Don’t worry, be happy: Howland’s the anti-Lavin

After watching the basketball team lose to Washington on
Saturday, I was depressed … for about 12 seconds.

Then I remembered that the Bruins are 20-5, sit atop the Pac-10
with a 10-3 mark, and are barreling toward a top-four seed in the
NCAA tournament.

And they’re coached by Ben Howland. Not that other guy
with the slicked-back hair.

That other person I’m referring to is former UCLA coach
Steve Lavin, who ironically enough, was sitting courtside Saturday
providing color commentary for ABC.

I know it sounds weird that I like this team because of Lavin,
who effectively tore down the program John Wooden built, but it
does make sense. I promise.

First, the quick CliffsNotes version of the history of
Lavin.

Jim Harrick, who won UCLA’s only title not under John
Wooden in 1995, was fired in 1996 for lying about an expense
report. Several top assistants had also left the program, including
Lorenzo Romar, the current coach of the Washington Huskies.

That left Lavin as the only in-house choice to become head coach
of perhaps the most storied program in college basketball history.
That’s like handing a six-year-old the keys to a Ferrari.

Nobody knows why Lavin got the job, but he was actually
successful. His teams played an up-and-down brand of basketball. He
made four Sweet 16 appearances and one in the Elite Eight. He was
good with the media.

But the warning signs were ominous, and in hindsight should have
seemed like giant flashing neon lights. It should have been clear
early on that Lavin was way in over his head.

Lavin lost his first game as coach at home to unranked Tulsa.
Every season he coached, Lavin lost more and more games, and the
recruits started going elsewhere. There was the string of baffling
losses to programs like Detroit Mercy, Ball State, Cal State
Northridge, and University of San Diego.

Then of course came the debacle of 2002-03, my first year at
UCLA. The Bruins were ranked No. 14 preseason but inexplicably lost
both their exhibition games to teams named the EA Sports All-Stars
and Branch West.

Let’s just say the only good thing to come out of that
year was that Lavin now sits courtside talking about basketball
instead of coaching it, leaving that instead to Howland.

For all you non-fourth-years out there who never had to
experience the Lavin era, consider yourselves lucky. It was
gut-wrenching to watch teams with such incredible talent play such
uninspired and undisciplined basketball.

The Lavin era can be summed in the three games UCLA played
against Arizona that year. The Wildcats came to UCLA and smashed
the Bruins by 37. It was the worst loss for UCLA in the history of
Pauley Pavilion.

But somehow in the Pac-10 tournament, with Arizona ranked No. 1,
Lavin pulled out a 96-87 win. Of course, the Bruins then lost a
one-point decision to Oregon the next night, blowing a double digit
lead with less than two minutes to go. It was classic Lavin:
world-beaters one night, doormats the next.

That horrible first year, I went to every game at Pauley
Pavilion even though most students didn’t. I used to show up
15 minutes before tip-off and sit anywhere I wanted. That’s a
stark contrast to today when I have to sleep on the concrete if I
want a good seat. Howland brought the excitement back to UCLA
basketball.

So with Lavin donning his signature slicked-back hair and silver
tongue on Saturday, the Bruins came full-circle.

There was no reason UCLA should have had a chance to win
Saturday. They were on the road, had 20 turnovers, and shot poorly
from the foul stripe. The referees thought basketball was a
non-contact sport. The team’s two leaders, Jordan Farmar and
Arron Afflalo, shot 4-23 combined. And still, there were the Bruins
with a shot to win at the end. Under Lavin, they might have lost by
40.

These guys show toughness, both mentally and physically. They
play defense. When a challenge presents itself, they don’t
back down. Even in defeat, these Bruins show heart.

Watching that Saturday game with Lavin there reminded me of how
far this team has come. Even though they lost, the Bruins showed
they are the exact opposite of what they were under Lavin. Call
Howland the anti-Lavin.

E-mail Lee at jlee3@media.ucla.edu if hearing Lavin’s
voice on Saturday brought back memories of hopelessness.

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