make, so Lavin will have to prove himself. He knows this better than anybody.

He also knows that, already, coaches’ names from across America are being bandied about, as possible UCLA coaches for next season, even though this one’s just getting started.

Lavin doesn’t have time to worry about such things. He has a team to coach.

Stuffing a wad of something in his mouth to chew, the size of which would have choked a horse, Lavin went to work. He was down to his shirt sleeves in a matter of minutes, sweating out an 8-2 UCLA start that quickly turned into a 13-13 tie. The Bruins never held better than a three-point lead, the rest of the half.

Tulsa is no pushover, as UCLA found out a few years ago in a loss so embarrassing, there were calls for the coach’s job. The last thing Lavin expected that day was that he would coach UCLA against Tulsa in his NCAA head-coaching debut.

When a rim-rattling dunk by Jelani McCoy gave his team a 50-39 advantage with 15:58 remaining, Lavin’s first night looked as though it might be a snap. Next thing he knew, it was Tulsa 51, UCLA 50. Welcome to what could be a strange, strange season.