UCLA Basketball Thread

[AngelsLongBall]

Howland allegedly letting people know he's interested in the SC job.  Don't know how I feel about that. 

[nate]

BRO saying they believe that Stevens has turned down the job.

 

There is more but I will wait til other media is reporting it.

[nate]

BRO reporting that the deal with the new coach is done and should be announced soon.  Not saying who it is.

[stevestevens]

Alford to UCLA? He is a jackass.

[nate]

Alford. What a joke.

[nate]

Being reported that the UC Regents would have to approve a contract of 3 million or more so the Bruins had to back track and go with the second tier of coaches available.  In the end I don't think any of the first tier guys were coming anyway.

[Brandon]

Pretty hilarious that Alford just signed a 10 year extension.

[nate]

He didn't actually sign the extension, he signed a note of intent or something along those lines but not the actual contract.  Still, I know what you mean.

 

Not really happy about the hire but I think they could have done worse.  At least he recruits CA really well.

[stevestevens]

I wonder if Aaron Gordon is interested in UCLA now? I watched a ton of prep basketball this year and I was really impressed by him.

[m0nkey]

[nate]

I don't see the big deal.  That guy was probably an asshole.

[Jay]

Alford?

[nate]

The BYU player

[RallyMo]

Both of them.

[Caralho]

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-02-01/sports/0302010199_1_steve-alford-victim-comment

 

Hopefully Alford has changed from his days at Iowa. I am not happy with this hire at all.

[stevestevens]

The BYU player

 

 

JT is but so is Alford.  I have it from a good source (Coach Rose) that the assistant coach was the main instigator in the dealing.  JT started to talk back and then Alford called him an ahole.  Alford was reprimanded by the MWC and came out and said he was sorry on ESPN first take the day after.  JT (because Tom Holmoe, BYU's AD, made him) went over to the locker room after to apologize to the whole team. Alford told ESPN that he said it wasn't necessary and that he was now his "favorite player" or some crap like that.......according to Coach Rose and other BYU guys that is not at all how it went down. 

 

When you put two a-holes together (JT and Alford) the outcome is usually not that good.  The big difference here is one is a coach and the other is a player. 

[Bruce Nye]

Who would you have rather seen hired as head coach?

[nate]

The shit he pulled in Iowa is despicable.  No excuse for hiring someone like that.

 

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/03/31/bernstein-ucla-hired-a-scumbag/

[Bruce Nye]

Nate, this, unfortunately is an everyday/month/year occurrance for a head coach.  Forget finding Wooden to coach, I don't think he exists anymore.  And Billy Graham doesn't want to coach.

[nate]

You are probably right, Bruce.  I would rather not know about it then I guess.

 

Sexual assault is the lowest of lows.  Having any part in covering it up is pathetic.

[mtangelsfan]

So we are just going to accept covering up a sexual assault Bruce?  It's ok because it happens all the time?  

 

Wow.  I'm with Nate on this, there is nothing lower than covering up a sexual assualt, might as well say it's perfectly ok.

[Bruce Nye]

Guys.  Look at Larry Eustacy's career.  Now he has taken over Colorado State's BB team and got them in the tourney.  CSU?  Are you kidding me?  Larry can coach and can win.  His past makes Alford's look like a choir boy's.  I don't like it any more than you guys, but this is big boy pants athletics fueled by money.

 

Kobe sexually assaulted a woman and he is an icon now.  No one talks about it.  Tiger Woods?  Ray Lewis?  The list goes on and on.  I know you UCLA clean livers hold your head higher than the USCs of the college playground, but it is about winning and filling up the new stadium.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Pretty hilarious that Alford just signed a 10 year extension.

 

Obviously his word is golden.

[mtangelsfan]

Tiger Woods?  He was an extremely callous and horrible husband/father but never sexually assaulted anyone.  Anyone who covers up that kind of stuff is scum.  Our society is pretty bleak when we say this is ok.  

[HeavenlyHalos]

Lol at trying to justify what he did.

 

Back to his coaching abilities, his tournament record with teams as a 5 seed or better:

 

2012-13: 3 seed New Mexico losing in first round to 14 seed Harvard (big upset)

2011-12: 5 seed New Mexico losing in the second round to 4 seeded Louisville (they were the lower seed)

2009-10: 3 seed New Mexico losing in second round to 11th seeded Washington (upset)

2005-06: 3 seed Iowa losing in the first round to #14 Northwestern State (big upset)

 

Not the greatest to say the least. I still think Howland was a pretty good coach, better than how I view Alford frankly. With that said, it seemed like he had lost control of the program the pasty few seasons so I don't blame UCLA firing him, and he seemed to call timeouts at the oddest times. My take is that UCLA thought they could get either one of Smart or Stevens (and I thought so as well) and after missing on them settled for another mid-major coach.