Freshman Walcott Won’t Play This Season

UCLA fans will have to wait until next season to get their first glimpse of freshman point guard Ryan Walcott, billed as the Bruins’ fastest player.

Walcott and his coaches have decided that he will sit out this season, in part because of the logjam at his position. The team already has senior point guards Earl Watson, Ryan Bailey and Jason Flowers.

The Bruins rushed to sign Walcott last spring after Coach Steve Lavin and assistant Jim Saia watched a videotape of him leading Phoenix Shadow Mountain High to the Arizona 5A state championship. The coaches called him on the spot, invited him to campus the next day for a visit, then offered him a scholarship without ever evaluating his skills in person.

Walcott is a cousin of former Arizona star Mike Bibby.

Although the Bruins are loaded with point guards this season, they have only two lined up for 2001-02, Walcott and incoming freshman Cedric Bozeman.