Riaan Ngaphambi kokuthi aphume enkundleni ngoLwesine ebusuku, Mick Cronin wabingelela omunye wamakhilomitha angamakhulu ambalwa.
“Jaylen Clark,” kusho uCronin, “sikukhumbule, mngane.”
Yebo, UCLA Bruins ngokuqinisekile yenza.
U-Clark ungumvikeli wabo ongcono kakhulu, uma kungeyena ohamba phambili esizweni. Uyi-spark plug yabo yemizwa, elandela ukuthatha kwakhe okuholela kobhasikidi abalula abanokugoba kwemisipha kanye nokubhonga okukhulu.
Futhi usephenduke amandla ashukumisayo, noma ephumula umlenze wakhe olimele emuva eSouthern California njengoba iqembu lakhe lizama le mashi ngaphandle kwakhe.
“Ngicabanga ukuthi sidlalela kakhulu uJaylen kulo mqhudelwano,” umgadli ophambili UJaime Jaquez Jr. wathi ngemva kwamaBruins anembewu yesibili (30-5) ithunyelwa kalula INorth Carolina Asheville 86-53 emzuliswaneni wokuqala womqhudelwano we-NCAA, ihlela umzuliswano wesibili ngokumelene nembewu yesikhombisa. Enyakatho-ntshonalanga (22-11) ngoMgqibelo ebusuku e-Golden 1 Centre.
Ubukhona bakhe bungazwakala kuwo wonke ama-sideline trap, wonke amaphasi achezukile, kuwo wonke amashothi avinjiwe awugqugquzelayo. Okungase kube ukuzivikela okungcono kakhulu esizweni akukaze kube nokwehla kusukela u-Clark axhugela eceleni, wangabe esabuya, ebhekene ne-Arizona phakathi nomdlalo wokugcina wesizini evamile we-UCLA.
Eqinisweni, ama-Bruins abengcono, okungenani ngokuhlaziya. Bayeke isilinganiso samaphuzu angama-59.8 emidlalweni emine selokhu uClark alimala, behle besuka kumaphuzu angama-60.1 abebewavumele ngaphambilini. Endleleni, banyukela endaweni eyodwa amamethrikhi okusebenza kahle okuzivikela womhlaziyi we-basketball u-Ken Pomeroy, ethatha indawo engunombolo-1 kuzwelonke.
AbakwaBruins u-Amari Bailey, kwesokunxele kanye no-Jaime Jaquez Jr. balwa noFletcher Abee we-UNC Asheville ukuthola impinda ngoLwesine ebusuku.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Akekho owenza kangcono ngoba wonke umuntu kuleli qembu selinyukile. U-Jaquez uqoqe amasela amahlanu aphezulu emsebenzini wakhe ngesigamu esisodwa. Amari Bailey imizila edlulayo evalekile. UTyger Campbell amabhola ahlutshiwe. Kenneth Nwuba waphatha ngokumangalisayo okuthunyelwe.
“Asingcono ngaphandle kukaJaylen Clark,” kusho uCronin, esho okusobala uma kwenzeka kukhona okumele akuzwe. “Ngicabanga ukuthi umfutho wethu unyukile muva nje. Lokho kusizile. Ngicabanga ukuthi u-Jaime uye wathatha ukuphambuka kwakhe, ukuzivikela, ezama ukudala ukweba okwengeziwe. Yena no-Amari bazama ngempela ukulungisa ukungabikho kukaJaylen Clark ngomsebenzi wabo lapho bevikela khona. ”
I-UCLA ayizange iphazamise kangako – iphoqelele ukushintshwa kwe-13 kusukela u-Clark alimala uma kuqhathaniswa no-16.2 ngaphambili – kodwa imiphumela ibe mnandi ngokulinganayo.
Inselele elandelayo ingadinga ukuthi amaBruins afinyelele ezingeni elisha lokuvala isivalo. Kuzodingeka bayeke eNorthwestern Bhube, owesabisa ngisho nezivikelo ezingcono kakhulu ngokudlala kwakhe okuhlakaniphile. U-Buie (amaphuzu angu-17.3 ngomdlalo ngamunye) kanye nomunye unogada omkhulu Chase Audige (14.0) ngokungangabazeki kuzoba ukugxila kohlelo lukaCronin.
“Laba bafana bangomakadebona, futhi bahle ngempela,” kusho uCronin. “Ngiqonde ukuthi abasidingi isikrini. Bangakwazi ukuzitholela owabo isibhamu ku-dribble. Banekhono elihle lomuntu ngamunye.”
Enye inketho kungaba ukufaka u-Bailey ku-Buie njengoba eqhubeka nokuvela kwakhe kwasekupheleni kwesizini kuzo zombili iziphetho zenkantolo. Ingabe leso isabelo u-Bailey angasifisa?
“Ngihlale ngilwela inselelo, noma ngabe ngubani,” kusho uBailey. “Faka ama-kits, futhi asikuthathe.”
Uma noma ubani ogade i-Buie eshaywa, usizo oluthile lungafika kulayini ongemuva. Isikhungo esisha se-UCLA Adem Bona angase abuye ekulimaleni kwehlombe langakwesokunxele okumhlalise ngaphandle kusukela emdlalweni owandulela owamanqamu wePac-12 Conference ne-Oregon. UBona wayetholakala ukudlala ngokumelene ne-Asheville, nakuba uCronin ekhethe ukuvumela ihlombe lakhe isikhathi esengeziwe sokuphulukisa.
UCronin uthe uzofaka uBona ekuzilolongeni kanzima ngoLwesihlanu, amcele ukuthi enze ezinye izinto, ukuze ahlole ukuthi uzodlala yini ne-Wildcats.
Ubukhona bukaClark buzozwakala, noma umnikelo wakhe womdlalo ungagcina ekubhaleni bukhoma njengoba enza ngesikhathi somqhudelwano wePac-12. Abalingani bakhe beqembu bamgcine emakhanda nasezinhliziyweni zabo, bahlale bexhumene nganoma iyiphi indlela naphezu kwebanga.
“Siyamfonela, simthumelele umqhafazo,” Unogada we-UCLA uDavid Singleton kusho. “Uhlale umbuza ukuthi unjani. Ngezinye izikhathi, njengokuthi, akangitsheli, kodwa ngiyazi ukuthi ngiyamcasula, ngizama ukuhambisana naye, yonke into enjalo. Uthi: ‘Ngiyaphila. Ngiyaphila. Ungazihluphi ngami, zikhathaze ngemidlalo.’ ”
Unogada we-UCLA u-Jaylen Clark ugubha ngesikhathi sokunqoba kwe-Bruins’ 82-73 bedlala ne-Arizona ngoMashi 4. Umdlali ovikelayo walimala emlenzeni kulowo mdlalo futhi akasekho kule sizini.
(Ringo HW Chiu / Associated Press)
AbakwaBruins babekezele ngokugcina umcabango wokuvikela kuqala izimfuno zomqeqeshi wabo. Abadlali baphula ukuhlangana kweqembu ngaphambi komdlalo ngamunye ngokumemeza, ngazwi linye, “Khiya ekuzivikeleni!”
Bafisa kube nezwi elilodwa kuphela, elomdlali owaziwa ngelika-J-Rock.
“Ngiyamkhumbula umlingani wami weqembu,” unogada omusha Dylan Andrews wathi, “kodwa sizoqhubeka, sizoqhubeka nokuphusha. Lokho kungesinye sezikhuthazo zethu lapho, sifuna ukuthola lesi sibhengezo se-Rock.”
