THERE'S MUCH MORE TO MOISO THAN HIS MUG.

Byline: Karen Crouse

MINNEAPOLIS - UCLA's postseason success rests largely on the shoulders of a sophomore who is Don Quixote trapped in Gulliver's body. If that scares you, Bruins fans, think how Jerome Moiso must feel.

Moiso is 6-foot-10 and quick as a quip. He looks like he should be an intimidating, infuriating, incandescent presence in the paint. Convention doesn't allow a player of his height much room for growth. He is supposed to make up for in merit what his opponents lack in inches.

For no reason other than his size, people assume Moiso, a center/forward, must have a snarl for a smile and skin as tough as an alligator. It's a foregone conclusion that he is as territorial as a Chihuahua.

His narcissistic streak, like his pituitary gland, is presumed to be in overdrive.

People look at Moiso and expect him to flash his muscles, not his insecurities.

No wonder Moiso is just as likely to perplex people as please them.

Because the truth is, his aggressiveness doesn't yet match his agility. His self-esteem is less developed than his 235-pound frame. Like Don Quixote, whose name means ``the one who hides himself,'' Moiso keeps trying to blend in even as he stands out. If he were any more low-key, he would be invisible.

``Jerome doesn't want to draw attention to himself,'' Bruins coach Steve Lavin said. And sure enough, when the Bruins' locker room at the Metrodome was opened to reporters after practice Wednesday, Moiso appeared to be missing.

At length, a UCLA official blew Moiso's cover by flipping a thick, white towel that covered the power forward's head like a lollipop wrapper.

``Man,'' a reporter said, ``I almost missed you,'' to which Moiso replied, ``That was the purpose.''

His tone was flat, but his smile was wide and there was mischief in his eyes. To read Moiso, it's important to look at his expression; his face often registers humor when his words are no laughing matter.

After UCLA escaped with an overtime win against South Florida in December, Moiso said, ``Had we lost, I would have quit the team.''

When the Bruins' season hit a hellacious ice patch in February, Moiso was quoted as saying he was so frustrated he thought about going home to Guadeloupe, in the West Indies, so he could hang out on the beach with the topless ladies and be a fisherman and sell coconuts.

He was just kidding in both instances, but some people came away with the wrong impression. He was criticized for not caring when the truth is, Moiso, 21, makes light of things because he cares so deeply he often feels overwhelmed.

The player's sense of humor, said Bruins coach Steve Lavin, is Moiso's ``defense mechanism.'' Like the towel, it's what he hides behind when he's feeling vulnerable.

``When I'm not at ease,'' Moiso admitted, ``I try to joke around.''

If it has taken him time to find his comfort zone on the court, there's a reason. Moiso honed his basketball skills in his native Paris. He was a leading European junior player, which is not unlike being a top male junior soccer player in the U.S.

Moiso knew the best competition was on the other side of the ocean, so he enrolled at Milford Academy and played only a few games there before enrolling at UCLA. He's playing catch-up in a position where time and repetition are the best teachers. Moiso hasn't learned his role well enough to please himself. Last year, if he couldn't be perfect, he didn't want to risk failing.

There were times, Lavin said, ``I told Jerome, `We're going to you,' and he said, `Coach, not tonight. I'm not feeling it tonight.' ''

Goodness knows Jim Harrick never had that conversation with Don McLean.

It gladdens Lavin to report that lately Moiso has been demanding the ball. The No. 6-seeded Bruins, who play No. 11 Ball State tonight, definitely are better when Moiso boxes out modesty and asserts himself on both ends of the floor.

During the Bruins' February fiasco, when they lost six of seven games and fell to seventh in the Pac-10, Moiso shot 45.6 percent from the field. In two of the defeats, he had no blocked shots, and during the stretch he averaged 4.6 defensive rebounds.

On the Bruins' March mending tear that has produced six consecutive victories, Moiso has shot 51.9 percent from the field, blocked at least one shot in every game and averaged 6.0 defensive rebounds.

Moiso is young in basketball years, but he is more experienced than Ball State's frontcourt. If he and Dan Gadzuric can take Lonnie Jones and Theron Smith to school, the Bruins (19-11) figure to ace tonight's test.

No one save for guard Earl Watson is more pivotal to the Bruins' postseason providence than Moiso. And he knows it.

``I'm not satisfied with with what I've done this season,'' Moiso said. ``I expect more of myself. I'm looking at (the tournament) as a new season. I can't wait to see how I do.''

He's not the only one. People, after all, know a player his size can make all the difference.