CHRIS BACKLEY/Daily Bruin Sophomore Jason
Kapono muscles his way around Jarron
Collins to the basket Saturday.
By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
With its recent eight-game winning streak snapped at the hands
of top-ranked Stanford, the No. 13 UCLA men’s basketball team
has ideas of repeating the same success with eight more.
If you do the math, then you know what the Bruins (20-7, 13-3
Pac-10) will be playing for at the end of that stretch.
But UCLA’s eyes are squarely on its trip to Pullman,
Wash., and this evening’s showdown with Pac-10 upstart
Washington State (12-14, 5-11). Head Coach Steve Lavin, his team
and the rest of the conference know these aren’t the same
cellar-dwelling Cougars that they’ve faced in past years.
“We talked about how they were up eight on Stanford at the
half and ended up losing by 11,” Lavin said. “Yet they
made it a highly competitive game from the start.”
Washington State, despite the dismissal of frontline star Eddie
Miller a month ago due to disciplinary reasons, has been the
surprise of the conference this season. The Cougars are looking to
finish with a .500 overall record and get an NIT bid for the first
time since 1996.
MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. UCLA vs.
Washington State Today 7 p.m. Pullman, Wash. Radio 1150AM
“I want our team to continue to play better,” WSU Head
Coach Paul Graham said. “We’re a better basketball team
than we were a month ago. We have something to play for and we want
to be very competitive. We feel very good about surpassing
everything people thought we couldn’t.”
The “team” concept has enabled the Cougars to split
their last six contests. While this may not be the sort of
turnaround that opens the eyes of skeptics, Washington
State’s play is discussed in the circles that count: their
opponents. “They are very athletic and they are very
confident; they play with no pressure,” UCLA senior point
guard Earl Watson said. “That’s (the sign) of a
dangerous team right there.”
The Cougars are aided by the possible return of junior guard
Mike Bush. The team’s leading scorer at 16.7 points per game,
he has been hampered by a right Achilles injury that has converted
him into a cheerleader as of late. But that may not be the case
tonight.
“The doctors think (Bush) can play this weekend and he
would be a good addition for our team to have him back in
action,” Graham added.
Regardless of Bush’s status, Washington State continues to
play sound basketball behind junior forward J Locklier, who was
recently named the 2001 Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year, and freshman
guard Marcus Moore, who is trying to claim the Pac-10’s top
freshman honor.
“Marcus Moore has really improved,” Lavin said.
“The more he plays and the (more) experience he has, the more
confidence he displays.”
Meanwhile, UCLA looks to sweep the Washington schools en route
to a good seed and bracket come Selection Sunday. The taste of
Saturday’s bitter loss to the Cardinal still lingers, but the
Bruins remain set on the task at hand.
“Our focus has been only Washington State and
Washington,” said sophomore forward Jason Kapono. “We
know that if we lose one, then everything we have worked for to get
to this point is gone.”
“(The Stanford loss) shows us that we are vulnerable and
that we can’t get too high on ourselves,” added junior
guard Billy Knight.
Though many teams in the country are vying for conference
tournament championships ““ something the Bruins will become
familiar with next season when the Pac-10 starts the event ““
the Bruins look only at what they can control. For this ballclub,
that’s playing good basketball at the end of the year.