With No Davis, UCLA’s NCAA Title Hopes Are Barren

To think the UCLA basketball team wants to come here again in a year, would love to come here again.

To the Little Big Horn.

To Waterloo.

The RCA Dome became a hunted house again Thursday night--site of the 1996 first-round tournament loss as the No. 4-seeded team to No. 13 Princeton, site of the 1999 first-round tournament loss as the No. 5-seeded team to No. 12 Detroit Mercy--but it is also now officially the Bruins’ desired destination. Officially now that this season is over.

The 2000 Final Four is here, of all places. The Bruins may be, too, if Baron Davis returns for his junior season, but that seems unlikely if he can accept that his final UCLA appearance ended with a foul-out and a terrible loss.

If Davis opts for the NBA now? Two things happen:

* The Clippers will face massive public pressure to take him if they have a top-three pick, even as some personnel evaluators around the league say Maryland’s Steve Francis is a better choice among point guards.

* And, the Bruins won’t have to worry about facing their RCA Dome past.

No Davis, who by the start of next season probably will be completely recovered from the knee injury suffered a year ago Monday, means no true point guard at UCLA. No true point guard means that the 1998-99 team that supposedly had this grand window of opportunity, loaded with sophomores and juniors and all, almost certainly will never have the kind of lofty view available only from the top.

“Obviously, with Baron Davis, we’re going to be a better team, just because Baron Davis is Baron Davis,” sophomore guard Ryan Bailey said.

“I think we’re going to be a real good team either way.”

The Bruins would certainly be good without Davis. But championship good?

Dan Gadzuric will have a season of experience behind him, but his knees will have a season of wear. He didn’t even make it to the first exhibition game of his freshman season before tendinitis became a major issue, then had surgery Feb. 25 for torn cartilage that ended his season and robbed the Bruins of an inside presence for the tournament.

Earl Watson will be the point guard. The junior-to-be deserves every one of the many compliments he has received for playing his heart out and defending bigger guards, but he was never so erratic as when Davis was out and he served as the primary ballhandler.

There still may be no consistent outside threat. Billy Knight, a redshirt this season, will have the chance to replace Brandon Loyd, the only departing senior, in that role, but that would only make him a potential part of the rotation.

Even as the Bruins failed against zone defenses and Coach Steve Lavin continued to call Loyd the designated zone buster, even as the Bruins finished last in the Pacific 10 Conference in three-point percentage, Loyd averaged 7.6 minutes and didn’t play at all against Detroit as UCLA fishtailed to its lowest scoring output in three years.

For now, though, the classy Loyd is the only Bruin who is officially done, which made him and close friend Sean Farnham very emotional in the locker room after the first-round elimination. Everyone else has a UCLA future:

* Davis. OK, so maybe everyone else.

* Bailey, this season a sophomore guard. His defense was a constant concern for the coaching staff, but he proved valuable as a third guard and a veteran because of the season at Penn State before he transferred to Westwood. He could lose his scholarship next season if UCLA needs it to sign a big-name recruit--part of the original deal--but he also could gain a starting spot.

* Matt Barnes, freshman forward. If the Bruins land a power player, he could become a 6-foot-7 guard.

* Farnham, junior forward. Energy and enthusiasm propelled him from the end of the bench to a starting role midway through the conference season.

* Gadzuric, freshman center. He looked into turning pro after high school, but said he planned to return to UCLA even before the knee surgery scared off the pros.

* Rico Hines, sophomore guard-forward. An emotional leader who broke his right foot in mid-January, returned in late-February but was unable to regain a significant role.

* Knight, sophomore guard-forward. Redshirted.

* Jerome Moiso, freshman forward. Lottery skills and CBA intensity--to match his playful, easygoing manner--mean the Bruins have a talented enigma who will frustrate them while charming them. Think Elden Campbell with a personality.

* Todd Ramasar, sophomore guard-forward. Played 35 minutes.

* JaRon Rush, freshman forward. Struggled mightily with his shot, a disappointment, but also emerged as an outstanding rebounder for a 6-6 wing player. So much for those questions about his toughness.

* Watson. The constant in the lineup, but the lack of a take-charge attitude means it’s a risk for the Bruins to make this “his team” in 1999-2000.

* Ray Young, freshman guard-forward. Made commendable strides. Showed the potential to become the three-point threat.

* Lavin. There goes the tournament mystique. He will meet soon with Athletic Director Pete Dalis to review the season and discuss the future of the program. Among the topics: a contract extension.