Tuesday, February 17, 1998
McCoy resigns, leaves season in doubt
RESIGNATION: Bruins will have to find other routes to victory
without center
By Emmanuelle Ejercito
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
For the No. 12 UCLA men’s basketball team the madness is never
limited to March. With the tournament a mere month away and a tough
match-up against No. 2 Duke this weekend, the Bruins were dealt a
serious blow Sunday morning.
Junior center Jelani McCoy has resigned from the UCLA men’s
basketball team effective immediately.
McCoy was suspended from the team on Sept. 29 and then fully
reinstated on Dec. 22. However, in the last month speculation has
swirled around McCoy concerning a possible
resuspension from the team.
Though the former player was not available for comment, he did
state through a press release that "because of the potential for
continued distraction and disruption, McCoy believes it would be
better to leave the team now and allow his teammates to become
accustomed to playing without his participation."
In a press conference on Sunday with a blown-up picture of McCoy
on the cover of L.A. Sports Profiles hanging hauntingly on the wall
at the Morgan Center Press Room, UCLA Head Coach Steve Lavin spoke
of the effects that the departure of McCoy will have on the Bruins
(19-5 overall, 9-4 Pac-10).
In the 15 games McCoy played this season, the 6-foot-10-inch
center averaged 9.9 points and 7.1 rebounds and already had 25
blocks in his shortened season. McCoy holds the school record for
single-season blocked shots, rejecting 102 attempts his freshman
year.
McCoy also ranks first and second on the UCLA list for
single-season field goal percentage. In his sophomore year he shot
75.6 percent from the field, an improvement on his freshman effort
of 67.6 percent. This season, McCoy was shooting a 60 percent
clip.
In the last game of his Bruin career, McCoy scored four points
and pulled down three rebounds in the 13 minutes he played against
California on Feb. 14.
Not only does UCLA lose McCoy’s rebounding and high field goal
percentage, but it also loses any height that it had. Senior J.R.
Henderson will again find himself standing as the tallest Bruin at
6-9.
"Jelani was an integral part of our success," Lavin said. "It’s
going to be tough, I don’t think that it will be one individual
person."
"Our full court press will be important. Kris (Johnson) shooting
well from the three-point line will be critical. Now we have to
generate from the bench with Travis (Reed), Rico (Hines), Billy
(Knight) and Brandon (Loyd), but there is no way you can possibly
compensate for the loss of Jelani."
As Lavin said, it will be "baptism through fire" for those
players who are now called upon to play significant roles despite
seeing limited playing time throughout the season.
Reed, at 6 feet 7 inches, will be instrumental in the Bruin’s
post play. Reed has played in 18 games and averages 3.9 points and
2.2 rebounds. However, he has had his moments. He played well
against New Mexico early in the season scoring 14 points and he
earned his first double-double against Cal State Fullerton on Dec.
13 with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Hines has just come off his best showing of the year
in his nine-point, 11-minute effort against California, in what
ended up being McCoy’s last game.
"We have our work cut out for us," Lavin said. "As a coach, you
always believe going into a game that you are going to find a way
to win. It just means you’ve got to be more resourceful …
neutralize your weaknesses and play to your strengths and find ways
to overcome.
"It’s going to be a real challenge … But I also think that
we’re a resilient group, what we need to do is move forward and
improve. There’s no question that we’re not the same team without
Jelani, but we’ve just got to try and get better."
UCLA Sports Information
Jelani McCoy