The off-season.
After a surreal run through the NCAA Tournament, the UCLA
men’s basketball team is suddenly faced with the prospect of
starting all over again from scratch.
That might be difficult to accept, considering 40 minutes of
winning basketball was all that separated the Bruins (32-7) from
flying back to LAX as national champions.
Some coaches or players would be tempted to think about how
close they came. Some would at least let the tears on their cheeks
dry before uttering that infamous phrase that injects hope into the
heart of every fledging program ““ next year.
UCLA coach Ben Howland was not shy about his own hope for the
future. Still disappointed that UCLA couldn’t manage one more
tournament victory, Howland was not even an hour removed from an
NCAA Championship defeat and was already expressing his excitement
for next season.
“We’ll learn from this. Our players returning in the
program are definitely going to have grown a lot from this season.
Again, I’m really, really proud of their efforts,”
Howland said.
The effects of Florida’s 73-57 title win were felt
throughout the roster. Howland’s players treated it as much
like a civics seminar as they did a championship game. Even the one
Bruin who admitted to being the most frustrated by a lackluster
performance was still quick to offer perspective.
“I just had to let the game come to me,” sophomore
guard Arron Afflalo said. “Maybe I was trying to hunt the
ball a little too much and as a result took myself out of the flow.
I had a couple opportunities in the paint. Just need to slow down,
shot fake, do some things better, to get my shot off.”
Afflalo, UCLA’s leading scorer with 15.8 points per game,
was shut out in the first half and never found his rhythm. But even
in the post-game press conference, Afflalo had his eye on the road
ahead.
“It’s just a little incentive for our returning guys
to really strive to get that much better for next year,”
Afflalo said.
If anyone is curious as to why Howland has spread a feeling of
hunger rather than despair, it only takes a moment to think about
the low depths of UCLA basketball just three years ago. Howland was
coaching the Bruins in the championship game three years to the day
after he was hired following a 10-19 season.
The 2005-2006 year wasn’t quite a return to championship
lore, but it was a season that ended just about every losing trend
established in recent history. UCLA was able to defend Pauley
Pavilion, beating Stanford at home for the first time in eight
seasons. Howland’s club also swept Lute Olson’s Arizona
Wildcats for the first time since 1996-1997. The Pac-10 title
hadn’t belonged to the Bruins since 1996-1997, either. Of
course, it was the first Final Four appearance since 1995’s
championship year.
Many basketball pundits are already tabbing UCLA as a preseason
top-5 team and repeat conference champions.
“We had a great year. We came up one national championship
game short,” Howland said. “My message to the team is
that, you know, our goal is to get back here again next year and
win it.”
The aftermath of Florida’s win over UCLA on Monday night
gave credit to the victors rather than assign fault to the losers.
The Gators (33-6) were praised for their efficient and
well-executed game plan. In the championship game, they had a gaudy
21 assists with only 6 turnovers. The Gators’ near-perfect
play didn’t make the loss any easier for the Bruins but did
allow them to give credit where it is most certainly due.
“They did a great job on both ends of the floor,”
said sophomore forward Jordan Farmar, who scored a game-high 18
points Monday. “Offensively, they were very poised and strong
and ready for everything we had to throw at ’em.”
In the end, UCLA was searching for a way to accept the reality
of Monday’s loss while embracing the big steps that were
taken in only a couple of years.
“Florida was terrific,” Howland said. “They
were very, very well coached. They have outstanding players. This
is their night. Unfortunately for us, that’s the
case.”
“But UCLA is going to be back.”