Wanna Get Away?
Sometimes a shrug says everything.
Sometimes it's the head shake or the droopy shoulders.
Sometimes it's the frown that speaks volumes.
Every so often, though, a basketball player will say everything that needs to be said in three words, sum up an entire season's worth of frustration in one phrase, utter the exact line that rings true for a team and its fan base.
On Saturday afternoon after a 1-for-9, 0-for-6 from 3-point range performance in a 56-46 loss at Arizona State, UCLA senior guard Michael Roll was that man.
"How do you feel when you have an off day?" he was asked.
He paused, shook his head, dropped his shoulders.
"Wanna get away?"
The frustration was palpable, the disappointment dripping like sap on a tree. He continued, albeit a bit more biting.
"F---, I don't know," Roll said. "It was terrible. I just tried to stay focus on the next shot, back to the fundamentals. F---, nothing went in. I don't know."
Around Bruin nation, no one does.
No one knows how UCLA can play so well in the teams' first matchup, knocking down 83 percent of its shots in the first half at Pauley Pavilion on New Year's Eve, and then shoot 32.7 percent from the field 65 days later.
Was it the Sun Devils' scorching start, as they blitzed the Bruins on a 13-0 run to open the game?
Was it Arizona State's stifling perimeter defense, which held UCLA (13-17, 7-9) to 20-percent shooting from 3-point range?
Was it the Sun Devils' 6-foot-10, 257-pound center Eric Boateng, who beasted 205-pound Bruin freshman forward Brendan Lane in the post for 16 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks?
No one knows, except Malcolm Lee.
"Point-blank, period, they just came out hitting shots," said the UCLA sophomore forward, who tied senior forward Nikola Dragovic with a team-leading 15 points. "That forced us to get out of the zone early, but still, they had the momentum basically throughout the whole first half."
Save for a short spurt early in the second half on back-to-back Dragovic 3-pointers, the momentum carried in Arizona State's favor throughout the second half, too.
After Sun Devils senior guard Jerren Shipp - younger brother of former Bruin Josh Shipp - had a 3-point play to give Arizona State its biggest lead of the game at 14 a little more than a minute into the second half, the Bruins went on a 9-0 run to cut it to five.
But a Jamelle McMillan 3-pointer and a Boateng layup promptly built the lead back to 10 and deflated UCLA.
"You could definitely feel the momentum switch back over," Lee said. "As a player, you could definitely feel the momentum swing. The crowd just started getting into it - when we started coming back, the crowd started getting quiet. They just adjusted, and that was it."
Only it wasn't.
The end truly came with less than three minutes to play, when Boateng bounded out of nowhere and climbed over a huddle of Bruins for two offensive rebounds, extending Arizona State's possession by nearly two minutes.
"That's exactly what he did, sealed the deal," Roll said. "We needed a stop, we got a pretty good defensive possession, they missed, and he just came out of nowhere to get two boards. That's another minute-and-a-half off the board. Boateng's huge - even if we had everybody, he's playing well right now. Last couple weeks he's been a monster."
With freshman forward Reeves Nelson, UCLA's best post player, sitting out with apprehension about further eye damage after retinal surgery, the burden landed on Lane to contain Boateng.
Only problem? Lane is still a center in the making, too light to bang with the bigs, easier to tip over than a house of cards in a hurricane.
"I didn't come out and match his intensity," Lane said. "He's bigger and stronger, so I just had to use position on him, and I didn't come out there and execute that today. Both times I was trying to find him and block him out, he was just coming so hard."
And so did the Sun Devils (22-9, 12-6) taking a monster lead to start the game, holding off the Bruins when it got close, making their best case for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
UCLA's only shot now comes in the Pac-10 Tournament, and the Bruins know it.
They came out of the post-game locker room resolving to play better in the tournament, minutes before boarding a bus back to the Phoenix Airport, a short flight home to stew on another tough loss.
Of course, they flew Southwest.
Wanna get away?
Michael Roll is an excellent example of a Bruin.
Michael Roll is a fine example of what Bruin basketball, and by extension Bruin athletics, should be about. No excuses, team player, hustle, sacrifice. Character. I hope he/we have a great tournament. But whatever happens it won't be for lack of effort.
I'm just glad Ragovic is going to be gone soon.
F____ UCLA. - Roll
F*** ROLL and F*** Keefe and F*** Dragovic the worst class ever in ucla history good ridance dont let door hit your ass on the way, have fun at the YMCA chumps
Sucks that a great Bruin like Roll got stuck with shitty people/players in Dragovic on this team who gets 38-39 minutes a game.
The link to today's UCLA/ASU story doesn't seem to be working:
http://www.dailynews.com/ucla/ci_14528175
Roll was on 3 final four teams. Not everyone can go out with a bang. The Oregon game was a more bitter pill ... last game at home and he was lights out and still lost.
Roll, Honeycutt and Nelson were the only bright spots in what was otherwise a forgettable year. Another bad game for the Bruins, and those f-bombs are an indication of just how frustrating this season has been for Roll and the Bruins.
My guess is he ends up in Europe where he could probably make a good living in their pro leagues. Best of luck to him, he deserved better in his senior season.