Can you believe this season is pretty much over?
This wistful sentiment has been the theme of my life the past
half-year as I count down the senior rituals of lasts, with this
coming Saturday being my last game in the student section at
Pauley.
After Oregon on Saturday, UCLA only has the Pac-10 and NCAA
Tournaments remaining ““ yes, I’m making that official
after Thursday’s win.
But I’m not ready for the season to be over yet.
With the new faces this year, it has taken a while for the
Bruins to hit their stride and look comfortable on the court
together.
It took awhile, but UCLA now looks like a good team, and I wish
the Bruins had more season to establish that.
Of course, UCLA luckily has put it together in time to build
momentum and give the NCAA Tournament selection committee no choice
but to call the Bruins’ name.
Thursday’s game was yet another opportunity to see how far
UCLA has come this season.
After seemingly everything the Bruins hoisted from 3-point range
found the bottom of the net against Notre Dame, seemingly
everything clanked off the rim against Oregon State.
“Being told that you’re pretty good coming back from
Notre Dame, you almost have to fight that,” UCLA coach Ben
Howland said.
Earlier this year, the Bruins would slowly unravel when shots
didn’t fall. Desperation would set in and they would abandon
their game plan and certain players would revert to trying to win
the game by themselves.
Thursday, the Bruins did what Howland said and fought through
their struggles. There was no doubt that the Bruins would win.
Wait, let me clarify.
I was extremely nervous, especially after they were down at the
half. And as the game progressed and UCLA still didn’t pull
ahead, the crowd had an anxious “OK guys, what’s going
on?” mood.
Because frankly, UCLA didn’t look so good.
However, the only people in the building who didn’t seem
concerned were the only ones who mattered. The Bruins never
appeared discouraged or scared.
It’s almost like being a senior in an easy GE. You might
not do so hot on the midterm, but you know that if you study the
day before the final, the TA will eat up your veteran thesis-ing
skills and your unparalleled ability of employing labyrinthine
diction which connotes diddly squat … or at least I’m
praying so.
The past few years, a similar first-half performance would have
led to an even uglier second half.
I’m not saying that UCLA was anywhere near impressive in
the second half, but the important thing is that the Bruins
didn’t panic or play too earnestly.
Whenever they absolutely needed to make a big play, someone came
through.
At UCLA’s absolute worst moment, down 43-38, Jordan Farmar
calmly took the ball up the court, strode to the 3-point line, and
nailed one from deep. Last year, that was Trevor Ariza or T.J.
Cummings hoisting after scrambling through 20 seconds of an
offensive set. So you see how far UCLA has come.
And then the player that epitomizes the Bruins’ new, more
determined attitude stepped up. With the score tied at 61-61 and
under two minutes left, freshman Arron Afflalo received a pass,
rose from behind the arc with a “no doubt this is going
in” attitude, and won the game.
This is a team that I have grown to love watching.
At the beginning of the year, the Bruins were fun to watch
because they were unpredictable and made every game entertaining,
against good teams and bad teams.
Now, they have reached a point where they are entertaining
because they are a good team.
Saturday against Oregon is Senior Day for the team, but it is
also senior day for the fans.
For all the seniors who have sat through three years of
underachieving, it will be nice feeling to enter Pauley knowing
that UCLA will win.
In a year full of lasts, it will be yet another one worth
remembering.
Peters is a basketball columnist for the 2004-2005 season.
E-mail him at [email protected].