Steve Lavin will soon be regularly visiting your living
room.
The former UCLA head basketball coach has signed a multi-year
deal with ESPN to become a studio and game analyst, ending
speculation that he might become an assistant coach at Purdue
University.
“I guarantee I will now be undefeated at the end of the
season,” Lavin said. “I might not win seven
championships, but this is a great opportunity and a chance to
explore a different profession.”
The deal calls for Lavin to be in the ESPN studio for 40 nights
during the season, and in addition he will work 30 games as an
analyst.
The chance of him doing any UCLA games is doubtful, however,
since ESPN only carries the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 10, Big
East, Big 12 and Conference USA.
Fox Sports has exclusive rights to Pac-10 games.
The only chance of him doing a UCLA game would be if
ESPN’s parent network, ABC, were to carry a UCLA game and
decide to use Lavin as an analyst.
ABC carried two UCLA games last season.
“I will call it like I see it, and be straightforward and
bring insight that the audience would be interested in,”
Lavin said.
Lavin will move to the East Coast from November 1 to April 1,
but keep his home in Marina Del Rey for the offseason.
As for whether he would ever return to coaching, Lavin said he
still remains interested and definitely would consider it down the
line.
“If the UCLA job opens up in a couple of years, maybe
I’ll re-enter,” Lavin joked.
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Guard Ray Young was not invited to pre-draft camp in Chicago,
but several teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles
Clippers and New Orleans Hornets, have invited him for a
workout.
Young, a McDonalds All-American coming out of high school, was
largely considered a disappointment throughout his UCLA career
until a resurgence at the end of this past season.
For the year, he averaged 10.1 points per game in 23.7
minutes.