With every errant pass, every wayward jumper and every chorus of
boos, it has become increasingly clear.
Dan Guerrero cannot allow the Steve Lavin era to endure any
longer.
Although Saturday’s demoralizing loss to St. John’s
may have sealed Lavin’s fate, it is not enough that he be
replaced at the end of the season. The imposing mystique that once
embodied UCLA basketball has taken more hits than … well, has Bob
Marley ever toured in Amsterdam?
And like Marley, the damage may be irreparable if changes
aren’t made immediately.
As the Bruins’ NCAA tournament prospects continue to grow
dimmer than a Chico State cheerleader, the environment at Pauley
Pavilion fluctuates between caustic and apathetic. UCLA (4-7) is
just 2-5 at home this season, and empty seats ““ like
inexplicable December losses ““ are now taken for granted.
The Bruins are averaging just 8,000 people per game; only high
school sensation LeBron James has played before a sold-out Pauley
Pavilion.
Those fans that have chosen to attend have not exactly been
supportive. The student section has been dotted with LoseLavin.com
T-shirts all season, and the crowd has often booed the Bruins off
the court after losses.
The die-hard gravediggers have even openly rooted against the
team in hopes that every loss is another nail in Lavin’s
coaching coffin.
Although Lavin has somehow avoided the unemployment line during
each of his mercurial seven years as UCLA head coach, flames have
virtually engulfed his hot seat this season.
In the past, the Bruins have rallied around their embattled
leader in classic “win-one-for-the-Gipper” style,
easing the pain of an early-season malaise by reeling off a winning
streak in February or March.
Most of the players on this year’s squad appear to enjoy
playing for Lavin, but the two notable exceptions could be the most
crucial to the future of the program.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, sophomores Cedric
Bozeman and Dijon Thompson are unhappy with Lavin and the direction
that the team is headed.
Bozeman considered quitting after the Bruins’ second
exhibition loss of the season, but decided to remain with the team.
Meanwhile, Thompson is the central figure in one of the great
unsolved mysteries of our time. How he lost his spot in the
starting lineup earlier in the season is as bewildering as trying
to figure out who shot JFK.
Despite being UCLA’s second-leading scorer on the season,
Thompson played just 24 minutes against St. John’s,
registering five points on two-of-four shooting. He did not enter
the game in the second half until only 12:41 remained in the
contest.
Just the threat of losing the two most talented players on the
squad ought to have Guerrero chasing Lavin through the halls of the
Morgan Center, mace in hand. But the first-year athletic director
has already stated that he has no intention of making a change
prior to the end of the season.
For his part, Lavin appears much like a prisoner on death row
who has used up all of his appeals. He has already contacted
several friends at Purdue about taking over the program, once Gene
Keady retires, and has also expressed interest in working in
broadcasting in the future.
Regardless of Lavin’s future plans, the facts surrounding
this season at UCLA remain as clear as the chants at Pauley
Pavilion calling for his demise.
A declining fan base, a diminishing talent pool, and a squad
that appears listless and lethargic have exposed all that is wrong
with UCLA basketball and appear to have spelled the end of the
Lavin era in Westwood.
“I’ve been here seven years as a head coach, five as
an assistant ““ I know the landscape,” Lavin said after
Wednesday’s loss to USC. “They’ve lined up to
execute me for seven years, but they keep missing.”
Here’s hoping that it’s Dan Guerrero who dons the
executioner’s hood this time and not the media. And
here’s hoping he acts quickly.
The regular season ends March 8. That’s 61 more days
““ can you wait?