Whether by resignation, firing, exile or being carried away on
frat boys’ shoulders, Steve Lavin needs to go.
After an 87-52 drubbing at the hands of second-ranked Arizona,
the worst loss for UCLA basketball ever at Pauley Pavilion,
Athletic Director Dan Guerrero must find a way to end Lavin’s
tenure now if the head coach will not resign on his own. Although
it would be difficult for Guerrero to fire Lavin only a week after
saying he would stick with him for the rest of the season, Guerrero
has other options. His best alternative is asking Lavin to resign
so both men can save face and Guerrero can avoid going back on his
word.
Saturday’s loss to Arizona marked a new low for Bruin
basketball, dropping the team’s record to 4-9 on the season,
giving them the worst overall record in the Pac-10 conference and
putting the Bruins in place to set many other records ““ for
futility. The Bruins could miss the NCAA tournament for the first
time in 14 seasons and finish under .500 in the Pac-10 for the
first time since the conference’s inception. Even the Arizona
players detected dejection from our team, observing Kapono and co.
hardly played with fervor. But the players are not the only ones
who are not inspired by Lavin.
With loss after loss, UCLA students have galvanized against the
team and Lavin in disgust. Some students have started web sites
dedicated to firing Lavin. Other students have sold “Fire
Lavin!” shirts on street corners after home games. Public
outcry against Lavin is so formidable that ASUCLA could probably
bail itself out of its financial straits by trademarking
“Lose Lavin” merchandise.
This season ““ with its obvious disarray on the court
““ has consequences that extend beyond the morale of the
student body. Along with missing the NCAA tournament, UCLA’s
poor play could deter top high school players from joining the
program. Recruiters may shy away from a Bruin team coming off an
awful year and a coach with dubious job security.
Sure, Lavin has taken his squads to five consecutive Sweet 16s,
but there is more to a basketball team than Sweet 16 appearances
““ such as having a team that consistently plays well, with
underclassmen who improve as the years go by. Lavin has watched his
most talented players improve minimally, if at all, during his
tenure. Jason Kapono’s draft stock has dropped since his
freshman season. Cedric Bozeman is still the disorganized, raw
talent he was when he arrived. Lavin has never taken his talented
squad and emerged with a team that played consistent, winning
basketball during the regular season.
Since Lavin has not and will not turn the program around,
Guerrero needs to give basketball players, fans and potential
recruits a reason to believe in Bruin basketball again. A
mid-season coaching change may not lead to a late-season
turnaround, but it’s better than being complacent. Getting
rid of Lavin now will show fans and students that Guerrero is
making an effort to change when change is necessary.
The state of UCLA basketball cannot get much worse, but if
Guerrero keeps Lavin on the sidelines, it will not get much
better.