Bruins Do About-Face on McCoy

In an announcement accompanied by UCLA’s decision not to explain it, suspended basketball center Jelani McCoy was partially reinstated Monday and will begin practicing with the team today, five days after the Bruins absorbed a 41-point blasting from North Carolina.

Senior swingman Kris Johnson, who was indefinitely suspended along with McCoy, a junior, on Sept. 29 for unspecified violations of athletic department and team rules, returned to practice Nov. 17.

Neither Johnson nor McCoy has been cleared to play in games, but Johnson is expected back for UCLA’s home opener Dec. 13 against Cal State Fullerton.

Citing privacy concerns, the school has neither confirmed nor denied a report that the players were suspended after testing positive for marijuana multiple times. Johnson has declined to comment on the specifics of his suspension.

McCoy, the team’s only center, is expected to be available--and after a month of practice, to be in prime condition--at the latest for UCLA’s Pacific 10 Conference opener Jan. 3 at defending national champion Arizona.

Coach Steve Lavin was not available for comment Monday, although he was quoted in a statement released by the school.

When a comment from Athletic Director Peter Dalis was requested, a school spokesman said, “No.”

McCoy’s father, Fred, said his son had been moving toward reinstatement for weeks, and that he was glad to see this step taken.

“It’s always good news when you move in a positive direction,” Fred McCoy said. “That’s what he wants to do. This is a benefit for all of the parties--the school, the coaching situation and certainly on Jelani’s part.

“I just felt like things would work themselves out.”

When reports surfaced in early November that McCoy had jeopardized his chances of playing for UCLA again by running afoul of his criteria for reinstatement, Fred McCoy said he hoped his son could concentrate on playing again.

At the time, ESPN reported that McCoy would not play for UCLA this season.

“Even when stuff was going on real bad from the newspapers and TV, some positive things were going on,” Fred McCoy said. “I was hoping a lot of pressure that goes along with that wouldn’t sidetrack or delay things in a negative way.

“There was a lot of pressure on both sides--from the coaches’ and school’s point of view--and Jelani was under a lot of pressure.”

UCLA, which won its final two games of the tournament, gave evidence of how much it missed Johnson and McCoy during an embarrassing 109-68 loss to North Carolina in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout--the second-worst loss in the history of the program.

Without the two big bodies, the Bruins were “simply outmanned,” according to North Carolina Coach Bill Guthridge, who added that if UCLA got McCoy and Johnson back soon, “they’ll be a national contender.”

McCoy, who is 6 feet 10, set a single-season UCLA record with 102 blocked shots as a freshman. Last season he set a Pac-10 record by making 75.6% of his shots.

The 15th-ranked Bruins, who did not practice Monday, next play Saturday against eighth-ranked New Mexico, another big team, in the Wooden Classic at the Pond of Anaheim.

“Jelani has done what was necessary for him to accomplish in order to be reinstated for practices,” Lavin said in the news release. “We are happy that he has made progress off the court, and we are happy to have him back as a member of our team and family.

“We’ve missed having him around, and I know he’s missed being around the team. I believe he’s learned a valuable life lesson and will be better for the experience.”