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LOS ANGELES — The calendar changed during a volatile weekend in Westwood and Tyus Edney stood up in the UCLA locker room in Mo Ostin Center on New Year’s Eve with tears in his eyes. The head coach who gave Edney his first assistant job was fired that morning. Two days prior, the Bruins got booed off their own home court in a 15-point loss to Liberty.
There was no cohesion or trust on the floor. The team was united only in its matching jerseys. The players had yet to feel the pride of being a Bruin.
As their second-year assistant coach delivered an impassioned speech that many players later said propelled them to win their Pac-12 opener against Stanford on Jan. 3, the Bruins finally felt it.
“He played his heart and soul out for the championship here,” sophomore point guard Jaylen Hands said, “and not only should we do it for ourselves, we should do it for people like him who came here before us.”
Edney is an enduring symbol of UCLA’s rich tradition, the hero of the program’s last national championship who is now trying to help the storied program navigate an awkward transition toward what many hope will be a brighter future.
GOOD COP
Edney was one of three captains on the 1995 national championship team. Another was Ed O’Bannon. The power forward was the enforcer, former UCLA assistant coach Lorenzo Romar said.
Edney, who delivered the tournament’s shining moment with a coast-to-coast buzzer-beating layup with 4.8 seconds remaining in the second round against Missouri, was the nurturer. He continues to fill that role as an assistant coach.
“He’s more of someone who will take you to the side who will really communicate how he feels,” Hands said. “One-on-one, he’s really good.”
During the latter stages of his professional career, Edney often found himself acting as a coach for his younger teammates. When he finished playing overseas, he returned to Westwood as the director of operations in 2010 and made the jump to assistant coach last year under Steve Alford after seven years behind the scenes.
The version of college basketball that Edney returned to was different than the one he left. His national championship-winning team had three seniors. This year’s Bruins have none.
It makes Edney’s role as a teacher even more important.
“Nowadays, the NBA will draft you on potential and try to develop you,” Edney said, “but as much as we can help them here, (we) help them try to master this level … to get them prepared for what it’s going to be at the next level.”
Hands tested the NBA waters last summer for an evaluation, but he returned to school with orders from NBA scouts to work on his assist numbers. He now leads the Pac-12 with 6.4 assists per game.
The San Diego native became the first UCLA player to record 10 or more assists in three straight games this season after a long discussion with Edney in November. Hands was coming off an uneven performance against North Carolina in which he had eight assists in the first half and just one in the second as UCLA lost by 16.
Edney advised his protégé to shift his mental approach. It was a point guard’s job to first make the team run smoothly then pick his own spots second.
“He takes out a lot of the athleticism, shot-making, he doesn’t really focus on that a lot, just thinking,” Hands said. “Just thinking how can I make the team better, so I owe a lot to him.”
The good-natured Edney never raises his voice, Hands said. Even during his emotional speech in the locker room, Edney didn’t yell. He often has a smile on his face, but don’t let that fool you, Romar said.
“He’ll rip your heart out on the basketball court,” said Romar, currently the head coach at Pepperdine.
BRUIN BLOOD
Edney’s competitive streak makes some of UCLA’s recent struggles hard to swallow, he admits. But then he tries to remove his alumni hat.
The program has enough watchful eyes on it already. Despite the program’s fall from the nation’s elite, alumni continue to watch intently. Many former players have publicly backed former UCLA point guard Earl Watson to fill the vacant head coaching job, giving the Bruins a link to their eager alumni. Edney admits his old teammates occasionally pester him about the current squad.
That’s just what it’s like to play at UCLA.
“People have a vested interest in how we’re doing,” Edney said. “I just try to keep them up and keep them positive.”
UCLA’s coaching search is two months old with at least another month to go. One of the search committee members is Bob Myers, the Golden State Warriors general manager and national-championship teammate of Edney’s. Edney knows the program is itching for a big name with lots of experience.
One day, he would like to be in position to be such a candidate. Edney has aspirations to be a college head coach. He modestly affirmed that he would like to do so at UCLA if he could.
College is an important transitional time for a player’s development, he said, the middle stage between when dreams are hatched and dreams are realized. At UCLA, the skinny guard from Long Beach Poly High realized his dreams. To see others do the same at the same school would be another dream come true.
“He’s got that ‘it’ factor,” Romar said. “Wherever he goes, usually things happen pretty good.”
—– UP NEXT —–
UCLA vs. USC
Records: UCLA (15-13, 8-7 Pac-12); USC (15-13, 8-7 Pac-12)
When: Thursday, 6 p.m.
Where: Pauley Pavilion
Watch/listen: ESPN, 570 AM
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