Advertisement

Oakland notebook: Changing of the guard

By Michael Arkush, Special to Yahoo! Sports

More notebooks: Atlanta | Oakland | Washington, D.C. | Minneapolis

Recommended Reading

Light Their Fire: Like the other Morrison (Jim), Adam can light it up, in scoring points and antagonizing the opposition. Thursday’s squeaker over Xavier, in which the player-of-the-year candidate scored 35, was a perfect example. Xavier guard Stanley Burrell told reporters that Morrison has “no class.” Morrison did not seem too perturbed over this charge. “You guys have got to be dumb if you don’t think they were talking trash (too),” he said.

More Than a Pit Stop: Pittsburgh Coach Jamie Dixon’s father, Jim, a former actor, is certainly enjoying seeing his son on center stage these days. Jim has been on the road for weeks, watching his son, as well as his daughter, Maggie, who coaches the Army women’s basketball team, which is making its first appearance in the NCAAs. The two are believed to be the first brother-sister combination to coach in the NCAA Tournament the same year.

In a Rush: His two older brothers have tried, with much different results, so it only makes sense that Kansas freshman Brandon Rush is considering a jump to the NBA. His brother, Kareem, plays for the Charlotte Bobcats. Another brother, JaRon, never made it.

UCLA senior Cedric Bozeman has been around long enough to recall the dark days of the BHE – Before Howland Era – when the Bruins, to put it kindly, were not exactly known for their defense. They are now, giving Bozeman an opportunity to leave Westwood with at least one trip to the Final Four.

"It seems like so long ago," said Bozeman, referring to the two years he played under former Coach Steve Lavin, who was dismissed after the 2002-2003 campaign, in which the Bruins went 10-19. "It was frustrating."

That wasn't the case Thursday, when once again, the defensive-minded Bruins came up with one stop after another in their 78-44 triumph over Belmont University. In a six-and-one half minute span to close the first half, UCLA held its opponent to five points.

That wasn't even UCLA's most impressive stretch. Over the first 16 minutes of the second half, Belmont was able to score only 12 points. Overall, Belmont, which had been averaging 81.8 points a game, shot only 28.8 percent from the floor, only 22.6 percent in the second half. They were four-for-19 from three-point range.

"We generally don't let up," said sophomore guard Arron Afflalo, who finished with three steals. "Our defensive pressure starts to take a toll after a while."

For sophomore guard Jordan Farmar, the chance to play solid defense was one of the main reasons he selected UCLA. "That was a part of my game that I really needed to work on," Farmar said. "I wanted to be challenged in that department."

He is being challenged, and he's not the only one. Entering the NCAA Tournament, the Bruins had held their opponents to 59.1 points per game, their best mark since two other eras – Wooden and Eisenhower (1959). In their current eight-game winning streak, the Bruins have allowed 53.4 points per game, limiting teams to 38.8 percent from the field. Thursday's 44 points is the fewest surrendered in that period. Conversely, in Lavin's last year, teams dropped an average of 78.6 points a game on UCLA.

"It's as good (defense) as we have ever played against," said Belmont Coach Rick Byrd.

The difference between then and now for Bozeman could not be more striking.

"Everybody's buying into it," he said, "and as long as we do that, I like our chances."

The defensive presence allowed UCLA to avoid some of the tournament pitfalls of its not-too-distant past. Belmont took an 11-6 lead early before the Bruins closed the half on a 29-13 run. So much for Belmont joining the ranks of Tulsa, Princeton, Detroit and Penn State – teams that have upset UCLA in the first round over the past 15 years.

For Bozeman, who was a McDonald's All-American in high school (Mater Dei in Santa Ana, California), it's been quite a journey. In his first three years, he was UCLA's starting point guard. Then came a knee injury in practice on Nov. 10, 2004 that forced him to redshirt.

At this stage, he is happy just to be a part of what could be something special, at last.

COMING UP EMPTY

It was the right shot from the right guy, but unfortunately for senior Steve Novak and the Marquette Golden Eagles, the wrong result. Novak, who had converted two three-point baskets in the last three minutes, missed an open attempt from the corner with 12 seconds left that would've tied the game with Alabama at 88.

The game was over, and so was his career. Alabama prevailed, 90-85.

"It was a set play and we pretty much ran it to perfection," said Novak, Marquette's all-time leader with 354 three-pointers. "It felt good. Some go down and some don't. That was a huge shot and I needed to step up and make that one."

Novak was five for nine from long range, finishing with 17 points.

"We couldn't have gotten a better look," said Marquette Coach Tom Crean.

MIND OVER MATTER

The lenghty delay caused by Thursday's evacuation of Cox Arena did not seem to bother any of the players. They waited in their buses or hotels until police deemed that the arena was secure.

"Both teams experienced this, so it wasn't just us," explained Alabama forward Jermareo Davidson. "That cannot be a factor when you come out and play a game."

Michael Arkush is a Virginia-based freelance writer whose works has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Washington Post. An author of eight books, including The Last Season with Phil Jackson, Arkush will cover the San Diego and Oakland regional for Yahoo! Sports.