Kris Wilkes stepped in front of a small group of reporters Thursday toting a bottle of water, the new necessity in his basketball life.
Dehydration has led to cramps that forced the UCLA small forward out of parts of two of his last four games. Wilkes missed more than seven minutes in the second half Saturday against Notre Dame after going to the locker room with calf cramps.
He returned and shook off the discomfort to make the three-pointer with 0.9 seconds left that lifted the Bruins to a 65-62 victory. With the pain intensifying when he took the shot, Wilkes limped into the backcourt and slid onto his backside in anguish while his teammates celebrated around him.