Thursday, 5/1/97 Pressure is on for Lavin, Davis to win championship next year New talent ups expectations, strong leader needed to set tone
Steve Fisher felt the pressure because Rumeal Robinson hit two free throws in 1989 to earn the interim coach a long-term contract after only six games. Six games and a national championship for the Michigan Wolverines, that is. One year later, there were no celebrations, and the buzz around Ann Arbor was that he couldn't recruit. Enter Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson. The Fab Five. OK, so Fisher was a recruiting god. But could he win it all again? In college basketball, the relieving of pressure only leads to more. At the start of 1996-97 season, Steve Lavin was wondering how he was going to pay off his debt. Now at the helm of UCLA's basketball program, Lavin's financial worries have been replaced by the stress induced by having more talent than a three-ring circus and expectations set higher than a tightrope. At a place like Arizona, the expectations are just as high for next year. Lute Olsen's squad is returning all five starters from the national championship team. That's right, all five. Nonetheless, with the acquisitions of Baron Davis and Schea Cotton, the Bruins will have more talent than any team in the country. The pressure on them to win it all will be as great as it is for the Wildcats. And yet, the players seem to invite it. Jelani McCoy and Kris Johnson are already talking about the Final Four and a national championship. Davis announced that his first goal is to win the title. Certainly, these aren't unrealistic dreams. But the biggest challenge Lavin will face will be similar to the one Fisher faced at Michigan during the Fab Five days. The Bruins aren't anywhere near as cocky and arrogant as the young Wolverines were - their mouths flapped every bit as much as their baggy maize-and-blue shorts. In terms of stable, on-the-court leadership, however, someone new will have to step up for UCLA. The loss of Cameron Dollar and Charles O'Bannon changes the chemistry of the team. The two seniors were leaders both vocally and in terms of their style of play. The difference between the Bruins at the beginning of last season and the team we saw at the end was that the latter was a poised group that played like five fingers on the same hand. The catalysts for this change were Dollar and O'Bannon, as both looked to get their teammates involved more than they looked to score. Whereas Dollar's value was felt most strongly on the defensive end of the floor, Davis will likely be more of an offensive scoring threat. This changes the complexion of the Bruins' offensive attack because more points will be coming from the point guard position. Last season, Lavin was amazingly able to get consistently unselfish play out of a group containing four players with dreams of playing at the next level. O'Bannon was the one who set the tone, letting the game come to him instead of forcing shots. Next season, there will be five or six players with NBA hopes and still only one ball. The pressure to land the prized recruits in Westwood for next season may have subsided, but Lavin's new challenge is to replicate last season's team's style of play. At the center of this is Baron Davis, who will have to do more than dazzle us with his shooting and passing. He'll have to grow up fast enough to quarterback a team of superstars.