#ben howland

[zach-howie]

Tyson Carter Chooses Mississippi State

Tyson Carter Chooses Mississippi State

Mississippi State’s 2016 class just got better. Tyson Carter just committed to play for Ben Howland’s Bulldogs. (more…)

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[itsthacover2]

Report: Ben Howland 'Frontrunner' for the Mississippi State Job

It seems Ben Howland wants to live the SEC life.

Former UCLA head coach Ben Howland is the favorite to take over at Mississippi State, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman.

Ben Howland has emerged as the frontrunner and is in discussions to take the Mississippi State job, sources told ESPN.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) March 22, 2015

Mississippi State fired Rick Ray on Saturday after three…

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[rctheinscriber-blog-blog]

NCAA Basketball: Marquette Contacts Ben Howland About Head Coaching Job

NCAA Basketball: Marquette Contacts Ben Howland About Head Coaching Job

According to ESPN and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Marquette has contacted former coach Ben Howland about their vacant head coaching job.

Marquette head coach Buzz Williams left to take the same position at Virginia Tech this week, leading the Golden Eagles to begin their search for the next person who will lead their program.

While Marquette has yet to offer the job to Howland, he is an…

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[knockingitoutofthepark]

For UCLA & Steve Alford, Stepping Back From Wooden's Tradition is the Only Way To Restore It

They hang like road-side warning signs.  Flapping above Nell & John Wooden Court, they warn all who would join the men’s basketball program of the unyielding standards by which members are judged. Fans who never saw a championship use them as shields to justify empty seats and golf-like game atmospheres, and everyone associated with the program uses them to explain why UCLA is different and better than everyone else when it comes to hoops.

No, UCLA’s eleven national championship banners aren’t the problem.

But they sure do symbolize it.

It all seemed so easy when John Wooden stalked the sidelines with smiles, a rolled up program and the nation’s best players in his back pocket.  Fluid, consistent and seamless, Wooden’s teams defined success for an entire era of college basketball and left everyone wondering how he made it look so easy.  And the wins and national championship banners?

Well, they stacked up like mail on vacation.

But a funny thing happened when Wooden stopped cutting down nets.  College basketball changed.  In the 38 years since Wooden hung up his kicks, college basketball went from shining beacon of amateurism to big business and NBA training ground.

Players bolting from top programs became commonplace, and four-year athletes at so-called mid-majors drove once irrelevant programs to new heights.  Parity ensued, led to more change, and it became a lot harder to stack up titles.

The change impacted programs differently, and some struggled.  The University of San Francisco Dons never regained the form they parlayed into two national titles, and other schools who used to compete literally vanished into thin air (where have you gone Idaho State?).  And while UCLA’s struggles were never that dramatic, it faced unique challenges which it still hasn’t solved.

UCLA’s primary problem is its inability to accept and recognize its shifting stature on the landscape.  Once the undisputed ruler of college basketball, UCLA has slid to a top-flight, but slightly lesser program, and the slide is equal parts ignored and anathema to UCLA supporters.

Managing Wooden’s legacy and the incumbent expectations has become a full-time job for UCLA decision-makers.  Make no mistake, UCLA has had some success since Wooden’s departure, including a stirring performance in 1995 that netted the Bruins their eleventh title.  But as the UCLA jersey’s intimidating quality diminishes over time, UCLA finds itself in the midst of an identity crisis.

Continue with Wooden as the centerpiece of the men’s basketball program, or move past the legendary coach to something fresh and new?

On the one hand, Wooden is a tremendous source of pride at UCLA.  What he accomplished on and off the court stands as a remarkable achievement, and his sayings and principles guide millions of people in their daily lives.  Wooden is the greatest coach of all time, and it’s not even close.

On the other hand, Wooden’s formidable legacy lingers over Westwood like a San Francisco fog.  It precludes relevant growth and change in a 21st century college athletic program that, like anything, must adapt or die.

Around UCLA, fans and t-shirts ask, “What Would Wooden Do?” as if it were a relevant question in building a modern day basketball power, and the historical success has forced generations of UCLA basketball coaches and players to downplay most achievement to avoid the ultimate UCLA sin—celebrating less than a national championship.

Silly phrases like, “We don’t hang Final Four banners,” seem pithy and poignant after tough Final Four losses, but given UCLA’s inability to maintain its own standards, it’s surprising that no one is asking whether this forced stoicism might be the reason players, fans and coaches don’t seem to be “having fun.”

Fans and bloggers cited the lack of joy in the program as good reason to fire Howland, and his hard style surely grated during the lean years.  But has anyone considered the toll three Final Four losses can have on a program when player after player is forced to take sedatives to avoid seeming too excited about an accomplishment that garners parades in most other cities?

I doubt it.

Don’t get me wrong, UCLA has every right to demand the highest of standards.  But whether UCLA’s Wooden-centric model is the right path to achieve them—well, that’s an open question.

While they might not recognize it, UCLA fans and administrators feel Wooden’s influence on a daily basis as it silently controls official UCLA acts like a Jedi warrior over weaker-minded beings.  Exerting constant pressure, Wooden’s legacy acts like a drug.  It feels so good to use, but it’s addictive power and side effects take a silent toll.

Yes, John Wooden was the greatest coach in the history of basketball.  But his legacy might just be the noose around the neck of modern-day UCLA basketball.

When UCLA began the national search for Ben Howland’s successor, fans and alumni clamored for the hot young coach with the style and substance to restore UCLA to something resembling the national elite.  Butler’s Brad Stevens and Virginia Commonwealth’s Shaka Smart were among the early favorites, and like any UCLA targets, they were compared to John Wooden to see how they stacked up on and off the court.

Smart played a fast-pace brand of basketball that Wooden would adore, while the boyish Stevens hailed from a small Indiana town like the coach who hung all the banners.  Check and check.

But now UCLA has announced that dark-horse Steve Alford is the guy, and we'll find out soon whether he has the fortitude, arrogance and ego to blast past Wooden’s tradition and unequivocally make UCLA his own. Because whatever you may think about UCLA, it’s clear that it won’t succeed with anyone trying to emulate Wooden. And while genuflecting to the legendary coach certainly earned Ben Howland kudos from the boosters, that kind of thinking will also spell continued disaster.

UCLA didn't need a coach who would spend the first five minutes of his interview praising Wooden, they needed one who wouldn't have even mentioned him.  And so with Steve Alford now squarely in the limelight, UCLA better hope he'll consider praising a dunk, hanging a Final Four banner in Pauley Pavilion, or telling UCLA fans that Wooden’s coaching style wouldn’t necessarily work in modern day college basketball.

It might sound sacrilegious to ask Alford to be a Wooden challenger, but that kind of evolution is precisely what UCLA needs to meets its own goals.  For 38 years since Wooden’s departure, UCLA sought a coach that kept eluding it despite what everyone around the program believed were obvious advantages.

With that in mind, now is the time for UCLA and Steve Alford to reexamine the school's entire basketball foundation and push for meaningful growth and change.     

Alford can't be afraid to transcend Wooden, and he's got to have the guts to say that to UCLA’s face.

Alford must respect Wooden without treating him like a god, and he has to flash the strength and confidence to battle UCLA lore to make the program his own.  Where appropriate, he should step back from Wooden’s legacy with a grace that even Wooden would appreciate.

Alford needs to be humble enough to recognize that UCLA is no longer the picture of perfection, and strong and passionate enough to deliver that message to UCLA and its fans with an endnote about how he plans to make the program better for the future.

Whether Alford is that guy, I don’t know.  But if UCLA wants to be successful, he will have to be.

Bob Firpo is an attorney and freelance sports and outdoors writer.  He lives in Boise, Idaho.  Follow him @knockingitout

[thehoosiercatreport-blog]

Former Indiana Standout Steve Alford Named UCLA Head Coach

Former Indiana University standout Steve Alford has been named the new UCLA Bruins head basketball coach. The contract is 7 years, 2.6 million per season, according to sources. 

Ben Howland was recently fired from UCLA after a disappointing loss to Minnesota in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament. Alford did not fair much better as his New Mexico Lobos also lost to Harvard in the same round. 

It should be an interesting situation to see how Alford does in sunny southern California. We'll keep our eyes on the situation here at The HoosierCat Report. 

Photo courtesy of: halestormsports.com

[thecdp]

At the GREAT MAMBINO, I react to the end of Ben Howland at UCLA. It's been a great 10 years, but it was time for him to go. Adios, Ben.

[catalystscradle]

Today, UCLA fired its head basketball coach, Ben Howland.  Ben Howland came over to UCLA from Pitt in 2003, which also happened to be my freshman year at UCLA.  Although I agree that it was time to move on from Coach Howland, I will always remember his teams from my time at UCLA, especially the 2005-2006 team, which began a series of three consecutive Final Four appearances.

Howland's signature as a coach was always his defense, so it is fitting that the game I'll remember most my time at UCLA – the team's amazing come-from-behind win against Gonzaga in the third round of the 2006 NCAA tournament – hinged on a series of defensive plays, including two unbelievable steals.  Watching that video still makes me remember jumping around and cheering with my roommates in my apartment, hearing the same cheers coming from all of the buildings throughout Westwood.

One of the other most memorable moments from Ben Howland's career at UCLA was another defensive play: Darren Collison's absolutely perfect defense of Eric Maynor to preserve a one point victory against VCU in the first round of the 2009 tourney.

[bobtimmermann]

The mess in Westwood, or how the UCLA basketball team made one fan just give up

Since I can't write about UCLA for a bigger audience because I was beaten to the punch, I will just go on about it here where I don't have to worry about grammar and spelling as much.

So, Ben Howland was fired as UCLA's men's basketball coach (and yes, I think it's only fair to add the gender since the women are still playing in the NCAA tournament as I write this). Even though Howland took UCLA to Final Fours in 2006, 2007, and 2008 and won four conference titles, including one this year, he was out. 

And I can understand why the Athletic Department would want to get rid of him. UCLA games were torturous to watch. Recent teams had been terrible, loaded with players who were very easy to dislike. 

When I attended UCLA (which started in October of 1983 nearly 30 years ago), the basketball team was pretty bad. Larry Farmer was fired after one year and replaced by Walt Hazzard. Hazzard won the NIT in his first year on the job. The next year, UCLA lost its opening NIT game. AT HOME. To UC Irvine!

The following year, my senior year, UCLA won the Pac-10 and went to the NCAA tournament. They won one game, against Central Michigan, before getting wiped out by Wyoming in the second round. This prevented Jerry Tarakanian from getting his much-desired NCAA tournament win over UCLA as that would have been the Bruins' next opponent.

But, back to the present, people, some of the wealthy, some of the partially insane, some both (like Bill Walton), think that UCLA is the be all, end all spot for coaches. But, that hasn't been the case. Howland probably had the best coaching resume of anyone at the time of hiring.

People seem to think that UCLA will be able to attract Brad Stevens (who will now be coaching a team that plays in the Big East), Shaka Smart (whom people think will put more people in the seats because his VCU teams play at a fast pace and create a lot of turnovers), or even Rick Pitino (because some think he won't be happy being in the non-Catholic version of the Big East that Louisville will be in.)

I don't know whom UCLA intends to hire, but I have low expectations. I don't expect that it will be anyone that will make people care more about UCLA basketball than either the Lakers or even the Clippers. There are probably more people who care about the Kings and Galaxy more than UCLA basketball.

There are a few reasons for this:

1) UCLA basketball games are really hard to get to unless you live on the Westside. It's a pain in the ass to get to Westwood. It always has been. Construction on the 405 and Wilshire has compounded that by a factor of a thousand.

2) College basketball is a very poorly played sport now. The best basketball players are always in the NBA. But, now, the NBA also gets all the players who are likely to become the best players. College stars are one and done types, who get little chance to make their mark.

3) The Pac-12 Network. Although the new network makes the conference schools a lot of money, it's still not on DirecTV, or Verizon FiOS, or AT&T U-Verse. It's not easy to find. It's also a pretty poorly run operation when I've seen it. There aren't a lot of sponsors, so you see about 3-4 commercials during one game over and over and over. The announcers are mediocre. The production quality of games is way below the level of games on ESPN and Fox. With games hard to see on TV, it is hard to drum up interest.

I may be a small sample size and not representative, but, this past Friday, I actually made the decision to NOT WATCH UCLA in the NCAA basketball tournament. I went to a movie instead. I don't think I've ever willingly skipped watching UCLA in the NCAA tournament EVER. And I watch a lot of the NCAA Tournament. A lot. 

But I did not care. Will I care next season? Why should I? I will hardly be able to see any games unless the pay TV wars end or somehow everyone in Los Angeles changes their commuting habits. 

And even if Rick Pitino or Bill Donovan get dragged out to coach UCLA (which I think requires the use of press gangs), I doubt I will go pay money to go to Pauley Pavilion to doze my way through a UCLA men's basketball game.