THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 4, 1995 TAG: 9504040455
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
DATELINE: SEATTLE LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Jim Harrick may not have supplanted Kato Kaelin as the celebrity of the moment in greater Los Angeles. At the very least, though, he gets to step from the shadow and bask in a warm glow of his own making.
History, Harrick said before Monday's NCAA title game, didn't interest his players.
``Young people, you'll find out, are enthralled with the moment,'' he said.
True enough. And yet history plays a big part in UCLA's championship story, if only to provide a point of reference. This is as clear as John Wooden's presence in the Kingdome Monday night.
Before the game, Wooden said he didn't speak with the Bruins because ``I didn't think that would be appropriate.''
So this reticent, gracious man stayed in the background on the 20th anniversary of UCLA's last basketball title, or as far back as CBS' cameras would allow.
``They have had a tremendous season,'' Wooden explained, ``and I didn't want to take any attention from them.'' Besides, said the Wizard of Westwood, Harrick ``is more concerned with his guard's health than anything else.''
As it turned out, Tyus Edney's health was not good. A sprained right wrist would limit him to less than three minutes on the court.
``Right before he warmed up,'' said Harrick, ``I knew he couldn't play. I started him, but I knew he couldn't play.''
Did Harrick know UCLA could still win? Edney was more than Harrick's point guard, he was the guts of this team.
Edney's absence should have made Arkansas' full-court pressure more suffocating. With UCLA reduced to a six-man rotation, the Razorbacks' deep depth should have seemed even deeper.
Once more, it appeared that Nolan Richardson's team had gotten the big break it needed in this tournament.
Every March Madness maven remembers how the Hogs survived the first round when Texas Southern guard Randy Bolden, an 80 percent foul shooter, missed a potential tying free throw with 6.1 seconds to play.
Then, there were the calls in the tournament that went Arkansas' way. Lawrence Moten's call for a timeout Syracuse didn't have allowed the Hogs to hit one of two free throws, sending the game into overtime.
In the next round, a dubious hand-checking call against Memphis State with 11 seconds left put Arkansas on the foul line and forced overtime.
Edney's sprain should have been the only break the Razorbacks would need against their Final Foe. Instead, UCLA found a way to dictate how the game would be played. It would be played above the rim and on the glass, and the Bruins would call the tune.
Midway through the second half, UCLA held a 2-to-1 advantage in rebounding. Led by senior Ed O'Bannon, the Bruins turned the Hogs into bacon on the boards.
Here was depth-poor UCLA taking it to deeper Arkansas, with sophomore Cameron Dollar committing only three turnovers in place of Edney, and freshman wonder Toby Bailey going as high as he needed to rain down 26 points on the Hogs, and clumsy George Zidek blocking Corliss Williamson's path to the basket.
When UCLA had prevailed, one up-from-hard-times coach replaced another atop the basketball pecking order, for Harrick, like Richardson, built his career momentum very slowly.
He is a man who began as a junior high teacher. He coached junior varsity basketball, and taught driver ed. He spent most of a decade at Pepperdine before coming to UCLA in 1988.
``It took me 28 years to get the UCLA job,'' he says.
And another seven to take the Bruins to the title.
History will show that Harrick is your typical overnight success story. by CNB