MISSOURI UPDATE: MISSOURI PAIR IS HAPPY TO SHOW UCLA WHAT IT'S MISSING.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

SAN JOSE - The moment UCLA beat Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon, Missouri coach Quin Snyder made a beeline for his two Southern Californians, Travon Bryant and Wesley Stokes, and delivered a message: This isn't personal.

Yeah, right.

When the pair of sophomore roommates from Long Beach take the court tonight, UCLA is more than their West Regional semifinal opponent. It's a four-letter word.

``I've been looking forward to this game for a long time, two years,'' Stokes said. ``They had a couple of guys right in their backyard and didn't want them. How do you think we're supposed to feel?''

Every year, UCLA plays against local teams filled with players who weren't offered scholarships. The difference is they usually aren't good enough to warrant one.

Bryant, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward, was a McDonald's All-American at Long Beach Jordan High and is the type of physical, low-post player the Bruins don't have at that position. Stokes, a 5-foot-9 point guard from Long Beach Poly, was considered the next-best West Coast prospect as his position behind Oregon's Luke Ridnour.

Both players say that former UCLA assistant Michael Holton liked them but that UCLA coach Steve Lavin didn't.

``We'd love to have signed them,'' Lavin said Wednesday. ``They both come from good families, great high school programs and great coaches, but there's only so many we can take. I'm glad it worked out well for both of them.''

The Bruins made plays for some of the top point guards in the country three years ago but fell out of contention for Omar Cook (St. John's), Andre Barrett (Seton Hall) or Imari Sawyer (DePaul) by the summer of 1999. By the end of the summer, Stokes was told the Bruins were setting their sights on Cedric Bozeman the following year.

``I look at it as Lavin's fault,'' said Stokes, who also considered Texas. ``I knew he messed up from the start. When they told me they weren't interested, I just said, 'Forget him. I'll take my business elsewhere.'

``I think he screwed up, but that's his problem. I'm happy they didn't want me. It gave me the opportunity to go to Missouri. I want to blow him out.''

Bryant isn't as bitter, accepting the Bruins' rejection as part of the recruiting process. Just as players eliminate schools, schools must make choices, too.

``If they wanted me, they would have shown interest,'' said Bryant, who chose Missouri over Kansas. ``It bothered me at first. Certain kids grow up wanting to go to Kansas or Arizona. I really wanted to go there.

``Local kids have been very good to UCLA. There's been a lot of L.A. and Long Beach kids - the O'Bannons, Tyus (Edney), Kris Johnson, Toby Bailey - who have done a lot of good for UCLA. If Wesley and I had gone there, I think we would have, too.''

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Missouri point guard Wesley Stokes said UCLA ``messed up'' by not recruiting him out of Long Beach Poly.

Jake Schoelkopf/Associated Press