The final weekend of 2019 saw me back in Los Angeles for the third time this year. The sports-related reason this go-round was to add three college basketball venues to my list. First and foremost was Pauley Pavilion, home of the UCLA Bruins. When I was in LA back in 2012, Pauley was being renovated and I was fortunate to catch the Bruins at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, one of six inactive venues in my count. So Pauley has been on my to-do list for seven years, and finally I got a chance to get there.
My buddies Gary and King were also in LA so that King could see the Rams and get current in Club 123. They flew in from JFK that morning and we met at Midway Car Rental, where Gary picked up a car for the weekend. We drove the 20 minutes or so to UCLA, finding a free parking spot on Gayley just north of Strathmore. From there, it is a short walk to Pauley Pavilion and you will arrive at the southwest corner of the building (above). (There are also transit options from the airport, with the #6 Culver City Bus taking about an hour and costing just a dollar.)
The box office and main entrance is on the north side, so walk around, and make sure not to miss the statue of John Wooden. This is not the only representation of the great coach; his impact on UCLA and college basketball as a whole cannot be overstated. The court is named in his and his wife Nell's honour among other tributes.
The best spot for an exterior photo is actually at the southeast corner; the shot below was taken after the game. Opened in 1965, Pauley Pavilion is named for Edwin M. Pauley, the University of California Regent who donated nearly $1 million to help fund its construction.
Tickets started at $19, so I bought one and headed in to tour the venue while Gary and King waited outside for freebies. There is a lot of history here, most of it pertaining to Wooden's tenure from 1948-1975, during which he won 10 titles, including 7 in a row from 1967-73. He created a Pyramid of Success that he used as a teaching tool, with each block describing a key element to achieving success; the sculpture below perfectly illustrates this, with each tenet inscribed as the title of a book in the pyramid.
On the east wall, there are three display cases that detail a lot of history of the program, including another pyramid.
One of the previous floors is preserved and photos of past teams and stars such as Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton. With the sun shining from outside, good pictures were difficult. If you wanted a souvenir, coasters with this court design celebrating the centennial of the university were widely available. I also picked up a copy of the program, which is the best I have seen at the college level, with several detailed stories highlighting accomplishments over the century.
Pillars at each corner are adorned with historic moments that are worth stopping to read. Did you know that Alcindor led the junior varsity to a win over the #1-ranked varsity team in the first game played at Pauley Pavilion? In those days, freshman did not play on the senior team, nowadays many don't even play college ball at all.
UCLA has had more than just basketball success, and those achievements are noted on the south wall. Just behind this, the doors open into an outdoor cafe setup, with several food trucks offering more eclectic fare than you would get inside.
As well, championships are honoured simply here, with the actual trophies somewhere else on campus.
The concourses are spacious and clean, with photo collages along the top of some walls. Again, there are more sports than just basketball at Pauley Pavilion and all are celebrated in some way.
Inside the seating bowl, the signature UCLA Blue is found on some of the seats as well as the floor. There is a walkway between the two levels in the lower bowl.
You can see in the photo below how the walkway behind the nets changes the angle of the seats. This makes those seats in the top portion slightly better to watch the game that at other venues where the shallow slope is not ideal.
There is also a walkway between the lower and upper seating bowls, and as there are no suites, those upper level seats are quite good. The first row as quite a bit of legroom and would be recommended for extremely tall fans.
The photo below captures all three seating levels from the side.
This is really a very attractive venue that makes good use of the school colours without going overboard.
The view from the baseline, with the four-sided scoreboard and more detailed stats trackers in the distance along the ribbon board in each corner.
There was even a special seating area for groups, with tables and a TV. These were not so popular today, but they must sell out once conference play starts.
Of course, those banners from all those championships are shown with pride. You can see some of them in the distance, behind those for gymnastics and volleyball. Like I said, all sports are given credit here, as they should be.
UCLA's last basketball title came in 1995. They happened to be the winning team in the first NCAA hoops game I ever attended, which was the second round matchup against Missouri, when Tyus Edney went coast-to-coast for a buzzer-beating layup that propelled them to the championship. Another member of that team was Ed O'Bannon, who is among those with their jerseys retired (below), and who is responsible for upending the NCAA's control over player likenesses used for commercial purposes.
The student section, which is known as The Den, is behind one of the nets, nearest to the opposition bench. Again, as this was a weekend non-conference game during the holidays, there wasn't a great turnout.
Overall though, I really enjoyed Pauley Pavilion. The combination of history with modern touches is something I appreciated, and the lack of a crowd worked in my favour to some extent. I'm glad I finally got to see a game here, and it turned out to be a memorable one.
The Game
The Cal State Fullerton Titans were in town as 14-point underdogs, coming in at 3-10 to UCLA's 7-5. The Bruins had only lost once at home, but that was to Hofstra, so this team was not a powerhouse by any means. While I was touring the venue, Gary and King had managed to find 3 freebies down low and were kind enough to give one to me.
The seat was in section 104, just to the left of the baseline behind the Bruins bench. This was an annoying spot to sit because Bruin fans, much like Dodger fans, show up late and have no compunction about going to their seats while play is ongoing. One gentleman, having gone a few rows down the wrong aisle, actually traversed the entire row, forcing people to get up, to reach the next aisle rather than going back up. Even with these constant interruptions, I did manage to watch most of the game, which saw UCLA storm to a quick 9-2 lead, before CSUF fought back. The game saw several ties and a few lead changes and was tied at 33 at the break.
During halftime, I went upstairs to see Gary, who did not want to use his ticket that was 7 rows from the floor at midcourt, preferring the relative space available in the upper deck. I took that ticket and enjoyed the second half without being disturbed by clueless fans.
With the game tied at 45, Fullerton went on a 16-4 run, with a three-pointer by Jackson Rowe of Toronto (#34 above) making it 61-49. A layup by Rowe and another by Wayne Arnold made it 65-51, but UCLA went on a 17-0 run, with a Tyger Campbell trey giving the Bruins the lead. Crisis averted, or so it seemed. But Austen Awosika tied it up immediately and then UCLA went a bit cold, allowing the Titans to take a 75-70 lead into the late going. UCLA got it back to within a point with 51 ticks left, but Awosika drained a jumper to make it 77-74 with 23 seconds to go.
UCLA called their final timeout and had a chance to tie, with Jake Kyman missing a three (above). Awosika was fouled and missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but Prince Ali could not generate another chance in the final ten seconds and the Titans escaped with the upset. UCLA had an 18-8 advantage in free throws (each team missed 3) but Fullerton was 14-24 from downtown compared to just 5-20 for the Bruins and that was the difference in the game.
The Bruins are a young team and new coach Mick Cronin will have a couple of tough years watching them mature, but maybe in 2021 they can contend. In the meantime, if you are in LA during the season, make sure to add Pauley Pavilion to your list of venues if you have yet to do so.
Notes
During the first half, there was a net malfunction, which caused play to stop for a few minutes. That was something I hadn't seen before.
Shaquille O'Neal's son Shareef is a freshman on the Bruins and played 3 minutes without picking up a single stat.
Best,
Sean
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