UCLA once again living the ‘we over me’ mantra in NCAA tournament

All Nike-sponsored schools playing in the NCAA tournament wear different colors of the same warmup shirt. The now-ubiquitous long-sleeve white shirt has “Nothing Easy” printed on the front in bold letters. An emphatic period punctuates the sentence and each school’s logo is printed underneath.

What makes UCLA’s otherwise cookie-cutter postseason look stand out is on the back: “We” printed over a horizontal bar and “me.”

During the tournament that transforms careers and makes stars, UCLA is recommitting to its mantra of “we over me” to lift the program to new heights.

“We’re only playing for the letters on the front of the jersey,” coach Cori Close said. “And trusting that when you play fully committed to only playing for what’s on the front of your jersey, that usually it comes back to the letters on the back of your jersey 10-fold.”

The top-seeded Bruins host No. 8 Richmond on Sunday at 7 p.m. (ESPN) at Pauley Pavilion in the second round of Spokane Regional 1. UCLA (31-2) is trying to return to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year.

While selflessness has been a pillar of UCLA’s program under Close, the Bruins lost sight of the goal toward the end of the regular season. Graduate student Charlisse Leger-Walker pointed it out during a team meeting after the Bruins lost to USC at home in their regular-season finale.

UCLA started reemphasizing “we over me” going into the Big Ten tournament. The tactic worked perfectly as the Bruins won their first conference tournament title since 2006. Basketball director of operations Pam Walker then had the “we over me” symbol added to the backs of UCLA’s shirts for the NCAA tournament.

“Throughout the season we’ve had highs and lows, and it’s just a reminder of if we stick together, we can achieve what we want to happen,” forward Angela Dugalic said.

Dugalic, a former five-star recruit who played for the Serbian national team during the Paris Olympics, is one of nine former McDonald’s All-Americans on UCLA’s roster. The roster bursting with talent makes it even more important — and difficult — to find players who are willing to buy into UCLA’s abundance mentality, Close said.

Instead of those who fret about how coaches will split up the 200 minutes of playing time available in each game, Close is looking for players who want to sign up for the “most impactful growth experience.” When forward Janiah Barker came through the transfer portal, Close wondered if the Texas A&M star really understood the assignment.

Barker, another former McDonald’s All-American recruit, averaged 26.5 minutes per game as a sophomore at Texas A&M. She was an established starter averaging 12.2 points per game. The Bruins, who were returning the core of a talented junior class that took the team to the No. 2 ranking in the nation, would not have a large role for her.

She was more interested in what she could bring to the Bruins.

Close called the athletic 6-foot-4 forward a “missing piece” for the Bruins’ hopes to reach their first NCAA Final Four.

“She brings great energy on the court,” junior Gabriela Jaquez said. “We really feed off of her. And the way she rebounds and jumps so high to grab those boards and fights down there is really huge. The level of physicality she brings is really important to our team.”

Barker, who was chosen Big Ten sixth player of the year and averages 7.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, was one of six scorers in double figures for the Bruins during their opening-round rout of Southern on Friday as she came off the bench for 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Bruins overwhelmed the No. 16-seeded Jaguars, who were two days removed from their first NCAA tournament win in program history, by dishing 23 assists on 26 field goals.

Naturally, the team that emphasizes the group’s success over individual accolades led the Big Ten in assists per game this season.