Ed O'Bannon and Baron Davis Return to Westwood to Finish Classes

Ed O'Bannon and Baron Davis.

Just the mention of those two names brings up incredible memories of Bruin Hoops, from high flying dunks to slick moves down the lane to long range 3's to a kiss at center court and #11 in the trophy case.  Bruin legends.

Another word for those two Bruins is...students.  O'Bannon and Davis are returning to Westwood this summer to attend classes and work toward their degrees.  As if we needed another reason to love these two guys.  And the mid-week pick up basketball games in the Wooden Center just got a whole lot better. 

First, this past Monday, we saw this tweet from Baron Davis.

 And it looks like he's already putting in some work.

Davis has had a long and productive NBA career since leaving Westwood after his sophomore year, in part due to not having a coach, and in part due to his explosive game which made him the third overall pick in the draft.  He just finished his 14th year the Association, and has earned in excess of $115 million.  In addition to his NBA job, Davis also has a burgeoning Hollywood career, appearing as an actor in several movies and co-founding a production company, Verso Entertainment.  In 2008, Baron was nominated for an Emmy for Best Documentary for Crip and Bloods: Made in America.  Other projects have followed and are in development

B Diddy clearly is doing well without completing his U.C.L.A. degree, which speaks even more highly to his efforts to return to college and finish his classes.

And another Bruin legend is back on campus, too.  Yesterday, King Ed returned to class.

"This is a long time coming," O'Bannon said on Tuesday. "My wife and mother really never gave it (coming back to school) a rest and I really wanted to finish. There are a lot of people involved in this decision, like Coach Harrick. I felt I owed it to myself and a lot of people to come back and get my degree."

 Like ATV said a couple weeks back, Ed O is really happy to be back at U.C.L.A..

"It's funny, but I can remember being in class and looking at my watch to see how much longer I had to be there. Now, I want to be in class. It's a great feeling to be there. I am really happy to be back." 

Ed is wisely taking his summer classes on Tuesday and Thursday, because that gives you more time to go to the beach during the week.   To study, of course.   Actually, in Ed's case, it's more convenient for other reasons.  His home and family and job are in Henderson, NV, so he gets to Westwood for his Tuesday class and heads back home after his Thursday class  (I hope his lectures are available on podcast).  EdO will also take classes in the fall quarter and is expected to receive his degree then.

O'Bannon also is already excelling in an established career.  After leading the Bruins to that magcal NCAA title in 1995, he was drafted 9th overall by the New Jersey Nets.  After an injury-shortened NBA career where he never found the right fit with a team, he played overseas for several teams before retiring from professional basketball at 32.  He has established himself as a successful sales and marketing director for an auto dealership in Las Vegas, and is involved with coaching high school basketball.  Recently, Ed has is also mades news by suing the NCAA on behalf of college student-athletes in an effort to share in the marketing revenues that the NCAA rakes in using the college athletes' images without their permission.  (note to dog-fighters: this is how you do it).  That suit has since been supported and joined by NBA Hall-of-Famer Oscar Robertson.

But Ed is looking for something even bigger in attaining his degree.

"I want to coach basketball at the Division I level so it's important to have a degree."

Anyone want to see Ed O sitting on our bench alongside Howland?

Best of luck to B Diddy and King Ed as they wrap up their college classes.  It also shows that no matter how successful someone is in his path of life, there is nothing at all like those days on campus in Westwood.  I hope all you current students do all you can to experience and enjoy and appreciate your days at U.C.L.A..

We recently wrote about ATV's return to campus, and specfically to the dorms, to finish his last 2 quarters and complete his degree.  These three are further examples of why we are so proud of our Bruin athletes.

Because no place does student-athlete the way U.C.L.A. does.