O’Bannon Sits, Then Makes the Cut

Senior forward Charles O’Bannon, who grew out his hair this fall after three years of baldness, shaved it off again before practice Thursday--but not, he said, out of protest or symbolism.

O’Bannon had an off-game in Wednesday night’s overtime loss to Tulsa in the preseason National Invitation Tournament, and interim Coach Steve Lavin kept him on the bench for the final 10-plus minutes.

O’Bannon said his shaving had nothing to do with the effort.

“I planned to do this in New York [for the final two rounds of the NIT], but we came up a little bit short of that,” O’Bannon said.

Meanwhile, O’Bannon said that he and Lavin discussed the reasons he was out of the game at the end--and Kris Johnson was in. In 32 minutes, O’Bannon scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds, but also committed four turnovers.

“We talked, and everything is resolved,” said O’Bannon, who added that he probably wouldn’t have accepted the decision as smoothly a year ago. “[Lavin said that] the five that were in made a run at the end of the game, and it was great chemistry.

“I played decent. I made some mistakes now and then. That’s all a part of growing up, being a captain as well. If it’s not your turn, if you’re not playing well, if the coach doesn’t think you’re playing well, sometimes you have to sit back and let your teammates help you out.”

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Lavin finalized his staff by naming Steve Spencer, who spent the last three years coaching with the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian league, as the Bruins’ No. 3 assistant.

Previously, Spencer, 36, served as an assistant at Cal Lutheran.

“I first met him when I was at summer camp, and I was in eighth grade, and he was one of the coaches,” Lavin said. “He’s one of the best teachers, especially for guard play, in the country.”

Spencer joins assistants Michael Holton and Jim Saia, who moved up from the No. 3 spot when Lavin was moved up to replace the fired Jim Harrick.

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UCLA would not confirm whether Kansas City prep guard Earl Watson has sent the school a signed letter of intent, but the coaching staff apparently has been told that he has and is awaiting the arrival of the letter. . . . Though tickets were sold for a second-round preseason NIT game tonight at Pauley Pavilion, that was only if the Bruins had defeated Tulsa. Because Tulsa won, Tulsa is hosting Oklahoma State tonight.