The Swamp

Dude took the Bruins to the Final Four three years in a row, consecutively. Then, three early exits, two tourney misses. Upon reflection, was losing to Calipari/Memphis in the national semifinal with Kevin Love, Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook an underachievement?

Ben is my age. And, technically a Gaucho, (an assistant just after I graduated, and played high school, jc, and coached jc in Santa Barbara). Gauchos bounce back; I am sure he isn't done coaching at the highest level.

eta: Forgot the link. Yahoo reporting he is gone. Official announcement due tomorrow.


Sources: Ben Howland fired by UCLA

etaa: That 2008 tourney, only Love was a freshman; Westbrook a soph and Collison a senior. The memory is failing.

Just a stunning fall. Before his early, amazing success at ucla, he was damn successful at Pitt.

I read that SI article a while back, but I still don't really understand what went wrong.

Things I hear are not being able to adjust to the era of one-and-done; while going after national talent, not taking care of locking down the best LA talent; his defense-first approach too difficult to get kids to buy into, in a run-and-gun league. Probably covered in that SI article.

This has to be about getting out in front of pending violations, right?

From the SI article I got the impression that he's not cut out to run a major program. Always felt like someone else was running the show: Reeves Nelson, the UNC exile crowd, Adidas, Shabazz Muhammad, Shabazz Muhammad's dad, always someone other than Howland.

I am not taking the job, in spite of the fact I could walk to the office. We will be moving to Syracuse later this year so I can eventually succeed Boeheim.

Shirley wrote:I read that SI article a while back, but I still don't really understand what went wrong.

I remember it as 'He keeps on losing the locker room' and 'All of his players hate him'.

But yeah, he had to go. This is where a guy like Buzz Williams cashes in his success at Marquette and makes UCLA pay $Texas for him.

So Shaka Smart decides Westwood or Golden Gopher Land is not as good a place to be as VCU. It is going to take a very good opportunity to pull him away. Similar to Coach L moving from Mason to Miami.

wlu_lax6 wrote:So Shaka Smart decides Westwood or Golden Gopher Land is not as good a place to be as VCU. It is going to take a very good opportunity to pull him away. Similar to Coach L moving from Mason to Miami.

Eh. I don't think that's the case. A lot of old people move to florida.

I think he is just right there with Stevens. He can wait for the perfect opportunity.

it's really shocking the bright lights and noted tradition of the minnesota basketball program wasn't able to lure him away.

Why wouldn't UCLA make a run at Thad Matta? He's just 45, and he's always going to be second fiddle and Meyer is clearly heading the right direction with the football team. And he recruits pretty damn well.

Smart was born two years after John Wooden won his final title, and retired. I guess that old mystique ain't what it used to be.

D-Safe, sure you won't reconsider? I'll come on board and do your urban recruiting.

howard wrote:Smart was born two years after John Wooden won his final title, and retired. I guess that old mystique ain't what it used to be.

D-Safe, sure you won't reconsider? I'll come on board and do your urban recruiting.

last thing he needs is an upper class white man doing his inner city recruiting, doc.

The untapped Jewish baller demo, yo.

[signs one Jewish baller]

Okay, it's tapped now.

Towson has not won an NCAA title since Tamir left during his Sophmore season

howard wrote:Smart was born two years after John Wooden won his final title, and retired. I guess that old mystique ain't what it used to be.

D-Safe, sure you won't reconsider? I'll come on board and do your urban recruiting.

Actually, the moving to Syracuse part of that post wasn't a joke.

Hoping it's not just a straight up trade between the two schools for Mike Hopkins (Boeheim's right-hand man and eventual successor who is from Orange County and has already talked to USC about their job).

AB_skin_test wrote:Why wouldn't UCLA make a run at Thad Matta? He's just 45, and he's always going to be second fiddle and Meyer is clearly heading the right direction with the football team. And he recruits pretty damn well.

Thad Matta looks older than 45 to me.

govmentchedda wrote:

AB_skin_test wrote:Why wouldn't UCLA make a run at Thad Matta? He's just 45, and he's always going to be second fiddle and Meyer is clearly heading the right direction with the football team. And he recruits pretty damn well.

Thad Matta looks older than 45 to me.

I know. I was just speaking with a friend and we were thinking of who might be available after Stevens and Smart. I think Matta would listen if they called.

Matta is a midwest guy through and through. One year coaching at Western Carolina, but otherwise Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. I'm sure he's doing just fine at Ohio State as far as money, prestige, etc.

Steve Alford hired, so says the twits.


Pretty good for UCLA. Sucks donkey dick for New Mexico.

Uptempo, shoot first style, here we come!

(By the way, that is sarcastic)

Rex wrote:Steve Alford hired, so says the twits.


Pretty good for UCLA. Sucks donkey dick for New Mexico.

Indeed. Though the pressure at UCLA to win is probably less than at UNM.

Maybe you can hire Damon Bailey. Not as accomplished, but younger and looks the same.

"I think it was a pretty big commitment, not only on the school’s part, but it was a pretty big commitment on my part especially what’s out there and the opportunities that are out there to show my loyalty to UNM and how much I appreciate UNM and how much I want to continue to build this thing."
-- Alford on his new contract last Wednesday

I don't think Alford's really a slow down coach like a Tony Bennett. That's just how you win in the Mountain West. His Iowa teams were faster.

He does have a reputation for being a dick though, right? They already tried that with Howland.

Yeah, he's pretty much Howland with a full head of hair. Plenty of stories of Alford being a dick out there, including swearing at a BYU player after a game.

In 18 years as a coach, including 14 at Iowa and New Mexico, Alford has more first round NCAA Tournament losses coaching a 3-seed (two) than Sweet Sixteen appearances (one - at Southwest Missouri State).

Rush2112 wrote:"I think it was a pretty big commitment, not only on the school’s part, but it was a pretty big commitment on my part especially what’s out there and the opportunities that are out there to show my loyalty to UNM and how much I appreciate UNM and how much I want to continue to build this thing."
-- Alford on his new contract last Wednesday

So, he signs a lucrative contract extension at UNM, then a week later breaks the contract to go to UCLA. Can't wait for him to play the integrity card the first time a player wants to transfer or something. Dick.

Is it just me.....or does anyone else thing that UCLA could have done better? I mean....I think that Alford is a decent enough coach, but was anyone else thinking "wow....we really need to hire Alford away from UNM"?

And yeah, it totally sucks that he does this a week after signing a big extension, but that's pretty much par for the course for college coaches these days.

I am ambivalent. His record is pretty good, until the last two weeks in March. There are worse 'hot' coaches they could've picked. And I've been an Alford fan. But he seems to have earned his rep as a dick, I wonder if a more player-friendly coach, or someone with an NBA pedigree that would carry more respect from young players (and I ain't talkin' 'bout Kareem).

Bolting a week after signing a big extension is not a good sign (unless it was for the Indiana job or something). Even in this day and age, this smells of bad character.

I get the feeling after Smart and Stephens declined, and a few jokes went around the internets, the UCLA brass panicked a little, and snatched Alford. I would've preferred sniffing around Atlanta next weekend, at the annual NCAA Coaches Job Fair, and see who might be dissatisfied. Like maybe Lorenzo Romar is tiring of a lifetime job in Seattle. Or even Tubby Smith (if son Saul is up to the task of locking up local talent).

It could work out just fine. Plenty of upside.

Evidently he didn't actually sign, but verbally agreed to the extension...and the buyout was 150K today and went up to a million tomorrow. Still a dick.


I did like his work at UNM, and think that he's brought them to being at least to the outskirts of being a perennial top 10-15 team, that is if they replace him with some of equal or more skill. I hope that the UNM AD is smarter than the last time they where in this position (when Bliss went to Baylor) and only hire a string of shitty coaches that are only hired due to there ties to the university.

What is a coach supposed to do when he's offered an extension and raise at his current job? Say no? And when he accepts, he's no longer allowed to look at other jobs? That's a pretty shitty way to look at the employer-employee relationship.

Did Alford announce that he'd never consider another job? Does UNM really consider itself a destination job? Would any employee at UNM reject an offer from a much more prestigious university, with much better resources and higher pay?

Just me but I'd think it would be nice to at least let the ink dry.

Well now we get to find out whether UCLA would have been better off with the fun loving flavor of the month guy.

If FGCU doesn't beat San Diego State, does he get the USC job? (Hint: This is not a trick question.) That one game made that dude a lot of money.

Rush2112 wrote:I hope that the UNM AD is smarter than the last time they where in this position (when Bliss went to Baylor) and only hire a string of shitty coaches that are only hired due to there ties to the university.

Losing Bliss sort of worked out too.

mister d wrote:

Rush2112 wrote:I hope that the UNM AD is smarter than the last time they where in this position (when Bliss went to Baylor) and only hire a string of shitty coaches that are only hired due to there ties to the university.

Losing Bliss sort of worked out too.

Yeah. They killed it with that decision.