What do you expect from this UCLA basketball team? For the past few seasons, the answer was: Expect anything. A few victories over No. 1 teams, and a few losses to the EA Sports All-Stars. But this team, under the guidance of new coach Ben Howland, will not vacillate between greatness and utter ineptitude.
No, it probably won’t beat Arizona, and it probably won’t beat Michigan State. But what it will do is beat Loyola Marymount and UC Santa Barbara. Yes, this is a UCLA team that lacks depth and talent, but it will make up for those deficiencies with good coaching and gutsy performances.
For these gutty little Bruins, a very successful season means 17 regular season victories and a win in the Pac-10 Tournament, which the Bruins could parlay into a NCAA Tournament bid if the stars are aligned correctly and if Quinn Hawking eats his Wheaties. However, I will have fun rooting for this team regardless of where it ends up at the conclusion of the season.
Why? Because this team has heart. The players are a likable bunch of student-athletes. The team is nothing like the UCLA teams of the Steve Lavin era, which were mostly composed of a bunch of arrogant athletes with a great deal of talent and little heart.
You know the scene in that unparalleled film, “Armageddon,” in which Bruce Willis’ gang of losers is walking toward the camera in heart- stopping slow motion, and someone inevitably remarks, “So these are the guys that are going to save the world?” Well, that is what this team is like: a bunch of misfits who may save your basketball world from a (proverbial) giant asteroid.
While not one player is as charming as Ben Affleck or as eccentric as Steve Buscemi, each player on this team has a clearly defined starring role. The team has its journeyman in Brian Morrison, a player with a lot to prove in Cedric Bozeman, a rising star in Dijon Thompson, and to top it off, a bunch of unwanted recruits with nothing to lose (obviously, a bunch of them).
If this team manages to win the games it should and not incur any terrible losses, then the season is a success story, just like “Armageddon” (because in the film, Bruce Willis saves the world).
You’ve heard it constantly since the start of the season, but it’s true – coaching will be key for this team’s success. What last season’s team lacked in coaching, the team often made up for with sheer talent. The absence of coaching was demonstrated each time UCLA lost to a lousy team and each time the Bruins dispatched a highly talented team. Victories came only because of talent, and conversely, games were lost because of a lack of coaching. This season, things are already looking up: UCLA has already defeated two lousy teams: Vermont and UC Riverside.
If you are tired of hearing how Howland is going to save this basketball team, put it in perspective: Maybe it’s not that Howland is here, but that Lavin, and the negative energy he brought to the program, is gone.
Finally, so much has been said about this team’s lack of depth that I would be remiss to not mention it. The Bruins lost considerable talent with the departures of Jason Kapono, Ray Young and Andre Patterson.
However, the additions of freshman Trevor Ariza and junior transfer Brian Morrison now appear to be more significant than initially expected. Morrison lit up UC Riverside for 28, draining 6 three-pointers, and proving he is a transfer guard who can play. While Ariza won’t see action until at least Dec. 17, his play in Bruin exhibition games was encouraging.
It may take a few years to make UCLA the powerhouse it should be, but it’s pretty easy to improve on 10-19. In this season’s weak Pac-10 Conference, the Bruins could surprise some people. Expectations for this team are low, just like mine for “Armageddon” before I saw it.
I wish I could tell you I loved “Armageddon,” because that would make for a beautifully clichéd ending to this column. And you know what, for some strange reason, I didn’t hate it.
E-mail Miller at dmiller@media.ucla.edu.