DOLLAR'S VALUE GREW AFTER '95 USC GAME\Experience benefited UCLA later.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

It was as forgettable a game as UCLA played all season - a methodical, often boring four-point victory over USC in early February in the fittingly forgettable Sports Arena.

And when the Bruins won the national championship two months later, that 73-69 win was barely a blip on their collective conscious.

Except for one player, the man of the moment in the Kingdome.

For Cameron Dollar, the USC experience was the foundation for his brilliant relief performance against Arkansas.

"It played a significant role as far as my development in taking over the point-guard position," Dollar said Tuesday, as the Bruins prepared for tonight's game against USC at Pauley Pavilion.

Dollar remembers arriving for a shootaround several hours before tipoff last February and not seeing Tyus Edney, who had the flu. "I was shocked. I didn't see him the whole day. He wasn't at the shootaround. He wasn't on the bus. He just didn't show," Dollar said. "Later, he and I kidded about it. I said, 'You can't just stay home because you're sick.' "

In his first start as point guard, Dollar had nine points and five assists - a respectable game to the casual observer. "I played decently enough not to get dogged by outsiders," he said. "But I was tentative. I was walking the ball upcourt.

"So when it was time for the Arkansas game, I was determined not to play like that again. I knew I wouldn't help the team by walking the ball. If we were going to beat Arkansas, I had to do what I do best, and that's push the ball and be in the mix."

Dollar laughed at the suggestion that the Bruins wouldn't have defeated Arkansas if not for his experience against USC. "But it was a factor, because it enabled me to get my feet wet," he said.

The timing of that game made it a significant victory for the Bruins as well. They had just lost to California at Pauley for the third straight season and they were two weeks from the Arizona State-Arizona-Stanford-Cal-Duke gantlet that eventually fueled their title run.

They escaped by holding USC without a field goal for eight minutes in the second half.

"But (they weren't) nearly the team they are this year," Bruins coach Jim Harrick said. "They were in disarray. Charlie (Parker) didn't have a chance last year. But he has a good attitude and that has helped tremendously."

Parker recently helped his cause with what, after one game, appears to be an effective personnel switch. Before Saturday's victory at Arizona State, he moved shooting guard Stais Boseman to the point and made point guard Cameron Murray the shooting guard.

"Stais is more aggressive with the ball," Parker said. "He pushes it up a little harder. I wanted to jump-start the team. In the games we've lost, we've had slow starts."

The results were immediate. Boseman tied his career-high with 25 points and the Trojans shot 59.6 percent from the field. Murray, who was shooting just 41.8 percent entering the game, made 8 of 11 shots and scored a season-high 20 points. Each had five assists.

Notes: USC (10-7, 3-3) has won six of the past 11 in the series. UCLA (12-4, 5-1) has won eight of the past 10 in Pauley. . . . Harrick said he may hold Dollar out next week if doctors think it will allow his injured hand ligaments to heal completely.