Bumbling Billigmeier gives his predictions

Published: Tuesday, November 29, 1994

Eric Billigmeier

Writer's note: I fully intended to devote today's column to making predictions about the 1994-95 college basketball season. But then a soccer game broke out in front of my very eyes. So I begin with a bit of a tangent, but don't worry, the King of the Segue (that's me) will find a way to get back on track. So here goes ...

Bound to happen in college basketball this season ...

Very few pre-tournament games will surpass the excitement level generated by the UCLA men's soccer team's come-from-behind, 4-2 playoff win over SMU at Dallas on Sunday. In my book (titled "Best Soccer Matches Which I Got to See in Person," now in paperback), it comes in a close second to U.S.-Columbia ...

It was about as dramatic as could be Greg Vanney spent the whole game standing outside the bench area, waiting for his call from coach Sigi Schmid. Considering he's my favorite player, I kept an eye on Vanney from the stands, wondering when he would go in. And then he did, with 10 minutes left and UCLA down 2-1 and oh, what a substitution that turned out to be. Vanney lit a flame under the Bruins' beaten backsides, setting up the tying goal with a rocket free kick that handcuffed the Mustang goalie, then scoring the game-winner by cruise-missiling one off the back of teammate Ante Razov and into the net ...

As a result, the Bruins play again Sunday for the right to go to the Final Four. One interested observer might be UCLA men's basketball coach Jim Harrick, who is looking forward to a Final Four of his own come March ...

And now, for the easiest call of the preseason: UCLA will be a better team without Shon Tarver. The Bruins won't miss a single thing about Tarver's game, except perhaps his unwillingness to pass the ball in crucial situations. Oh, wait, they won't miss that part either ...

Arkansas will be overrated and beatable. In my own defense, I made this claim before Massachusetts (remember that name) handed the Razorbacks their lunch last Friday night. Everything went right for the band of punks from Fayetteville last year, so this season I figure they're bound to hit a few snags. And besides, how could the first national champion since 1968 UCLA to return all five starters be underrated? ...

Texas, Arizona State, Oregon, Texas Tech and Georgetown will surprise ...

Duke, Florida, Michigan and California will disappoint ...

For the first time in forever, a team from the state of North Carolina will not win the Atlantic Coast Conference title. Welcome to the big time, Maryland ...

Ed O'Bannon will get overlooked for All-American honors, his chances stunted by his willingness to see Harrick spread the offensive wealth. And rightly so ...

The Bruins won't press enough. Unless, of course, Harrick decides to run a full-court trap the whole game, which he should most definitely shoot for ...

Charles O'Bannon will receive at least one technical foul for hanging on the rim after a monster dunk, and nobody in the building will give a hoot (besides maybe Harrick) ...

Toby Bailey will take to his starting role (it's an inevitability, I'd say) like any other wonderfully talented freshman. For a case study, we could revisit the 1993-94 roller coaster ride of Charles O'Bannon. Sometimes really flashy, sometimes really down-and-out, but all the time he'll have us saying, "Oh, man, this kid's gonna be good" ...

Arizona will suffer from the same fate as the Bruins entrusting their outside shooting to youngsters. In Tucson, it's Miles Simon, among others ...

Oregon will be good. Not "relatively good" or "good for an Oregon team," but darn good, and capable of beating any of the top Pacific-10 powerhouses on any given night ...

Bruin recruiters (assistant coaches) Mark Gottfried and Lorenzo Romar will slug a few walls after watching highlights of so-close-to-being-a-Bruin freshman Jelani Gardner up at Cal ...

Tyus Edney will win a big game by nailing two clutch free throws with inside a minute left. Then he'll do it again the next game ...

Kevin Dempsey will wish he transferred ...

Even so, Dempsey will get into a game in the closing seconds, pump in a three-pointer to give UCLA 100 points, then turn to the student section and smile he is destined to leave Westwood as The Whopper Man ...

UCLA's success will depend upon, in this order, a) the development of an outside shooter (welcome to college, Toby), b) the continued growth of Zidek into a multi-dimensional threat, c) keeping Edney and the two O'Bannons away from the injury bug, and d) not a single Bruin opening his mouth to complain about the offense or about playing time ...

The Bruins will lose a game they're not supposed to lose. In this league, upset losses on the road are a slam-dunk guarantee, so just prepare yourselves, fans ...

Pac-10 officials will combine to make one or two bad calls. Perhaps three. Okay, maybe three hundred, but, hey, at least they try real hard ...

As for my Final Four picks, well, I was hoping you wouldn't ask. Obviously, Arkansas will be there (I said they're overrated, not bad kind of like The Who). And Massachusetts looks pretty solid. From there, I just don't know ...

Duke is too young. North Carolina is too thin, although Rasheed Wallace will cause mass salivation among NBA scouts all season long. Maryland is a sheik pick around these parts (a friend of mine in the L.A. press corps is the one responsible for their No. 1 vote in the AP poll), but their center's name, Joe Smith, is just too boring. Michigan? Nobody in the paint. Syracuse? Pull your socks down, Lawrence Moten. Kentucky? They lost Travis Ford, the champion of the short, stocky, pale-faced country boy, so I can no longer identify with the Wildcats. Kansas? Their center's name is Ostertaag. 'Nuff said. . .

So who are we left with? None other than the leaders of the Pac, the warriors of the West ... Oregon State and Washington. No, wait, I got my "Will Suck" list mixed up with my "Will Rule" list. Actually, the two Pac-10 clubs on their way to the Big Dance are Arizona and, yes, UCLA. I realize neither the Bruins nor the Wildcats have established outside shooting, a supposed prerequisite for a long tournament run, but, well, I just have a funny feeling ...

Then again, Sports Illustrated picked the Bruins No. 1, so that pretty much ruins our chances.

As for the national champion, I picked Massachusetts about a week ago, but you probably don't believe me, considering we all got to watch them against Arkansas over the weekend. But even before that game, I had made that selection and voiced it to many of my relatives in Dallas, including my mother. So, I'm sticking with the Minutemen, and if you think I cheated, go ahead and ask my mom.