It’s a Small World . . . After All This

The absurdity--and uncertainty--of this whole strange situation hit J.R. Henderson fastest and funniest last week.

Henderson--along with Toby Bailey, his fellow traveler through the last four UCLA seasons--has been through a national championship, a first-round NCAA tournament loss to Princeton, a coach’s firing and countless other scandals and celebrations great and small in Westwood.

What could shock him now? It was the sight of the 6-foot-5 Bailey, a shooting guard by trade and nature, standing in the middle of the Bruin zone defense as a backup center, matched up against a Lithuanian club team’s burly 7-footer, and looking not very pleased about the role.

“I was laughing when I saw that,” the 6-8 1/2 Henderson said the next day. “I looked on from the bench and I saw him where I usually play. And I thought, ‘Wow, we’re a short team.’ ”

Bailey’s big-man stint didn’t last long, and it was only an exhibition. But he rolled his eyes at the mention of that awkward moment and tossed in a bit of senior perspective.

“A few years ago, I had to play a lot of point guard because that’s where I was needed,” Bailey said, “and now I’m playing some center. That tells you how much things have changed.”

Things have a habit of changing quickly at UCLA these days, so quickly that Coach Steve Lavin and his players no longer even try to think too much beyond the season-opener Thanksgiving Day in Anchorage against North Carolina in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout.

Henderson is a forward forced to play center on a team that has plenty of guards but, as of now, no true center.

UCLA is a preseason top-five team and a three-time defending conference champion but could be the third-most talented Pacific 10 team to start the season.

And by February--maybe even by early December--most observers believe that the best, most brash and most essential Bruin player will be Baron Davis, a freshman point guard with limitless potential.

Once you catch up, everything is guaranteed to get all mixed up once again:

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So who will be playing, anyway? Swingman Kris Johnson, who returned to practice Monday after an indefinite suspension, probably will be back playing by the team’s fifth game.

The status of junior center Jelani McCoy, suspended along with Johnson seven weeks ago, is still to be determined by his own meeting of the athletic department’s criteria for reinstatement.

Pending the potential return of McCoy, the team’s only center, Lavin is planning a three- or four-guard lineup, featuring Davis and 6-foot freshman Earl Watson handling the ball, Bailey and Johnson producing the mid-range points, and Henderson roaming the post area.

Henderson, who has never enjoyed banging around with bigger men in the middle but is currently the tallest Bruin by several inches (and only experienced inside player), says he has accepted that, at least on defense, he is facing the prospect of a pounding.

“I was [dreading it] at first,” Henderson said. “But I just thought about it and I’m trying to figure out a way I can make it fun for myself and not drag the team down with, ‘Oh, I don’t want to play center,’ and that stuff.

“I’d take away from the team being selfish like that. So, I don’t think of myself as a center. I think of myself as just a player in this position. The only time I feel like a center is when I’m guarding 7-footers. But when they guard me, it’s fun for me, because I can do anything I want with them.”

Lavin envisions sending in pure-shooting freshman Billy Knight and junior Brandon Loyd to bomb away over the collapsing defenses, and watching Davis and Watson attack the basket with penetration and either finish strong or kick it to the wings.

The unsettling thing for UCLA is that if it wants to go big, it sends in two slashers--6-3 freshman Rico Hines and 6-6 transfer Kevin Daley or big-bodied 6-6 freshman Travis Reed.

If big teams like Stanford, New Mexico, Duke or North Carolina want to try to overpower UCLA this season, Lavin hopes his cluster of speed players can run them off the floor.

“It goes back to Coach Wooden’s thing, ‘I’d rather be quick than big,’ ” Lavin said. “If you can have both, that’s the best of both worlds. If we get Jelani and Kris back, we’ll have the best of both worlds.

“But we can press with our quickness, we can push the ball, we can dictate, create matchup problems with our quickness, the way [Mike] Bibby, [Miles] Simon, [Jason] Terry and [Michael] Dickerson did last year for Arizona. . . .”

SUPER SENIOR YEARS?

As freshmen, Bailey and Henderson rode the emotional wave to the national title led by Ed O’Bannon, Tyus Edney and George Zidek. As sophomores, UCLA floundered without senior leaders. As juniors, they watched Charles O’Bannon and Cameron Dollar elevate themselves and the team within a game of the Final Four.

This is their team now, and they know it.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” Bailey said. “No matter how much you try to be the leader when you’re a sophomore or a junior, at UCLA it never really happens until you’re a senior. It’s just been that way for a long time. Seems like it’s a different world when you become a senior at UCLA.

“It’s something special when you get to be a senior, period, nowadays, but, especially at UCLA.”

With seven newcomers on the squad, and assuming McCoy does eventually return, the Bruins suddenly have athletic backups at every spot--something distinctly missing the past few, non-national-title-winning seasons.

“If [McCoy and Johnson are] allowed to come back, this is going to be one of the deepest teams we’ve had since probably my freshman year here,” Bailey said. “The most important thing about winning the national championship, I think, is not only how talented you are and how much luck you have in the tournament, it’s how deep you are.

“And that was the key thing we didn’t have in the last couple years. We were talented in our first five or six, but after that we weren’t deep enough to win the championship. And if they come back, I think we are deep enough to win the championship.”

A POINT OF LIGHT

From his first pickup game with his teammates against NBA players to his exhibition swoops at the basket to every drill of practice, Davis has been a difference-maker, maybe the most immediately talented UCLA player since Lew Alcindor or Bill Walton.

As insiders predicted, the focal point for this team is Davis as long as he’s on the floor.

“He takes over drills, he can take over a game,” Lavin said. “Baron, I think right out of the gates may have more of an impact on our team than Bibby did on Arizona’s.

“He knows that within the structure of what we’re trying to do, there’s plenty of opportunity for him to take it. That’s part of what we do, push the ball every time. The fact that he’s gifted and skilled in those areas, he has the green light to push the ball and attack.”

But Davis says he’s dedicated to aggressive defense and distributing the ball in the early going, and the Bruin seniors say they can see he won’t try to dominate the ball like former Georgetown ball-hog Allen Iverson.

“He’s proven that he’s not that type of player,” Bailey said. “He knows that it’s J.R. and my team right now. He knows he’ll have the rest of his career to be the man on that team.

“He takes the right shots. He plays within the flow of the game, he doesn’t force anything at all. So I’m not concerned that he’s an Allen Iverson-type player at all.”

So UCLA’s cadre of been-there, done-that players is looking to Davis (and Watson and the rest) for energy and hope--and reminders of the way Bailey and Henderson supplemented Ed O’Bannon, Zidek and Edney.

“I think when we get more games under our belt it’ll all come together--new with the old and kind of get the mixture right in the middle and make this work,” Henderson said.

“You have the experience of me and Toby, we’ve been all the way and we’ve been to the bottom. And these guys haven’t been anywhere. They’re looking to us to help them and we’re looking for them to mature fast.”

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UCLA Facts

* 1996-97 record: 24-8.

* 1996-97 finish: Won Pacific 10 title. Lost in Midwest Regional final to Minnesota.

* Who’s new: Baron Davis, Earl Watson, Travis Reed, Rico Hines, Billy Knight, Kevin Daley, Todd Ramasar.

* Who’s gone: Cameron Dollar, Charles O’Bannon, Bob Myers.

* Who’s suspended: Jelani McCoy.

* Projected starters: Center--J.R. Henderson (14.1 points, 6.8 rebounds); forward--Kris Johnson (10.3, 3.0); guards--Toby Bailey (14.1, 5.7), Davis, Watson.

* Key to the season: First, the Bruins are going to have to figure out how to play without McCoy, especially on defense against a schedule full of teams that know how to muscle small squads. There are bound to be a couple of clunkers in there. Then, assuming McCoy returns sometime in the conference season, they’re going to have to work him into the rotation of a lineup built on speed.

* Outlook: There’s the potential here for another surprising run--and enough warning signs for bumpy times ahead. Davis might be the best guard in the Pac-10, Bailey and Henderson should dominate games at times, Johnson, if he’s focused, can put 25 up on anybody, and Watson is a steadying presence. But so many freshmen playing key roles is usually a recipe for inconsistency, and nothing ever turns out as predicted in Westwood.

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UCLA AT A GLANCE / ROSTER TOBY BAILEY (GUARD)

* No. 12. 6-5, 208, Senior

Lost in last year’s turmoil and Charles O’Bannon’s brilliance was Bailey’s across-the-board development and consistency. His scoring dropped a bit (to 14.1 a game), but he increased his assists, his rebounds and his shooting percentage. When the big shot needs to be taken this season, Bailey--who worked hard in the summer on his jump shooting--should be the one taking it most of the time.

KEVIN DALEY (FORWARD)

* No. 4. 6-6, 185, Sophomore

A long-armed transfer from Nevada who can jump to the sky--in practice last season, he was a more spectacular dunker than O’Bannon--Daley was a high school teammate of the O’Bannon brothers at Artesia. Daley isn’t a pure scorer (he averaged only 1.2 points in his only season at Nevada) but could get playing time as an offensive rebounder on this small team.

BARON DAVIS (GUARD)

* No. 5. 6-1 1/2, 205, Freshman

Basketball insiders are circling one date: Jan. 3, at Tucson, when Davis and Arizona sophomore point guard Mike Bibby meet as collegians for the first time. Davis, from Santa Monica Crossroads, has drawn instant comparisons to Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury, but seems to want to emulate Jason Kidd and Magic Johnson’s leadership skills more than anything. All he has to do to fulfill his hype is get to the Final Four a few times.

SEAN FARNHAM (FORWARD)

* No. 30. 6-6, 210, Sophomore

A non-scholarship player this season, after earning a scholarship last season after walking on, Farnham, one of only three non-suspended UCLA players with inside experience, has put on some weight and could get time as a backup post player.

J.R. HENDERSON (FORWARD-CENTER)

* No. 52. 6-8 1/2, 233, Senior

Probably the team’s most important player in the early going and, with McCoy out, the only Bruin with a chance at matching up with Antawn Jamison, Kenny Thomas and the other talented big men on the schedule. Will this motivate or frustrate him? Henderson is UCLA’s most unguardable player, but he can’t go through any more of the funks that have hit him during his college career.

RICO HINES (GUARD-FORWARD)

* No. 22. 6-3, 207, Freshman

He was supposed to make his debut at UCLA last season, but eligibility problems sent him to prep school. Hines was a post player in high school and isn’t yet a college perimeter player, but he has impressed with his hustle and scrappiness around the boards.

KRIS JOHNSON (GUARD-FORWARD)

* No. 54. 6-4, 239, Senior

Johnson, UCLA’s best pure scorer the last two seasons when he was sound, returned to practice this week after a seven-week suspension and will sit out at least the first three games of the season. Because of a nagging ankle injury, Johnson’s scoring, rebounding and shooting percentage all declined last season. He’ll need to average more than three rebounds this season.

BILLY KNIGHT (GUARD-FORWARD)

* No. 3. 6-4, 186, Freshman

Though the coaching staff apparently considered asking him to redshirt this season, Knight’s long-range, left-handed spot-up jumper has been one of the highlights of practice. He averaged 22 points his senior year at Westchester High and will get plenty of chances this year to find gaps in the defense and fire.

BRANDON LOYD (GUARD)

* No. 20. 5-10, 200, Junior

Loyd contributed in several games last season as UCLA’s designated zone-buster and has gotten in better shape this season to help him against faster, more athletic players. But defenses aren’t as likely to zone this team as they were last year’s.

JELANI MCCOY (CENTER)

* No. 34. 6-10, 237, junior

Indefinitely suspended, with hints from UCLA that he may be back by the conference opener at Arizona on Jan. 3. Then again, depending on his meeting the criteria for reinstatement, he might not. He set a Pacific 10 Conference record by making 75.6% of his field-goal tries last season, but his rebound average and blocked shot totals dipped from his big freshman season.

TODD RAMASAR (FORWARD-GUARD)

* No. 11. 6-4, 195, Freshman

A walk-on from Riverside North, Ramasar averaged 18 points and nine rebounds as a senior and turned down several Division I scholarship offers.

TRAVIS REED (FORWARD)

* No. 13. 6-6, 243, Freshman

Though he has had the usual bumpy transition from high school post play at Fontana A.B. Miller to matching up against Henderson every day in practice, Reed has soft hands and the bulk to move people around under the basket. If McCoy is gone for long, UCLA will desperately need Reed to play significant minutes.

EARL WATSON (GUARD)

* No. 25. 6-0, 183, Freshman.

Coach Steve Lavin calls him “most consistent player of the first few months,” pointing out that Watson complements Davis perfectly and has a calm, canny demeanor that reminds him of Maurice Cheeks. He could play 30 minutes a game from Day 1. Watson is a surprisingly effective rebounder--he averaged 14 a game as a high school senior--and is very important to UCLA for another reason: He could have reconsidered his commitment to UCLA after the Jim Harrick firing but kept his word and signed a year ago, which was a huge boost to the Lavin regime.

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UCLA AT A GLANCE / SCHEDULE

Date: Opponent, Time

Nov. 27: vs *North Carolina, 6 p.m.

Nov. 28: *Second Round, TBA

Nov. 29: *Final Round, TBA

Dec. 6: vs. **New Mexico, 2:30 p.m.

Dec. 13: Cal State Fullerton, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 18: Northern Arizona, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 20: Saint Louis, 1 p.m.

Dec. 22: Boise State, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 27: at UNLV, 9:30 p.m.

Dec. 30: Illinois, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 3: at Arizona, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 5: at Arizona State, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 8: Oregon State, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 10: Oregon, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 15: vs. California at Oakland, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 17: at Stanford, 1 p.m.

Jan. 21: USC, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 25: Louisville, 1 p.m.

Jan. 29: Washington State, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 31: Washington, 1 p.m.

Feb. 5: at Oregon, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 7: at Oregon State, 12:30 p.m.

Feb. 12: Stanford, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 14: California, 1:30 p.m.

Feb. 18: at USC, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 22: at Duke, 10:30 a.m.

Feb. 26: at Washington State, 7 p.m.

March 1: at Washington, 11 a.m.

March 5: Arizona State, 7:30 p.m.

March 7: Arizona, 1 p.m.

*Great Alaska Shoutout

**John Wooden Classic