Of Necessity, Watson a Voice to Be Heard

Teachers used to worry about the boy who never spoke in class. They would ask his parents if something was wrong.

Years later, Earl Watson offers a succinct explanation.

“I was a quiet kid,” Watson said. “Always been that way.”

But circumstances have prompted a change in recent weeks. The UCLA guard has stepped into the role of floor leader for a young and sometimes jittery Bruin team that is waiting for Baron Davis and his left knee to work back into the lineup.

During a rocky 3-2 start, Watson has discovered that leadership requires more than scoring and passing. It requires directing and cajoling, firing up teammates or, at times, calming them down.

And that requires talking. Even yelling.

“It’s different for me,” he said. “It’s definitely been a hard experience.”

No. 18 UCLA will need every noun, verb and adjective Watson can muster today against No. 11 Oklahoma State in the Wooden Classic at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim. The afternoon game follows another matchup involving a top-25 team as seventh-ranked Kansas plays Pepperdine. Amid such prestigious company, UCLA wants to make a statement. The Bruins want to show they belong in the national elite after recent losses to highly ranked Maryland and Kentucky at the Puerto Rico Shootout.

Still, Coach Steve Lavin is careful not to put too much emphasis on this game.

“With a young team, you’re aware they can be fragile,” Lavin said. “You want to win, but you have to focus on the big picture. You would hope games like this help you prepare for the conference schedule and, by the end of the season, the NCAA tournament.”

Oklahoma State is no doubt smarting from an upset loss to Florida Atlantic on Tuesday, the school’s first home loss to a nonconference opponent in almost 12 years. The 4-1 Cowboys will be highly motivated, but don’t expect the junior and senior starters to lose their poise.

“A very deliberate, ball-control team,” Lavin said. “They’re going to try to tempo the game, pass the ball 10, 12, 14 times, look for the great shot, then play great defense.”

That could pose problems for the Bruins, a thrill-ride club still trying to find its rhythm and the right combinations, sorting among talented freshmen Jerome Moiso, Dan Gadzuric, JaRon Rush, Matt Barnes and Ray Young. Even the experienced Ryan Bailey is a newcomer, having transferred from Penn State.

And that’s where Watson comes in. A returning starter, all of 19 years old, he is about as close as UCLA comes to experience and wisdom.

“I still have a lot to learn myself, just being a sophomore,” he said. “But now I’m the veteran. The team looks to me.”

If Watson showed leadership skills as a freshman, they were most often the unspoken type, the well-placed glare, for instance. He left the talking to veterans and to Davis, who needs no reason to speak, only an audience.

Left on his own at the start of this season, Watson has scored 12.6 points a game and leads the team with 4.4 assists. But, at times in trying to do too much, he has been out of control and has averaged more than five turnovers a game. Normally unflappable, he has showed frustration, especially during the 16-point loss to Maryland.

“What bothers me most?” he asked. “Defense, offense, too many things to say just one. Definitely saw too many of them in the Maryland game.”

Lavin took him aside afterward and told him to settle down.

“Last year he could afford to go through some ups and downs,” the coach said. “This year he can’t afford that because the young team is going to feed off his emotions.”

The Bruins have improved since then, losing by six points to Kentucky and swamping Delaware State at home. Moiso has found his shooting touch. Davis has returned and his playing time will gradually increase. In the meantime, Lavin has begun pairing Watson with Bailey, giving him another steady ballhandler in the backcourt.

Just as important, Watson understands this team requires patience. He says he won’t press too hard against Oklahoma State today.

“That’s what I learned from the [Puerto Rico] trip,” he said. “We have a lot of potential, but it’s going to take a lot of time. I’ve got to communicate with my teammates and try to keep everybody’s spirits up.”

The quiet one, the one who led by example, has figured out how to put his two cents in. This season, Rush has said, Watson is “like a senior leader on the floor, yelling and telling us what to do.”

Not that UCLA professors should expect him to speak up in class very often.

“I’m still a quiet person,” Watson said. “But you’ve got to do whatever it takes to win.”

WOODEN CLASSIC

Today at the Pond

* 2 p.m.: Pepperdine vs. No. 7 Kansas

* 4:30 p.m.: No. 18 UCLA vs. No. 11 Oklahoma State

NO SOFTIES ALLOWED: If you want to make the NCAA tournament these days, you have to play somebody, Robyn Norwood says. Page 9