Sunday, February 27, 2011

Bruins become emotional after John Wooden's great-grandson scores final basket in final home game before Pauley's renovation

Post updated Feb 28 2011 7:04 am

Tyler Trapani, the great-grandson of the late Coach John Wooden scores the final basket of Saturday’s game,"...a timeless close to Pauley Pavilion’s First Age. (Ryan Eshoff, The Daily Bruin)"

Video posted Feb 265:13PM PT By Blair Angulo on UCLA Report ESPN Los Angeles


from kyleimp on You Tube


from ESPNLA



Bruins become emotional after John Wooden's great-grandson scores final basket in final home game before Pauley's renovation

By BRANTLEY WATSON
The Daily Bruin
Published February 26, 2011 in Men's Basketball Sports
Updated: 9 hours ago


A 22-point blowout win over one of the nation’s top teams, a move into a tie for first place in the Pac-10 Conference, and Reeves Nelson’s best game of his UCLA career … all outshined by one meaningless basket.

Well, meaningless as far as the game goes.

Because for the UCLA men’s basketball program, that basket meant the world.

The Bruins defeated the No. 10 Arizona Wildcats on Saturday afternoon by a score of 71-49, but it was points 70 and 71 that may be remembered in Bruin lore forever.

“I got some tears in my eyes because, thinking about Coach, it was so fitting that Tyler Trapani, John Wooden’s great-grandson, made the last shot in the history of this building,” said UCLA coach Ben Howland after the game, pausing to fight back tears.

Saturday represented the last game in Pauley Pavilion, which for more than 46 years has remained in the same state as when it opened and the famed Wooden was head coach. Pauley will be undergoing renovations and will not reopen until the 2012 season.

So undoubtedly, there was a buzz going through the arena during the blowout victory, one surrounding the win and one surrounding the need for a special moment, which came full force in the final ticks of the clock.

With 47 seconds left to play and the Bruins leading 69-48, Howland called a timeout in order to substitute Trapani, along with four other Bruins who rarely see playing time, into the game.

On the next play after the timeout, UCLA freshman guard Jack Haley popped out to the wing for a wide-open 3-pointer that came up short but landed square in the hands of Trapani under the basket. The junior guard calmly put the rebound up and in and sent the UCLA crowd and bench into hysteria.

And after the game, Trapani’s shot effectively sent his coach to tears.

“I pray a lot, and to have Trapani make that last shot means so much to me, you have no idea,” said an emotional Howland. “And I know it does to his family and all those former players. What a cool way to have the last basket ever. This was just a great day for us, and to finish like that really is special.”

In attendance Saturday afternoon, making the day even more special, was the 1971 UCLA men’s basketball team, celebrating the 40th anniversary of their national title, which was UCLA’s fifth in a row and Wooden’s seventh overall.

And in honor of the ’71 Bruins, Howland and his troops broke out the retro UCLA jerseys.

“It was cool today to wear the retro jerseys with the ‘Bruins’ on the front,” Howland said. “I hope the ’71 team enjoyed that.”

As for Trapani and his teammates, it seemed to have taken awhile for the magnitude of that final basket to actually set in. But after seeing just how emotional Howland was after the game, they quickly realized that Bruin history had been made.

“I didn’t notice at first, but then he just started kind of breaking down and crying,” sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt said. “He explained why, and then everybody thought about it. This is a big honor for (Trapani) to make that last shot.”

“For me, I’m still kind of baffled at what just happened,” Trapani said. “I usually really don’t get in, and it’s just an honor for me to be here and be on the team. It’s more about being here to get an education and going on in life, but right now … I pretty much feel like my great-grandpa basically put me in the position to have a spot to just catch the ball and put it back up. I’m so grateful for that, and I’m so grateful for being here.”

It has been a little more than eight months since Wooden’s passing in June, but Howland, along with Trapani, both reiterated that they are confident of Wooden’s presence in every aspect of their lives, especially on the basketball court.

“It would have been beautiful for him to be here today, but I think he was here in spirit,” Howland said.

____________


John Wooden gets the last laugh

In Pauley finale, Coach's great-grandson makes final basket for UCLA in fitting sendoff

By Ramona Shelburne
ESPNLosAngeles.com
Archive
Updated: February 27, 2011, 2:09 AM ET


LOS ANGELES -- They'd all said their goodbyes to John Wooden in their own way, months ago.

At the hospital, before he died in June at 99.

At his memorial service, a few weeks later.

In their quiet prayers, alone with their thoughts and memories of the legendary coach.

Saturday felt like another moment for those who knew and loved Wooden to reflect and remember, another goodbye, as UCLA played its last men's basketball game in the house he'd done so much to build.

Instead, it just might've been a "Hello."

You had to see it to believe it. You had to be here to really feel it. Then you had to laugh at the old coach with one last mischievous grin for all of us.

Right at the end of the game, as the last 25 seconds ticked off the clock in UCLA's 71-49 upset win over No. 10 Arizona, something happened that I'm not sure anyone in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday afternoon will ever be able to explain.

Tyler Trapani, Wooden's great-grandson who walked onto the team three years ago, was lingering, completely unguarded, on the far side of the court.

The walk-ons were in. The sellout crowd was on its feet, cheering UCLA's most impressive game of the season.

The old-time wooden bleachers around the court swayed under the rumble of thousands of feet. Coach Ben Howland cracked a smile on the sideline.

Just as the roar of the crowd crested, Jack Haley Jr. shot the ball from the corner. Trapani broke for the basket, anticipating a rebound. Not one Arizona player noticed him.

The shot was short. Way short. The ball landed perfectly in Trapani's hands.

"I didn't think about it at all," he said. "When I got the ball, it was just instinct to put it back up there."

And just like that, Wooden's great-grandson scored the last basket at Pauley Pavilion.

"I'm still just baffled at what happened," Trapani said. "I really don't get to get in [the games] very often.

"So right now I really just feel like my great-grandpa put me in that position to just catch the ball and put it back up and in."

You had to laugh.

You couldn't help but cry.

While everyone else was saying another goodbye, Wooden said hello.

"Something's going on there," an emotional Howland said after the game. "I really believe that."

Pauley will look about the same when it re-opens in September 2012. It'll be newer. The paint will be fresher. The old wooden bleachers will be gone.

This will always be Nell & John Wooden Court.

But old houses lose a little something when they are updated. The sweat of five decades of games bakes into a place. Even its flaws become memorable.

"I can say this now," Howland said. "But the floor here is so hard. I'm not going to miss the floor for our players' sake.

"What I'll miss is the fact that this current state is how it was for Coach."

Howland paused for a few seconds at the mention of Wooden. His throat was obviously choked by emotion. His heart was full. He smiled to keep from crying.

There are a lot of coaches who would cower at the idea of forever coaching in Wooden's shadow. This program will always belong to him.

But Howland has always been awed by the opportunity and honored to be the latest caretaker of what Wooden built.

"I pray a lot," he said, clasping his hands together and choking back emotion once again. "And ... to have Trapani make that last shot ...

"It means so much to me, you have no idea. You couldn't have written it any better."

UCLA had the ball one last time before the clock on Pauley Pavilion ran out. The symbolism of Trapani's final basket was beginning to sink in.

Up in the stands, Trapani's mother, Cathleen, smiled.

"I think Papa helped him with that one," she said.

Howland walked off the court as he always does. Quickly and with purpose.

His players lingered, dancing in the middle of the court with the kind of joy reserved for only the biggest wins, then rushing over to a jubilant student section.

Tyler Honeycutt threw his head back and yelled. Reeves Nelson bounced around, hugging anyone in sight. Jerime Anderson waved both his hands in the air, imploring the crowd to keep cheering.

It was UCLA's biggest win of the season. It was Trapani's finest moment, and Pauley Pavilion's last great dance.

But it was Wooden who had the last laugh.

Ramona Shelburne is a reporter and columnist for ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Follow Ramona Shelburne on Twitter: @ramonashelburne

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