Bumped. 75NatChamps also started a great thread on this theme worth checking out here. GO BRUINS.
Nestor’s list of our personal Top 20 Bruin athletes was phenomenal. Not only did it show how many amazing athletes have donned the UCLA uniform, but it shows how their careers have affected each of us in a different way.
While I was making my list, and I am sure while others were doing theirs as well, I thought not only about the Bruins who had great careers, but also about those who had one brilliant game at the most opportune time, or one single brilliant play that is etched in Bruin sports lore:
Photo Credit: LA Times
Well, per his and 75NatChamps’s suggestion, I thought I’d start another thread about the Top 10 most memorable moments in Bruin sports history.
- this must be something you witnessed
- it can be a single play or an individual game performance
- note: this is NOT about a team’s moment of glory (i.e., you can’t just say UCLA vs. Gonzaga, it has to be a specific individual act or performance)
Follow me after the jump for my personal list.
In no particular order:
John Barnes / JJ Stokes – Football – UCLA vs. U$C* - November 21, 1992
Not much needs to be explained here. Senior walk-on John Barnes, the fifth string QB for UCLA, lead the unranked Bruins (5-5) to a 38-37 win over 15th ranked USC. Barnes threw for 384 yards that day. JJ Stokes had 263 yards on only six catches, averaging almost 44 yards per catch!
Tyus Edney – Basketball – UCLA vs. Missouri – March 19, 1995
The No. 1-seeded Bruins trailed the No. 8-seeded Tigers by 1 point with 4.8 seconds remaining when Edney started his cross-country journey. He took the inbounds pass under his own basket, was neck-and-neck with defender Jason Sutherland at midcourt, freed himself with a behind-the-back dribble, made a hairpin turn to the lane and banked in a shot over 6-foot-9-inch Derek Grimm at the buzzer. UCLA ended up winning the national championship.
Ed O'Bannon - Basketball - UCLA vs. Arkansas -April 3, 1995
In the final against defending champion Arkansas, Ed scored 30 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, and the Bruins scored an 89-78 win. The King time and time again hit clutch shots with ice in his veins that took the air out of the Razorback runs, and he took the game in his hands when Tyus Edney left early in the game with a wrist injury. Cameron Dollar gave a solid performance as Tyus's backup with 8 assists, and freshman Toby Bailey had 26 points.
Eric McNeal – Football – UCLA vs. U$C* - December 2, 1996
With 1 minute 10 seconds remaining, the UCLA linebacker tipped and intercepted a John David Booty pass to seal a stunning 13-9 victory. Only once in this rivalry's 76-game series has one man made one play to keep the other team out of the national championship game. Only once has the winning play been made by a man who started one game in his college career. Thank you Eric.
Honorable mentions here include Pat Cowan’s performance, Bruce Davis causing havoc in the U$C* backfield, and Reggie Carter standing over John David “on his” Booty.
Cade McNown – Football – UCLA vs. Oregon – October 17, 1998
After vomiting on the field in the 3rd Q, and slipping on it during the snap, Cade closed 9-13 for 202 yds and a TD. Oregon had rallied to tie the game at 31, but Cade threw two bombs, including the 60 yd TD to Danny Farmer. UCLA won in OT to keep its undefeated season intact.
Josh Shipp – Basketball – UCLA vs. Cal – March 8, 2008
Josh Shipp's shot, taken with UCLA trailing California by a point, was created from desperation and released inches from the baseline near the Bruins' bench. The ball arched high and seemed to pass over the corner of the backboard before dropping through the net, as third-ranked UCLA beat Cal 81-80. UCLA had already won the conference, but it was Senior Day and Josh had been struggling that season…and that was just a crazy shot!
Skip Hicks – Football – UCLA vs. U$C* - November 23, 1996
First overtime. USC leading 41-38. Skip Hicks fumbled which stalled the Bruins’ drive and forced them to kick a tying field goal. As Bjorn Merten's 40-yard field goal sent the game into the second overtime, Hicks stormed the sideline as never before. UCLA's most mild-mannered player was in a rage.
``GIVE ME ONE MORE CHANCE!'' he yelled. ``JUST ONE MORE CHANCE!''
On the first play of the second overtime, the UCLA coaches obliged, calling for Hicks to run between the tackles. Hicks never did run between the tackles. When quarterback Cade McNown crouched over center on first-and-10 at the 25, he scanned the Trojans defensive alignment and realized the play wouldn't work: Too many bodies in the middle of the field. So McNown yelled ``check'' just before the snap, switching to an outside stretch play. No one expected what came next: A few seconds after his near-devastating fumble, Hicks produced one of the greatest runs in city series history, and UCLA extended its winning streak over U$C* to 6.
DeShaun Foster – Football - UCLA vs. Washington – October 9, 2006
301 yds rushing, 4TDs. Ridiculous…but surpassed by:
Maurice Jones-Drew – Football – UCLA vs. Washington – September 18, 2004
322 yds rushing, 5 TDs. Absurd!
Arron Afflalo – Basketball – UCLA vs. U$C* - January 13, 2007
UCLA Guard Arron Afflalo hits a game winning jump shot over helpless Trogan Lodrick Stewart on 1/13/2007 at the Costco Center. Bruins won 65-64. Gap did not close.
Alterraun Verner – Football – UCLA vs. Cal – October 24, 2007
ATV’s second interception came with UCLA leading 23-21 and Cal on the Bruin 30-yard line facing a third-and-five ... He stepped in front of the pass attempt and returned it 76 yards for a score with 1:33 remaining, putting the game away for the Bruins.
OK so I cheated and had 11, so sue me!
Here are others that I considered including:
- Russell Westbrook’s “let’s go” dunk
- Kevin Love’s game against Oregon in Eugene
- Darren Collison’s game against Stanford in the Pac-10 tournament, with Kevin Love injured
- Marvin Goodwin’s INT vs. U$C*
Curious to hear yours!
Go Bruins!
