UCLA's near collapse is a reminder of another brutal Bruin loss to a local star

FROM KEITH GROLLER

ust finished watching UCLA nearly blow a 23-point lead over the final eight minutes, and barely hang on to beat Michigan State in the NCAA tournament.

I am a UCLA basketball fan going back to my youth when the Bruins and the Wizard won almost every year, and had great players like Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe, Bill Walton, Henry Bibby, Keith Meyers and so many other great players.

UCLA, just like Allen in that haunting loss to La Salle, nearly gave it away by missing free throws. Lots of free throws. It was amazing to me how poorly they shot. Poor foul shooting seems to be a national epidemic.

Anyway, UCLA's near meltdown reminded me of one of the worst losses in recent Bruins history.

It was a bittersweet moment for me because while I am a UCLA hoops fan, I also covered Gabe Lewullis at Allentown Central Catholic.

He was not only one of the best players of the 1990s, but also one of the nicest, smartest kids you'd ever want to meet.

You know the game I am talking about now. The 1996 tournament opener between Princeton and UCLA, which was the defending national champ at the time.

Lewullis goes backdoor for the game-winning basket and Pete Carril outcoaches slick and slimy Jim Harrick and Princeton posts one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history. It was not the first time Harrick was outcoached.

The Tigers, by the way, nearly pulled another stunner today.

It was the biggest moment of Lewullis' career. Maybe Carril's too.

Time magazine has a really good story on that special game and someone sent me a link on it.

Can't believe that was already 15 years ago. Lewullis, not surprisingly, is doing quite well these days as you'll find out in the story.

Last time I talked to him he was still playing adult basketball in the Philadelphia area, but I guess those days are over.

Here's the story link to the Time piece on Princeton's upset win. Good stuff:


http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2059230-1,00.html


http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/