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On the first day he met with reporters, Tim Skipper’s eyes bright, his voice confident and his demeanor cheery, the UCLA interim coach kept pushing up ever so gently on the balls of his feet.

It was an early metaphor for someone who continually elevated everyone around him.

As the Bruins prepare to announce their new coach — will it be top choice Bob Chesney or a fallback option? — it’s important to recognize the job that Skipper did in stabilizing a program that was at a historic low before he took over.

The

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