There will be a familiar face in a new role next year for the
men’s basketball team.
Scott Garson, who has spent the last two seasons as the
team’s video coordinator, will be joining the Bruins on the
bench as an assistant coach.
“I’m very excited with Scott Garson’s move to
full-time assistant coach status,” head coach Ben Howland
said in a press release last Monday.
Garson, 30, will join Donny Daniels and Kerry Keating as
assistant coaches on Howland’s staff. His hiring eliminates
the need for Howland to look outside the Bruin staff to fill the
vacancy created by assistant coach Ernie Zeigler’s recent
departure. Zeigler left UCLA in June to become head coach at
Central Michigan University.
“(Garson) is a tireless worker, with great knowledge of
the game and proven people skills,” Howland said. “His
promotion keeps the continuity within our staff.”
Garson will bring a variety of basketball and administrative
skills with him to the Bruin staff. As video coordinator for the
team, his responsibilities included the production of film for
scouting and self-scouting, as well as the compiling of highlight
and recruitment videos. He has also assisted in the past with UCLA
basketball summer camps.
Before he came to UCLA, Garson worked for five years as a member
of Rick Majerus’ staff at Utah. While at Utah he spent time
as a recruiting assistant, video coordinator, and finally as an
assistant coach following Majerus’ retirement for health
reasons during the 2003-2004 season. Howland believes that the
experience Garson has had as both video coordinator and assistant
under Majerus will make him an asset to the Bruins’ coaching
staff.
“For the last two years (Garson) has done a great job as
our video coordinator,” Howland said. “He brings a
proven college basketball background to our staff and
program.”
Garson, meanwhile, is simply excited about the opportunity to
get out of the film room and back to the sidelines.
“I was starting to get labeled as a video guru, a video
guy,” he said. “This is a wonderful opportunity. It
finally paid off.”
One of Garson’s most difficult responsibilities may be
replacing some of the recruiting power the Bruins lost with the
departed Zeigler.
Considered one of the stronger recruiters in the country,
Zeigler became a target for potential head-coaching vacancies
following UCLA’s run to the NCAA Tournament final in March.
He was officially introduced as CMU’s head coach on June
29.