Highs, Lows Mark UCLA Win Over Louisville

He was the center of attention before and after the game, but did not play center much during it.

A Bruin career that began with comparisons to the hallowed names of the past might have wound down Sunday in a silent way, symbolized by a hushed scene minutes after UCLA’s 88-82 victory over Louisville:

Junior Jelani McCoy calmly sat at his locker, issuing quiet, weary answers, and denying little of the rampant speculation that he might soon be suspended or kicked off the team.

“No,” he said, when asked if this could have been his last game as a Bruin.

Then, so softly that few of the reporters nearby heard him, “Who knows?”

UCLA Coach Steve Lavin probably did the best job of clarifying matters by his actions, playing McCoy only 14 lethargic minutes and not at all in the final seven.

With his teammates acknowledging that McCoy looked distracted and unaggressive, McCoy, again coming off the bench, scored only two points, did not try a shot from the field and grabbed three rebounds.

“I had what, five minutes?” McCoy said of his second-half action. “It’s kind of hard to show aggressiveness in five minutes.”

This was a game in which J.R. Henderson was a dominant force in the post against the Cardinals’ smallish big men, scoring a career-high 32 points on 13-of-17 shooting--which also included his first three-point basket of the season.

Henderson, who has set his career high three times this season, scored 21 points in the first half as Louisville strangely did not try to double-team him.

“That shows how versatile this team can be,” Kris Johnson said. “Last game [against USC], we made nine three-pointers. This game we hardly shot any threes at all and J.R. was killing them down low.

“When he’s doing that, why go away from him? That’s what this team is learning, to stay with the hot hand and keep going with him.

“[Today] we milked J.R. until he was dry.”

This was a game in which Toby Bailey scored 19 points and had 11 rebounds, and Baron Davis had seven assists but fouled out for the third time in four games.

But the longest-lasting piece of this UCLA day probably will be McCoy’s non-performance, and the stiff quiet of the Bruin locker room in its aftermath.

As the Pauley Pavilion crowd of 10,059 dwindled close to Super Bowl kickoff time and the Bruins’ 24-point second-half lead was cut to seven, it was 6-foot-6 freshman Travis Reed, who played sparingly the past month, in the lineup.

Playing relatively confidently considering his lack of recent playing time, Reed scored a key basket with 6:22 left, giving UCLA a 75-66 lead, and did not make any critical mistakes.

Without McCoy, the ninth-ranked Bruins fended off the Louisville comeback, sparked by Eric Johnson’s four three-pointers in the second half, raising UCLA’s record to 15-3 and dropping Louisville to 8-12.

“In the second half, I felt Travis would give us more energy,” Lavin said.

Asked if this was McCoy’s final game at UCLA, Lavin, who has been uncharacteristically mum throughout the recent rumors, hesitated before answering.

“Unfortunately,” he said, “it’s the same situation it’s been all along. All I can say is he’s on the team.”

Lavin said he realizes that by playing Reed for 14 minutes, in which he scored seven points, had two steals and one rebound, he was not exactly rebuffing the assumption that McCoy won’t be around much longer.

“No question, yeah,” Lavin said. “I’ll blame that on my assistants. They kept telling me to play Travis.”

For his part, McCoy, UCLA’s all-time shot-block leader and single-season field-goal percentage record-holder, said he was tired of the focus on his future as a Bruin.

“It would take a toll on anybody,” McCoy said.

Johnson, who was suspended along with McCoy on Sept. 29 for unspecified violations of team and athletic department rules--Johnson sat out four games, McCoy nine--said McCoy is clearly suffering because of the prolonged situation.

Citing privacy concerns, neither UCLA nor the players involved have commented on reports that both tested positive multiple times for marijuana use.

Rumors about McCoy’s expected second suspension arose last week and have gone unabated. UCLA officials have not commented on them.

“I know it has to be bothering him,” Johnson said. “I’m not sure if it’s the same story resurfacing or what. . . . But a young kid like that, I’m sure this has been really hard for him--it has to take a toll.”

Said Henderson: “I don’t pay attention to that kind of distraction. I try to stay positive and hope for the best. I just hope Jelani’s keeping his head in it. We’re going to need him down the stretch for sure.”

* PIVOTAL ROLES: J.R. Henderson was a pillar of strength in the post, and he was complemented nicely by reserve freshman Travis Reed. C5