Power forward Jonah Bolden could be key to a UCLA victory over No. 17 Arizona

Around this time last year, Jonah Bolden was rumbling across the desert in a pickup truck, headed to Tucson, Ariz.

Like many UCLA students, he followed the basketball team with interest. He'd decided to make a game at Arizona his first road trip.

A friend, Bryce Alford, mentioned that his roommate,...