Lavin Doesn’t Have Answers

A tightly wound Steve Lavin on Friday showed more defensive intensity facing questions about UCLA’s lethargic 97-81 loss to Oregon the previous night than his players did the entire game.

In one of several unusually sharp exchanges with reporters at the team hotel, the UCLA coach refused to address one basic question:

Since he has maintained for months that the Bruins would be playing their best basketball in mid-February, can he say that, as that time approaches, UCLA is moving toward the prediction?

“What I’m telling you is my goal is to try to get this team to play better basketball,” Lavin said. “Right now, we’re 17-4. We’d like to be 21-0. So, now we’ve just got to get better.”

Two more attempts to get a direct answer only heightened his agitation.

“What I’m telling you is that’s my goal, to try and get this team better,” Lavin said, his voice rising.

When he was told that he still hadn’t answered the question--are the Bruins getting better?--he swatted away the subject.

“I don’t care what your question is, then,” Lavin said. “What’s next?”

What’s next is a trip to Corvallis to play Oregon State, which recorded only its second conference victory of the season Thursday in overtime against USC, 83-74.

But UCLA left Oregon’s McArthur Court with a lot of emotional baggage--the Bruins have lost four of their last five there, and the senior class finished 1-3 in Eugene--and with signs of problems that need to be repaired quickly if UCLA is to make a deep tournament run.

“We’ve got to make progress in terms of offensively, you know, execute,” Lavin said. “Then, defensively, continue to get better. . . . That’s why we’ve got to keep practicing, keep trying to improve.”

UCLA has lost to Oregon before, but previous recent losses were to a far stronger Duck team (led by departed point guard Kenya Wilkins) than this season’s model.

Oregon, which has made the postseason twice in the last four years, has no chance at the postseason this year and already has lost at home by 22 to Stanford, by 10 to Washington, by nine to Santa Clara and by two to Portland State.

“Yeah, that was the worst one,” senior guard Toby Bailey said of Thursday’s performance against an Oregon team that probably does not have a single player who could break into UCLA’s six-man rotation. “Because of how nasty they were.”

Said senior forward J.R. Henderson: “You kind of get real frustrated when you know you’re better than that team.”

In an aspect of defense that has hurt UCLA all season, Duck shooters consistently got open looks at three-pointers, and made 12 of them in the game--going seven-for-11 in a 57-point second half as Bruin defenders routinely got lost behind screens or made late, hesitant switches or failed to stop the dribble.

Henderson did not argue with the idea that the Bruins are a better team with center Jelani McCoy, who played only 16 minutes against Oregon, in the lineup.

“Of course, I think we’re a much better team [with him],” Henderson said. “He’s our shot blocker. He had a lot of blocked shots last year, and I felt he could have done that and more this year.”

Upon McCoy’s return from a 10-week suspension in December, Lavin originally said he would be back in the starting lineup by early January.

But with lingering speculation about a future suspension, McCoy hasn’t played more than 29 minutes and has come off the bench in all 12 games since his return.

“I expected to be worked into the rotation a little quicker, but that’s not something I’m thinking about; I don’t want to add another distraction to the team,” McCoy said.

Lavin said that McCoy, having missed the 10 weeks, is still behind in his conditioning and sharpness, but, following the spirit of the media session, Lavin did not choose to elaborate on his reasoning in not starting him.

“I think Jelani McCoy is a tremendous basketball player,” Lavin said. “I’m just explaining to you why . . . someone asked a question . . . I don’t know what else to tell you.”