LOS ANGELES — It was only about 30 feet. But the visual spoke 1,000 words.
UCLA star forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. took roughly 15-16 steps from the side exit of the team’s practice facility to the team bus on Tuesday afternoon as members of the media caught video of the fourth-seeded Bruins (27-7) gearing up for their trip to the east coast.
If you were none the wiser – watching Jaquez walk – you’d never suspect he suffered a right ankle injury in Saturday’s second-round NCAA Tournament victory over fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s. The injury sidelined the 6-foot-7 guard for the rest of that game and kept him out of the Bruins’ practice on Tuesday.
“He’s still day to day,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said.
A little clip of UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. as he walks to the bus for the team’s trip to the Sweet Sixteen.
He did not practice Tuesday and is still listed day to day (right ankle) ahead of Friday’s game against North Carolina.pic.twitter.com/p908wBRe4H
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) March 23, 2022
Jaquez’s availability for Friday night’s East Regional semifinal against eighth-seeded North Carolina (26-9) in Philadelphia is still in question.
“I don’t know,” Cronin said when asked if Jaquez is going to play. “The problem is I have to have two game plans: one with him and one without him.”
Players such as Peyton Watson and Jaylen Clark might have to fill the void if Jaquez doesn’t play, and even if he does play, it’s fair to expect he won’t be at 100%. Watson, Clark and David Singleton will have to be ready against a Tar Heels team that presents matchup challenges with 6-10 center Armando Bacot and 6-9 forward Brady Manek.
“Knowing Jaime, if he can walk, he’ll play,” UCLA teammate Jules Bernard said. “Unfortunately, we’ve been through this, where Jaime has been injured and others have stepped up like Jaylen Clark, Peyton Watson, Jake Kyman and David Singleton. We’re prepared for either circumstance.”
UCLA’s injuries have been a steady storyline this season. Cronin said he has never coached a team that’s had to handle this much adversity, except last season.
“We lost our top recruit (Daishen Nix), then we lost our NBA prospect Chris Smith and Jalen Hill retired,” Cronin said with a chuckle. “But we went on to make the Final Four, so, it’s really these guys. I give them all the credit.”
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Jaquez’s absence would be detrimental, especially with the way the former Camarillo High star has been playing lately. He had a span of three games in the middle of February when he scored a combined 13 points, but he’s averaging 21 points and 7 rebounds over the past seven games. During that stretch when he has carried the UCLA offense for long stretches of games, he has averaged 34.5 minutes.
Jaquez’s impact on the box score is obvious, but Cronin has plenty of praise for the other contributions that might make him the Bruins’ most indispensable player.
“His spirit,” Cronin said. “What you guys don’t see is the huddles, and in the locker room. From the time in Maui his freshman year when we played Michigan State, he went off in the locker room talking about competing, being more physical, and he went into the starting lineup. He’s helped build the program back to where it belongs.”
Jaquez has been battling bad ankles all season, but he only missed one game (a win against Oregon State). He has started the 33 he played in.