For years, UCLA was considered too spineless, too selfish, toodarn L.A. to go far in the NCAA Tournament. It was a road EdO'Bannon might have headed down, too, when he arrived in 1990 as acocksure high school All-American already plotting an escape to theNBA after apprenticing for a season or two.
Circumstances conspired to change all that for O'Bannon, though,and here he still is on the campus at Westwood - five years, onemajor knee injury and one major new responsibility later. He mightbe the best player in America, and he might be the most mature,setting the tone for a Bruins team that has exorcised most of theprogram's recent demons en route to its first Final Four in 15 years.
The first of O'Bannon's defining experiences began in the autumnof 1990, when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left kneeduring a pickup game (the ligament was replaced by an Achilles tendonfrom a cadaver). Then, in the spring of 1994, his son, Aaron, wasborn.
"He became an adult when he hurt himself and he saw how he hadto push himself to get back," his father, Ed Sr., told the LosAngeles Times. "Then having to hit the books real hard when he neverthought he would. Then to have a baby. . . . I think you grow upwhen these things start coming at you all at once."
You grow up, and you learn to appreciate moments like the onelast Saturday in Oakland, Calif., when O'Bannon climbed a ladderduring the net-cutting ceremony after UCLA's 102-96 victory overConnecticut in the West Regional final. "It was the best view I'veever had," he said.
The knee injury capped a tumultuous time for O'Bannon, who hadspurned his hometown Bruins - for whom his father played two yearsof football - in favor of Nevada-Las Vegas. But when the Runnin'Rebels were put on NCAA probation before he got there, he opted forthe stability of UCLA. Then, even that was gone when his knee blewout.
"He was as down as anyone can get; he was devastated, him andour whole family," said younger brother Charles, now a teammate atUCLA. "We were very excited about him going on to college and beingsuccessful, but we knew it'd be a setback for a couple of years."
It turned out to be more than a couple of years. O'Bannon satout the 1990-91 season and was not himself when he returned in1991-92, playing sparingly with a bulky knee brace for a team thatreached the West Regional final before losing to Indiana. "It wasvery frustrating for me because I'm a perfectionist," he said. "IfI'm not very good at something, I don't want to do it."
O'Bannon, a 6-8 forward, improved each season, averaging 16.7and 18.2 points in his sophomore and junior years, but he said itwasn't until halfway through this season he considered himself almostfully recovered - physically and emotionally. He was confident, therunning and jumping abilities were back, his shot was falling, he wasdefending well, and the Bruins were winning.
"I'm happy where I am," said O'Bannon, who is averaging 20.3points and 8.1 rebounds entering Saturday's national semifinalagainst Oklahoma State in Seattle. "I feel I have a lot moreimproving to do, but considering where I was before, I'm happy withthe progress."
The ordeal was a reality check that delayed his NBA dream andinspired him to reassess his goals. "It changed me in the sense thatI have my priorities set now - getting my degree and becoming thebest person I can be," he said. "Before I had the injury, I was morebasketball-oriented. Now, I'm more well-rounded."
Aaron was born soon after UCLA's embarrassing first-round NCAAloss to Tulsa last March. O'Bannon was and remains committed to hisgirlfriend, Rosa Bravo, but initially he tried to keep his son secretfrom the public, fearing the reaction to an out-of-wedlock birthinvolving one of the campus' biggest celebrities. He said thepregnancy distracted him on the court last season. Lately, though,he has talked openly about his son, and found the experienceliberating.
"He's my pride; he's a part of both of us, and we want to showhim off," O'Bannon said. "I used to wonder why my parents would talkto everyone about Charles and me. Now I understand. I talk about myson all the time. Maybe my teammates are sick of hearing about it."
O'Bannon, 22, credits Bravo with "doing most of the work" incaring for Aaron, plus supporting the family as a part-owner of awomen's clothing store in Manhattan Beach. But O'Bannon is an activeand dedicated father, a role he credits with improving his basketballperformance.
"Having my son has kind of relaxed me more and helped me notnecessarily take the games too seriously," he said. "After a gameI'll come home and he has no idea what I've gone through, so it's funto come home, relax and pick him up and play with him."
Relaxing will be more difficult than ever for Dad this weekend.O'Bannon and fellow seniors Tyus Edney and George Zidek are theunquestioned leaders on a team bursting with younger talent andenthusiasm, and therefore are charged with guiding the Bruins throughthe thicket of expectations.
"The tradition to me, well, I know it, I feel it," O'Bannonsaid. "I would rather have a lot of pressure, with the tradition,than not. People who go to the school and leave, you see them, theycome back and there's a lot of pride. . . . Some people think it's aproblem. I think it's a nice problem to have."
It is Ed O'Bannon's kind of problem, one that can be turned intoan opportunity.
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