By Christina Teller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Just a fraction of his performance will show up in the box
score.
The rest can be seen in the sweat marks left on the floor after
the two charges Rico Hines took within a period of 32 seconds
““ Desmond Farmer’s third and fourth personal fouls. In
the defensive stops he got, which then allowed the Bruins to score.
In the intensity that rubs off on his teammates.
“Rico single-handedly fouled Farmer out of the
game,” senior Billy Knight said. “A lot of people
don’t know what he does for the team. Rico’s the heart
and soul of our team.”
Hines does the little things.
He’s not the one who makes the clutch free-throws down the
stretch. Or the buzzer-beating shot. But it is Hines who helps keep
the Bruins in the game and in a position where those kinds of
things matter.
“When I play well for this team, a good overall game, we
win basketball games,” Hines said. “This is my first
game, really that I feel back in the rhythm. I want to keep doing
the little things to help this team win. Tonight I felt like I
played a major part in this win.”
Little things like when he drove to the basket and put up the
lay-up with 5:08 left in the first half, bringing the Bruins within
three at 31-28. Or when with 9:02 left in the second half Hines
snagged a rebound and dished it off to Dan Gadzuric, who put it in
for two giving the Bruins their biggest lead of the game at that
point.
But with 34 seconds left in the game, his contributions almost
became insignificant.
Hines had checked in with 38 seconds on the clock with the
Bruins ahead 64-63. USC was inbounding the ball from the sideline,
and Hines was guarding Brandon Granville at half-court. The matchup
was physical, ending with their arms entangled as the referee blew
the whistle.
Hines began to celebrate, thinking Granville had picked up the
foul. That wasn’t the case. It had been called against the
Bruin guard.
“(Granville) tied up Rico and got the call,” UCLA
head coach Steve Lavin said. “Brandon Granville is so crafty.
He has tricks that guys who are 32 usually use.”
Granville, having just missed the front end of a one-and-one,
had a chance for redemption.
The Trojan guard sunk both shots, and the Trojans led by
one.
But Hines knew it wasn’t over.
Former UCLA assistant Steve Spencer used to tell Hines that you
can’t cheat the game.
“I was thinking the whole time that we were going to win
the game because the basketball gods don’t let them win like
that,” Hines said in reference to his foul on Granville.
Maybe it was the basketball gods. Maybe it was just luck down
the stretch.
But without Hines’ intensity on the court, all of that
other stuff probably wouldn’t have mattered much at all.