Somehow the Bruin Seniors Weathered the Four Seasons

One game, one loss, a moment of postgame small talk with Ashley Judd, and, suddenly, the tangible ties to 1995 are gone.

Four seasons of flash and glory: Missouri buzzer-beater, win national title, lose to Princeton, Jim Harrick fired, lose to Stanford by 48, almost reach the Final Four, lose to North Carolina by 41, Kris Johnson suspended, Jelani McCoy forced to quit, Baron Davis lost.

Over.

“There’s nothing I can do,” said J.R. Henderson, whose grin communicated more of his moment basking in the Judd smile than the Kentucky loss. “It’s over now.”

It lasted a long time, it wound through so many different emotional stages: the glow of total triumph, the fall from grace, the convulsions of fame, the will to survive and the inability to avoid self-inflicted wounds, the acceptance of inevitable defeat.

But it was all connected, all part of a larger mosaic of elevating talent, stubbornness, arrogance and dignity.

Seniors Toby Bailey, Henderson and Kris Johnson won more games than they should have, lost many they shouldn’t have, and came to personify the curious UCLA blend of dream and nightmare, disgrace and destiny.

Not only a season ended Friday night when Kentucky hammered UCLA, 94-68, in a South Regional semifinal, but also the Bruins as we knew them.

“I know that we probably haven’t lived up to what could’ve happened, and given all the talent that we’ve had come through here,” Johnson said before the season ended.

“But I don’t think things are ever going to be the same around here again. Just the impact and the things that have happened in the last four years.

“This has been like one of the craziest four-year runs in UCLA history. Your coach is fired, all this stuff happens, national championship, lose to Princeton. It’s just crazy. I don’t think it’ll ever be like that again.”

And when it was over--the game and the era--Coach Steve Lavin, perhaps struck at last by the great extent of his responsibilities and the gaping holes in his lineup, walked alone in the bowels of Tropicana Field in the early-morning hours, no entourage in tow, no national-title-tested seniors to carry him any longer.

If the world was fair, Athletic Director Peter Dalis, who put UCLA in this situation by firing Harrick, hiring Lavin under duress, then acceding to Lavin’s renegotiation demands, should have joined him on the lonely walk, peering into the restless future.

Happy days are gone again?

With the three seniors gone--and their 55.7 points and 18.6 rebounds a game--the dependable pieces have been taken away, and what’s left is a Bruin future as ephemeral as Lavin’s sense of humility.

Almost everything bad that happened, from the NCAA’s September disqualification of top recruit Schea Cotton (which UCLA brought on itself by recruiting the controversial forward) to McCoy’s resignation to the Davis injury (which throws into question the one player Lavin built his program around), affected 1998-99 more than it did this season.

Because there were always the three seniors to win games, without script, by themselves, like Johnson’s self-planned three-point shot to beat Washington State.

Playing 40 minutes against Boise State or 39 against Oregon State or nearly fainting from exhaustion against Arizona, at the cost of playing risky reserves, Bailey, Henderson and Johnson were the ones who got Lavin his 24-victory season, who got him the second-round victory over Michigan, and who wearied finally.

And who, truth be told, listened to him least, because they were part of the 1995 national-title season and learned from Ed O’Bannon, Tyus Edney and George Zidek, when Lavin was a limited-earnings assistant.

The man who would have been the Bruins’ leader and best player is wounded--Davis’ knee injury may keep him out until January.

The only other returning starter, guard Earl Watson, played a lot of minutes, made a lot of mistakes, and is far from a sure-thing impact player as a sophomore.

Lavin couldn’t bring himself to consistently play Travis Reed until he was desperately needed, which means, despite the impressive moments, he still has hills to climb.

And nobody else played very much, even with McCoy out, because games had to be won, just had to be won.

Think about it: What one thing did UCLA stand for this season, were the Bruins committed to? Defense? Hardly. Youth? No. Discipline? From whom?

There is an influx of talent coming in, of course: If star forward JaRon Rush signs in April, he’ll be part of one of the top classes in the nation, alongside wing players Ray Young and Matt Barnes, and possibly the all-important post player, either Dan Gadzuric or Jerome Moiso.

You hear him lay out plausible excuses and El Nino references and John Wooden anecdotes and you know: Steve Lavin can recruit. He was born to recruit. He has been recruiting for something--a better job, a better contract, for better talent--his whole coaching career.

But right now, those are all merely names, who may or may not ever produce or even play at UCLA.

The future, for the first time in four years, is uncharted. The players are unknown. The 20-victory season is maybe a 50-50 proposition. The program could go any direction.

“I wish I had those kinds of answers,” Lavin said at one particularly tense moment of this season. “I just don’t. I’m know I’m failing you guys somehow. I’m a real simple guy . . .

“All I know is play hard, play together as a team, and keep trying to get better. Roll your sleeves up and get better. Those other geniuses can answer those questions. I really don’t have the answers.”

Henderson, out of all the seniors, seemed to understand that most.

Bailey was the unblinking 40-minute warrior, Johnson the most dependable offensive UCLA player since Don MacLean. But Henderson was the conscience of the class, the independent soul who remembered back to 1995 the best.

And when he stood outside the locker room Friday, after deciding not to join Lavin, Bailey and Johnson at the postgame interview podium and after taking the NCAA random drug test, he shook Judd’s hand, and talked about moving on.

Henderson seemed relieved, almost.

Four seasons is a long time to hold your breath.

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UCLA (24-9) Game by Game

REGULAR SEASON *--*

68 North Carolina-x 109 92 Alaska Anchorage-x 68 86 Alabama Birmingham-x 72 69 New Mexico 58 120 Cal State Fullerton 91 90 Northern Arizona 68 73 Saint Louis 67 81 Boise State 75 65 at Nevada Las Vegas 57 74 Illinois 69 75 at Arizona 87 78 at Arizona State 73 90 Oregon State 72 68 Oregon 66 74 at California 73 80 at Stanford 93 101 USC 84 88 Louisville 82 88 Washington State 68 105 Washington 94 81 at Oregon 97 84 at Oregon State 75 81 Stanford 84 87 California 84 82 at USC, OT 75 84 at Duke 120 78 at Washington State 75 94 at Washington 95 102 Arizona State 94 87 Arizona 91

*--*

NCAA TOURNAMENT *--*

65 Miami 62 85 Michigan 82 68 Kentucky 94

*--*

x-Great Alaska Shootout

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Scholarship Players Status Report

SENIORS

* Forward J.R. Henderson--Showed NBA full repertoire vs. Michigan; forget about muscle post vs. Kentucky.

* Forward Kris Johnson--Funneled anger to actual basketball and maybe into draft’s second round.

* Guard Toby Bailey--Lavin did him no favors: If he ever got rest or had played true off-guard, he could have been a sure top-20 pick.

JUNIORS

* Guard Brandon Loyd--Forgotten Bruin once again, only senior next year.

SOPHOMORES

* Forward Kevin Daley--Trivia answer: Who scored UCLA’s final four points of 1997-98?

FRESHMEN

* Forward Travis Reed--An anchor for next season. Why didn’t he play more?

* Forward/Guard Billy Knight--Offense is there, defensive footwork isn’t.

* Forward/Guard Rico Hines--Emotional, mature leader as sophomore?

* Guard Baron Davis--UCLA expected next Isiah Thomas, got next Dr. J. Will he still have explosion post-ACL?

* Guard Earl Watson--Hustle player prone to mistakes, will run team until Davis returns.