UCLA fires Ben Howland
per ESPN the UCLA Bruins have fired Men's Basketball head coach Ben Howland after 10 seasons with the team.
He won 4 Pac-12 championships and took UCLA to the Final Four 3 times, but those were in the 2005-2007 seasons. He had a 230-105 record at UCLA and was 118-58 in conference. In the past four seasons UCLA has missed the tournament twice, and the two times they made it, they lost their first game.
They fired him twice? He must have been really bad.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:01 PM ^
hilarious... and in before the thread deletion!
What a joke. He won the PAC-12.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:02 PM ^
He's better off getting out of UCLA.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:04 PM ^
Counterpoint: he lost to Tubby Smith.
March 24th, 2013 at 11:55 PM ^
He had also just lost his best player to injury, so I'm not sure how fair that is.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:07 PM ^
He chased off a ton of good players, he can't recruit Southern California anymore, and the program is on a downhill slide. Given the state of the PAC-12, winning it isn't that impressive. Finally it was his program that was the focus of an embarrassing Sports Illustrated article. Not much to argue for keeping him.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:21 PM ^
A ton of good players? Name some names.
March 24th, 2013 at 11:25 PM ^
Chance Stanback, Mike Moser, Malcolm Lee, Josh Smith, Tyler Honeycutt off the top of my head and that's a minor sample. There are a bunch of others along with being unable to keep Anthony Stover in class and an inability to keep Reeves Nelson under control. There were 8 scholarship players on the roster at the end of the season and this year the number of departures will outnumber an incoming class with no post players and no point guard(a longtime failing of his). He got lucky the freshmen this year were talented enough to overcome his coaching, but the program was going off the rails.
The article in si last year that alleged he turned a blind eye to players getting high and, more damagingly, to his star players intentionally injuring several backups in practice didn't help his case much, either.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/magazine/02/28/ucla/index.html
And as for why he can't recruit Southern Claifornia anymore, this SI article explains it pretty well:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/-college-basketball-mens-tournament/ne…
March 24th, 2013 at 10:13 PM ^
Before this year, a story came out which made a bunch of allegations about UCLA players smoking pot and breaking rules and stuff. It implied Howland had a poor grip on the program. It said he only showed up on gameday to meet and work with the team.
If they were going to sack him, it should have been after that story came out last year. They gave him another year, he did well, even though he was pretty much a dead man walking.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:19 PM ^
I'll admit that I haven't read the story, but if it was "20 year olds smoke pot in college" it sounds like much ado about nothing.
March 24th, 2013 at 11:49 PM ^
I seem to recall it had more things like he made players run when they were injured and would humiliate people (including media) whenever he felt like. Made him sound like a huge a-hole
March 25th, 2013 at 12:00 PM ^
I thought it was Frank Martin who made the injured players run and humiliated them?
March 24th, 2013 at 10:02 PM ^
they have high expectations at UCLA- like winning 2 Pac12 titles per year and getting a bye in the NCAA tourney.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:11 PM ^
Wrong, but nice try. The final four runs were nice, but the program was on a huge downhill slide that he wasn't going to pull it out of. Combine that with an unbelievably high rate of attrition and burned bridges in Southern California recruiting.
March 25th, 2013 at 12:04 AM ^
TBF they are a program that should expect to challenge for national titles on a fairly regular basis. They are up there with IU, UK, and UNC when it comes to prestige and history. They are like M football.
Since Howland's been at UCLA, IU hasn't been to the Final Four, UK has gone twice, so has Duke, so has KU, and UNC has gone three times, same as UCLA.
The guy went 13-5 in conference this year, won his league outright (one that looks better than perceived with the runs Oregon and Arizona have made in the tourney), beat UA twice in the last month, and lost their tourney game while playing an awful matchup for them without their 2nd leading scorer. One of those years he missed the tourney, they were 11-7 in the Pac 12 in another weird year where folks were down on the league.
The guy got fired because people don't like his surly attitude and because some UCLA fans think it is still the 1970's.
Those three final four runs were very impressive, but he had an incredible amount of talent on those teams. Aaron Afflalo, Jordan Farmar, Darren Collison, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love. What coach wouldn't go for the final four with all that talent? And he got zero national titles out of it.
Now, he got that talent there, which he should get credit for. But since Love, he hasn't been able to recruit the NBA players at near the same rate, and when he doesn't have elite talent, his teams don't win. His UCLA teams have been like USC football under Kiffen - way more talent than anyone they're playing, but not beating enough of them. At least SC has the excuse of other elite teams in the Pac 12. That league for basketball sucks.
UCLA lost at home to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo this year. Who isn't even good.
I have no dog in this fight, but Miami lost to FGCU who lost to something called Lipscomb.....TWICE.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:04 PM ^
I wonder if he was a victim of the expectations that he created over that three year run with back-to-back-to-back Pac10 titles and final fours. They haven't been back to that level, but still getting shit-canned after winning your conference is harsh.
March 25th, 2013 at 12:14 AM ^
He was a victim of the fact that he was the coach of arguably the most stories program in college basketball and he hasn't won a tourney game in over hour years. UCLA deserves to have that kind of expectations, and they will get a huge make to replace him.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:11 PM ^
Hey was Ben Howland fired at UCLA? Could've sworn I read that like a minute ago but wasn't sure.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:18 PM ^
Shaka would be a great hire for UCLA. That much swag in LA would be a great fit.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:25 PM ^
I wonder if you can sell UCLA-quality recruits on that system. And if it is the best use of great athletes, or if it works particularly well at a school a bit below the very elite.
March 25th, 2013 at 12:05 AM ^
They should be recruiting the best players based on their history, and it's no different than the system Pitino runs.
"Hi, I'm a young, hip coach and we're going to play an up tempo, pressing style that will get you a lot of chances to finish at the rim on the break and a ton of shots in the half court while preparing you to play hardnosed defense like they want in the NBA. I got freaking VCU to the Final Four. If you come on board, what do you think we can do at UCLA?"
Yeah, I don't think he'd have much trouble recruiting at UCLA.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:30 PM ^
I know he's in Virginia but he seems like a Midwest guy. Smart coach with great education background, maybe Northwestern takes a run at him.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:53 PM ^
Northwestern?! Was this a joke? Shaka is one of the hottest coaches in the country, and you think he'd take one of the worst jobs in the country? Northwestern is one of only a handful of colleges to never go to the tourney. Moreover, they have zero tradition, no legacy of producing top talent, and little alumni support for the program.
Shaka will get his shot at the big time...he'd be smarter to stay at VCU than go to NW
March 24th, 2013 at 11:22 PM ^
You heard it here first.
(And last)
March 24th, 2013 at 11:32 PM ^
he would go there, I said NW would take a run at him. I'm sure Shaka would listen to anything they had to say.
March 24th, 2013 at 11:52 PM ^
would laugh at Northwestern. I'm not sure Northwestern could take the embarassment of being laughed off the phone by a guy at VCU
Yeah. I think he already turned down Illinois, which is a much, much better job than NU. There was some talk that Minnesota was going to make a run at him as there's apparently a previous relationship between Smart and Minny's AD, but the fire Tubby talk is pretty much done, at least for this year.
March 25th, 2013 at 10:49 AM ^
Needs knows what he is talking about
I think the "Fire Tubby" talk has picked back up
March 25th, 2013 at 12:01 AM ^
Illinois tried to hire him last year and he said no. A guy who turns down Illinois isn't going to want a gig at Northwestern.
Midwestern guy? Ever heard of the Purdue grad named John Wooden??
March 24th, 2013 at 10:33 PM ^
I'm sure that's what the Pitt AD is praying for right now. How that guy keeps a job is beyond me. Dixon has been rumored to UCLA though.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:48 PM ^
Dixon was re-signed to a 10 year deal after Pitt lost in the tourney.
March 25th, 2013 at 12:09 PM ^
Pitt really loves to hang on to its mediocre coaches. Didn't they give Wannstedt the better part of a decade?
March 24th, 2013 at 10:48 PM ^
Dixon just signed a long extension with Pitt yesterday. He's not going anywhere.
March 24th, 2013 at 11:08 PM ^
The only one that underachieves more than Dixon is Barnes at Texas.
March 24th, 2013 at 11:09 PM ^
As others have mentioned, Dixon was inked to a 10 year extension. The rumors you mention were for USC not ucla.
Not to mention that it would be tough to see UCLA going back to the Pitt for another coach right after firing Howland.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:34 PM ^
Izzo to UCLA.
- BK Finest'ed
March 24th, 2013 at 11:41 PM ^
Book it...
March 25th, 2013 at 12:26 AM ^
this is humor. right ? right ?
Ben Howland should listen to this cover song by Michigan Club Soccer star, Lauren Jbara, to feel better... https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=azNt7erq8y4 (I'm not sure how to embed).
Mitch McGary and Jacob Trouba both listen to this during pregame warm-ups to get in the right mindset! Check her out.
a really boring style of basketball. This is Socal, if it's not entertaining we won't show up. So if you are going to be mediocre at least be interesting. Also, a lot of recruits don't want to play in a system that is going to hurt their numbers with and overly demanding coach.