Steve Lavin is not prepared to resign as head coach of the UCLA
basketball team and will continue to be the head coach for the
immediate future, despite speculation that he is about to step
down.
“He said he’s our head coach, and he said he is not
resigning,” UCLA sports information director Marc Dellins
said.
Lavin was not available for comment Monday, but will hold his
weekly scheduled press conference today, where he is expected to
field a horde of questions about his future.
The Los Angeles Times reported in Monday’s issue that a
Lavin resignation was imminent. A source close to Lavin told the
Times that Lavin feels his players have stopped responding to his
leadership.
The source also said that Lavin was likely to resign before
UCLA’s game against Arizona State on Thursday night.
“These are erroneous rumors,” said Bill Bennett,
associate UCLA sports information director. “He’s not
resigning.”
Speculation over Lavin resigning has been rampant since the
Bruins lost 80-75 to USC last Wednesday, their first home loss to
the Trojans in 10 years.
They followed up that performance with an unenergetic, sloppy
home loss to St. John’s. Many of the players looked apathetic
about losing afterwards.
Overall UCLA is 4-7, its worst start since the 1987-88 season.
The team is also a dismal 2-5 at home. The average attendance is
8,112, the second lowest average since Pauley Pavilion opened in
1965.
If Lavin doesn’t resign before the end of the season, many
expect UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero to dismiss him when the
season is over.
However, Guerrero said he won’t wield the ax during the
year.
“I’ve never been the type of athletic director that
likes to change coaches mid-season,” Guerrero said.
“I’m very consistent. I’m going to let coaches
do their job and evaluate them at the end of the season.”