College Basketball: Pressure--That's Our Game

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL

To most college basketball coaches, happiness is a 7-ft. giant who can reach up and stuff the ball through the basket with his size 15s planted firmly on the floor. U.C.L.A.'s Coach Johnny Wooden, 53, is a flaming radical: only 5 ft. 10 in. tall himself, he was a three-time All-America guard at Purdue in the 1930s, and he still insists that a good little man can beat a good big man—mostly by running him to death. "Pressure," he tells his team. "That's our game. Force them. Force them all the time. Never let up. Pressure. Pressure."

Twelve times this season, U.C.L.A. has walked out on the court outgrown by a couple of inches per man. And twelve straight times, Wooden's team has run away with the game. Last week U.C.L.A. took on its cross-town rival, Southern Cal, dawdled long enough to let the Trojans build up an early lead, then turned on the pressure and romped to a casual 79-59 victory. At the season's midpoint, the Bruins were the nation's No. 1 team and the year's biggest surprise.

Practically Pygmies. U.C.L.A. was not even rated among the nation's top 20 teams in preseason polls. The biggest man on the squad, 6-ft. 5-in. Center Fred Slaughter, is practically a pygmy by today's stratospheric standards. The club's surest shooter (22 points per game), Guard Gail Goodrich, has to stand on tiptoe to prove that he is really 6 ft. 1 in. like the program says. The closest thing U.C.L.A. has to a legitimate All-America candidate is 6-ft. 2-in. Guard Walt Hazzard, who averages 18 points a game, thrills fans with his fancy dribbling and behind-the-back passes—but sometimes plays defense, says a rival scout, "like a spectator." No matter. So far, U.C.L.A. has knocked off such highly touted opponents as Kansas State (78-75), Michigan (98-80) and Illinois (83-79), has averaged 93 points a game and held opponents to 70.

Fans call Wooden "Mr. Run," and critics sometimes scoff at his race-horse-style basketball. "The game of basketball is scoring goals," Wooden shrugs, "and I want my boys to shoot and shoot. When a boy tells me he'd rather pass than shoot, I know there's something wrong with him." Wooden admits that this year's team is something special. "I've had fast teams before, but never one with such quickness."

On attack, the Bruins just do what comes naturally—zip downcourt and shoot. Even the defense is quicksilver. Wooden spent all fall developing a new "zone press"—an attacking defense something like pro football's "red-dog." Wooden's defenders begin harassing enemy guards as soon as they reach midcourt, trying to force wild throws, lob passes or bounce passes that can be intercepted. Two weeks ago, the Bruins were trailing Washington State 15-14 when Wooden ordered them into the press. U.C.L.A. opened up a 61-28 half-time bulge, and went on to a 121-77 victory.