Stressed Out

His players were in a state of shock and the university provided counseling.

"We have a young team that was attached to Bill," Husak said. "That loss, in the short term, was difficult to deal with."

Less than a month later, administrators report that Bayno is feeling better and they remain hopeful he can return. In the meantime, the Lions are dealing with a rash of injuries

Leading scorer and rebounder Vernon Teel is out four to six weeks because of a broken foot, while Terron Sutton and Tim Diederichs are done for the season. Among the seven healthy scholarship players remaining, three are freshmen and two were previously walk-ons.

There have been competitive games, including an 11-point loss to 12th-ranked Notre Dame. There have been blowouts at Arizona and UC Santa Barbara.

"They are a little bewildered and perplexed at times," Good said of his young players. "We just pray they don't hit the wall."

UCLA Coach Ben Howland can sympathize. He knows and likes Bayno, calling him "a great guy, a great coach. I hope he makes it back." But his players insist they won't ease up against a winless opponent.

"Those are the scary teams, I'll tell you that much," guard Darren Collison said. "Those are the teams that are going to be most hyped to play against us."

The Lions certainly won't ask for pity when they visit Pauley Pavilion tonight.

DuBois, a freshman thrust into the role of floor leader, doesn't like to dwell on his team's struggles. He parrots the standard coach-speak about working hard, taking one game at a time.

He does, however, allow himself a peek into the future.

"Once we get through this," he said, "we're going to look back and say, 'Man, remember how tough that was?' "

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david.wharton@latimes.com