LOS ANGELES – The four freshmen tasked with putting the renaissance of UCLA basketball in motion sat at a long, gray table at last October, wide-eyed and smiling.
They knew the expectations that were laid before them. As the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, just one year removed from a tumultuous, scandal-ridden season in Westwood, Shabazz Muhammad, Kyle Anderson, Jordan Adams and Tony Parker were anticipated to bring the Bruins basketball program back to the top of the Pac-12, to the NCAA Tournament and beyond. Fair or not, the weight of one of collegebasketball's most storied programs fully rested on their shoulders.
Freshmen, from left, Tony Parker, Kyle Anderson, Shabazz Muhammad and Jordan Adams helped the Bruins advance to the NCAA Tournament, but Adams will miss it.
MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, FOR THE REGISTER
"You have to live with those (expectations)," said Muhammad, who, as the No. 1 recruit in the nation, fully felt the weight of that pressure. "That's what sports is all about. We've got to work hard and make sure we live up to that."
This moment, the four of them sitting side by side at UCLA media day, wearing the same jersey – it was what they had conspired to put together for years now. And now, with the bright lights of Hollywood shining on the four of them, their plan was finally in motion.
But in a city where the lights shine brightest and a hungry fan base ached with hope for a revival, would the weight of expectations crush them? The quartet's innocence was charming that first day in their uniforms, but would it fade away?
Now, a season later and on the doorstep of the Bruins' NCAA Tournament matchup with XXXXXXX, that reliance will, no doubt, be amplified. The road has only grown more difficult, as the four freshmen will only be three when UCLA tips on THURSDAY/FRIDAY. And all the while, Westwood waits, wondering whether Coach Ben Howland's youngest and shallowest tournament team of his tenure can carry out its end of the bargain.
STILL JUST KIDS
Two weeks ago, in the back hallway of Seattle's Alaska Airlines Arena, Muhammad smiled wide. In his left hand, he held up his end of a giant banner inscribed with the words "Pac-12 champions". In his right hand, he clutched the conference's championship trophy close. He kissed it, hoping the moment would never end.
Muhammad has long been the center of expectations for UCLA's four-man freshmen class – the No. 1 recruit in the nation, guaranteed, it seemed, to leave after just one year as an NBA lottery pick. His commitment to the Bruins had seemed like the linchpin to its turnaround – the leader in UCLA's trip back to the promised land.
The journey to this moment, to a Pac-12 title and a 25-victory season, hadn't been what he expected.
"I didn't know it was going to be this hard to win the Pac-12," Muhammad said.
He had never quite fallen into a slump like his fellow freshman teammates. Anderson had started off the year slowly due to playing out of position. Adams, inevitably, suffered through a midseason shooting slump that muted his effect on the team through the first three weeks of the Pac-12 schedule. And Parker had struggled to find playing time, toiling behind Travis and David Wear, even after big man Josh Smith had transferred.
But Muhammad, always attributed as the leader of the bunch, had been relatively consistent throughout. Still, the expectations had weighed on him and his teammates more than he had ever known they would on that first day, sitting in front of the media.
It's easy to forget that the team's four freshmen are still just kids, that just a year ago, they had starred on their respective high school teams and led them to the mountaintop. None of them had truly experienced the burden of defeat – each of them coming from extraordinarily successful high school programs. The expectations undoubtedly have aged them.
"Any time you have youth, you have things they're learning for the first time," Howland said. "We're taking kids that have never been to Pullman, never been to Seattle; it's all first-time experiences. They've done a great job."
But in Seattle, Muhammad and his freshman teammates looked like they had been there before. As he clutched the championship trophy, his childlike smile shined – a sign that the innocence from that first day, which felt so long ago, was still somewhat intact.
"When Coach was recruiting us, he said if all four of us came, we were going to win a Pac-12 championshhip," Adams said. "That was our first goal of this year. And we accomplished that."
THEN THERE WERE THREE
With an awkward landing, UCLA's postseason hopes, its optimism for a deep NCAA Tournament run, the ear-to-ear smiles – it all came to a screeching halt.
Adams, after playing the best game of his career against Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals, had broken his foot on the last play. He was out for the season.
The expectations had always been heavy, but now, in the eyes of the three remaining healthy freshmen, they seemed as burdensome as ever. Anderson hung his head, trying to be strong. Parker sat in the corner of the locker room, head down, headphones on, drowning out the noise.
"We were going to the tournament, we were feeling really confident, and now one of our star players is out," said Muhammad, his eyes glazed over and staring straight ahead. "It's really terrible."
Still, the pressure never has been heavier. With Howland's job still on the line, the belief is that UCLA will have to reach at least the Sweet 16 to retain him for another season. Now, even more is at stake.
So can they handle it? Can Muhammad, Anderson and Parker give their team the spark it needs to continue on, even without Adams?
The questions have always been there. But with only the sudden-death madness of the NCAA Tournament remaining, the answers finally could be on the way.
Contact the writer: rkartje@ocregister.com
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