This Wasn’t Elementary for Watson

Earl Watson, No. 25 on your roster, No. 1 on your Bruin hit list (OK, among players, at least), accepts his share of the blame.

“I know myself,” he says. “I haven’t been doing a great job. Even if there wasn’t any criticism, I would still criticize myself. That’s just how I am.”

He hears the shouts aimed at him during games--home games, no less--like sniper fire, and has been tempted to lash back: “Why don’t you come down here and try to guard me.”

“Just shouts,” UCLA’s junior point guard says. “Random shouts. ‘Pass the ball.’ Weird comments. I thought I was doing too much passing. Just moaning and groaning.”

He acknowledges the conflicts with Coach Steve Lavin over the new Bruin offense, his tough time around the middle of the season, a widening chasm since bridged by their friendship, the six wins to end the season and an understanding of who was in charge.

“It’s been tough,” Watson says. “But then we also stepped out of the basketball picture and realized how close we really are. There was no way we were going to let basketball come between us and ruin our relationship.”

So about those Bruin dreams of a smooth point guard transition from Baron Davis to Watson. . . .

Think it was tough to watch, that poor clock management that got Watson booed at the end of the 16-point victory over DePaul, those blown three-on-one fastbreak passes that became lobs to no one? Try living it.

That wasn’t even the worst of it. Watson was realistic enough to know he would need some time to move from shooting guard to the point, so he was mentally ready for those tough moments. The other ones, no one saw those coming.

JaRon Rush, his close-as-a-brother friend since their childhood in the Kansas City area, served a lengthy suspension, putting Rush’s collegiate career in doubt and leaving Watson without his sidekick.

The losses mounted, once reaching six defeats in seven games. So did the criticism that the point guard, long popular with the home fans, was largely to blame.

So obvious was Watson’s exasperation on Feb. 17 at Arizona State in a terrible showing for all the Bruins, that his mother later asked if he’d fouled out on purpose to get off the floor. That question was also asked by others and there was considerable supporting evidence, given some of the fouls.

No, Watson said, that was frustration getting the better of him.

Lavin’s decision to gear the offense more toward dumping the ball inside to the post, hoping to take advantage of the talented-if-inconsistent Dan Gadzuric and Jerome Moiso, was a long struggle. Watson lobbied for the more liberal motion offense, but the decision had been made. Watson lobbied on.

“I didn’t feel comfortable in running it,” Watson said. “I felt our team needed something else besides this offense and Coach Lav felt like we needed to stay with the offense we have now. I think we were more conflicted with that.”

Said Lavin: “I never felt like we were butting heads. I just felt like we were struggling as a basketball team. What I had to make clear to him was that our relationship is more important than winning or losing basketball games. That’s what I emphasized.”

That’s also what got them through. Watson and Lavin remained on such good terms off the court that they would go to the beach and spend hours talking basketball.

“Coach Lavin and I have a unique relationship,” Watson said.

They would spend hours talking in Lavin’s office, sometimes stopping only because it was time for practice.

“We’d just start talking about how the family’s doing--how my mother is doing, how his parents are doing,” Watson said. “Before you know it, we start talking about basketball, ease into basketball and how we can’t let this ruin our relationship, we need to just keep working together and if we don’t agree just find a mutual understanding. Just keep talking it out.

“Coach Lavin’s not a negative guy, where he doesn’t want you to say anything. He’s like, ‘If you’ve got something to say, say it. Talk to me. We’ll work it out because we need everyone to contribute.’ That’s been the most positive thing.”

The winning helped too. Just after the two losses in Arizona, putting the Bruins on an apparent course for the NIT, they won six in a row, staging such an impressive rally that the NCAA tournament selection committee eventually made them the sixth-seeded team in the Midwest Regional, where they will play Ball State on Thursday night at Minneapolis. Watson was an obvious spark.

By the end of the regular season, his streak of having started every game at UCLA still intact, he was averaging 11.6 points, 5.4 assists and 3.1 turnovers, and shooting 44.2%. In the last 10 games, Watson was at 13.8 points, 5.7 assists, 2.5 turnovers and 51.1%.

“When you look at his growth and development this year, it’s remarkable,” Lavin said. “I’m not sure if I could think of another player in the nine years that I have been at UCLA that has improved this dramatically in the course of a season.

“Because he went through the fire and the adversity of losing six out of seven games as our point guard, to turn that around so dramatically and have our team playing so well, it gives you chills or goose bumps to see the breakthroughs that he’s had and the poise and maturity he has played with down the stretch.”

The snipers in the stands never saw it coming, such an impressive finish to a regular-season ride through the wilderness. Not that Watson has much better understanding.

“It’s definitely not how I imagined it,” he said.

Not the fans or the offense or Rush’s suspension.

“But sometimes you have to take the long road to get where you want to get,” Watson said. “I feel like that’s the road I’m taking now, the long way instead of the short cut.”

No matter. The destination has been reached.

Minneapolis.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

UCLA FACTS

MIDWEST REGIONAL

UCLA vs. BALL STATE

Thursday,

7:15 p.m. PST, Ch. 2

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COTTON OUT AT ALABAMA

Schea Cotton has withdrawn from classes and his scholarship won’t be renewed. Page 7