Ben Howland vividly recalls the moment he was told by then-UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale that he would be named the Bruins’ head basketball coach the next day.
It was the night before the official press conference and Howland still had doubts as to what Carnesale’s final decision would be and whether his long-time dream would soon become a reality.
And then, after saying just a few words, Carnesale immediately received a bear hug from the newly appointed coach.
“When he told me “˜We’re going to hire you,’ I jumped up and hugged him out of pure excitement and enjoyment,” Howland said. “I think I might’ve caught him off guard, but I was so happy.”
The happiness that was shared in Carnesale’s house, though not forgotten, has been translated into hours of hard work and preparation in hopes of one day bringing the Bruins back into the national spotlight in college basketball after several years spent in a slump.
Howland’s dedication to the program paid great dividends for the Bruins last season as they made a run deep into the NCAA Tournament. Although Howland will give nearly all the credit to his players, those working alongside him as well as those whom he coaches insist that his devotion to coaching and to understanding the game is what has truly allowed the UCLA tradition to re-emerge.
“It’s a little bit of him and a little bit of the players, but he’ll tell you it’s all about the players,” said Chris Carlson, the team’s director of operations. “When you have good players, you can do good things, but you certainly still have to coach them.”
Carlson has seen not only what Howland has accomplished at UCLA, but also what he did as head coach at Northern Arizona and Pittsburgh. While at Northern Arizona, Howland coordinated the 10th-best single-season turnaround in NCAA history, turning a Lumberjack program that went 7-19 in the 1995-1996 season into the nation’s premier 3-point shooting team and the regular season Big Sky champions, while compiling a 21-7 record just one season later. The current Bruin coach wasn’t done at Northern Arizona, however, as he guided the team to two straight 21-8 seasons and maintained the nation’s top 3-point shooting team while also leading the Lumberjacks to their first ever NCAA Tournament bid.
By this point, Howland had become prominent on the national level and interviewed for a head coaching job at Pittsburgh, where he would soon be asked to turn around another team that was struggling to put together a winning season.
With little hesitation, he jumped at the opportunity, and just as he had done prior to becoming a coach in the Big East, Howland turned around yet another basketball program in the matter of a few years. He guided the Panthers to two consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and led the team to its first ever Big East Tournament title in the 2002-2003 season.
It was then that the coach who became known for turning mediocre teams into special ones was intrigued by the job opening in Westwood, a job he had always viewed as ideal due to the legacy of UCLA basketball, the level of education and the locale.
“That’s why I always thought this was a dream job,” Howland said. “Go walk outside. I’m sitting out there and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s one of the best universities in terms of academic reputation in the world. We’re right here in Los Angeles.”
Howland, fulfilling what had become a simple expectation, was able to do what was easier said than done: uprooting the style of play at UCLA prior to his arrival and bringing in an identity of his own.
“He does his homework on all the programs he’s been with prior to his arrival,” Carlson said. “The formula’s pretty much been the same. Sticking to the fundamentals: defending, rebounding, sharing the ball, taking good shots, those kinds of things.”
According to Howland, the most difficult aspect of getting a program off on the right path is convincing players to come play for him, but at UCLA, he didn’t have as much of a problem due to the aspects that attracted even him as a coach.
Junior guard Arron Afflalo was the first Bruin to sign a National Letter of Intent in Howland’s coaching tenure and has found that the coach has the tendency to prepare his team extraordinarily well for matchups against other teams, especially on the defensive end, something that Afflalo thinks has made him a better player.
“He has a knack for getting the best from players, more so than what they think they’re capable of,” Afflalo said. “He provides something in you that makes you want to be better. And for me, I appreciate that and it has made me a better player.”
Though he spends countless hours reviewing tape and trying to find tendencies about other teams and individuals, work that would normally be considered tedious, Howland is living what he says is a dream and looks to continue to bring success to the UCLA basketball program.
“I wouldn’t say it was a goal of mine (to come coach here),” Howland said. “It was more of a dream. So now it’s a dream come true.”
And sitting behind him at nearly every home game is the coach who brought all the prominence and glory to UCLA and the coach who Howland still admires, John Wooden.
Wooden’s continued presence is something Howland will never take for granted, and Wooden’s legacy is one that Howland will always remember and try to protect.
“Growing up watching coach Wooden’s teams, he’s still so flattered to be here,” Carlson said of Howland. “He uses this opportunity as sort of being a caretaker of coach Wooden’s program and takes that to heart. He takes that very, very seriously.”