LOS ANGELES — The starkest of contrasts between the college basketball of old and the college basketball of today was on display on a sunny Saturday afternoon in a packed Pauley Pavilion.
Midway through the first half of Arizona’s eventual 96-85 win, a UCLA cameraman caught a pair of Bruins legends. Jamaal Wilkes and Lucius Allen were there to support Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was being feted by the program for his recent Presidential Medal of Freedom honor bestowed by President Obama.
Between the three of them, there were nine years of varsity college basketball experience, seven NCAA championships and decades worth of NBA bona fides.
Meanwhile, on the floor, five fabulous freshmen duked it out for Pac-12 supremacy.
At least three are not likely to return.
The game was maybe the most exciting in Westwood in a decade.
And it was but an apparition, a fluke, a disappearing act, not unlike Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf and Lauri Markkanen, Rawle Alkins and Kobi Simmons themselves.
Gone are the days when players became stars and stars became legends and legends became immortal. Ball, Leaf and Markkanen likely squared off in their one and only game at Pauley Pavilion. Simmons could be gone soon after, particularly on a day when he scored 20 points and was perhaps the most impactful freshman.
“There was a lot of hype in this game, coming into this building, seeing all this, but at the same time, coach did a good job making sure we kept our composure,” said Simmons, perhaps the least-heralded of the cacophony of talent on the floor on Saturday, but the biggest contributor. “We still do what we do — we don’t want to change because of who’s in the crowd, who we’re playing. We’re playing for us.”
Three decades ago, they would’ve done it again and again.
Now Arizona and UCLA fans were treated to but a brief glimpse, and what a glimpse it was.
Ball was terrific early, guiding the Bruins to an early six-point lead. He finished with a 24 points, eight assist and six rebounds.
Leaf was neutralized on the glass, but hit enough shots to cement his status as an early draft first-rounder. He finished with 12 points.
Simmons had 20 points, six rebounds and five assists while playing the most minutes of any Wildcat.
And Markannen was efficient and clutch, scoring 18 points and grabbing seven rebounds while coming up with the game’s biggest play for the second straight game.
Markannen grabbed a huge putback and dunk with 45 seconds left to put Arizona up by nine points and seal the game.
“Lauri does what he do,” Simmons said. “He’s a problem. Like I say, he’s a big problem. He comes through with big plays, all the time, and the whole game, not just big plays. That put-back was huge. Everyone was hyped.”
For Arizona, it proved an afternoon to remember in a building that no one can possibly forget.
Which is good.
Because these days, in college basketball, we know it’s not going to happen again.
