UCLA’S CHANCES: THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT

Jamaal Tinsley is talking. He does this well.

He does this as well as he dribbles between legs, around backs, across imaginations.

“UCLA has a lot of talent,” Tinsley says. “But it doesn’t make sense to have a lot of talent if you don’t play together.”

Earl Watson is listening. He does this well.

He spent two seasons being needled in practice by Baron Davis, one season being heckled by the fans at Pauley Pavilion, and now he’s supposed to worry about 10 minutes of smack from some skinny kid from Iowa State?

“So he’s going to talk a lot of stuff, huh?” Watson says, smiling. “Well, I’m sure it will be in a constructive way.”

Jamaal Tinsley is driving. He does this well.

He drove through the Brooklyn playgrounds, past any form of organized high school ball, directly to Mount San Jacinto Community College in Riverside County, then to Iowa State.

Now, in the craziest trip of all, he is driving directly to the Final Four as the tournament’s second-hottest point guard.

Only, tonight in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals, the hottest point guard is in his way.

“I’ve done things that nobody has seen before,” Tinsley says. “Twice this year, the referees have made calls against me because they have never seen that move before, and they had to call something.”

Earl Watson is waiting. He does this well.

Waited for Davis to leave UCLA. Waited to grow into the position. Waited for his entire team to show up healthy, which it finally has, and right on time.

“Tinsley really has game, I love watching him,” Watson says. “But we have to look beyond that.”

Do we?

Some would say that tonight’s game between UCLA and Iowa State for the right to advance to the Elite Eight requires looking at nothing else.

Tinsley versus Watson.

Flashbulb versus shadow.

“Tinsley is the New York high dribble, Earl is the blue-collar Midwest guy,” UCLA’s Rico Hines says. “Whichever one plays better, their team is going to win.’

It’s that simple. One sprints, one stalks, only one advances.

Says Jason Kapono: “A great matchup.”

Says JaRon Rush: “There’s going to be a whole lot of chit-chat out there.”

Much is being made of Cyclone star Marcus Fizer’s 40-minute brawl with UCLA’s Jerome Moiso and Dan Gadzuric.

Others talk about the importance of Kapono and Rush getting loose around the Cyclones’ small, tough wings.

None of that can be decided, though, until something is decided between Tinsley and Rush.

If point guards truly run this tournament, then two of the best ones will certainly control an evening.

This is a playground sport returning to its roots, a billion-dollar festival reduced to a game of one-on-one.

Tinsley, a 6-foot-3 junior, is about colorful dribbling and constant yapping.

“I like to talk because it can make the other guy lose concentration,” he says. “Sometimes it can get them off their games.”

Watson, a 6-foot-1 junior, is about alley fights and alley-oops.

“I don’t think I do anything that nobody has seen before,” he says. “I don’t do those alley-oop passes to be flashy. I just do them to score.”

If the Cyclones don’t have Tinsley, they are back in Ames, an understandably distasteful thought for all involved.

During their first two victories, when Fizer was slowed and his teammates confused, Tinsley made the three-pointers and connected on the passes that made it all better.

If the Bruins don’t have Watson, they are back in the city’s doghouse, which is arguably still better than anywhere in Ames.

Watson directed the second-half comeback against Ball State, and controlled the rout against Maryland, becoming the Bruins’ physical and emotional touchstone all at once.

While Tinsley is far more colorful, he showed last week that he can also shoot and play defense.

While Watson is simpler--alley-oop passes notwithstanding--he showed he can also style.

Like when he passes to Kapono for an open three-pointer, then turns his back and runs downcourt even as the ball is still in mid-air.

“That’s not being flashy, that’s just being confident,” Watson says.

Here’s guessing that Watson would take shirts, and give Tinsley skins.

“This last week, Tinsley has proven himself,” Bruin senior Sean Farnham says. “But Earl has done the same thing. This is going to be really fun.”

As long as Watson can see what the rest of us are seeing.

His bruised and surgically repaired left eye, injured Saturday against Maryland, still looked as though it belonged to a boxer Wednesday.

It was at once swollen and droopy. His practice was limited. He occasionally dabbed at it with a towel.

He said he could see fine, and that it felt fine. And, after all, his second-half heroics against Maryland occurred after the injury.

“The eye is just real tired right now,” he says. “Staying focused will be the hardest part for me. Staying mentally tough.”

Tinsley is asked about it. He scoffs.

“I don’t know about no eye problem,” he says. “I don’t care about any of that.”

He dribbles and drives. Watson listens and waits. The sports world watches and cheers and hopes for things nobody has seen before.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at his e-mail address: bill.plaschke@latimes.com.

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Making Their Points

Comparing starting point guards Earl Watson of UCLA and Jamaal Tinsley of Iowa State:

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Watson CATEGORY Tinsley 11.6 Points 10.7 .442 Field Goal Percentage .378 5.4 Assists 6.6 4.1 Rebounds 5.1 3.1 Turnovers 4.2

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