Ben Howland walked into the post-game press conference
beaming.
But it wasn’t so much because he had just coached the UCLA
basketball team to an exhibition win, judging from his opening
comment to the media.
“Trevor (Ariza) here got an A on his midterm today,”
Howland said, causing his freshman forward who had just led the
Bruins in points and rebounds to look sheepish for the first time
all night.
It’s academic, really. The academic success of the team is
vital to its success on the court, because players who don’t
get the grades won’t get to play.
In his first year at UCLA, Howland is hammering in his
philosophy.
“(Academics are) a priority for me,” he said.
“I’m not going to let it slide.”
When Howland first took the job, he didn’t plan on losing
starting forward and leading rebounder Andre Patterson. Patterson
had flunked out of school last spring for the second time in two
years, causing him to transfer to Tennessee.
Senior forward T.J. Cummings, who failed to pass enough classes
over the summer, was then declared ineligible for the fall quarter
and maybe longer. He now needs to earn at least a B average in his
18 units of classes this fall in order to regain eligibility.
“T.J.’s made his own bed, and now he’s trying
to dig his way out,” Howland said. “If he doesn’t
make it, it won’t be because we didn’t do everything
possible to support him.”
This isn’t just lip service.
Director of basketball operations Chris Carlson stayed up until
3:45 a.m. once last month, waiting for Cummings to e-mail him a
paper so that he could proofread it and ensure that it would be
completed in time for class.
With limited resources, the team does not have its own full-time
academic adviser like the football team’s. Howland said if
and when Pauley Pavilion is renovated, he would recommend that an
academic center for all athletes be built as part of the
building.
In the meantime, he and his assistant coaches have been meeting
individually with players once a week to discuss academics and
encourage them to have their papers proofread by tutors or teaching
assistants.
“(Howland) stays on top of us not like a policeman, but
like a friend,” guard Janou Rubin said. “He makes sure
we go to study hall, and he never runs practice overtime if we have
review sessions.”
“They have our syllabi and know what we have due for the
rest of the quarter,” center Michael Fey said.
“Everyday after practice they’re asking us stuff about
academics. I know I’m more on top of stuff this year because
they’re on me harder than they were last year.”
“They’re putting in more time (than former coach
Steve Lavin) after seeing what happened to Andre and
T.J.”
Fey would know something about that. After signing a National
Letter of Intent in 2001, he failed to academically qualify to play
and had to sit out a year before enrolling in UCLA.
In 2002, Lavin signed forward Evan Burns, who eventually had his
NLI voided after failing to qualify. He has since been dismissed at
San Diego State due to academic troubles.
But recruiting based on basketball talent remains a priority at
UCLA.
“We’re always going to have maybe two or three
players in this program (who) are going to (struggle academically)
if we’re going to compete with the Dukes, Indianas, North
Carolinas, which is the expectation of UCLA basketball,”
Howland said.
“But they’re not going to be kids that I could get
in Pitt,” he added, referring to where he last coached.
“Once the people who decide who they admit and don’t
admit in athletics know that we’re really going to do a great
job with student-athletes in men’s basketball, then maybe
they’ll be more trusting.”
Still, Howland’s emphasis on academics is apparent, and it
comes at a time when the NCAA is doing the same.
Starting with this year’s freshman class, namely Ariza, a
player must complete 40 percent of his degree requirements by the
end of his second year, which is up from 25 percent, to stay
eligible.
The NCAA is also considering a loss of scholarships and
postseason bans for athletic teams that don’t successfully
graduate their players.
Howland disagrees with these rules, maintaining that freshmen
need time to adjust to their college classes and the ability to
change majors. The threat of punishing programs, he has said, would
lead to student-athletes taking easier majors.
But Howland does know this: “The number one thing that
I’m responsible for is to make sure they get their degrees.
That’s what I promise the parents and the players I
recruit.”