This Time, UCLA Was Simply in Over Its Head

Smith for Turner. Mills for Sheppard. Edwards for Padgett. Magloire for Mohammed.

In and out they flowed Friday, a white-and-blue speckled tide, stronger with each ebb.

Anthony for Edwards. Evans for Edwards. Bradley for Magloire. Sheppard for Mills.

In and out the Kentucky substitutions flowed around UCLA, surrounding, intimidating, drowning.

For a second consecutive year, one of the nation’s premier basketball programs was eliminated from the NCAA tournament for a most peculiar reason.

UCLA didn’t have enough players.

The Bruins’ 94-68 loss to the Wildcats in the South Regional semifinals was not exactly a surprise. Many figured this might happen from the moment Baron Davis was declared out with a knee injury on Tuesday.

But it was a tad unsettling to see UCLA losing like one of those teams that shows up at the tournament with two power forwards and a manager.

It was as unsettling as last season, when Jelani McCoy suffered a sternum injury while the Bruins were leading in the regional finals against Minnesota, leading to defeat.

UCLA doesn’t have enough players?

How can that be?

Travis Reed seemed to be wondering the same thing late Friday, his voice heavy and tired after he was banged around for 31 minutes by approximately 31 Kentucky big men.

“I was guarding Nazr Mohammed . . . then I was guarding Scott Padgett . . . then I was guarding some 6-10 dude,” Reed said. “What can you do?”

A chaotic UCLA season appropriately ended with all the chaos of a game of two-on-one.

Kentucky had two teams, UCLA had one.

By the time the Wildcats had played their 10th player, the Bruins had played six.

The Kentucky players were so fresh, the only sweat came from when they were dripped on by J.R. Henderson.

The scorers’ table buzzer sounded so many times, you thought you were watching a game show.

At one point, the weary announcer announced only who was coming into the game for Kentucky--all four of them--without bothering to mention who was coming out.

In the end, 11 Wildcats had played at least nine minutes, while only six Bruins were on the court that long.

“We knew they were depleted, so we figured we’d use our depth to wear them down,” said Padgett.

Kentucky gave decent minutes to three seniors, four juniors, one sophomore and three freshman.

UCLA gave those same minutes to three seniors and three freshman.

A problem that has quietly plagued this team since the arrival of the three seniors four years ago was, in a bit of sad irony, highlighted in their final game together. Because of the dominating presence of Henderson, Toby Bailey and Kris Johnson, the Bruins have been either unable or unwilling to recruit any decent stand-ins and straight men.

Kentucky, as recruited mostly by former coach Rick Pitino, is filled with stand-ins and straight men.

“You go back to our national championship year, we had a lot of young stars,” said Bruin Coach Steve Lavin. “Potential recruits saw this. And the way it is with recruits, they won’t come to a place where they are not assured of starting.

“So we had a two-year period that really hurt recruiting.”

If that is the case, then Friday’s nationally televised game should really help recruiting.

In fact, couldn’t have helped if more if Lavin was wearing an Uncle Sam outfit and pointing at the camera.

This team needs players, a bunch of players. And not necessarily the best bunch of high school seniors in the country, either.

This team needs players who, if they aren’t destined for individual greatness, understand team greatness.

This team needs players so what happened Friday, when Bailey was struggling and Johnson was exhausted, won’t happen again.

“There was some times tonight when I had the ball and I felt like everyone was just like, staring at me,” Henderson said. “Like, waiting for me to do something.”

On UCLA’s first possession of the game, Henderson did plenty of things.

He threw up a five-footer that was blocked by Mohammed. Henderson grabbed the ball, threw it up again, and it was blocked again.

He grabbed it a third time and scored.

His teammates ran down the court glancing at each other as if, which part of that is going to happen tonight, the two blocks or the resilient layup?

Turns out, they decided it would be the blocks, playing intimidated for the remainder of the short period when the game was still in doubt.

When a Kentucky player acted intimidated, Coach Tubby Smith’s answer was simple. He yanked him.

Mohammed for Magloire. Hogan for Sheppard. Evans for Turner. A bunch of guys in buzz haircuts for a bunch of a 6-foot-6 forwards.

The Bruins had one decent shot, with 11 minutes left in the first half and the score stuck at 22-9.

During one stretch around then, Kentucky failed to score on five consecutive possessions.

If UCLA had countered with even three baskets, they could have closed the gap to a manageable distance.

Instead, on their five ensuing possessions, they didn’t score once.

Reed walked. Reed missed a layup. Earl Watson walked. Bailey missed a layup. Henderson was called for charging while trying to score against two defenders.

Not one was yanked.

“You know, next year I hope we bring in a lot of players,” said Reed later. “I know that might cut into playing time but. . . .”

He sighed, wiped his forehead, not going to forget this drowning.

‘We just need a lot of players.”