Harrick Sends Strong Message: No Taunting

TUCSON, Ariz. —  Charles O’Bannon got whistled for his third technical foul of the season, then he got benched. And Jim Harrick got to make his point.

With 16 minutes 42 seconds left to play, and with UCLA protecting a 12-point lead over Arizona State on Thursday night, Harrick took O’Bannon out of the game after the junior forward had drawn a technical foul for gesturing and screaming at the Arizona State student section.

O’Bannon never got back into the game. Did Harrick tell him he wouldn’t be returning?

“No, he didn’t,” O’Bannon said. “He just let me sit it out and watch the time tick off the clock.”

A day after the benching, O’Bannon, who will start today’s game here against Arizona, said he understood Harrick’s thinking.

“I believed it was somewhat excessive at the time, because I wanted to be in there in the heat of the battle,” O’Bannon said. “And now that I’ve had a night to think about it, I think it was good and it’s going to help us out in the long run.”

The technical--O’Bannon’s second specifically for taunting--gave the Sun Devils two free throws and possession of the ball, which they quickly converted into four points.

“I thought it was a cheap call on Charles, that’s my personal opinion,” Harrick said, as the Bruins prepared for today’s pivotal game here against Arizona.

“But you don’t put yourself in a position to do that. I just want my team to know that, if we get in the NCAA tournament, we can’t be doing that.”

And even though Arizona State took a couple of runs at the Bruins late in the game, closing the gap to 71-65 at one point, Harrick did not send O’Bannon back in. UCLA won, 87-73.

“It’s a message to the whole club,” Harrick said. “I guarantee Jelani McCoy dunked later on in the game, [and] never said a word for the first time all year long. Just ran back all the way back down the floor.

“Sitting [O’Bannon] down was a message to everybody: Hey, that’s a rule, we’ve got to abide by it. We don’t like everything in life, but we’ve got to go along with it.”

The Pacific 10 Conference emphasized before league play this season that its officials were not going to tolerate taunting or excessive showboating, and technical foul calls in the conference have skyrocketed.

Said O’Bannon, “They made the rules, and I realize that we have to abide by them. Yes, it’s my second taunting technical. . . . I just have to calm down a little bit, keep my emotions under control.”

Although O’Bannon, a co-captain with junior guard Cameron Dollar, has never shied away from showing his emotions on court, Harrick said he has noticed more volume this season.

In fact, O’Bannon said Harrick had told him during halftime that he should go stronger to the basket than he had in the first half. O’Bannon’s technical was called after he had pounded down a huge dunk in traffic.

“I think he’s trying to show his leadership in that way,” Harrick said. “All he wants to do is play hard, and he plays hard. He’s had a solid season, been a great leader for us.

“But he’s demonstrative. The way Charles does it, I almost lean toward favoring him instead of not favoring him.

“I don’t think Charles did anything bad. But sometimes you get a traffic ticket when you don’t really deserve it.”